Pay the piper or pay the consequences

712

Humiliate your rivals in the Cup Final by putting five goals past them and, if you don’t pay the piper, you pay the consequences.  Winning trophies while running up debts you cannot afford to pay is not a viable strategy.  The consequences, if you are fortunate enough to survive, has to be painful, otherwise football removes the moral hazard of failure, making Hearts recent experience more likely to happen to other clubs.

Hearts season at the bottom of the Scottish Premiership is the cost of pouring millions of pounds creditors will not receive onto the Hampden Park pitch to hit five goals past a Hibs team, who live within their means.  Many other teams were denied progress in the cups, or higher prize money in the league, while the fantasists were building to their 5-1 glory.

Billy Brown’s nonsense about rescinding a punishment for a club who are still in administration is yet another fantasy, but it was fostered in 2012, by the notion that Scottish football can change insolvency rules on the hoof to accommodate a failed club.  If you want to change insolvency rules, knock yourself out, but there is near-uniform agreement that you cannot change rules when a favoured club falls foul, in order to benefit them.

This notion that because the rules were not changed to help Newco Rangers into top flight football, Scotland’s reigning Third Division champions would be outraged, is hardly news.  The 11 top flight clubs, most of whom appear to be enjoying a competitive ‘Best of the Rest’ league race, and a whole clutch of lower league clubs, would also be outraged if Hearts were advantaged.

In October 2011, when Rangers fate was privately acknowledged, Craig Whyte, Neil Doncaster and SPL chairman, Ralph Topping, discussed this rule change ruse.  It should have been a 30 second conversation; declined when first proposed.  Instead, Scottish football was put through the real trauma of a fantasy fear of Armageddon.  Now everyone who can’t pay their bills think they have the same entitlement to campaign for a rule change – and why shouldn’t they, the tabloids told everyone that changing the rules on the hoof was acceptable.

Hearts fans know this.  They are heading for relegation, those I have spoken to have accepted the situation.  For them, it’s all about ensuring the club survives and sorting things out for the long term, SPFL results don’t even register.  I don’t know any who want to see their club go cap in hand for rule changes, the way Whyte, then Green, did.  It’s demeaning and lacks dignity.

This is turning into my favourite domestic season yet.  All the ‘They’ve suffered enough’ merchants better get their strategies sorted for the next episode.
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712 Comments

  1. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS .........FC not PLC on

    TONY DONNELLY

     

     

    Unless you are on Facebook,which I’m not,and it seems neither is Hebcelt,you can’t access the link.

  2. TD

     

    It certainly should. I am on Facebook but have not been able to access your link.

     

     

    JJ

  3. Sevcomedian wants wrongdoers dealt with ‘sternly’:

     

     

    “Make it known you’re angry with them

     

    In light of recent events Re Coop land deals and Labour MPs love of all things to do with the Taigs decided to send a message to the Labour Party expressing my feelings and here it is:

     

     

    I’m 56 years old now and have always voted Labour in every election.

     

    Now though I doubt I will ever vote for them again.

     

    The problem for me is that in Scotland the party is riddled with corrupt

     

    Labour MP’s who tend to be Catholics and favour their own kind.

     

    Being a supporter of Rangers F.C. I am disgusted by the behaviour of them regards their assistance to Celtic through dodgy land deals and particularly the COOP loans scandal which are inextricably linked.

     

    I just hope that this is all investigated properly (By those outwith this bitter / bigoted wee country) and the guilty parties are dealt with sternly.

     

    My forefathers will be turning in their graves at what has gone in recent years by the party that they believed worked for the benefit of all working class people (not just RC’s).

     

    Your time is coming and not just with the above mentioned as I am sure

     

    that the commonwealth games situation is tainted with the hand of your RC MP’s and hangerons.

     

     

    Some on here may not agree and think it’s a waste of time but as far as I’m concerned we have to keep at them whether it be the media or other relevant authorities to let them know we are not going away.”

  4. Just in to say….

     

     

    Winning Captains – The ‘4-2 gemme’ will always be ‘the’ best remembered by me and, about 20 or so fellow Cellic supporters from Blantyre n Burnbank as at the bit were, wee Doyley(coTB) was sent-off…there was a sway in the Jungle as the bottles started flying and, the younger wans like myself were forced doon the front to get oot the way as it were.

     

    As it turned out…there was no public transport that night and me and my pals got there by hook or, by crook as it were. So we all ended up together – doon the front of the Jungle for the rest of the night – as wee Doyley got sent-off – forged together by adversity but, hey, what a silver lining that night was to bring.

