SFA chief executive, Stewart Regan, clearly sees opportunity among the carnage that is Scottish football at the moment as he leaked plans to ambush clubs into a radical overhaul of the league structures to the media yesterday.
Henry McLeish made several recommendations in his paper on the future of our game, one of which was for a smaller professional setup of two leagues (SPL 1 and SPL 2), sitting on top of a grass-roots pyramid of community based clubs, as well as a 10-team top division. I agreed with both recommendations but relegation-dodgers in the SPL refused to countenance such a deal.
While it seems a 10-club top division is as far away as ever, the SFA are keen to push through a SPL 2 proposal before the start of the new season, something which borders on ultra-ambitious.
An unattributed SFA source (surely Regan himself) briefed BBC’s Jim Spence on their plans but the language was curious:
“Someone has to take a lead and sort out the internal bickering and point scoring and also to ensure that the Rangers situation never happens again.
“We need to use the mood for change among supporters in the country to tackle the current inertia and do what is right for the game.
“Change has to be democratic, but the time for talking has passed. We need action now to save the game.
“The fans are demanding fundamental change. The Rangers situation has intensified the need for a resolution and, over the next few weeks, we will meet with the SPL and SFL to find a solution.”
In order to “ensure the Rangers situation never happens again”, why don’t the SFA start by ensuring former directors of Rangers, who participated in the controversial EBT scheme which precipitated the crisis, are removed from the SFA board?
The SFA president received loans from Rangers EBT which he did not repay despite the club going bust last week. There is a belief that those loans were never meant to be repaid and that many of Rangers EBT loans were accompanied by written confirmation that they were never to be repaid, making these ‘loans’ an illegal tax scam.
The SFA chief executive claimed to have investigated and cleared the president of any wrong-doing. No one else is aware of this investigation. There is a suspicion that all he did was listen to the president’s version of events, compounding an already dreadful situation for the SFA.
We would love to hear how Mr Ogilvie explained why he didn’t repay his loan.
Two weeks ago we spoke about the SFAs inadequate corporate governance on these matters. If only corporate governance was the extent of the problem, they appear quite shameless.
“Someone has to take the lead…. tackle the current inertia and do what is right for the game”.
Sack the clown before you start to preach to the rest of the game.
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leftclicktic
Now that IS radical.
Jeez, ok, on with the KOK video then :)
Retromaritalrelations CSC
Fortune Favour Mibbes
Flowers or perfume never go wrong.
While overdosing on the euros & the golf my other half is nearly through
the trilogy by E L James, Fifty Shades of Grey etc etc.
She mentioned ideas for the room soon to be vacated by my step son !
From barcabhoy on RTC
Barcabhoy says:
17/06/2012 at 10:49 pm
20 1 i
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A couple of random thoughts . The total revenue of SPL clubs is approximately £160 million a year. Losing the entire Sky contract would reduce revenues by approximately 10% per annum. However only the highly prejudiced, led by Traynor and Co, suggest this is a possibility.
I have posted before that Sky have a need to fill their schedule. SPL football fills that very effectively. What will SKY put in its place that would not result in many cancelling their subscriptions ? I would suggest their options are very limited or in fact non existent given the time constraints.
If the SPL accepted a 25% reduction in the value then it would only represent a 2.5% reduction in total SPL club revenues. In other words a nuisance not a terminal situation .
However the SPL should stand firm and tell Sky they can either pay the full amount or the SPL will go back to the market
Second point,
Duff and Phelps are talking about another 10 weeks in administration . That takes us to the end of the transfer window . If players do not Tupe over then will their registrations be held by RFC IA until it liquidates ? Does this mean that some players will not be free agents this window? A game of chicken is about to begin between D&P and agents
Last time D&P blinked first. Now as soon as they stop paying players they will be free to go, however is it possible that they may spend some more creditors cash in this game of chicken
Third thought
Did anyone receive an EBT loan and give that money to someone else ? How would that be best described ???
