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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Tried to pick a team,I can’t
Apart from the obvious 5 I’m fecked,to much quality.
HH
Hope your sitting down when you read this!!!
http://videocelts.com/2015/11/blogs/latest-news/gough-explains-his-henrik-larsson-ebt-fantasy#ICXMXl17Qr9Xse0w.97
http://etims.net/?p=8131
Afternoon Celts…do me a favour,have a look at the picture at bottom of this article
looking for Celtic players in it …plenty of ugly huns there mind…..but can only see Jim McInally for us.
Thanks in advance,no cheeky replies please :O)
Is that the same Richard Gough who said the 10 fingers celebration was nothing to do with 10 in a row? Aye – someone who can obviously be believed. No surprises he’s good pals with the glibster.
You need to listen to the hypocrisy on the bbc at the moment as they discuss cheating in athletics, disgusting shower of cowards.
Hail Hail.
A LIGHT INSANITY on 15TH NOVEMBER 2015 1:20 PM
What did BFDJ say on Friday night? I only heard the backtracking. Do you know something this long slow death is too good for them.
——————————————————————————————————————————-
http://podbay.fm/show/307483087/e/1447459200?autostart=1
Fatty’s “coming out from under the rocks” rant starts around the 40 minute mark. Funny it took a couple days for this show to appear on Podbay when it’s normally there within a couple of hours. I reckon his comments were checked out by some legal eagles. It may not be slanderous but he’s not out of the woods. If RC had any sense they’d dump this buffoon.
WEET WEET WEET(GBWO) on 15TH NOVEMBER 2015 2:39 PM
Tried to pick a team,I can’t
Apart from the obvious 5 I’m fecked,to much quality.
——————————-
Weet I’m with you mhate……..Larsson ,McStay (Paul),McGrain n pick any 8 from
50.HH
Wasn’t Gough meant to be raising money for the new cash strapped club? Or was that in his imagination too?
Gearoid1998
I may be wrong but I think the repayment period kicked in after 125years, also the loan ceased if the Ebt’er passed away, it was obvious never to be repaid….. Am sure I read something like that but as I said maybe I just plucked 125years as I loved our white strip celebrating our 125years
BBC, seriously unbelievable, contrast the athletics coverage with that of Scottish football.
Hail Hail.
VP
Jim Dobbin, Paul Chalmers and Jim McInally
HH
Question to Res 12 guys. You say that a lawyer letter has been sent to the SFA but they haven’t responded. What if that’s there strategy to just ignore. What is the next chess move. Will understand if you don’t want to answer
If we estimate about 8000 supporters attended the spl every week for 17 years while rangers were cheating, then we can estimate about 1 billion was paid by non rangers fans to watch a rigged game, i am one of those fans, yet i am being told nothing to see here, we i beg to differ and while players benefitted from these years it was us the supporters that got cheated and it was our clubs that lost out on the pitch and in the pocket. So pundits, players and jurno’s listen up it is supporters that have been robbed not you lot and on that basis no amount of bull will or can change my position, no stripping = accepting and condoning cheating in sport, at said time sport no longer has merit, winning has no value, under such circumstances what’s the point???
Lennon’s…,
It has been their strategy however they made a big mistake by asking us to correspond with them directly, this request was passed on to us by the Celtic company secretary.
So now when they refuse to answer they make the club very angry and the club are now forced to apply pressure because the SFA made the offer.
Gftb
Good lhad.
I seemed to recall that it was time bonded but 125 years ffs. They should be REALLY embarrassed trying to argue that everything was above board.
HH Gerry
Sandman…
Cheers mate, met Gough in the changing rooms at the gym in the Hilton after ex wife’s work do, made sure I didn’t turn my back on him!
Is that the same football player who was caught with a young boy in Glasgow city centre when a knight of the realm stepped in and paid the boy off while getting an interdict on reporters
Roy C
Paul Chalmers hair threw me :O)
Well done my friend.hh
Like many, the SFA underestimated the quality of information and weight of evidence we sent them. I believe this knocked them for six and they tried too late to back peddle.
They now have had the info since August so I expect that’s plenty of time for them to try and work out some sort of counter strategy, we look forward to the chase :)
Dexter-a much needed laugh.after watching the Paris story unfold
GFTB
Sorry wasn’t rubber-earing you last night…..did the ole dozing off with half a bottle of beer in my hand and spent half the night sleeping on top of my laptop but magically without spilling a drop :)
Been missing huge chunks of CQN action lately so ive no idea what you meant about your Mrs’s wee doo?
