So much happened yesterday, I’ll be as brief as possible:
Newco Rangers sent their counsel to the Court of Session to protest Charles Green’s contract with the club, stating it should pay legal expenses, now crystallising ahead of his forthcoming criminal trial.
In opposing Green, James Wolffe QC raised various objections, but as is often the case when people speak on behalf of Newco, included an arbitrary insistence that Newco operated the same club as the now liquidated Rangers.
Green’s QC, Jonathan Brown, put his pit boots on before stating his client’s case, but tantalisingly, before lunch informed the court that he would return to the same club/new club debate later. And didn’t he. Brown explained that Sevco Scotland purchased the assets of Rangers, not the club itself, with poetic prose adding:
“The team are paid by Sevco, plat at a ground owned by Secvo, are trained by a manager who is employed by Sevco and fans buy tickets from Sevco. That is the business that is being carried on.”
Adding that Rangers were “a collection of assets”, “What if the players were sold to one person and Ibrox to antoher, where is the ‘club’ then?”
I had to look away from court reporter, James Dolman’s Twitter feed at this point. It was like watching an acquaintance being humiliated. Not something you want to see.
Lord Doherty will determine if Newco should pay Green’s costs in due course, but this will be soon, as Jonathan Brown noted, “the rainy day has arrived”.
This next bit is really important:
Soon after court ended, Dave King was out with a rambling statement on the Newco website. If it was designed to play to the galleries, it hit the spot. If it was designed to influence what happens to his club, or how others will regard his input, it was surely an horrendous mistake.
It was a hard day to be chairman of Rangers International FC PLC. The court hearing only happened because the club objected to its contract with Green, so the unedifying episode could easily have been avoided. Despite this, sometimes you have to shut your mouth.
Sure, some Newco fans love a bit of grandstanding, but you know what yesterday’s statement will achieve. If the objective of the statement was to convince other Scottish clubs not to consider disciplinary action against Sir David Murray, or oldco Rangers, for their actions, it was an almighty miscalculation.
Threats seldom work. This one is unlikely to curry favour: “If the history of our Club comes under attack we will deal with it in the strongest manner possible and will hold to account those persons who have acted against their fiduciary responsibilities to their own clubs and to Scottish football.”
In short:
Don’t threaten clubs you are trying to influence.
Don’t grandstand to your own fans if you are trying to influence other clubs.
Keep a poker face. Keep your mouth shut, even if it means taking grief from your fans for the lack of public reaction.
King’s statement also addressed the sporting advantage issue from what we now know was an unlawfully operated tax scheme. While the EBT scheme saved tens of millions of pounds, and King earlier intimated this did provide a sporting advantage, yesterday he insisted the advantage was financial, that the shareholders were “committed to providing funding to the club” and would have done so, if required.
Here’s the thing, in 2012 another King statement revealed, “I have made a claim of £20m on the basis of non-disclosure by the then chairman, David Murray, of Rangers true financial position as far back as 2000.”
That commitment to further shareholder funding seems predicated on some controversial information. According to King, of course. Controversial enough to launch a £20m claim, but not to inhibit investment.
For the war-chest hunters among you, if you read this article covering King’s 2012 statement, you’ll find a strong clue.
One other quick but important point:
Some media are attempting to portray questions of sporting advantage as Rangers being punished for spending money they could afford, a travesty, as so many other clubs have done likewise.
This must surely be a deliberate attempt to misunderstand the issue and manipulate the debate.
No one suggests Rangers should be punished for spending money they could not afford. The questions are straightforward:
Did Rangers break tax law, break SFA rules and break SPL rules, when contracting football players?
Did they disclose matters openly with authorities (in other words, inadvertently make mistakes), or did they conspire to subvert the rules by hiding incriminating information?
Spending like the Borgias? Time to move on. Conspiracy to subvert the rules? We have a problem.
Don’t be distracted by potential ramifications to these questions, they are irrelevant for now. We should consider no more than did they break all of the above rules, should any the rule breaking be interpreted as an oversight, or does evidence of conspiracy to subvert the rules exist?
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Sorry that was meant as a text
This is not terrorism this is war. The world as we know it is now on the brink.
What can you do when young men who have only ever read one book decide that they want to die?
There is a star trek episode i remember from my childhood.
Spock says to Kirk (not verbatim) its vague…..cat remember exactly….
“we thwarted their attack. Their motivation seems pointless its the violence of desperation of suicide”
We are going to see a lot of this in the 21st century.
Paris hostages freed.
Theatre hostage situation over,not as many dead as first thought
!!Bada Bing!! –
Optimistic news although no comfort to those that have lost someone.
Time for bed and to cuddle all those that I can…………..
10 months after the Charlie Hebdo massacre Parisians are again slaughtered. An easy target for cowards. Paris remains the greatest city in the world.