Leftclicktic
Ya barsteward, ye had me greetin there.
I had to take another whisky.
Power to them all!
angelgabriel
I’m getting the vibe.
Perfumes and flowers to get rid of unwanted stepsons ! Check.
Subtle hints to get rid of unwanted mothers in law. Check.
Celtic lingerie for me and her indoors to wear. Check. :))
The burd likes to kid on I’m Henke Larsson in a Celtic Seville away strip…suits me. Her only ask is that I don’t tell anyone that she’s Nicole Kidman, so between you and me, ok?!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2160798/Rangers-crisis-Sky-wont-pull-plug-TV-deal.html
Bye all accounts SKY have declared that they have no intention of pulling the plug on their current contract with the SP(hell). If this is indeed the case the Huns can Feck Off along with all their sympathisers. I for one am sick to the back teeth of the wet excuses to keep them on board because of a feckin TV deal. SPL is full of Bawbag teams that put money before integrity. You can guarantee if it were CELTIC in their position there would be no holds barred.
Regardless of what they want to call themselves they need to be brought to justice for at least a decade of wrongdoing. I have a few HUN mates that fully agree (surprisingly)
Let justice prevail.
& Hail Hail
FFM
Your secrets are safe.
Not used my Henrik mask for a while !
Just finished watching ‘Game of Thrones’ Series 1. Magic.
Anybody know when Series 2 is coming out on dvd?
:-)
angelgabriel
FFS, gonnae return that asap?!? Ta.
Wifedontlovehusbandwithoutthehenkemask CSC
If I am reading the comments attributed to David Longmuir correctly, any application for a position in the SFL is no formality.
A vacant spot would become available in Div 3 by clubs shuffling up one place, dependant on their play off position from last season, assuming Dundee to acquire the place in the SPL vacated by Rogue FC.
There would likely be other applications for the vacant place and there will be a selection process already in place. I wonder if such a selection process requires:-
(a) financial accounts to be made available…..(how many years….er….weeks?)
(b) the successful club to actually have some registered players….
Mmmm. Not another stubling block?
Could this be why we are hearing noises of a reconstruction??
Damn those pesky kids.
Scooby Doo CSC
If Celtic found themselves in Div 3. I would still watch them live and on TV.
Most average Huns will feel the same about Newco.
I don’t see loss of TV market.
Anyone know if the SFA could legally force a reconstruction through against the wishes of the SPL and SFL ?
Sky not going to abandon the TV deal?
What on earth is Keevins going to talk about now?
He’ll be devastated. :-)
Surely some fan/public group can sue these scumbags for loss of sporting integrity, sure it sounds twee but if it’s been proved that they’ve cheated then why can’t we sue. If you lose a league bet because a team has been proven to have cheated then who is at fault? Probably impossible but is it the SFA at fault? The old Huns?
Can HMRC be waiting for the EBT tribunal decision before the install BDO.
That decision is still the big one, once declared illegal, everyone who is involved is a cheat and liar :o)
Regan can then sack people
Donkeycaster can then sack, clear lines will have been drawn to define integrity :o)
Sabre67 on 18 June, 2012 at 00:19 said:
I like (b) ……..and Scooby Do to you, too……!!
Good night to those who keep the faith ……and to those teams in Scotland, who conduct their business with integrity, and are proud of it …….
SPL / SFA ……..REMEMBER, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A ‘SPORT’ HERE
But once they decide it’s no longer sport then surely you can claim your sports bet is void, if they cheated then we can take someone to court (i hate that saying). But you put Celtic to win the league, we lose bookies pay out, there results are void and Celtic win the league – can we claim that money back?
Ghuys,
Apologies if already covered but given the fact the SPL have suspended investigations into the double contracts does that mean the clown in the SFA is no longer under investigation?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18459762
Hail! Hail!
