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.
1,003 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- 26
- 27
- »
MSM……………………………………”Gers” temporarily “left off” fixture list.
nothingwithoutfans.
You can rest your case with that stat!
Looks like myself and many other will not be attending Scottish Football games this year.
JJ
bournesouprecipe on 18 June, 2012 at 09:26 said:
Celtic in Inverness and Ross County on either side of CL qualifiers.
Plus ca change…
Apologies if someone has already answered this, but now can Club 12 use a similar name to the company that will be liquidated.
After reading this “Liquated Company Names” I would think when they are fully up and running the name has to change.
Can any legal experts clarify for me
SPL winter break confirmed for Rangers – 18/6/2012 to 31/12/2512.
DBBIA 0922
It certainly is on here!
MacGregor set to sign for Club 18-30
The consequences of having Dundee & Dundee Utd in the same town at the same time is far less than having Club 12 and Celtic in the same town at the same time.
Have to say, when the fixtures were announced, I immediately looked for when the Celtic v Club 12 games were on… old habits die hard.
lovejoysalegend on 18 June, 2012 at 09:28 said:
Apologies if someone has already answered this, but now can Club 12 use a similar name to the company that will be liquidated.
After reading this “Liquated Company Names” I would think when they are fully up and running the name has to change.
Can any legal experts clarify for me
————-
The prohibition applies where a director of the old club is a director of the new club. Even then, an application can be made to the court for the phoenix club to use the old name.
greenjedi on 18 June, 2012 at 09:14 said:
I’m not arguing one way or another on it. Just pointing out that there will have been some of their players that weren’t on two contracts, and possibly (unlikely I would think) didn’t know others were on them, who may not deserve to have them stripped.
Club 12 will develope annoying similarities to Ragers
Saturday August 4, 2012
Celtic v Aberdeen
Hearts v St Johnstone
Kilmarnock v ‘Club 12’
Ross County v Motherwell
St Mirren v Inverness CT
Sunday August 5, 2012
Dundee United v Hibernian
Club 12, lol! I will never tire of seeing that today.
BBC sport just commented on SPL fixtures, quote:-
“With all the uncertainty surrounding Rangers ‘they’ are shown as club12 in the fixture list”.
what a stupid ignorant statement.
lovejoysalegend on 18 June, 2012 at 09:28 said:
There’s no problem unless the directors of the newco were directors of the old co.
There may be issues around passing off and intellectual property rights but you have to assume that those will have bundled up with everything else sold by D&P in the sale of the century.
estorilbhoy on 18 June, 2012 at 09:35 said:
‘BBC sport just commented on SPL fixtures, quote:-
“With all the uncertainty surrounding Rangers ‘they’ are shown as club12 in the fixture list”.
what a stupid ignorant statement.’
Seems fairly astute to me.
Club12 ’til July…
So the fixture list, wonder who Doncaster and SPL are hoping Club 12 to be? Yet again, they are not even subtle about the agenda.
Funny how they can crack on assumption newco will be in the SPL next season. However, uncertainty over newco is used as a way to delay the dual contracts investigation. I find it smug. Doncaster in particular is shameless (I am sure a man in his position does know and can appreciate there is a significant difference between a CVA and liquidation).
optimisticlittlesoldier.
Surely, if Celtic and Club 12 can never be scheduled to be at Home at the same time, it was possible to do similar with Dundee Utd and Club 12 ?
JJ
S Club 12 are unworthy successors to S Club 7. I always preferred Steps anyway.
KJam on 18 June, 2012 at 09:41 said:
”So the fixture list, wonder who Doncaster and SPL are hoping Club 12 to be? Yet again, they are not even subtle about the agenda.”
######
‘Rangers or their successors.’
Ole Jean Alain Boumsong has fair set the chat amongst the pigeons
Oui Oui CSC
I am pretty sure I drank a lot of Club 12 and coke on holiday last year. A rum I think it was.
Club Tropicana
Club 18-30
Club Biscuit
I think the SPL had a bit of an issue here (one of many). As yet Rangers are not actually liquidated and as we know NewClub have not yet had their application for the league considered.
If, as we are told, the fixtures are all decided by computer they probably had no choice but to run it with Rangers in the Club 12 position and have it throw up all the exceptions like neither Celtic or Rangers at home the same weekend.
Are Dundee guaranteed the place if NewClub doens’t get it? If not you can’t add their parameters into the mix and avoid them and D Utd being at home at the same time.
I try not to be fair to them, but in this instance I don’t see what else they could have done. Other than sort out the whole farce weeks ago when they should have done. It’s not really worth getting you knickers in a twist over.