If there’s beer involved then im in, but not so sure that i could pass up on the bingo ;)
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 15TH NOVEMBER 2015 2:41 PM
Is that the same Richard Gough who said the 10 fingers celebration was nothing to do with 10 in a row? Aye – someone who can obviously be believed. No surprises he’s good pals with the glibster.
Come on! give him a break. Wasn’t Goram’s black arm band for his auntie and nothing at all to do with the terrorist Billy Wright.
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/spending-like-the-borgias-time-to-move-on-conspiracy-to-subvert-the-rules-we-have-a-problem/comment-page-31/#comments
The problem with liars is you just can’t believe anything they say……….
TBJ SAYS WEE OSCAR KNOX IS IN HEAVEN WITH THE ANGELS on 15TH NOVEMBER 2015 3:06 PM
Is that the same football player who was caught with a young boy in Glasgow city centre when a knight of the realm stepped in and paid the boy off while getting an interdict on reporters
Careful. Walking a very fine line here.
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/spending-like-the-borgias-time-to-move-on-conspiracy-to-subvert-the-rules-we-have-a-problem/comment-page-31/#comment-2719208
My first pick of a team would be the Lisbon Lions, simply the best team ever, with subs – Henrik, Connelly and McBride.
My second team would be
Simpson
McGrain McNeil Connelly Gemmell
Murdoch McStay Hay
Johnstone Dalglish Larsson
Subs- McBride, Lennox, Burns
HH
There’s three players in everyones 14. Jinky, McNeill and the great Daniel Fergus McGrain. Bloody marvellous.
Talking of marvellous. Nice also to see some remember the dodgy past of Captain Marvel.
TR
The bingo stuff has heehaw to do with me, there is a lounge and a games room in the place we think it’s going to be (2mins away from a Coatbridge landmark the Time Capsule) so plenty of excuse to dodge any bingo nonsense, it’s just a thought just now and will probably be at the start of February, will see how it goes, it’s the good ladies project to raise a few quid if possible for wee Shay….. Me personally I would have a race night but it’s her shout, hopefully I can sit back and let her get on with it, like yourself I miss a lot on the blog and very rarely read back so feel free to ignore I probably wouldn’t notice (smiley face thing)
Hail Hail
m6bhoy on 15th November 2015 2:43 pm
It’s also staggering how little Gerry McCulloch knows. He made a few erroneous statements as well as letting others talk pish. Also, the producer of the show is hardly unbiased, is she?
Tbj
Wan thing aboot the ole fekn masons…they know how to keep/hide a secret.
GERRYFAETHEBRIG on 15TH NOVEMBER 2015 2:28 PM
I am really surprised that Shunsuke Nakamura hasn’t even made the bench for at least one persons team, maybe Melbourne Mick should go with a best 11 of non scots to wear the hoops after he has dished out this tee shirt
////////
Hey, Nakamura was in my first 11!
Tommy Boyd is better than SuperSutton
Apologies, I must have missed it, by the way Tommy Boyd was my left back
Logged in, see a few posts naming best ever team, realise it’s international week, log out…
Dexter no Willie Garner?
I’d like to think that if it was my team that got caught systematically cheating Scottish football for years, that apart from the shame and anger I would feel, I would agree that we should be stripped of the trophies won in that period.
However (no I’m not Kojo) it’s nice to see that Gough feels that even one player on an EBT could be enough to help win the league.
Ach why not Tom Boyd is better. . .
Here’s a quick crack at it.
Boruc
Agathe Elliott Mjallby Wdowcyk
Di Canio Petrov Edvaldsson Bellamy
Larsson Cadete
Keane, Sutton, Wanyama
BTW…Simpson, Craig and Gemmell,
Murdoch, McNeil, Clark
Johnstone, Chalmers, Wallace, Auld and Lennox.
There is a Stand named after these guys…Debate over.
Logging out now.
Should probably have Moravcic in there really.
Anyone interested in an Association of Irish CSC 2016 calendar? They are £7 each (£1 of which goes to The Celtic Foundation’s Ability Counts Ireland project). I will have some with me next Saturday and can meet up before the match. Email me at
dublin2016@mail.com
Here is a preview:
http://www.aicsc.com/aicsc-2016-calendar/