FFS,
You lot don’t have winge a lot.
Huns are deid.
Stop listenin to the rags.
I repeat. Huns are DEID.
What else do you need to know?
Just read the Scottish Sun and they are now saying SKY won’t rip up the deal and they are furious with a newspaper running with that story.
Just goes to show that the DR, Jabba, Keevins, King, and co are all hun lovers and if we ever needed proof then this was it.
Concise summary from the bleacher report?
June 14, 2012, 140 years of Scottish sporting history ended with the liquidation of Rangers Football Club, following the rejection of the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) which Rangers administrators Duff & Phelps had presented to the club’s creditors.
Rangers Football Club no longer exists. It follows Third Lanark, Airdieonians and Gretna as Scottish clubs who have gone out of business in the past 50 years.
With the death of the Rangers, one controversial issue in Scottish soccer is rendered irrelevant—how to punish a club who had systematically cheated their way to dozens of league titles and cup wins?
A dead club cannot be punished.
However, this being Scottish soccer, and this involving Rangers FC, the story does not end there.
As I reported in a previous article for Bleacher Report, Scottish soccer’s governing bodies will now be asked to admit a successor club to Rangers FC into the Scottish soccer pyramid.
This being a successor club to Rangers FC though, it’s not quite as simple as that—this club wants to be readmitted at the top, not the bottom of the pyramid, and things are gonna get messy.
First off, following the rejection of the CVA by UK tax authority HMRC, Rangers’ administrators sold Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park to Sevco Ltd., the corporate vehicle for a consortium led by Yorkshire businessman and former Sheffield United FC Chief Executive, Charles Green.
Sevco have since announced that they will henceforth be called “The Rangers FC,” and have applied to join the SPL.
It’s like me buying a set of golf clubs that once belonged to Jack Nicklaus, changing my name to The Jack Nicklaus and claiming Jack Nicklaus’ place on the PGA Tour.
On the basis that they now own Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park, The Rangers Football Club now claim that they should be allowed to join Scottish soccer not in the Scottish Football League Division Three, but in the SPL.
This gives Scottish soccer’s governing bodies a decision to make. Several long-established Junior clubs have previously applied to join the Scottish Football League when vacancies have arisen, and many would argue that they are far more deserving of a place than The Rangers FC.
The Rangers FC have not only never played a match—at the moment they have no players and have never been a member of any soccer league.
Either the SFL will treat The Rangers FC like any other club, or they will treat them as a special case. If they choose the latter course, professional soccer in Scotland can no longer make any claim to be a sporting competition.
Let’s consider what the Green consortium is attempting to do.
It is taking advantage of a situation whereby a soccer club with huge support has recklessly spent other people’s money, fielded ineligible players and defrauded the UK tax authorities and numerous other creditors over almost two decades.
The Green consortium is now trying to persuade the supporters of this club that their club somehow lives on in The Rangers FC.
What Green is in effect saying to Rangers FC creditors is, “Tax bill? Unpaid transfer fees? Unpaid debts? Sorry buddy, that was RANGERS FC—nothing to do with us, we’re THE Rangers FC.”
On the other hand, he is telling the Scottish soccer authorities and former fans of the now defunct Rangers FC, “54 titles? 33 Scottish Cups? 27 Scottish League Cups? 1972 European Cup Winners Cup? YEAH! That’s us! We’re still alive!”
Green is no Rangers fan. He is an outsider chasing a quick buck from the desires of legions of Rangers fans who believe their club lives on.
He is attempting to cash in on the desire of the Scottish soccer authorities to keep some form of Rangers FC alive, partly out of pro-Rangers sentiment (SFA President RC Ogilvie is a former Rangers FC director who received cash payments from Rangers FC’s EBT scheme), and partly out of purely financial considerations.
There is not sporting argument for allowing Green’s The Rangers FC into the SPL. It is based purely on greed and would establish the principle that Scottish soccer clubs can dump any amount of debt they run up chasing silverware, then promptly phoenix and rejoin the SPL with no meaningful consequences at all.
