SFA president, Campbell Ogilvie, today issued a statement through the SFA website amid a growing clamour for action over the on-going controversy over the alleged improper registration of players at Rangers during the time he was company/general secretary and director.
It will be an enormous disappointment to the BBC journalist who gave him solid backing only yesterday, to hear the president admit that he benefited from the now-infamous Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) scheme, however, this will not be news to any of you. Without wanting to be cynical, this feels like we are being fed a completely irrelevant headline while the real matter at hand was yet again not addressed. Perhaps we should be grateful the gratuitous but irrelevant headline didn’t involve the Krankies.
Ogilvie completely refused to acknowledge or address the question of improper registration of players, instead referring to an incomplete list of his duties at Rangers.
The SPL split will happen in 25 days at which point fixtures will be arranged for the top and bottom six in the league. This issue has to be investigated, reported and perhaps appealed all the way to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, before then. Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and St Mirren are currently battling for seventh place, if it was found that Rangers played improperly registered players this season, they could stand to lose enough points to demote them to the bottom half of the table.
The SFA cannot continue to sleep on the job. While Ogilvie’s position as president is important, he is a sideshow to enabling Scottish football to finish the season on time.
The SFA, the SPL, the game itself is in enormous crisis. Michel Platini, where are you? How bad does it need to get before you get involved?
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43,000 Union Flags have been purchased to be sold at £2 a go for the forthcoming Celtic game
If they would put as much effort into paying their taxes as they do flag waving, they might not be in half the bother.
MayoD
Because they are not actually in administration
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17373292?
JH – Donald Findlay has been advising and will continue to advise on legal matters, offering his services for free.
Will they never learn?
Interesting,in the light of the speculation.
On the day that SFA president Campbell Ogilvie admitted having an EBT, but stressed that since the mid-1990s he’d had no part in administrating contracts, Adam concurred, saying: ‘Campbell would only have been a nominal general secretary. David (Murray) was secretive and kept these things to himself.’
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2115140/Rangers-crisis-David-Murray-wrong–Hugh-Adam.html#ixzz1p8jq8BrC
The possibility of showing away games on beam-back at Ibrox was suggested, with a flute band on at half time. SJ – SPL take 20% of any income, and any games in the past have shown just a small profit.
No they never learn.
10 points or no 10 points Celtic WILL win at the Dearth Star.
We’re too strong in every position just now.
I’m not saying it will be a breeze but i have every faith we’ll emerge with a victory.Probably by a couple.At least. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoDBomsXO8s
Going to Hampden with my Grandson on Sunday.
I’m savouring these times together…Neil Lennon
The Lizard King, 23:55
Excellent, thanks
When you read through all their crap, their biggest grievance is they might no be allowed to cheat any more
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheCeltickhid?feature=mhee
Hail Hail
In light of the Sun running a lead story on their web site of Charlie Mulgrew calling Hoops stupid!!
I’d like to point out the not covered story of Mo Edu calling Lafferty a thick talentless donkey, Naebalance as a greetin wee get and Elbows even assaults his own players!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_fNR2pAP-M
and they wonder why Lenny won’t speak to them!!!
I think the ftt result might be closer than we think, murray with his selected press conference then campbell ogilvie admitting his part in ebt but done nothing wrong is pointing to the result being in or very close to it,as others have said the people contesting the case get five days notice before its declared.
If HMRC loose the case they have indicated they will appeal.
Vandalgrease on 14 March, 2012 at 23:14 said:
Isn’t it funny how my little spoof RFC-DEATH video is now ringing true?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJrb96NLdmI&feature=relmfu
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I’d say it was prescient,well researched,and should’ve been seen more widely. And I’m not joking.
Thae numpties could’ve been sunk ages ago,if not for the fawning,lying media.
McTALL on 15 March, 2012 at 00:37 said:
Edu seems like he’s in the wrong place!
That bunch of clowns (official) published this on their site a mere 48hrs before CW announced the intention to go into Admin.
I found it highly amusing…
Vanguard Bears had another productive meeting with Rangers Chairman Craig Whyte on Monday evening. First of all we have to convey our thanks to Mr Whyte for his attendance given the events of last night with the BBC yet again displaying where their loyalties lie.
