I know we have all been keen for Uefa to take an active interest in Scottish football but you have to wonder if those in charge of the European game are aware that their foot soldiers are busy using informal media channels to influence opinion here, specifically about the Celtic manager. Hugh Dallas, one of Uefa’s most senior Referee Observers who was given the recent Barcelona- AC Milan match, one of the most prestigious games of the season, this week accused Neil Lennon is bullying referee Euan Norris.
The SFA are now compromised. They may want to act against Neil Lennon for his protests at Hampden on Sunday but find themselves in the unfortunate position of not being able to give Neil a fair hearing as a Uefa official has very publically prejudged him.
The SFA must protest to Uefa in the strongest possible terms about this inappropriate interference in our domestic game, as should you. I am sure we will soon hear a protest from Stewart Regan to this effect. We need to be able to operate our disciplinary procedures without processes being compromised in this way.
Bids for the original canvass painting of Neil Lennon by US based artist, Joseph Gormley, have hit an incredible £500. Keep an eye on the auction, which ends on Thursday, here.
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Quonno
I’ll let you into a secret.
Here’s how I know, it’s happened before to the nicest of men…
———
A 23-year reign ended on May 6 last year when he stepped aside for Craig Whyte. Murray said: “I accept my responsibility in handing over to Craig Whyte and I deeply regret what has transpired.”
The former owner was speaking for the first time since the Ibrox club lurched into administration and he stressed that all the legal documents seemed to be in order.
But Record Sport revealed Whyte had used money raised through a season-ticket deal with Ticketus to buy Rangers. The London firm gave him £24million – even though he said he was using his own money.
Murray said: “I was duped, my advisers were duped, the bank was duped, shareholders were duped.
“We’ve all been duped. Is duped the right word? Yes, duped is the right word.”
————
quonno – lets have a peek at it rationally.
Rangers Athletic go to Div 3 where they are a NewCo freed from the sins of their fathers.
No financial penalty.
NewCo will not be allowed Euro football for 3 years anyway so no loss there.
Do you really think Sky would be happy to let all those sets of Hunnish eyeballs walk away? No chance. Sky show Blue Square Premiership so the argument about the quality of the football is moot. Sky don’t give a hoot about the quality, they care about the eyeballs. There would be a 3 year deal with the SFL and lots of great marketing opportunities for both sides, with Rangers getting the lions share of that 3 year deal.
The main sticking point would be whether or not the hun hordes would follow them. However what we have is a bunch of people whom the bulk of them are made up of, let us be frank here, idiots. When it comes to press they are like fat labradors. They will gobble anything up and will keep doing so until they eat themselves to death. Good PR, appeal to their bombast, lots of “Get Rangers Back Where We Belong” stuff. Job done. Inevitable drop in attendances mitigated somewhat.
A major factor being overlooked Re NewCo in the SPL is the Sins of the Fathers. If, as the SPL have already intimated, the transfer of the SPL share and SFA membership would also allow NewCo to inherit history of OldCo, then when OldCo is sanctioned for the sporting crimes of the 2 contracts will be impossible for NewCo to wriggle out of the sporting punishment. They cannot have it both ways. Best bet is to let it all go quietly as they may well end up in Division 3 anyway but with an SPL business model. Cue another date with insolvency.
It is very easy to get a business plan together that provides more profit than NewCo wangling it’s way into the SPL.
The Americans and Singaporeans are all profit.
What is for sure is Rangers will have to choose. If they try for NewCo into the SPL and fail then that is where there perhaps will be a wilderness year as the time the NewCo would need to try SPL then SFL would go past seasons start.
The decision may well be made that the long term future of the club is best served from Division 3.
There is NOTHING off the table now.
rangers to be a feeder club for Singapore team Hougang United…
Singapore businessman Bill Ng is planning to put his nation on the world football map by taking the reins at Scottish giants Rangers.
The 52-year old heads the Far East consortium which is up against Paul Murray’s Blue Knights and a bid from the USA for Craig Whyte’s majority shareholding. Ng is prepared to split £12million between the creditors in order to take control of ‘Gers but he says his plan is not all about money.
“This is a chance to put Singapore on the world football map,” Ng said.
“We’re not just doing this for financial reasons.
“If we take over Rangers, we’ve got plans that will positively impact Singapore football in the long run.
“Our population size is quite similar to Scotland’s, so there’s plenty for us to learn from them in terms of football development.
“We aim to engage the FA of Singapore with more ideas that can benefit local football.”
Has Bill Ng been called the Singapore born billionaire yet?
Has anyone called his backers the Blue Ninjas yet?
Does Ng translate as Whyte by any chance??
Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
I am hearing that all is not ..err.. chivalric among the Blue Knights. Tut tut…
Knights of the not so round table…oh dear..
