I know lockdown is causing much anxiety, but can you imagine being in Newco chief exec Stewart Robertson’s shoes these days? He must have known the gig was up when he decided not to release his ‘evidence’ before clubs were able to send proxy vote to block his EGM resolution.
I’m sure he hoped the SPFL would announce they have enough votes in the bag, allowing him to flounce off, instead of substantiating his claim, but those he wanted sacked at the League will want to see this play out as much as the rest of us.
He even has Graeme Spiers calling him out as the weakest man he’s met in football. For a man in his position, “weak” is the most damning word, it will resonate with those whose support he relies on. And let’s not forget, he has tens of millions to find to continue trading though next season, by comparison, this SPFL mess is like a July Walk on the Queen’s highway.
From what I hear, Stewart is a decent bloke, one made for less complex times. His strings are almost certainly being pulled by some sinister Geppetto character. If he fails to produce his ‘evidence’, this afternoon’s Premiership club meeting will be an excruciating, if not humiliating, affair. It will all be over soon, Stewart; you hang in there.
I’m sure we would all like to congratulate PSG on winning the ninth title in their history and seventh in eight years yesterday, apart from that Neymar character, of course. The story for Scottish football in how the French league finished is the third place finish of Rennes – who could only manage a fourth place finish in the Europa League group Celtic topped.
While we are not in PSG’s class, we more than held our own against a French and Italian sides in the Europa League this season. Like Celtic, Rennes will enter the Champions League qualification round next season.
728 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- 18
- 19
- 20
- »
Hi Bhoys
From the Castore website.
Big Dreams Big Teams
The most significant strategic move you will see from Castore in 2020 will be our entry into the global professional sports team wear market. This is a natural progression from elite individual athletes such as Andy Murray wearing Castore and we see a huge opportunity to disrupt a market that for far too long has been dominated by a small clique of mass-market brands. Across team sports from rugby, cricket, F1 and football, the big brand’s partner with so-called marquee teams, direct the vast majority of their product and marketing budgets to these teams, and simply leave a huge segment of the market without any sort attention or investment. We see this as a big opportunity. Castore has been approached by a number of leading teams across a range of sports about becoming their official kit partner and brining our premium brand ethos, deep commitment to product excellence and digital e-commerce expertise to elevate their own brands and provide something different and better than what they have become used to from the so-called mega brands. The first of these partnerships, with the West Indies cricket federation, will commence in June when the team tour England before heading to Australia to defend their T20 World Cup title. Additional partnerships will be announced in due course, all with teams who share Castore’s ambition to compete on a global stage and become world leaders. Our vision is to build Castore in the number one premium sportswear brand globally and we will partner with teams who share our vision and values – there is nothing that can match elite athletes wearing your product in competition and we cannot wait to see more of this next year.
Looks to me like the huns have a first at last not a mention of any other football teams here.
KEEP THE FAITH
In the mid sixties I remember every Saturday morning my dad would put his Dubliners LP’s on at full blast. Anyway I’ve been painting the kitchen today and was listening to Amazon music – thought I’d give the Dubliners a go – must be 50 years since I’ve heard some of the tracks. Amazing the songs I could sing along with. I could just picture my dad joining in.
nae rangers statements today ?
This especially
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hGO_S_NX5Hg
frankterry
Not really Celtic’s role here, that’s the SPFL job. And one which, given the circumstance, and the noise, they are doing a good job, though no club likes to get relegated. The main question to be answered is whether there is any realistic possibility of playing outstanding games within a realistic timetable. Playing in camera and on camera, and whether any game played as a training match could be classed as having sporting integrity. If none of the above is in any way practical, the SPFL will have to make the call, Celtic’s title.
ROCK TREE BHOY on 2ND MAY 2020 5:02 PM
I’ve always thought that anyone still considering Brendan Rodgers a traitor has never heard of Maurice (Ratbag) Johnston
Should Brendan Rodgers be more respected more by Celtic Fans?
I was around when rat number one did the dirty on Celtic and Cesar. His actions outraged the supporters and gave the huns “one over us” at a time when our board was sleeping their way to oblivion. Will I ever forgive him for it, not a chance. what damage did he actually do to us? Not much. Our custodians at the time were doing a lot more to harm us than rat 1….