The purpose of this meeting was not necessarily to interrogate Mr Whyte on all aspects of the club as this had already been done in a detailed interview with Tom English of the Scotsman Newspaper. Rather the purpose of our meeting was twofold. As a follow up to our initial meeting and maintain contact with the Chairman and the Club. Secondly to see what has changed, if anything, from our first meeting and to ascertain how we can support the Chairman and the Club at this difficult time.
As many will understand with such meetings there are issues we cannot and will not disclose in to the public domain out of respect to the Chairman and the future well-being of Rangers FC.
In no particular order the following subjects were discussed and some of the more relevant answers are outlined below.
Daily Record and Media in general – The consensus appeared to be that more needs done in being pro-active in countering the muck raking and downright lies being spread about Rangers and the owner.
BBC – Litigation will now proceed after last night’s hatchet job. Mr Whyte admitted he had let it run because other more important matters needed his immediate attention.
Ticketus Deal – Wholly underwritten by one of his companies with no risk to ST holders should we go in to administration. Deal was for a percentage of the tickets over 3 years not 4. Figure mentioned was closer to £20m and not the £24.4m being quoted. Deal was arranged to provide working capital only.
Whilst on this subject we had to ask about administration; its possibility and effect. Mr Whyte reiterated his view that it is a last resort and not Plan A or Plan B. However given the uncertainty surrounding the HMRC verdict it is simply not possible to say for certain what strategy will be adopted until the decision is known. We then asked what happens if the worst case scenario arrives and we do go in to administration. Mr Whyte’s response was that it wouldn’t be pleasant and cuts would have to be made but the club would come out of it in a far healthier state. A 10 point deduction is the current penalty for a club going in to administration and not every season as certain rumour mongers were happy to shout out at every opportunity. The phrase “Business as Usual” was used.
It also has to be noted that in recent years Motherwell were in administration and emerged from it with their name and history intact. The same goes for Dundee FC.
Cash Flow Rumours – We put it to Mr Whyte about the rumours of cash flow issues and bills not being paid which he categorically denied. He did admit that all bills are scrutinised and payment terms have been changed or extended but the negative publicity has forced some of the larger suppliers to demand payment quicker or on receipt of goods. He maintains though that smaller suppliers are being paid and the relationships with them are still healthy.
Small Tax Bill – This is being challenged as the clubs legal advice is that because this is over 6 years old HMRC are not within their rights to pursue it. So the stories about Rangers not paying it or can’t pay it are wrong and merely mischief making.
Players Wages – There is no wage cap in place as such but finances dictate we cannot pay what we used to offer or entertain ludicrous wage demands that led us in to the financial problems we currently face. However the fact remains we are still competitive and will still be able to compete for good young Scottish talent.
Andrew Ellis – Mr Whyte said he will be primarily London based and working on areas like pre-season deals and various other marketing and sponsorship ideas. Mr Whyte had a meeting with a representative from Manchester United in London which prompted him to copy their business plan and open offices in London to augment this business plan.
Influential Supporters – The question was asked about our more affluent or well-known supporters and what they can do to help the club now and in the long term. This is an area he hopes will be expanded on once the current climate of uncertainty has been dealt with.
Ideas from fans about new revenue streams – The current Rangers Facebook page has over 250,000 “likes”. Coupled with the fact we took over 200,000 fans to Manchester with a further 35,000 inside Ibrox that evening proves overwhelmingly the size and potential of our support. VB Admin’s idea of a savings scheme was mentioned and the club are very open to the idea. However as Jim Hannah pointed out the fans must see where the money is going and feel they are not just forking out to clear debt. The entire club is open to any suggestions from the fans or groups on how to generate new income streams. A couple of examples were if a monthly subscription was in place then once a month 2 lucky fans would get a day out at Ibrox in the Directors box for all home games. Other ideas were simple things like receiving a Rangers share which holds unique sentimental value.
Fans Groups – Mr Whyte spoke about the need for unity and how vital it was that all the various groups put aside their issues and work together for the club. Never has it been more vital in our entire 140 year history that this is achieved.
Media Intrusion – Mr Whyte knew it would be a tough job and that he thought interest would die down after a few months but clearly that is not the case. Indeed he expressed his surprise at just how certain sections of the media have been operating lately and it has opened his eyes.
