I hear the modest noises which Shakhter manager Viktor Kumykov made after their win over Celtic last week have been replaced by more robust predictions. Kumykov told the most senior local apparatchik, Baurzhan Abdishev, that Shakhter will score a few goals in Glasgow and progress into the Champions League group stage.
I always like to hear confidence like this from the opposition camp. Let Celtic do their talking on the park.
Shakhter are further away from home than any team participating in Champions League history, apart from Celtic who faced the opposite journey last week. The second half on Wednesday kicks off at 01:45 Kazak time; no matter what the score at the halfway point, the latter part of the game will be when the visitors are at their most vulnerable.
Meanwhile Kazak news report that Shakhter have shipped shirts to some Glasgow-based football fans, who will be attending Celtic Park on Wednesday as newly-recruited Shakhter fans.
Did we mention practicing penalties? The entire squad should spend time today and tomorrow doing so, but Kris Commons especially. He is the one penalty taker Shakhter will prepare to face.
Memory of the day:
We lost the first leg of our European Cup, first round, tie against Partizan Tirana in 1979 1-0. It was thought important for Celtic to score first in the return but Partizan doubled their lead and scored an away goal.
Celtic went on to hit four and progress, although none of the strikers got on the score-sheet, Davie Provan played arguably his best game for the club.
Bring it on……..
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Sure it wasn’t a bitch and just ignored you? 8)
bt.. no thats the wife
…didn’t know you’d met her!!
Murdochbhoy
have a great holiday. Hope Celtic make it especially pleasant for you.
bt.. you at the game 2morrow??
twitter …………………………..
Saying we are in for Billy Sharp………………
Would be cheep……………………
So should suit us…………………………
BigJoeknowsWEdontdoBIG
Just read a depressing article… do they not have a couple of players we could swap??
Benfica cash woes KO Forster move
BENFICA will have to sell before they can even think about making a bid for Fraser Forster.
Desertbhoy
Yes. First game since op back in April. Hopefully I’ll be sore with all the jumping up to celebrate…
big Joe…. please no!!!!!!
A couple of thoughts on Charlottes latest
The reference in the released letter is referenced DJO/sh. This suggests that the letter written by Ogilvie was part of a file in relation to work undertaken for Douglas Odam who was the finance director at the time.
This suggests that Ogilvie was involved as part of the team responsible for the DOS scheme, and not merely a bystander
Douglas Odam was a benificiary of the subsequent EBT scheme to the tune of £119,000. Ogilvie received £95,000
Secondly
This is a direct quote from the LNS report . The first quote is by Campbell Ogilvie, the second by LNS
He adds: “Nothing to do with the contributions being made to the Trust fell within the scope of my remit at Rangers.” The report adds: “However it should be noted that Mr Ogilvie was a member of the board of directors who approved the statutory accounts of Oldco which disclosed very substantial payments made under the EBT arrangements.”
Remember that the EBT scheme started in 2001. Christian Nerlinger was the first player who had an EBT. The management team at Rangers still had Douglas Odam and Campbell Ogilvie holding the same position at the time of the DOS highlighted by Charlotte
Wouldn’t it be entirely logical that Rangers would use the same individuals to administer the EBT scheme ? Wouldn’t that in turn discredit Ogilvie, and in turn the entire SFA executive team.
Of course if there was proof of Ogilvie’s involvement with administering the EBT scheme , then his position would be completely untenable.
Take this additional quote from the LNS report
The report states: “Oldco through its senior management decided that such side-letter arrangements should not be disclosed to the football authorities, and the Board of Directors sanctioned the making of payments under the side-letter arrangements without taking any legal or accountancy advice to justify the non-disclosure.”
To quote Hugh McDonald in The Herald : In short, Rangers weren’t telling and they weren’t telling why they weren’t telling.
So Rangers defence consisted of taking the fifth amendment, and because of that there was no contradictory evidence presented to LNS, which would have made a liar out of Ogilvie
Except the Ogilvie provided this direct quote to the Telegraph on March 14 2012
“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.”
Mid 90′s !!! Yet we now have sight of a document that completely contradicts that, as Ogilvie is arranging the subscription of shares and share premiums in September 1999, on behalf of a ” valued employee of Rangers Football Club plc”
LNS reported the following
“Mr Ogilvie dealt with aspects of football administration at Rangers until late 2002 or early 2003.