Celtic and Club 12 play away at the same time, on occasion. So not quite the counter-balance we’ve seen in the past (ie, one at home, the other away).
Jungle Jim: I thought that as well. I’m sure there’s a computer programme that would allow such a scenario.
Unless the SPL put in Rangers instead of Club 12 and the computer said No…
I integrity is followed and club 12 aren’t voted to play in SPL next season. Surely one of the Dundee teams will find themselves playing more sunday games or later kick offs.
Serious questions here, an appeal to the devil’s advocate.
Chris McLaughlin is happy to suggest New club may well fulfil club 12’s fixtures and he confirms that the SPL have received an application from Sevco to enter a new team in the SPL.
Pleeeeaaaaaaaasee. Somebody tell me.
1. On what grounds is Sevco asking for its team to have a team in the SPL? “We believe the SPL should allow our new club to go straight into the SPL because … ” Because what?
2. On what grounds is the SPL even willing to contemplate this? “The SPL is willing to give consideration to this request because … ”.
3. On what grounds does the BBC think it’s valid to equate Club 12 to New club within minutes of the fixtures appearing?
A player with any sort of integrity would put his medal in a post pak addressed to
Celtic Park
99 Kerrydale St.
Parkhead
Glasgow
Ernie Lynch
Now on this blog you have mentioned the wording of Celtic’s season ticket renewal is a way that is clearly meant to be disparaging to the Celtic board.
If you had a season ticket, you would notice that EVERY year you have the options to, in certain areas of the ground, to opt in or out to a ticket for Rangers. The successor to Rangers is a subtle change rather than the monumental conspiracy you seem to portray it as.
Just saying like. .
Robin boy
Euro 2012 ——
Italia -Irlanda..
The Italian football psyche is a strange and complex thing. They ‘know’ they should bury Ireland[ despite being a relatively poor ‘ Italy’} but will be terrified of the disgrace , ignominy and eternal damnation that awaits them should they fail to win.. That fear could be to Ireland’s advantage .
Likely Italian line up –
Buffon
Abate Barzagli Chielini Balzaretti
De Rossi Pirlo Marchisio
Motta
Cassano Di Natale.
Some pundits have speculated that Prandelli might play a wild card and field Bologna’s excellent Diamanti in place of Di Natale . He is a player..
Sicilian bookies offering —
Italy 1/5 Draw -6/1 Ireland 12 /1.
Asked about how he felt about playing in a game where @ 90 % of those present would be supporting Ireland ” Madman ” Cassano [ a man who makes Gazza / Balotelli seem sane in comparison ] said ———–
” Great —— I’ve always wanted to perform at the San Remo Song Festival.”
Getting hot —–way down south .
No to any Zombie hun Newco / Newclub / Sevco / Ressurecto that doesn’t have to get down on its knees and beg to be allowed to begin again by starting at the very,very bottom . No to any New Firm Old Firm.
Celtic_First on 18 June, 2012 at 09:58 said:
Answers:
1 We arra peepel
2 You arra peepel
3 They arra peepel
Would anyone know if there has been a similar scenario to club 12, in releasing a fixture list at anytime in any league in the world?
Another thought. What if club 12 is dunfermline ? No clash then, eh?
weeminger on 18 June, 2012 at 09:48 said:
If, as we are told, the fixtures are all decided by computer they probably had no choice but to run it with Rangers in the Club 12 position and have it throw up all the exceptions like neither Celtic or Rangers at home the same weekend.
I think it is Atos that produces the SPL fixtures. It is possible to write software that can be configured to feed the execution of the program. e.g. Team A and Team B must never play at home on same date.
It would have surely been easy to put Dundee Utd. and Celtic at home on the same dates and Club 12 away on all such dates which would safeguard the two most likely options.
Similarly, if the SPL were so minded, they could add rules to aid our euro representatives.
QB
Registered kit is cowboy hat, poncho, smoking cheroot – and every player has to pass a Clint Eastwood lookalike test.
Club12 – the club with no name.
I attended Gibson Street Gala day in the west end yesterday, and found a stall selling tours of Ibrokes, with images of rangers team 2011-12(dead) and other tat. Having an expensive looking camera I was approached by their glamorous (NOT) assistant asking if I was interested in a picture of her.
Her language was distasteful, when I asked who she’d support, now her team no longer existed.
Lantern successfully gained flight last night at ML9
Good Morning,
The British Lawn Tennis Association is an organisation where no one currently serving on its governing board can remember a day when it is not roundly criticised by someone. Over the years, the LTA has been berated for not producing top class Tennis players on a repeated basis.