Player and Staff Security – This is an area that is being looked at given issues surrounding the recent attack on Alejandro Bedoya’s car (among others) and the separate case of a chef who openly supported the IRA working at the club’s Auchenhowie training ground. Mr Whyte intimated that those types were not welcome at our club, and it was pleasing to see the club acting so decisively in removing this person and ensuring that the safety of the players and staff is paramount.
Internet Bloggers – This issue was also raised and the club are now in possession of information collated by Vanguard Bears which appears to show links between influential parties working in collusion to inflict harm on the name of Rangers FC. This will not be tolerated and will be addressed in due course. It was also mentioned that the support have a role to play in reporting anything they see which deliberately seeks to harm Rangers FC or the fans unnecessarily.
Once again our thanks go to Craig Whyte and to Jim Hannah for giving up almost 2 hours of their time and their willingness to engage with the support and we look forward to working with them again for the good of Rangers FC.
The Administrators of Vanguard Bears remain supportive of Rangers owner Craig Whyte until unfounded allegations are proven otherwise.
Margaret, as someone who was racially abused by his own fans i’m astonished he’s still at the club!!
MargaretMcGill
I don’t really think many of us expect the SFA/SPL to do anything voluntarily.
We have all had to endure their simpering arrogance and sniggering superiority.
We saw how independent and honest they were when their two separate investigations into Jim Farry led to both announcing that he was blameless. Fergus showed us how, and now in our own way I think we are trying to tighten the screw on a daily basis, through Paul, Phil, RTC, Alex Thomson, TBB, Auldheid, OG Rafferty and so many others on this and other boards.
They only act under duress and we all want to put them under the maximum of duress. They do not do appeasement or compromise and therefore neither must we. I do not think it at all accidental that for the last few years of his employment at Ibrokes, that Campbell Ogilvie’s job was to liaise between RFCIA and the SFA/SPL. I am certain that he was given this job so that he could more easily change horses and more easily become an administrator with the SFA, with every intention of being in the key position of President when he might be needed by his sponsors.
Everyday brings more juicy stuff and today is no exception. Hugh Adam will not be silenced, and now says what we all knew, “Campbell would only have been a nominal general secretary. David (Murray) was secretive and kept these things to himself.” Murray is behind all the big stuff at RFCIA and nothing happenend that he didn’t sanction. How damning though to have someone, who knows where the bodies are buried, say that you were just a puppet, especially now that you are supposed to be the President of the SFA.
As long as we keep up the pressure, by supporting the right guys who are willing to dig deep and reveal what they find, this will only get worse for them all. The input from the Ch4 guy was invaluable because his motives cannot easily be impugned, neither can the Scottish media mafia prevail upon him to tow the line. His work should continue and as long as the halfwits at Hampden are willing to call him a liar, he knows that they have things to hide.
Secondly, Uefa have made a rod for their own back with all of their interventions into the behaviour of clubs around Europe, particularly where the national associations seemed constrained by unknown forces from taking effective action. The precedent was set with Sion, RFCIA, and others, but the fact remains that Uefa cannot look the other way and hope it goes away. Since RFCIA’s possible use of unregistered players impacts upon Uefa tournaments in which they have participated, Uefa are obliged to seek clarification at the very least, and if there is a prima facie case to answer, they must mount an investigation. Such an investigation will be independent, transparent and will incidently be likely to uncover some hidden gems that we all suspect that the SFA have sat on for years.
We need Uefa to feel the sense of unease in the Scottish game, because we know how the SFA have absolutely no answers to most of what Uefa will put to them.
Anyhow, record temps in Charlotte today, maybe the same upstate. But I hope you are keeping cool.
HH
RWE
GOT THIS OF KDS,
Full minutes from the Vanguard Bears meeting with the fighting fund. Thanks to @celticresearch on twitter.
Those confidential Vanguard Bears minutes
Minutes Of Rangers Fighting Fund Group – 10/3/12
Written by Admin
Wednesday, 14 March 2012 03:52
Sandy Jardine……..
……. welcomed all and introduced the top table of:
Himself
Jim Hannah
Ian Durrant
Kenny McDowall
Andrew McCormack
Durrant and McDowall were there representing the management team.
McCormack, a chartered accountant (and Rangers fan), has been advising the group over the last few weeks, free of charge.
Ally McCoist and Walter Smith are fully behind the initiative, McCoist being the driving force – he was lauded by Jardine for his sterling efforts.