Gordon64
Paris remains the greatest city in the world.
yes it does!
Jesus Christ is the Only Way.
John 14:6
Satan is growing more powerful now because he knows his Time of Ruling is coming to an end.
That New Testament gives incredible comfort in terrible times like tonight.
Externalising occult practices into mainstream, which everyone can see on TV, only means one thing. Jesus Christ is returning in the near future.
Hopefully, more people will put Yeshua more in their thoughts from now on, because Paris is just the start and a lot more horrible events are coming and with a lot more regularity.
Petec
Give us a break
Last thing the world needs now is more religious fundamentalism end is nigh nonsense
Blantyretim – you total Ars*hole
Cancel that.over 100 killed in theatre
Horrendous news from Paris.
What is the Stars,
Fundamentalism?
What Christian Fundamentalism?
Do you know what that is?
Or do you believe the crap put out on TV, MSM and New Age proponents.
You have no idea.
Stick to tipping horses, you are the Man there.
I’m allowed to say my piece here, thankfully.
Oh Ronny Ronny.
A confused picture emerging from Paris. 40 dead in initial attacks and a further 100 dead in the concert hall. Absolutely horrific.
a 100 innocent hostages killed in a concert hall on a friday night out?
My god that if true is just not acceptable
we move into a new chapter in human history
I am sickened by Blantyretim and those who think like him – I will never ever look at this site again – disgusted.
What is the Stars,
Cool, your opinion.
A real Christian Fundamentalist (and I’m no where near that) forgives everyone and certainly doesn’t go KKK.
The New Agers are not daft.
Anyway, any horses for the weekend? ;))
mr. pastry @12.21 totally agree.
Mags my belief is that Paris will be here long after those who bombed it tonight will be long gone.
Mr Pastry on 14th November 2015 12:36 am
I am sickened by Blantyretim and those who think like him – I will never ever look at this site again – disgusted.
…………………………….
Bye
Mr Pastry, promise?
Blantyre tim was right
Blair and his disgusting acolytes have brought this havoc to western Europe. Every action has a reaction. Go bombing Arab countries and plundering their oil. ..This is what you get
WiTS, agreed.
BT! You were correct in that sentiment, Blair has questions to answer.
What is the Stars on 14th November 2015 12:41 am
Blantyre tim was right
Blair and his disgusting acolytes have brought this havoc to western Europe. Every action has a reaction. Go bombing Arab countries and plundering their oil. ..This is what you get
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Agree on all of that, and BT was right.
Mr. Pastry
There is nothing wrong in what Blantyre Tim said in fact its very accurate.
You reap what you sow.
The Blair Bush axis precipitated the Arab spring but then we refused to help the Arabs subsequently…… now we have sociopathic psychotic western educated ISIS to deal with.
In my opinion let the mighty American tax dollar ultimately fail, the military dictatorships of Egypt and Israel, and protect ourselves from a sociological 21st century nightmare that we have inadvertently prepared for ourselves. begins tonight.
To think think it only took a bullet in Ferdinand to cause the www1…!
Too many w’s there, you get my drift though.
Margaret McGill,
The Cynic in me would guess it has all been planned for a Global Police State.
The UN’s plan to have Everyones Biometric data by 2030, is worrying, especially for those that live on an Island by themself.
Perhaps there’s a better time to debate where the blame for these atrocities lies. Tonight has to be about thought, prayers and support for the people of Paris and possibly even the refugees of Calais if reports are to be believed.
Supervisor!
Supervisor!
we goat a swearer
we goat a swearer
andyR53
..just joking :)
Jihadi John killed – yeeha!
Within 24 hours 140 murdered in Paris.
I know who is winning the propaganda war….it’s not the West.
Buckle in it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Perec- give the lizard people pish a rest for tonight and instead pray for the dead and their families. Respectfully.
petec on 14th November 2015 12:53 am
That would imply that the Americans staged it
However, i am convinced there are too many Jihad johns out there who have only ever read one book
Are they being manipulated?
yes of course
so put your gun away and study literature or physics or math or journalism ..whatever..
dont plan to die in a cinema and murder innocents!
to die in a cinema and murder innocents is so American blase
Pete …
How you doing mate?
A wee war now and again is an assistant to depopulate, a bigger war woof… The problem solved!
Mags – it was a heavy metal band concert, not a cinema. American band by all accounts.
Art of War on 14th November 2015 12:58 am
Jihadi John killed – yeeha!
Within 24 hours 140 murdered in Paris.
I know who is winning the propaganda war….it’s not the West.
Buckle in it’s gonna be a bumpy ride.
Perec- give the lizard people pish a rest for tonight and instead pray for the dead and their families. Respectfully.
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I love the programme that is called Hill Billy Hand Fishing. It really does a lot of things.
Art of War