Rat 2 is a whole different ball game IMHO. Without doubt he improved us, and raised our profile winning trophies on the way. But what he did to us, running out like a thief in the night, taking almost the entire backroom staff with him, endangering our chances of 10. He makes Johnston look like Mother Teresa. His lies, his expression of love for us, his arrogance – other level stuff.
I have zero respect for either of these two low life individuals but to say we owe rat 2……..I think shoe is on the other foot..
Today’s SPFL statement about loans / advances situation …
https://spfl.co.uk/news/spfl-statement-46665
For those you cannot open link …
SPFL STATEMENT
2ND MAY 2020
Regrettably, we have to correct Ann Budge’s statement in the article by Tom English on the BBC Scotland website today, where she said: “I’ve sat on the SPFL board and I’ve approved a loan for another club.”
Quite simply, she did not, (and neither did anyone else during Ann’s tenure on the SPFL board).
Her subsequent statement in the same BBC interview is far more accurate: “I genuinely can’t remember the club involved, but a club required an advance. We discussed it, it wasn’t contentious , everybody agreed and we moved on.”
As Ann herself correctly states in the latter comment – it was an advance payment of fees due to clubs – and not a loan, which is a crucial distinction.
The confusion is unfortunate, but the facts are clear:
In 2016, the SPFL agreed to pay invoices from two clubs for fees they were due to receive in the 2016/17 season. This was to help them with cash flow problems caused when Rangers’ promotion into the Premiership meant some clubs would have only two Old Firm home games pre-split rather than three, which they had had prior to 2012.
To overcome this challenge, the Board, of which Ann was a director, approved £150k advance fee payments to two clubs.
• These advance payments were subject to VAT – Loans are not.
• These advance payments were invoiced – Loans are not.
• Loans, by their very definition, have to be repaid – these advance fee payments did not.
Moving forward, we are still being asked if we could have made loans to clubs of £9m in April, but there is no practical nor realistic way to have done so.
Before directors make loans, they must carry out due diligence into whether clubs have the ability to repay the loans.
That is a major exercise and to do so 42 times in a short timescale would have been impossible. And, being frank, given the financial crisis that the game is in, it is impossible to see how the Board could have satisfied itself that all 42 clubs would have been a good credit risk. Clubs defaulting on loan repayments would have left every other club liable for the loss – which is exactly what happened when Gretna were given a loan over a decade ago.
As to the question: could we not have made millions of pounds of further advance fee payments in April, to help clubs weather the financial storm caused by Covid-19? The answer is no. By the end of March, the SPFL had already made fee payments up to roughly the entitlement of the bottom club in the Ladbrokes Championship, Ladbrokes League 1 and Ladbrokes League 2.
With fee payments being entirely dependent on final League placings, the Board’s resolution remains the only realistic way to have made substantial and quick payments to lower league clubs, as well as giving them the certainty and clarity they required to make the tough decisions necessary to get them through to the point that matches can be played once again.
Isn’t it amazing how BBC Scotland and Tom English have suddenly become all forensic in their dealings. Where were they in 2012 and beyond?
English is scum
Budge is a Hun without the train fare
I assume all the panel discussing Doncaster , after the call will be barred from future programs as he wasn’t there to defend himsilf
Onenight-Rodgers was all those things before he came to us.
We lapped it up and did ok out of the deal 🤔
Move on buddy 👍🍀
Budge “it sticks in my mind” but she cant remember which club!
DessyBhoy from earlier,my understanding is that English is from Limerick strange place for a West-Brit
Stunning second half from Celtic against a Hearts team firmly fixed to the bottom of the SPFL pile. Some wonderful fluid and fast attacking moves.
And the wee bit icing on the cake was in the last couple of minutes when news filtered through that Kilmarnock had scored two late goals against the horrible Huns to open up a ten point lead in our favour.
Cue Hun despair which has continued.
A HUNdred and One Statements.
English is no different from the rest of them.
No doubt he’ll have mouths to feed too.
Scumbag.