The meeting was arranged to ensure that Rangers survive until a new owner is found. It was not about apportioning blame to anyone for the mess we find ourselves in.
Players salaries needed addressed as they made up 72% of the clubs output – this delayed the date of the meeting.
Jim Hannah……..
….explained how the initiative was going to be implemented and how payment can be made.
Payment is to be made into the Assembly bank account via any bank in the UK, or PayPal. It was noted that PayPal services may incur a charge. This would be getting researched.
Information relayed would be honest and upfront. Daily updates of finances will be available on the Assembly Facebook page and Rangers Website.
Monies are to be used for any shortfall in the weekly running of the club.
Money is to be micro-managed and the administrators need to ask the group committee for cash before it gets released.
Group committee through consultation with fans group members to decide on what any excess monies accrued are to be used for when we emerge from Administration.
An appeal for new initiatives from fans was made. Respond through your group representative or contact Jim Hannah with your suggestion.
A proposal was made whether to ask Hamburg or Portsmouth to a benefit game at Ibrox. Following a show of hands it was decided that Hamburg would be the opponents. JH advised that he had been working behind the scenes and that Hamburg have agreed to play for their expenses only, relinquishing their match fee.
43,000 Union Flags have been purchased to be sold at £2 a go for the forthcoming Celtic game.
Andrew McCormack……..
……. advised that all monies raised will go towards the running costs of the club; none of it will be used on legal or administrators fees.
The group will speak to administrators every Friday to get a financial update.
He advised that Craig Whyte will leave the club with nothing. This was also the opinion of the administrators.
Duff and Phelps are legally obliged to provide financial statements at the end of their term. Every penny in and out of the club during their administration must be accounted for.
Q & A Session.
SJ – buying products from the club shop sees a percentage of the cash going to JJB. It’s better if all the cash goes to the club.
AM – Martin Bain’s £600,000 is still frozen.
AM – Any new owner of the club will start with a clean slate; No Azure, No JJB etc.
AM – Season Ticket cash for next season cannot be used by the administrators as it is next seasons money. This gets put aside into what is called a ‘trust account’. In effect it’s ring-fenced.
Offer from one supporters club to assist on painting, cleaning up etc of the stadium. SJ welcomed this and other such offers.
Red and Black scarf campaign has raised £11k – JH & SJ thought it a strange choice of colour. The RST delegate disagreed.
One Supporters club stated that clubs should hold functions to raise cash, signed shirt auctions etc – this was agreed by all.
SJ- SPL can take cash from our share of monies accrued from league position at the end of the season to pay what we owe to other member clubs.
SJ – Cut off point to prevent a 10 point penalty for next season is last game of the season, usually the cup final.
SJ – John Grieg wants to come back to the club and hopes to when everything has settled down.
JH – Donald Findlay has been advising and will continue to advise on legal matters, offering his services for free.
SJ & AM – It’s unknown what exactly the current level of debt is.
RST delegate advised that SaveRangers.com campaign to be suspended to avoid confusion with and to focus on the Fighting Fund. The emphasis is getting the cash in now…..!
Bobby Roddie stated that no expenses have been or will be taken by anyone on the RFFFG.
Discussion on boycotting away fixtures to ensure our money stays with the club received a mixed response.
Arsenal Supporters Trust sending letters to their supporters clubs asking them to assist us in our plight.
The possibility of showing away games on beam-back at Ibrox was suggested, with a flute band on at half time. SJ – SPL take 20% of any income, and any games in the past have shown just a small profit.
Request made to use some of the cash to hire a quality PR that’s going to defend the club, with point being made that in the past Media House were hopeless.
Show of hands asked for to determine agreement on using the RFFG as the way ahead. Unanimous result in favour returned.
Future ownership was raised – we’ve been left with a void to fill. Gordon Smith and Ai Russell have been removed, and we’ve had the situation of having no Directors representing the club at our away fixtures.
SJ said that there were 7 interested buyers on Friday, but after talking with administrators said that this was flushed down to just the 3.
SJ asked if any of those attending would like to join the RFFG – 4 volunteers were welcomed by SJ, they then introduced themselves to the meeting.
Minutes of the meeting not to be issued on the web until press release from the RFFFG early in the coming week. This was to try and ensure that everyone is on board and singing from the same hymn sheet by the time of the release.