The story doesn’t end there.
After Rangers FC were liquidated on Thursday, former Rangers manager Walter Smith rode in on a white charger proclaiming his desire to “save” the club, making a last-ditch attempt to take the assets from under Green’s nose.
If this was an attempt to save the Rangers, it would be like (as one Celtic fan put it so memorably on twitter) trying to stop JFK’s assassination by travelling to Dallas today and shouting, “Duck, Mr. President!”
Smith claims to have the financial backing of a group of prominent Scottish businessmen with impeccable Rangers-supporting credentials. It would appear that they retain an interest in buying Ibrox Stadium and Murray Park from Sevco.
Like Green, Smith and his consortium had no intention of paying Rangers FC’s debts, and hoped to buy the assets at a knock-down price and start a new club to take the Rangers’ place in the SPL.
It now appears likely that there will be a battle for the hearts and minds of the former fans of the now-defunct Rangers FC, with Green holding the assets of the liquidated club, while Smith and his backers very definitely have the fans on their side.
It is thought likely that at some point in the not-too-distant future, Green will sell to Smith’s consortium for a healthy profit.
One final consideration.
Rangers FC, the now-defunct football club with 140 years worth of history behind them, had a deadline to meet on June 15, (the day after they were liquidated). They had until then to lodge audited accounts for the financial year with the SPL. This was required so that they could be granted a license to play in the SPL next season.
Now, The Rangers FC, if they wish to be granted a license to play next season, must submit three years worth of audited accounts to obtain a license to play in the SPL. As a brand new club, it would be impossible for The Rangers FC to submit even one week’s worth of audited accounts.
It now falls to the SPL clubs to decide whether to allow The Rangers FC membership of the SPL. They require the support of eight of the 12.
At this moment, it is thought that Celtic FC, Aberdeen FC and Hibernian FC intend to vote against, while Dundee United FC, Heart of Midlothian FC and Motherwell FC are undecided, but not looking favourably upon the application.
This being Scotland, the BBC reports that the now-defunct Rangers FC will actually be allowed to cast a vote on allowing The Rangers FC to join.
Two things are clear today:
1. The Rangers FC are NOT Rangers FC, which has been liquidated and no longer exists. The Rangers FC merely own some bricks and mortar which once belonged to the now-defunct club. There is no sporting argument for allowing The Rangers FC into the SPL.
2. The Rangers FC, Scotland’s newest football club, have never played a game and have no players. The governing bodies of Scottish soccer must decide whether money or sporting integrity is the most important consideration when they decide what to do with the sporting equivalent of Frankenstein’s monster.
Follow Daniel O’Connell on twitter @DanielOConnel18
SPL meeting tomorrow is gonna be fun!
No pressure lol
HH
JP
aberdeen supporters trust spokesman has already stated that it would only take an additional 1000 supporters to offset the current TV deal.
This is on the basis that there is no TV income.
SKY/BT are paying EPL £6.5M per game…there is no commercial justification for this… until the overseas sales are factored in and added to the additional costs passed on to publicans
except
if there is no TV contract in Scotland, individual clubs will negotiate their own TV rights contracts. Celtic would make substantially more by negotiating on this basis. The owner of liverpool has already expressed his disquiet about the perceived unfairness of the distribution of the TV money.
SKY will do what they have to, you don’t stand up in a canoe.
Have I got this right? We can no longer sing “Oh the Rankers are s@@te” but instead we have to sing “Oh The Rankers are s@@te”.
Surely the new name is so close to the old one that the sins of the fathers can be visited upon their illegitimate sons?
Hit newco with btc, sanctions and suspension.
Ggh
Nope they are clean no sins.
So what happens if they win the league next season?
FFM,
my only worry is that their agents are on a suicide mission
their influence is far and wide, as we know they can spoil for Britain, pirates wreck.