Mr Dickson then assumed responsibility for all football administration. From 1998 until the time when Mr Ogilvie ceased to deal with football administration, Mr Murray (as he then was) took the lead in negotiating player transfers and player contracts. Until the early 1990s the relative documents were prepared by Mr Ogilvie, and from then on they were dealt with by Mr Odam.”
So the statements Ogilvie provided LNS contradict what he told The Telegraph and other media outlets
Ogilvie has tried to convey an innocence that is belied by Charlottes latest disclosure, and by his contradictory statements.
He has variously claimed involvement in Football administration ended in the mid 90′s and in statement to LNS admitted he was still involved in late 2002.
This doesn’t look like a conflicted individual who was kept out of the loop , this looks much much more sinister.
bt… lucky mhan… would give me eye teeth to be there.. not that they’d be any use to anybody..
Big Joe
08:18 on 27 August, 2013
_____________________
I hope we get him – cause Kojo ‘eyed’ him a while ago so – I would go with ole Kojo’s recommendations – every time.
HH
Oh, and btw – Kojo also suggested that the manager clear oot his midfield trio of
Broony / Ledley / Kayal – ye couldny make a Cellic player oot the 3 of them. imo
HH
Things to do – fholk to see – Off oot.
shaun1958
01:19 on 27 August, 2013
supersutton
was in vegas june this year at the NACSC CONVENTION based at RIVIERA HOTEL has a pub in the casino called QUEEN VIC but couldn,t see any TV IN PUB best bet is the MANDALIN BAY HOTEL has IRISH BAR in the complex went to see THE YOUNG WOLFTONES there and even met young BARRY BANNON in the bar (he was singing with the rest of us) hope this helps
———
Thanks.
desertbhoy
08:21 on
27 August, 2013
big Joe…. please no!!!!!!
why nooooooooooooooooooooooooo
he would be cheep, and scores every other game
I for 1 think he worth a gamble…….
BigJoeSays+1
Kev Jungle. How does Kojo know about all these players when he lives in Las Vegas? Do you think when hes no at the jigging he plays football manager ? H.H.
KevJungle
08:23 on
27 August, 2013
Big Joe
08:18 on 27 August, 2013
_____________________
I hope we get him – cause Kojo ‘eyed’ him a while ago so – I would go with ole Kojo’s recommendations – every time.
HH
The nly thing about KoJo’s post are by the time i get 2 the end of it…..
I forget what he said at the start……
BigJoeisSTILLaKoJofanThough
KevJungle
08:26 on
27 August, 2013
Oh, and btw – Kojo also suggested that the manager clear oot his midfield trio of
Broony / Ledley / Kayal – ye couldny make a Cellic player oot the 3 of them. imo
HH
Now thats FUNNY………………..
BoooooooM
big joe… as the saying goes.. buy cheap, buy twice!! who else do we get??
‘spose ok for spfl but not, i think, for CL… will we ever know.
desertbhoy
08:20 on
27 August, 2013
Just read a depressing article… do they not have a couple of players we could swap??
Benfica cash woes KO Forster move
BENFICA will have to sell before they can even think about making a bid for Fraser Forster.
===============
Are you for real?
Do you really want us to sell Fraser?
Are you OK?
HH
desertbhoy
08:34 on
27 August, 2013
big joe… as the saying goes.. buy cheap, buy twice!! who else do we get??
‘spose ok for spfl but not, i think, for CL… will we ever know.
I think we have set our sights on the wee diddy cup, as we all called it last year.
And a good run in that would do me……..
but I am easly pleased……………….
some are not………….
BigJoeuppingTheAnchor
Ledley said: “I don’t think they will have experienced anything like our place.
“It’s a fantastic atmosphere at Celtic Park. You can’t even hear yourself shouting on the pitch. The atmosphere is immense and hopefully they will be affected by it.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
I don’t care whether they have and wouldn’t expect pro footballers to be hoping that!!
Just get the goals required.. 2 b4 half time will do for me!!
Nakas.