Another meeting will be scheduled for a month’s time with updates on progress given in between.
A vote of thanks was given to the top table for their efforts and the meeting was closed.
wonkyradar on 14 March, 2012 at 21:18 said:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Too true man…….that is exactly the kinda thing they do,and that is one of the prime reasons I want them GONE. I’ve been here,there & everywhere,met all kinds of people,but the absolute worst people I have ever encountered have been “the peepil” kind. And some of them have tried to do me serious damage. Why? Because that’s what they LOVE doing to us.
Ra gers are a psychotic,ultra-violent wing of The Orange Order. Their single ethos is anti-Catholic hatred. They are not “needed”,they require liquidation…and they may just achieve it.
RalphWaldoEllison-is Neil Lennon Season 2011-12 on 15 March, 2012 at 01:05 said:
I agree with you, however, the “degree” to which UEFA judges/dictates/interferes In Scotland I dont really know and to pin hopes on anything judicious or fair coming out of them will probably just lead to intense disappointment. I hope I am proved wrong and fair dues to Platini and co if they do decide to amputate this festering Scottish cancer. Yes 30C upstate today! I am waiting till the SPL split before booking my tickets to hopefully witness Neil Lennon wading into John Lennon territory. (trademark awe naw)
Margaret McGill on 15 March, 2012 at 01:18 said:
I missed the comment from awe naw, but if it was to the effect that he would become immortal, then I concur.
Me and Mrs RWE are planning a trip next season to taste the fruits of victory, but I am a wee bit jealous that you’re going over this season.
HH
Taken from Rangers Tax Case . N.B.the date: 14/04/2011
Campbell Ogilvie is already a man of quite some distinction. However, his list of accomplishments might be about to become a bit longer. It appears that he has sat on the board of directors of not just one SPL club entangled in highly dubious tax schemes, but two. Heart of Midlothian FC look likely to be the next shoe to drop as football’s culture of thinking that it is above paying taxes starts to unwind.
Ogilvie, the current SFA Vice-President and heir apparent to George Peat’s job of President, is going to have quite the CV by the time he hangs up his pinstripes. Not only was he a director of Rangers FC when the EBT scheme was first introduced, but he was also the company secretary. This latter role gave him additional responsibility for ensuring statutory compliance for The Rangers Football Club plc. So while some Rangers directors, like John Greig, might have a claim that their position was symbolic, and they did not understand what was happening or what their responsibilities as a director are, it will be difficult for Mr. Ogilvie to do likewise. As a man with substantial experience and training, he will find it difficult to claim that he did not know or understand what was happening. (He may try anyway).
However, Ogilvie seems likely to find himself in the unique position of being at the center of yet another tax avoidance/evasion storm. On leaving Rangers in 2005, Ogilvie joined the board of Heart of Midlothian FC, and in 2008 became managing director of the Edinburgh club. A source has contacted me with the story that the Scottish Professional Footballers Association (SPFA) has made a complaint about employment practices at Hearts. This came to light when a Hearts player applied for a mortgage. When presenting his salary advice, it was clear that he was on a rate close to the UK minimum wage. The player naively explained that he had lots of money, but that it was all paid overseas. The SPFA would obviously have concerns that Scottish players will appear expensive in an era of 50% marginal tax rates compared to low-tax (or no-tax?) foreign players. This raises a few questions: How many players are involved? How long have such practices been in effect? Are there players who have not been registered for tax at all in the UK? The scale of the Hearts problem is not yet fully known. If this has been standard practice over an extended number of years, then the bills, interest, and penalties could also be of a magnitude that could put the existence of Hearts at risk unless Mr. Romanov decides to dig deep into his personal reserves.
Once could be just a mistake. Twice looks very careless.
Scottish football supporters, as well as SFA member clubs, have a right to know “what did Campbell Ogilvie know, and when did he know it?”
It appears that one of two situations must exist: either Campbell Ogilvie knew of, and approved of, two high-risk / illegal tax strategies or he has failed in his responsibilities as a company director at two major Scottish football clubs. Does Mr. Ogilvie have a casual disregard for the law or is he just an ignorant puppet dancing on the strings of charismatic impresarios? Either way, it would be a matter of major concern to all those with an interest in Scottish football if either is true. If there is another explanation for why he has had such a knack of being on the wrong boards at the wrong times, then Scottish football supporters need to be told.