The_huddle
If it looks like sh@te and it smells like sh@te then it is.
Except if you are in Scotland.
I wonder what day 4 of the glorious history will bring.
Ggh
Canamalar
At last, someone referring to the real concerns.
This is where we have to sit on our twitchy keyboarding thumbs and hope the CFC board are on the case.
Which I’m sure they are. It makes sense from a business point of view. When the time is right, bringing down the SFA. That’s the big target here. Kill off the SFA, and then get us the hell oot of dodge!
Ffm
Kill the SFA is a great shout. After their attempts to kill us off from the Flag case in the 50s to their sabotage of the Cadete transfer registration, revenge would certainly be a dish best served cold.
I look forward to it.
Ggh
FFM,
you have faith I struggle with.
Team 12……what a joke.
The Clone Rangers……what a joke.
The SFA…..what a joke.
Campbell Ogilvie…..beyond a joke.
I think if we do away with the HUN Lovin’ criminals we should stay and be at the forefront of the rebuilding
We are the only good thing about Scottish football currently in situ
garygillespieshamstring on 18 June, 2012 at 01:19 said:
The_huddle
If it looks like sh@te and it smells like sh@te then it is.
Except if you are in Scotland.
I wonder what day 4 of the glorious history will bring.
————————-
I can’t even remember how many years ago I started the season convinced we would win, one time it even included ol Gary in the team, insane yep. Now you look back and think how much money did I lose to dodgy results.
Now forget all that and think next season, can you handle the new hun club winning the league? I don’t think it would happen, but worst case what do we do if new hun is leading the league next season.
The huddle
Absolutely right. How many millions were Celtic robbed of from CL money?
Wee clubs cheated, fellow pros cheated out of win bonuses, punters robbed at the bookies, people do a pools coupon.
Where does it all end?
The SFA/SPL cartel flies under the auspices of being a sport organization but it is really nothing more than a hun protection racket that has got out of hand. Its all to do with money and the well structured scams that have been place for aeons that has given these criminals their income is falling apart. They are just trying to re-package the original produce as any good cartel would to ensure their own survival. Simples. So to make it survive we just have to convince them that the marijuana, ecstatsy and amphetamines are still ok but that crack is no longer acceptable.
RRC,
I’d vote for Aberdeen supporters as the best thing in situ
Finding it hard to keep up with the blog right now, so apologies if I’ve missed something earth shattering or stumbled upon a songs debate or a how evil was maggie thatcher fest.
Going to a funeral tomorrow.
The unfortunate chap getting buried is an old friend of about 20 years, an Aberdeen fan who hated rangers slightly more than he hated Celtic.
Nobody knows for sure but he stepped out in front of the bus from Inverness to Aberdeen.
Great bloke with a passion for AFC , a great sence of humour and a talent for cryptic crosswords
I remember being on a training course with him when he got so drunk that he was unable to put the key in his hotel room door and fell asleep in the hotel corridor.
I’m not religious so won’t do the whole praying thing but RIP Graham. Good man even though your team is awful and
Your manager is a funny handshake type.
HH
SIALF
This from The Scotsman re. The Clone Rangers :
“All 12 member clubs need to vote on this application and eight votes are required for Rangers to be playing SPL football next season. A date for this vote has yet to be set. If the transfer of the SPL share is successful then Rangers will assume the ‘Club 12’ fixtures.”
The vote, at which Rangers will need the support of at least seven of the other 11 SPL clubs, will take place at a general meeting of the top flight. That meeting has yet to be called, and requires a fortnight’s notice, but the SPL board is meeting today and could issue that call, provided Green’s newco submits an official application to have the share of the old company transferred to it. It is understood that a technicality has delayed that application.”
So,what,exactly is this ‘technicality’? Could it be that Greenie et all are actually incapable of funding a ‘huge’ club?