Camusbhoy
Thanks for the correction, just a wee bit further south then.
Dessybhoy, no problem just defend the city of the tribes from association to people like English 😀
What’s it all about, alfie?
Is it just for the moment we live?
What’s it all about when you sort it out, alfie?
Are we meant to take more than we give
Or are we meant to be kind?
And if only fools are kind, alfie,
Then I guess it’s wise to be cruel.
And if life belongs only to the strong, alfie,
What will you lend on an old golden rule?
As sure as I believe there’s a heaven above, alfie,
I know there’s something much more,
Which takes you back to what’s it all about, a question that should be asked before being dragged down the sematic she said he said word mines.
If viable alternatives to what SPFL did to stay within the bounds of their responsibilities to the SPFL in fact do or did exist, what impact would that have had on the decisions clubs were asked to make?
Are complainers saying that the end result in terms of payment and timing of them would have been different had a different resolution been put forward or alternatives given in the one that was?
If not what is the problem?
If any alternative removed the need to set league placings in concrete, who would benefit from that and for how long? Would the separation have made any difference to clubs not in top tier if payments under whatever description were made anyway?
Under the Resolution passed the top tier clubs were tied in to commitment to base payments around league placings, but would that have stopped such a decision having to be made at some point or was it that payments to them cannot be made until UEFA guidance is clear enough to follow? They seem to be waiting for their share of the £7M Doncaster stated is being held and is it the waiting that annoyed TRFC because of their financial circumstances?
Do they feel hard done by not because any resolution that required league placings gave Celtic the title but because they could not and cannot wait until that placing decision is taken or is it a combination of both?
Is that why they shouted foul but as time passes are having to recognise title placings will be decided on sporting merit and SPFL have no option for reasons ND explained to make payments dependent on placings?
It does not help that the two top tier clubs most affected by a tie to fixing league placings are Hearts because of relegation and finances since Anne Budge has made it clear, unlike her Ibrox counterparts, Hearts (and her I imagine ) face financial difficulties that a payout would help Hearts deal with.
TRFC on the other hand, assuming no financial stress , could then only be annoyed at losing the chance, poor as it was of catching Celtic , or surrendering that the title was won on sporting merit by Celtic when the pandemic offered the opportunity to do what they could not and deny Celtic the title.
In short would any other route taken by SPFL have stopped Celtic being awarded the title and Hearts from relegation in the ever clearer scenario that Scottish football itself is screwed possibly for this year and CoVid19 has already drawn the line on this season?
Now if TRFC really want Doncaster and McKenzie’s head on a plate The LNS Sham timeline, when both failed to respond fully and convincingly to evidence of dishonesty and unlawful ebts withheld from LNS, brought to their attention by SFM in 2014, should be more than fit for such a purpose. Over to TRFC.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6uWzxhblAt9dnVHSl9OU3RoWm8/view?usp=sharing
Mon the hoops 🍀🍀
After Doncaster handed English his backside re his loans claim, in the discussion afterwards, English stated that he received a text during the Doncaster interview from an SPFL Chief Executive stating that Doncaster had been ‘informed of bullying on the day of the resolution’. He repeated this claim on Twitter also adding the following caveat, ‘I would imagine that Neil will completely reject that’.
Note that SPFL could mean any of the 42 clubs and if we are being specific about chief executive that would rule out Chairman like Budge. Assuming of course this text was genuinely received.
There is so much wrong with what English said. Why is a CE texting this to English and not reporting it to MacLennan or to the SMSM? Why is English not doing his job as a journalist and digging to the bottom of this story of alleged bullying? Why make the comment about Doncaster? He also said that ‘clubs will come forward if there is an investigation’. But no clubs are presenting any evidence to warrant an investigation. Why is he not doing the digging or highlighting this? He also states that Budge was a ‘highly successful business woman’ when the subject of the alleged historical loan was discussed. Doncaster explained it to the BBC live on air and then the SPFL released a statement about the matter. But English still pushed his narrative and the best he can come up with is ‘Budge is successful’. The world can see Budge is out of her depth.