Did Ogilvie bring dubious practices to Hearts from Rangers or was he an innocent bystander at both clubs?
Did Rangers register all of their overseas players for UK tax?
In light of his unique experience with two of the three largest football clubs in Scotland sliding to the edge of darkness, perhaps Celtic supporters should not be so concerned about Ogilvie inheriting the job of SFA President. Given recent statements about the need to ‘pull down the walls’ and to rebuild the SFA from the ground up, who would be better qualified to at least bring about the first part?
miki67 on 15 March, 2012 at 01:33 said:
So not only did Ogilvie
a) advise the huns on EBT’s but
b) he may have advised the mini-huns on EBT’s
c) I wonder how Reagan and Doncaster are salaried at that other illustrious hun institution? (being that Ogilvie is omnipresent)
what a bunch of lying cheats
Margaret, couldn’t wait for the split. Booked a ticket from Columbus to Glasgow thus morning in anticipation of a league trophy presentation at Paradise against St. Johnstone.
That is what The Orange Ordure is for : lying,cheating,stealing,defaming,maiming,killing. That is why 2 of its Loyal Members are on trial for attempting to murder Neil Lennon et al.
THEY are stoking up the fires for a psychotically violent bonfire on the 25th.
THIS is what they are.
miki67 on 15 March, 2012 at 01:49 said:
yup! hunscumbagmanship at its exquisite best!
mike67
I just hope the 43,000 plastic flags bought for the 25th were paid for up front.
I wonder if Davy Jones is still a believer?
I need to sleep…so I can be ready for the next chapter in “Downfall”. Hold on….that’s about the demise of Hitler,isn’t it? Oh well,what’s the difference…
Buenas Noches!
The role of London lawyers Collyer and Bristow and partner Gary Withey are
likely to attract more attention as the events behind client Craig Whyte’s
takeover of Glasgow Rangers- effectively with its own money – unravel.
Withey was at the centre of the takeover negotiations with Sir David Murray.
Funds were to go through a Collyer Bristow client account. Undertakings for
5m pounds of future funding for the club appeared under Collyer Bristow
letterheads.
Gary and Craig seem to have become close once Pritchard stockbrokers, where Whyte was a shareholder/backer and company secretary, acquired the private client business of brokers Wills & Co. after it was effectively closed down by the Fundamentally Supine Authority in 2010. Withey acted for Wills. He had previously been observed socialising with Craig Whyte at a PLUS Stock Exchange dinner in 2009, where Whyte was a Wills guest. Now the FSA has effectively shut down Pritchard.
Whyte and Wills are not Collyer Bristow’s only colourful clients to attract attention. Danish conman Bjorn Stiedl was convicted of fraud on a Scottish pension fund in 2004, but not before he had been engaged in promoting failed film tax schemes with the aid of advice from Collyer Bristow.
Also involved in the Balfron fraud was struck off lawyer Paul Baxendale-Walker, whose employee benefit trust tax scheme is at the centre of Rangers’ financial problems.
Meanwhile, perhaps the FSA will direct itself to a statement in the Rangers shareholder circular last June announcing the Whyte purchase: ” The information contained in this document for which they accept responsibility is in accordance with the facts and doesnot omit anything likely to affect the import of such information”.
The club, rather than the directors, was last week fined 50K pounds by PLUS for failing to disclose that Whyte had been disqualified as a director for 7 years in 2000. But what about the funding for the Rangers takeover—provided by mortgaging future ticket revenue— and the 26.7m pounds Whyte promised to provide for players and investment which has not materialized?
No doubt Gary Withey and Collyer Bristow have complete explanations.
Is the blog broke?
testing
testing
Got a bit of a shock today.
Normally I dont work from home but today I did and the old guy who lives
next door was out on his porch when I went out to have lunch on mine.
However, after a few mins I noticed he was sitting on the porch, in the rocking chair, wearing only a shirt, with nothing on from the waist down.
‘Bubba, what are you doing? Your dick is out in the wind for everyone to see!’ says I.
Old Bubba looked off in the distance without answering.
‘Bubba, what are you doing sitting out here with nothing on below the waist?’.