I don’t believe a word that comes out of a football agents mouth…
The day before the biggest game of the season and all we read here is transfer tittle tattle.
I pray Neil has the players 100% focused on tomorrow night and will not be distracted by this media driven agenda.
Transfer gossip can wait until Thursday, nothing will happen before then.
Campbell Ogilvie: on his EBT, leaving Rangers, and the SFA vision for Scottish football
Published on 3 August 2013
Spiers on Saturday By general consent, Campbell Ogilvie is one of the most decent men you could meet, yet the Scottish Football Association president has endured a horrible past 18 months. “There have been plenty times when I have walked in here at the SFA and thought: ‘I’ve had enough of this,'” Ogilvie told me, citing the venom and poison he has had to face. The SFA is currently undertaking one of the biggest initiatives in its history – implementing the Henry McLeish Report – yet Ogilvie, as president, has had to endure another acute worry. He has felt tarred by his association with the whole EBTs controversy at Rangers. For a man who is renowned for his integrity within the game, it was quite something this week to sit down with Ogilvie and hear of the personal wounds he has suffered. Lord Nimmo Smith, in his guilty verdict on Rangers, was damning of the Ibrox board who concealed the EBT payments from the relevant bodies, and cited Ogilvie as a member of that board. Ogilvie, for his part, has had to defend himself against some strident voices who wanted him removed from his position at the SFA. “The EBTs were set up around 2001 at Rangers and I’ve never hidden from the fact that I was then a director at the club,” he says. “But I didn’t get involved in the financial management of the club in that context. That’s not an excuse – that’s just a fact. I ceased being Rangers’ secretary in 2002 and I ceased being involved in the football admin at Rangers in 2002. “But, yes, I remained a director until 2005, and that’s why in recent times I got sucked into the EBTs saga, especially in my role now as SFA president. Had I not been in this role, nobody would have been concerned with me.” Is there a case for saying that Ogilvie – guilty by association given Nimmo Smith’s verdict – should have stood down? He pleads his innocence, though intriguingly, he also wishes he had never come across any EBTs at all. “I feel I’ve been totally up front about it,” says Ogilvie. “I had an EBT at Rangers, and the bulk of it was to do with me leaving the club in 2005. I’d no thought of leaving Rangers but I was being more and more pushed to one side at the club. It was made very evident there wasn’t a future for me at Rangers. “When I left, I didn’t have a job to go to, and I had a family to look after. At the time the best deal for me was to take this EBT. It was worth in the region of £90,000 but the bulk of it was [a payment] over me leaving. At the time it seemed the most beneficial thing for me to do, for me and my family, given that I was leaving Rangers with no job to go to. But, looking back now, I’d never have gone near it had I thought there might be any question marks over it. “Maybe as a director I should have asked more questions about it – I accept that now – but when things are signed off by legal people, by accountants, I tended to accept it. I’m not saying the EBTs were illegal. But, knowing all the hassle that they caused, with hindsight, if I could go back, I wouldn’t go down that road.” Since Nimmo Smith, the calls for Ogilvie to go became shrill and frequent across cyberspace -very often with venom thrown in for good measure. Ogilvie is quite open about the affect all this had on him. He admits that some of the stuff he read on the internet ate away at him for months. “Absolutely, totally,” he says. “With my role here at the SFA, my name was the one that kept coming up, and it became pretty galling for me and my family. Because of the Rangers situation, and my involvement at the club back then and my involvement now at the SFA, a focus fell upon me, and it took its toll. I had to stop looking at various websites, because nameless people were spouting totally inaccurate information, and it got to me.” And he considered resigning? “Yes, plenty. Not because I felt I had done anything wrong, but because of the pressures that arose. There was madness going on out there. I would go home at night, my family would be affected, and some of the stuff that was flying around about me was sheer vitriol. On websites, my wife and my girls would be mentioned. It had quite an impact on me. “My view hasn’t changed. I’m not an accountant and I’m not a financial man. Looking back, I never questioned the EBTs. As far as I was concerned they were totally above board – they had been signed off by lawyers.” Things are cooler and better now. And what kept Ogilvie going is, first, the goodwill towards him right across Scottish football