     

    To crown it all – Murdo Macleod scored the best goal that I have EVER seen any Celtic player score. EVER !!!!

     

    Murdo Macleod might not be Celtic’s best ever player but, you know what ? Murdo will be my favorite Celtic player till my last breath because of that goal which had the world and his uncle hinging on it. imo

     

    Murdo Macleod 4-2 1978-1987 + 1998 Wim & Murdo & Henrik = Cheerio to 10 in a row.

     

    Absolutely untouchable(apart from 1967) imo

     

    Hail Hail – Off oot.

  5. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS .........FC not PLC on

    TONY DONNELLY

     

     

    Don’t forget to remove your mail address before you copy and paste the e-mail!

  6. M1900: I do sincerely hope that more and more of such articles are publicised across the globe. Celtic fans could hardly do a better job of illustrating the mind-set of the Sevconian faithful.

     

    They don’t even realise just how ridiculous they are.

  7. Monaghan

     

    This bit is interesting:

     

     

    “(By those outwith this bitter / bigoted wee country)”

     

     

    JJ

  8. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS .........FC not PLC on

    TONY DONNELLY

     

     

    Sorry,bud.

     

     

    I thought you were gonna c&p the mail you had sent yourself. That would have had your mail address included unless you removed it.

     

     

    Good piece from Christy,ta!

  9. The problem with CO being one of the games great administrators is that it both makes him and expert in how to manipulate the rules etc… for personal gain or to grant favour to persons/clubs of his choosing and also completely negates his “I didnae know” defence.

     

     

    His day and a good few others besides, will come (in the dock that is).

  10. Jungle Jim

     

    09:45 on

     

    14 January, 2014

     

     

    Without restarting the indyref debate, when that is being talked about I see ‘No’ minded people on both Celtic and Rangers forums using that same argument, and there’s been an upsurge in it too. They believe that positions of power are filled with Catholics ad Catholic sympathisers and in an independent Scotland they will be trampled on. Sounds familiar to what many on here say of the Masonic influence, no?

     

     

    I firmly believe that those comments do reflect some folks’ experience but at the same time I think a lot of them are being fed this point of view by a campaign that plays on people’s fears.

  11. BMCUW

     

     

    I am, of course, far too modest to make such a claim. Which reminds me of one of my favourite comments in response to a statement that X ‘ is a very modest guy.”

     

     

    ” Aye. He`s got a lot to be modest about.”

     

     

    JJ

  12. weeminger

     

    Your point might be sound but I am less certain that your hopes of not adding to the ` Indy` debate will be realised 0:-)

     

     

    JJ

  13. Jungle Jim

     

    09:58 on

     

    14 January, 2014

     

     

    I know but I tried. It’s a more serious version of the fact that they call it the Daily Rhebel and we call it the Daily Ranger.

  14. Monaghan 1900

     

    Is hangerons a new word that some dumb knuckle dragger has made up or does it just need a hyphen :)

  15. Sipsini, thanks.

     

     

    On the land developing situation with thems, it’s all spin, Jack (Irvine) is behind this one, he puts it out there and they all bite, just another deflection or as in the goings on the last two years, sheets about to hit the fan here with thems, they are grasping at straws, they know the score they are fecked, and remember they did say if they went down, all would go with them, it’s pathetic first it was Pacific (us) then the SMSM wouldent give that any oxygen, now it’s land deals and the catholic Labour Party, they fecked up, got caught, and died, it’s the Anthony Perkins syndrome, it’s all a matter of time, and we have plenty of that, they don’t they died, any lurking Huns, GIRUY.

  16. I’d be willing to lend Kris Commons to Hearts next year…it makes financial sense to keep RIFC2012 out of the SPHell – allowing us to keep our annual CL holidays ongoing without threat…

     

     

    I would repeat this gesture every year to RIFC 2012 biggest challenger

  17. CultsBhoy

     

     

    10:26 on 14 January, 2014

     

     

    ‘I’d be willing to lend Kris Commons to Hearts next year…it makes financial sense to keep RIFC2012 out of the SPHell – allowing us to keep our annual CL holidays ongoing without threat…’

     

     

     

    ###

     

     

    I’ve suggested before that we could loan out a few of our youth players to Hearts for the rest of this season.

     

     

    They’d benefit from match experience and if it kept Hearts in the SPFL that would be a bonus.

  18. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS .........FC not PLC on

    ERNIE LYNCH

     

     

    I have to agree with CULTSBHOY on this. The time to give Hearts a leg-up is next season!