Just listened to alex thompson on clyde . We cant have enough respect for this man , and his bottle for standing up to the undoubted flack he will receive . The only criticism i have is when he said that he was the only english journalist that was taking up the story , I would put it to him to use his contacts to approach his bosses at ch 4 and convince them that this story is explosive, and a little more digging would uncover even more . I watched a programme last night about the billionaire business of coldoron . out in south america. ,that reporter didnt hold back, he wasnt intimidated in the least , and he had all his homework done . I may be wrong but i have this feeling that alex is just scratching the surface here with this and a little extra help could hit paydirt . Also with regards to EUFA i have no faith in this outfit looking into and acting on the rule manipulation of football in this country . If they had been doing their job to the letter they would be involved already . And employing dallas sort of proves my point . Having to leave his post up here under a cloud , to walk straight into a top post with EUFA does nothing to enhance my opinion of them .
jimtim
The more I see of this Mr Ng the more I like the cut of his jib.
He just ticks so many boxes for the desperate cash-strapped Hillbillies.
Let me re-do what I said a moment ago.
It is not Ng who has been interviewed by the BBC but a Singaporean journalist who knows him. Think Jim Traynor is Murray was trying to buy a club over there.
Ng’s footballing “claim to fame” was getting his Singaporean club to their national league cup final a few short years after taking over. They finished seventh in the league last year, and have had more corporate rebranding that Pepsi.
One wee interesting note; Ng changed their mascot last year. To what?
Chester the Cheetah.
These jokes just write themselves.
Phil MacGiollaBhain @Pmacgiollabhain Reply Retweet Favorite · Open
Far east contacts saying that Bill Ng’s personal wealth around £50M. Rich, but not off the radar.
50 mil wealth somebody should tell Bill before he ends up getting duped!!
Just listened to SSN who whisked us over to the reporter standing in front of the red bricked ‘poor hoose’ for some latest news.
This piece of hot news was not that the ‘Blue Nighties’ had walked away erm…apologies let me rephrase that stepped back (which was expected as they had no real money but then do any of the bidders?). The news was that as well as Ng there was a American consortium in the bidding.
Wow! Is that two American bids ( because everybody and their brother was aware of the Miller one). Well hmm no… it was just that previous one that everyone has known about for weeks but lets pretend it is news.
Shows how desperate even SSN are to put a ‘good spin’ on this sad sorry. Time this sorry mess was put to bed. That £900k in the bank should go on this months running costs so hopefully we will not have long to wait.
By the way, as a testimony to just how big an achievement finishing 7th in the Singaporean league is, and this should not be viewed as an indication that I see this guy as less that a success, a team called Singapore Armed Forces finished 3rd.
Just saying like …
Latest hillbillly merchandise , endorsed by BFDJ
James Forrest – Ng is part of a consortium. He isn’t putting up the dosh himself. The backers want an ROI. An ROI is not conducive to how the hordes like there club to be ran.
Good times
For my money Neil Lennon’s reactions are tame.
Yes, tame.
Put anyone I know in his position and they would become a raging volcano.
Wouldn’t you ?
And the refs’ ole favourite sectarian bigot, Hugh Dallas, now reappears to run down the man and his actions.
Enough is enough.
I mean, get real, we’ve even got “fans” on here giving him a hard time
because of his so-called scruffiness.
In common with the EBT boys, the MIBs have cheated Celtic out of titles
and cups.
I believe it’s time now for the club to hit back against the refs.
The “honest mistakes” are creeping back in again BIG TIME.
Not forgetting that the “honest mistakes” have ALWAYS been with us.
Get the lawyers on it.
We all know it’s happening so let’s get it exposed.
Jugular time.
I believe in the next set of SFA hearings we should go in all guns blazing.
Whatever happened to the legnedary “dossier” anyway ?
C’mon, Celtic, sort them out.
pigalle WhoIsGladHeGotThatOffHisChestCSC
Ng does like a Newco. Any ideas for rangers new name?
Full Name: Hougang United Football Club
Nickname: The Cheetah
Founded: 1981 (as Marine Castle United Football Club)
Home Ground: Hougang Stadium (Capacity 2,500)
Manager/Coach: Aide Iskandar (Singapore)
ACHIEVEMENTS
S.League Champions: –
Singapore Cup: –
Singapore League Cup: –
HISTORY
The result of a merger between S.League clubs Paya Lebar Punggol Football Club and Sengkang Marine Football Club, Sengkang-Punggol Football club joined the S. League in the 2006 season winning the wooden spoon in their debut season.
The club changed its name to Hougang United Football Club in 2011 and hopes that the new name may help them to better establish a fan base in the Hougang neighbourhood in which their stadium is based.
New hillbilly merchandise, endorsed by the McLean Brothers
Paul67
Dallas may have been removed from the SFA scene locally but his resentment hangs on, a bit like a contagion.