The All England Club gives half the Wimbledon money to the LTA– and this sum accounts for about half of the annual LTA turnover. Over the years, the Wimbledon Championships have also been criticised at various times. John McEnroe used to rant at the quality of the decisions of umpires and line judges, there was the boycott year when the top stars didn’t play, Nastase referred to Cyclops as a Communist, and it was branded as sexist because of the difference between prize money for the men and the woman.
The ATP also gets stick for the circus like tour where players have to play so many tournaments a year. This is a hectic schedule with only the very best players being able to retain anything like consistent form and still raise themselves for the major tournaments. However without this never ending circus cavorting around the world, the ATP would lose money from sponsorship, TV Revenue, advertising and so on.
Tennis is that kind of old fashioned slightly upper crust game in this country
( though it shouldn’t be ) where there are traditions like strawberries and cream, a winners bal and dinner complete with speechesl and until recently a dress code in terms of shirts etc and language on the court.
At the end of each game you still MUST congratulate your opponent and you MUST shake hands with the umpire. In many ways it is a relic of the past.
However, all this quaintness hides certain fundamental truths, and one of those is that professional Tennis is ruled with a hand of steel. This was seen at very close quarters yesterday when David Nalbandian was disqualified in the final at Queens Club– British Tennis’ second most prestigious men’s event.
In front of thousands of spectators, TV Cameras broadcasting to millions at home and abroad, Nalbandian lost his temper and kicked a hoarding which in turn injured an official.
He did not mean to injure the official and he apologised immediately in person to the injured party. He also publicly apologised from the court via the loud speaker system, and repeated the apology yet again at the subsequent press conference.
There can be no doubting that this was a one off transgression by an otherwise fine and sporting player. The injury suffered was not intentional and nor was the action concerned devised to gain an advantage over his opponent, as he was in no way prejudiced by Nalbandian’s actions. Yet, the LTA, the ATP and any body who had a say acted swiftly. The Umpire announced an intervention by the Tournament superviser and then a rather short judgement was pronounced:
“Code violation, Unsportsmanlike conduct, Default, Mr Nalbandian.”— and with that David Nalbandian was out of the tournament, his prize money forfeited and the matter was finished!! The tournament Director, Chris Kermode explained that it was a clear cut case and the ATP superviser Tom Barnes said he had no option but to throw Nalbandian out of the tournament all the while realising he would lose ranking points, prize money and so on… but the rules state it must be done– even though the player was extremely and immediately apologetic.
No consultation with the media about TV schedules or about next years contract, no pause for thought about whether the fans would come back next year, or whether such an ending would be seen to spoil an otherwise excellent annual tournament. No– none of that mattered.
The LTA/ATP/ Queens take the view ” Them’s the rules.– Break them and this is what happens!” — whether it is a minor tournament, a medium tournament or a major. Play by the rules, maintain sporting integrity or gentlemanly conduct in this case, or you are finished in this game.
Nothing else matters as far as the Tennis authorities are concerned. They are the custodians of the rules of Tennis from which they have to ensure a successful and profitable business. They clearly will not bend or fail to apply the rules as they see them just to satisfy a media contract or any one individual player or group of players. Tennis is Tennis– play– or don’t!
God alone knows what the Tennis authorities would do to a player or series of players or a club who deliberately conducted a repeated course of events which transgressed the rules– especially if those transgressions were covert and for the players private benefit? I would imagine that disqualification Sine Die would be likely. Especially in the absence of immediate and public contrition as expressed by Nalbandian yesterday.
Most importantly, whatever decision would be reached that decision would be instant, within the rules and delivered without fear or favour– exactly as it should be.
If there should be a vacancy or two in the world of Tennis Administration in the near future then there are those who currently work within football administration in Scotland who might just fancy the job and the strawberries and cream lifestyle. Maybe they will be already seeking the all elusive Wimbledon tickets already?
Well, there is not a Regan, a Doncaster or an Ogilvie who should bother applying as none of these guys would be up to the job and all clearly come from a background where instant decision making within the rules is a foreign language.
However, in a bid to help them improve performance they should consider these simple words:
CODE VIOLATION
UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT
DEFAULT
FORFEIT
EXPULSION
In a gentleman’s world of sport, it really is that simple, and the strange thing is no matter how disappointing such a conclusion may be, the verdict is accepted and everyone moves on. Strange that……….
Now…. anyone for Tennis?
RobinBhoy on 18 June, 2012 at 09:58 said:
”The successor to Rangers is a subtle change rather than the monumental conspiracy you seem to portray it as.”
‘A subtle change.’
Is there any reason why the form wasn’t worded ‘Rangers or their replacements’?
Or is that too subtle?