and, second, his passionate desire to preside over the implementation of the McLeish Report, wherein Scotland’s former first minister advocated sweeping changes in our game. Ogilvie is halfway through his four-year term as president, and is seizing his opportunity to make Scottish football better. “I’ve been determined to drive through the McLeish Report,” he says. “I was a vice-president here at the SFA when it was commissioned, but I gave up my Hearts job in 2009 because I wanted to put everything I had into this. I’m passionate about our youth development, about giving our youngsters the best possible chance in football.” Ironically, when asked about the state of our game, Ogilvie once more willingly points the finger back upon himself. “There is an old phrase in football – ‘talent is nothing without opportunity’ – and that was definitely the case in Scotland over the years. “Look, I admit it: clubs like Rangers and other clubs had big-money signing policies, and other clubs tried to keep pace with Rangers. Everyone was bringing foreigners in and paying over the odds for them – it was never going to work out. “I was at Rangers and I was thoroughly enjoying the signing of big-name players. Everyone did. But, looking back, I question it much more. In general, at Scottish clubs, young players didn’t get the opportunity. Players not getting the opportunity at Rangers and elsewhere – that is definitely a factor in our game’s decline.” Now, under Ogilvie and chief executive Stewart Regan, the SFA is feverishly setting up performance academies and other programmes in order to bring about improvement. “We’ve got these special academies . . . seven centres established. It is a four-year plan. Four hundred talented kids will go through them over a four-year period. It is about elite talent development, time on the ball, skills development. “Scotland’s football decline since France ’98 has been gradual and steady. But I really believe over the next few years we will start to see improvement. I hope so.”
Barcabhoy
08:22 on 27 August, 2013
Excellent analysis you should spread the word on this one elsewhere may wither on the vine of CQN.
NL&Mc…
made my opinions on FF’s abilities, or lack therof… Dracula!!
not advocating we do the biz prior to 2morrow but fer 5mill reckon we can get better… and no i’m not a 100% balance sheet believer.
If he’s not wanting to be there, ship him out and IMHO i don’t think Hodgson will be calling him up any time soon.. if he does then they must be bad down there.
Shot stopper.. no issue… cross cutter outer and commanding box… ‘fraid not!!
morning fholks hope you are all well. i dont know if it been asked already, but does anyone know what time we sacrafice the haggis on the pitch tomorrow.
Expediency trumps justice
Published on 15 April 2012 Graham Spiers Imagine if a football club wilfully decided to deduct tax from players’ pay slips, but, instead, of handing the money over to Revenue and Customs, decided to keep it. You would think that was pretty bad. Imagine also if it transpired that, with regard to three players stretching as far back as 1999, a club used an off-shore Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) to “reward” those players due to a belief that this was a way of avoiding paying tax. Ordinarily, you would think that looked fairly dodgy, too. Or worse, how about a similar use of EBTs as a means of “rewarding” a whole tranche of players, season after season for nine years? That, we must assume, would be viewed by most people as seriously bad behaviour. It would also amount to a heck of a saving in taxes – tens of millions of pounds – that could be flushed back into the club’s own coffers. All these and more comprise the toll of allegations currently being made against Rangers. When I say allegations, I’m using the term over-cautiously, because the club has admitted using such policies. Craig Whyte even offered to pay HMRC off in instalments, only to be knocked back. Campbell Ogilvie, meanwhile, a Rangers director during much of this period, and now president of the SFA, admits to having had an EBT provided by the club. Ogilvie was given loans by Rangers which, to date, have not been repaid. “Perhaps I should have asked more questions [of Sir David Murray] during this time,” he now says lamely, the adverse publicity horse having loudly bolted. What does not seem in much doubt is that Rangers broke many of the rules, as applied by the SPL and SFA to Scottish football. The more pressing question now is, how severe should their punishment be? Indeed, should Rangers’ reckless disregard for fair play over so many years be sufficient cause to evict them from the SPL, as many want to see?I find it hard to avoid concluding that there is strong case for Rangers being demoted – or suspended – from the SPL. There are two current spheres of contempt towards the Ibrox club. The first is to do with a flouting of the contractual rules – defined by many as plain cheating – which gave Rangers a significant financial advantage all these years over other SPL clubs. That seems bad enough. The second is a kind of moral distaste felt by many people. Strictly speaking, the SFA and SPL, both of whom are investigating Rangers’ conduct, cannot embroil themselves in the tax avoidance issue. That area is not the remit of the football authorities. But the rest of us are still free to feel that, on the business of denuding the nation of tens of millions of pounds in unpaid taxes, something devious and pretty squalid has gone on inside Ibrox. In both football and in moral terms there is a convincing argument for kicking Rangers out of the SPL. The problem is, does the Scottish game possess the guts to do it?We can be brief here about why chief executive Neil Doncaster and his SPL board, with the host of “newco” rules they are keen to bring in by May 14, want to do everything they can to save Rangers’ SPL skin. Everyone knows why it is politically expedient to contrive to keep the Ibrox club in Scotland’s top division. Doncaster’s position is thoroughly miserable. If Rangers are evicted, the SPL will be severely damaged. Potentially, Sky television would rip up its recently announced deal to cover Scottish football. A huge slice of SPL gate money would go down the drain with Rangers’ disappearance. Everything – sponsorship, advertising, corporate hospitality – would be hit. Financially and politically, the scenario is enough to keep Doncaster awake at night. The fate of Juventus in Italy in 2006 has been quoted here as a precedent. When Juve were found guilty of match-fixing, it wasn’t too insipid a pill for Serie A to swallow to strip them retrospectively of their 2005 and 2006 titles and then throw them out of Italy’s top division. In Juve’s case, the moral argument proved stronger than any political expediency. There was no knee-knocking over it. Across Scottish football, and not just among Celtic fans, Doncaster and the SPL are being mocked and derided. The imminent rules amendments will certainly punish Rangers if a “newco” is formed at Ibrox but, arguably, not to the degree that is warranted. Indeed, short of bribery or match-fixing, it is hard to see what else Rangers would have to do to get the SPL to kick them out. Perhaps it is true that the SPL cannot do without Rangers. But, if that is the case, let no-one ever again quote “honesty” or “integrity” in the context of the Scottish game.
Barcabhoy,
How do we tackle Ogilvie?
Supersutton
if. Shaun1956 was in the queen Vic and never saw a telly he must have been sparkled lol, they have big FU 80 onscreen right behind the bar lol, they show Celtic games, go in there ask to see the owner Jay is his name, mention my name and he will look after you, by the way I recommend the bangers and mash outstanding, HAIL HAIL.
Everyone with the remotest interest has known for many months that Jack Irvine’s e-mail of 17.10.11 states that, “Greig is just thick and contributes nothing.” Orcdom has just discovered it. Cue catalepsy:
“Disgraceful comment. Where was the e mail released from?”
——
“Im absolutely livid. John Greig is Rangers to me. His return last year was I thought a sign all was well.”
——
“If we are so minded we could get rid of this man and the board this weekend. We have that collective potential.”
——
“Position untenable
Statement required from fans groups asking for his removal as Gers pr” [Another statement ought to do the trick.]
——
“Listen, the papers will not print this directly for obvious reasons…. if the RST and other groups release a statement condemning such, worded in a good way [bit over-optimistic there], then there is a great chance they will.
This then gets this out to the masses who do not come here daily or use other online places. [Then the masses riot?]……I think the onslaught by the RST and fans to counteract the spin from the other side should be ramped up. They can never spin it if the fans continue to use social media [of course not – no chance], forum boards and the supporters clubs to push forward the truth.”
Curiously, no-one actually suggests Mr Irvine is in error in his assessment of “the greatest ever player to pull on a Rangers jersey”.
Goldstar10 Indeed we should not be talking about a goalscorer at this point. Should have been done and dusted after a week after the transfer window opening. Not the fans or Neil’s fault here that its a shambles
Parkheadcumsalford – two footed, studs up.
desertbhoy,
OK, you have made that clear. But where exactly do you think we can do better?
All hypothetical anyway as big Fraser is not going anywhere and as long as he’s a Celtic player he’s one of my heroes.
Big game tomorrow ~ positive vibes required :~)
HH
Happy birthday to one of CQN’s finest who sadly doesn’t post often enough these days.
Have a great 40th Bjmac.
40
Feck he’s had a tough life…(carluke tims usually do)
Happy birthday BJMac..