How many referees owe Hugh one for the times they worked with him or under his supervison? How many of these guys who retired are at the beck and call of the media whenever Lennon reacts to very questionnable decisions?
I said contagion and I’ll give it a name – its called arrogance, Hugh had it in spades, which when mixed with resentment is very unhealthy for football.
There is a misuse of the authority a referee has to have on the field of play and the perception that to back that authority up the referee can never be wrong and asked for an account..
That is understandable but that authority has to exercised with responsibility and when a referee makes as serious a number of errors as Norris did on Saturday, then questions have to be asked of his competency, his training and his selection for the match as you did but by someone or body with power to act..
No one on the refree side comes out and says we got it wrong, no explanations for the decision. No independent view that can be trusted not to be part of the contagion is expressed to provide a semblance of balance.
All we get is arrogant authority being stamped with force.
If Neil lennon has to look at himself honestly then so too does the referee fraternity.
Authority that is based on compulsion is not earned authority, the kind that if it existed would stop mistakes like Saturday’s being seen as part of some conspiracy, an acceptance that it was a honest mistake.
The arrogance that is the Dallas legacy has to be addressed by having a check and balance system totally independent of the SFA in place and paid for by the league. That introduces a degree of accountability and if a referee knows he is liable to be disciplined in some way for serious errors and that discipline made public, then perhaps the arrogance that comes from knowing you will be backed up right or wrong will be diminished if not removed.And if you know you are accountable for how you use authority you will be more careful not to misuse it.
I appreciate it is a delicate balance and refereeing is not an easy job but we cannot go on pretending referees are not human, are above reproach and sip with the angels.
Starry Plough
Don’t worry it’s a known fact that the Ibrox club apply a stringently controlled ‘sniff test’ for most bidders. This has rarely, if ever, failed the club.
If you won’t believe me then how about Mister Sir david Murray, and I quote –
————
…Having said he would only sell up to someone with Rangers’ best interests at heart, he defended his decision to sell to Whyte “because he met the criteria that were in his offer document”.
“He’s quite affable and plausible,” Murray added.
“I always remember someone said, ‘Does it pass the sniff test?’
“He was Scottish, he wasn’t a foreigner, he was supposedly a Rangers supporter, he had the money.
“There is a Stock Exchange offer document there.
“If you can’t believe that, what can you do?
———-
There you go – try and beat that puny human mortals – The Sniff Test.
Hasn’t failed.
U
ASonOfDan:
Cheetah’s FC sounds appropriate to me.
Although I remain unsure if you can be both Scottish and a foreigner. But that’s the level these guys operate at.
Would take a wily ole fox to dupe even one of these characters…
U
“Ng” translates as Nae greenbacks.
Aah….The Dossier…The Holy Grail!!!…..was wondering if that was what Matt McGlone was referring to in his tweet in a previous post :)
28th May 1888, Celtic 5 Rangers 2. The first ever game between the clubs.
29th April 2012. The last game ever between the clubs?
What chances a repeat scoreline?
Mr Ng ?
Fitba in Singapore
Average attendance at the fitba in Singapore is @ 1.5 K.
Fitba in Singapore is riddled with match fixing and financial irregularities.
Last 3 betting scandals in Italy have featured ” syndicates from Singapore “.
Maybe there is something in Scottish fitba that appeals to Mr Ng. ?
James Forrest is Neil Lennon! We are ALL Neil Lennon!
lol!
Auld heid
Dallas was the SFAs darling
he went kicking and screaming …no dignified acceptance of his wrong doing
His arrogance allowed him to consider himself untouchable
He hates us
South of Tunis
Ng = Nefarious gambler???
Dallas – strange that we never heard from him when his mate was being manhandled by rangers players during the “shame game.”
While I am all for the action you recommend, Paul67, could we not also inquire of UEFA if they have been made aware of Dallas’ (total lack of) standing in Scotland? Who was so utterly corrupt as to recommend such a publicly well known bigot to UEFA??
….PFayr on 17 April, 2012 at 12:06 said:
Auld heid
Dallas was the SFAs darling
he went kicking and screaming …no dignified acceptance of his wrong doing
His arrogance allowed him to consider himself untouchable
He hates us
…………………..
The feelings mutual!
Bill Ng, The Cheetah’s! This has got to be a wind up.
STATEMENT FROM THE RANGERS SUPPORTERS ASSEMBLY, SUPPORTERS ASSOCIATION AND SUPPORTERS TRUST
“Rangers fans worldwide have been very patient during the the recent difficult period in the hope that we will exit administration and be able to work towards re-establishing our club at the level to which we all aspire.
However, the delay in the administrator’s announcing the preferred bidder is seriously jeopardising our chances of exiting administration quickly and is forcing us closer to liquidation.
With the proposed SPL rule changes meaning we may not be competing on an equal footing for the next two seasons, it is imperative we have the chance to exit administration with a Company Voluntary Agreement and that has to happen as soon as possible.