Bubba slowly looked down between his legs then back at me and said,
‘Well… Last week I sat out here with no shirt on, and I got a stiff neck.
‘This is my wife’s idea.
This is what happens when 2 Scottish geniuses compete.
One the manager of Manchester United the other the manager of Liverpool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBXLsDhA9iE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTLEKH7HiT8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_i1vxvEE3zk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBm8t4_Exwo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNdakb96MPY&feature=related
From the Herald
Plain to see the numbers don’t add up for Whyte’s investment in Rangers
I refer to Sir David Murray’s claim to have been “duped” by Craig Whyte (“David Murray: Craig Whyte duped us all over sale of Rangers”, The Herald, March 14).
My due diligence hasn’t extended beyond reading various press reports, but if they are to be believed, at the time of the sale to Mr Whyte, Rangers had bank debts of around £18 million, had monthly trading losses of approximately £1m and were faced with a small tax case liability of £2m and a big tax case potential liability of £49m.
It would probably be reasonable to assume that a new owner would budget for a two-year period to transform a monthly loss of £1m to break even. Various strategies could have been put in place to transform the business to reach break even but I’m sure they would all have come at a cost. For the sake of simplicity I’ll assume £7m.
Therefore, any potential owner would have required funding of around £100m simply to cover the existing debt, the known and potential tax liabilities, the expected losses for two years and the turnaround strategy.
I believe the market value of Celtic is around £35m for a business with modest profits and debts of roughly £7m.
It is not unreasonable to assume the market value of Rangers with a similar financial profile would also be around £35m.
It is not surprising that Sir David had failed in his attempts to sell the business over the previous four years given the prospect of spending up to £100m to own an asset worth £35m.
If we turn that on its head, it is fairly clear that Sir David would have had to spend up to £100m over the next two years if he had been unable to sell the business. He claims to have spent £100m of his money to get to the position that the company was in last year so would have realised, I’m sure, that he faced the prospect of spending a total of £200m on an asset that would be worth £35m. Furthermore, a two-year austerity programme to wipe out the monthly trading losses would almost certainly diminish the quality of the playing squad making success on the field less likely which would put pressure on the owner to spend even more money.
Under those circumstances, it should have been obvious that Craig Whyte was either a very altruistic individual for whom losing £65m was irrelevant or that he was a very hard-headed individual for whom administration pre-packs are a way of life.
Thomas Sloan,
Clown puzzled at Rangers row
GERRY BRAIDEN and MARTIN WILLIAMS
AMID the Craig Whytes, Sir David Murrays and Duff and Phelps, the Rangers crisis has a new protagonist – Mr Custard.
Mr Custard, also known as Bob Riley, a children’s entertainer from Northamptonshire, has had a flood of calls and emails from both sides of the Old Firm divide after a muddle saw his “Bluenose” website become the focus for fans to donate to a “fighting fund” for the Ibrox club.
For 24 hours it looked like the fans cash destined to shore up Ally McCoist’s side was disappearing into the bank account of a professional clown. However, Mr Custard, who picked up the Bluenose moniker from a spell in the ambulance ser-vice, insists he has not received a penny.
The Corby LibDem councillor is not impressed. He said: “Being in politics I’m used to abuse but I haven’t been sure what’s been going on.
“There’s lots of Scottish accents in Corby and I thought it was prank but had no idea what Rangers had to do with me.
“Most of the emails said things like ‘give us the money or we’re sending the clowns around’.”
Meanwhile, Rangers administrators will take legal action to invalidate four years of season tickets bought for more than £20 mil- lion by Ticketus to finance Craig Whyte’s takeover.
The move will be a blow to the ticket agency, which has joined forces with Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium in a bid to buy the club.
Duff and Phelps are attempting to argue that Financial Assistance came into play in the takeover, which is illegal and the deal is therefore void.
Also from the Herald
Ogilvie admits to EBT membership but denies any administration involvement
Michael Grant
Chief football writer
CAMPBELL OGILVIE, the Scottish Football Association president, last night admitted that he had an Employee Benefit Trust when he worked for Rangers.
EBTs used during former owner Sir David Murray’s reign have caused enormous problems for the Ibrox club and there has been a whispering campaign about the extent of Ogilvie’s knowledge and involvement with so-called “second contracts” to players, allegedly covering EBTs, in his years as Rangers’ secretary.