The man is a fool and his reputation is in tatters. He is a journalistic embarrassment. I despair at paying a licence fee to support his pay and the likes of Neil McCann and Richard Gordon who are equally inept.
Evening folks,
Now I know that me and my view of the world lie just the wrong side of that thin dividing line between genius and insanity; and trust me it can be lonely here as there are just too few geniuses to really get a party going…🤪 🤪 Never mind, at least isolation and distancing is not a problem.
Anyway sometimes I find myself at the scullery table, bottle of gin and cold tea mixer in hand, stare out of the window across the rooftops to Greek Thompson’s steeple beside the Brazen and ponder what it is all about.
Last night I found myself in just such a mood, and through the glazing I watched the top of the church against the cloud shrouded setting sun.
I gulped the last of my Gin Tea….I’ve now patented it as Gintea Magintea…..and went to shut the slats when seriously the most amazing thing happened.
It started with a circular gap appearing in the clouds.
Something said to me…..get your camera…..so I did and …..feckin wow!
Quickly it grew and then like a metaphor for the hole in the ozone layer it got bigger and bigger at first bathing the Gorbals and wider in late evening sunshine. But this was no destructive cosmic raygun…this was an unforgettable show that placed the Aurora Borealis in the same class as cat’s eyes….and then it was gone and normality returned….but the vision is etched on my soul’s memory as for a few brief moments this was….this was…….ach, words are useless so here’s what I captured on my camera……..
https://enematic.wordpress.com/2020/05/02/somewhere-over-the-steeple/
Hail Hail
Matt
https://twitter.com/TheTributeAct/status/1256675177636622336?s=09
https://twitter.com/TheTributeAct/status/1256672915526782976?s=09
Background on new Sevco kit mob
” Shortbread no more , Sutherland no more……………….
Doddsy no more……….
……….Thommo, no more
……Big Packyyyyy…
…no
……….more! “
The survival of the game in Scotland is the only issue we should all, clubs and supporters be concerned about, check these reports from the USA about the difficulties sport faces restarting because of CoVid19.
The only answer seems to be reduce costs to a minimum (without impoverishing players in the process ) and seek whatever help supporters with a pay check or mega rich owners can afford to give.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2020/05/01/sports-return-plans-problems/
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29120877/blueprint-how-league-finish-2019-20-season
Hope and pray for the best, plan for the worst.
Is the sports department of BBC Scotland accorded a licence (see what I did there) to do and say what they please without any pretence at evenhandedness? Is there no oversight?
https://celticbynumberscom.ipage.com/celtics-pandemic-economics/
Camusbhoy
My apologies to the people of Galway.
Pcs
It would appear to be the case, either that or they are ordered to pursue a line, in separate news I see Murray estates have their permission to build homes near gogarburn, how much did this guy owe the bank again?
Can’t fathom the boul’ Tam………….
He writes well but that’s his job…………….
He might be better suited to The Gowf and Wugby.
Fitba’s a matter of life and death in Scotland and despite all his intellect and ability he doesn’t get that the cards are stacked against us.
Shorties Sports Dept is no Panorama and he’s no requirement to be anything lofty – he may well be an Uncle Tom, and who could blame him given the rabid excesses of the hunned-up mouth-breathersbut something’s no’ right here.
Fitba will change in Scotland and so will the talking heids that kover it.
HHH.
The crux of the matter is the SPFL Board are not ‘Rangers’ minded. They will not bend or break the rules to help them (anymore). Newco demanded a loan and wanted to kibosh the season. In days of yonder such requests would have been granted. But not now. Life has moved on and the funny handshakes don’t hold the clout they once did. Make no mistake they have been told to gtf and as a result are applying maximum pressure, aided and abetted by the smsm, to try and force change and to issue a warning to anyone else who dare defy them. The trouble is they are not Rangers anymore. There are no place men. If the Newco really ever got started, you could say, they are finished.
David
Would Not disagree with any of that
Looks like a few bhoys have been having a look
at Sevcos supposed new retail partner,
look like a mighty big outfit ;-)))
Rumour the DUP media man is gone back to DUP land
Norriem
they have probably chased him giving the
mess they are making of things at the minute.
feckin enigma code again, to post on here