We demand that the administrators announce the preferred bidder as a matter of urgency. If they fail to do so on Monday 16 April 2012, we demand to be informed precisely why they cannot announce a preferred bidder.”
A spokesman for Duff&Phelps replied; “Pffffftttt! You could not even raise the deposit ya nugget’s.”
PFayr – Dallas is as brass necked as he is thick. Anyone who finds child abuse a matter of mirth has an intelligence deficit. That is me being polite. The fact anyone in this country gave him a platform to moralise is utterly incredible.
So last night Tomo drops the biggest story in British football on their laps ‘Regan has said ogilvey’s postition is seriously compromised’, and what have the corrupt propaganda outlets done, yep continuue to vilify and target our manager.
Choice made, scotlands meeja prefer to be part of a corrupt game.
I was at the doc’s this mornig for an 8:30 appointment.
8:40 had come and gone and I was getting a wee bit impatient (it’s an age thing).
At that point the piped music in the waiting room, which I hadn’t really been listening to, began to play Labbi Siffri’s “Something inside so strong”.
It did bring a smile to my face, yet a tear to my eye.
Waiting is’nt as bad, sometimes.
Morning all
at work discussing Neil Lennon and the general concensus from most is that he is an out of control ned who deserves everything that comes his way. I on the other hand see a man who won’t take it on the chin to quote Mr Mowbrey and who won’t allow Celtic to be cheated and conned out of rightful decision. Even allowing for “honest mistakes” it seems strange to me that Celtic always seem to get more than their fair share of decisions that go against them. Of course those around me would say where were the complaints between November and March? I just hope that Neil Lennon continues to rage against the authority when we are cheated, because if he doesn’t who will, not the MSM, not the media, not any of the phone ins. We may not have won the cup a few weeks ago (I did’t think we took it seriously enough) and we may not have beaten Hearts on Sunday, but on a level playing field perhaps we would have done. Finally as long as Neil Lennon keeps the woes from Rangers off the back pages the happier they will be.
That statement from the Rangers Supporters is hilarious.
They still don’t get it do they? They have ZERO control over this and D&P need pay no heed to them. The time for those statements was when Kraig White was negotiating with Murray. Too late little bears…..
D&P are there to satisfy the secured creditor. That is it.
From Previous
DeniaBhoy on 17 April, 2012 at 07:57 said:
Time pressed this morning but the SFA rules being mentioned – why is this just making Phil’s blog now? If there was something so obvious why was it not brought up right at the start when people were going through all the clauses and sub clauses in the rule handbook? People have been torturing themselves to come up with a rock solid case to prevent a Newco, so how come such a simple rule or two was not the focus all along? Have I missed something?
===============================
I posted this in the wee hours that might answer your question.Items in square brackets added today.
James Forrest
Gordon
I was labouring until yesterday under the impression UEFA Licensing was for clubs qualifying for UEFA competition and National Club Licensing for playing in the SPL.
I read 3.3.1 on the rtc blog and wondered at the time how I missed it. Easy, I was only looking at NCL as the relevant rules [because of my assumption.].
I hoped it was UEFA that applied but even under NCL there were hurdles under Section 8.1.1. and 8.1.2 that Newco will STILL have to surmount
to get a licences (see below) [ That I know I have posted about and drawn attention to]
However it looks from reading the SFA intro on their web page that SPL Clubs must be licensed under UEFA Licensing, whether they qualify or not for Europe, but from the National Club Licensing documentation are ALSO covered by National Club Licencing, which applies to clubs with Membership of the Scottish Football Association. (which I take includes SPL clubs)
I find this odd and you will find references in NCL to dates for SPL clubs to submit documents, but I now think this is presumably in case they are UEFA license candidates and the SFA want the documentation in time for the UEFA licensing round.
This coverage by UEFA Licensing to ALL SPL clubs is very significant as the criteria there are many and clearly specified [including the 3 year killer]and in order to avoid being ruled out by them, Newco HAVE to join lower down than the SPL to have any chance of getting a license. That is UNLESS they apply to be treated as an Exception under Annex 1B of UEFA FFP regs.page 43.
You might want to have a look
Perhaps this is why D&P applied for a UEFA licence, not to play in Europe but to test the water on getting a license at all?
One thing is for sure Regan will have tested the water with UEFA and I’ll bet that like everyone else they are waiting to test the degree of opprobrium arising when the BTC result is announced before encouraging or discouraging any exception case.
It does seem though that the tide of opinion is turning against a parachute into the SPL. When JT and GS start leading on it there is something afoot.
That leads nicely to the idea of an SPL1 and SPL2. Newco would still have to apply for SPL2 under NCL, although I think they will need to be treated as an exception even then, but dealt with by SFA/SPL2/SFL [not UEFA].