But while he admitted to personally benefiting from an EBT – in which a company can place discretionary amounts in a trust for an employee – he denied having anything to do with their administration when he worked for Rangers.
EBTs are legal, but Rangers have been accused by their former director Hugh Adam of using them to pay players via undisclosed second contracts, which would contravene Scottish Premier League and SFA rules stating that all contractual payments must be recorded with the governing bodies. The SPL are investigating Adam’s accusations after the former board member, who left the club in 2002, said undisclosed payments were going on at Rangers dating back to the formation of the league in 1998.
The implications of the SFA president being involved in secret, undisclosed payments by Rangers would be catastrophic but, on Tuesday, David Murray denied that any second contracts ever existed and also exonerated Ogilvie from any involvement with the use of EBTs. The former owner and chairman said the key to Rangers’ defence against Adam’s accusations was that the payments were discretionary and so there was no grounds to put them in a contract for the club staff who benefited.
Rangers’ use of EBTs between 2001 and 2010 could also land them with a tax bill of up to £49m from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. HMRC have argued that Rangers deliberately used EBTs to avoid paying taxes on contractual payments, rather than as an investment vehicle. That is the issue being deliberated over by a tax tribunal which is expected to rule on the “big tax case” within the next month.
Ogilvie joined Rangers’ office staff in 1978 and became a director of the club before leaving in 2005. He quickly joined Hearts and remained there until 2010, the year before he took over as SFA president. He is a sober and respected football administrator but there has been growing innuendo about his involvement in EBTs/”second contracts” which the statement issued on his behalf last night may not entirely dispel.
Ogilvie said: “In light of today’s comments by Sir David Murray, and the ongoing speculation surrounding my role as president of the Scottish FA and my previous employment as a director of Rangers FC, I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the following points:
“I was aware of the EBT scheme in operation at Rangers during my time at the club and, indeed, was a member. The existence of the scheme was published in Rangers’ annual accounts. My role at Rangers, until the mid-90s, included finalising the paperwork for player registrations. As confirmed by Sir David Murray today, it was never my role to negotiate contracts during my time at Rangers. It is also worth noting that, since the mid-90s, I was not responsible for the drafting or administering of player contracts.
“I ceased being company secretary in 2002 and became general secretary responsible for football strategy, in effect becoming the main point of contact between the club and the respective league and governing bodies.”
Ogilvie said he had asked to be excluded from the SFA’s Independent Inquiry into Rangers because it was “in the interests of good governance” that he played no part in the investigation.
“I am proud and privileged to be president of the Scottish FA during an exciting period in its history. I have an excellent relationship with our chief executive, Stewart Regan, and the board of directors. I would like to thank them for their support throughout this process and look forward to new and exciting challenges ahead at the Scottish FA.”
Ogilvie’s statement was an attempt to remove suspicion surrounding the extent of his own involvement, although it did nothing to confirm Murray’s claims that there were no second contracts or side letters given to players to confirm what would be paid into their EBTs.
The SPL’s ongoing investigation into Adam’s accusations about Rangers will examine whether two of its rules were broken. SPL rules D9.3 and D1.13 impose a prohibition “on players receiving payments for playing football or participating in an activity connected with football except where such payments are made in accordance with a form of contract approved by the SPL, and require that all such contracts are submitted to the SPL within 14 days of being entered into.”
From Derailing for Dummies:
You Have An Agenda
A close relative of the tactic used above, use this one in a similar fashion, implying that the Marginalised Person could never be speaking from a position of integrity or with pure intent because they have “an agenda”.
Popular for use in discussions about homosexuality, for example: “the gay agenda” – the claim that gay people’s fight to be recognised is simply a desire to “recruit” people into the “gay lifestyle” and turn them “against” the “wholesomeness” of heterosexuality, but it is versatile – also apply it to women’s rights, groups advocating for religious tolerance & diversity and for trans* folk!
In this way you get to both undermine them as a human being and further subject them to discrimination through your paranoia and refusal to take them seriously. After all, if you characterise their struggle for acceptance and equal rights as acts worthy of a comic book supervillain, you further dehumanise and demoralise them and this will strengthen your position.
Ultimately, you can simply dismiss out of turn any and all of their points, no matter how valid, because you can just proclaim that they: “have an Agenda!”