The criminal justice system in Scotland (and south of the border) is on its knees. It lacks funds to appropriately prosecute crime, this week I spoke to a shopkeeper who closed a business which flourished for decades, citing, among other things, the inability to deter shoplifters.
So what does this have to do with football? We learned yesterday The Crown Office has increased its allocation to deal with the malicious prosecution of Rangers administrators and those who purchased the assets. By March this year, £51.7m had been paid out, and additional £8.8m has been set aside to settle on-going matters.
The Crown Office have accepted they maliciously prosecuted people involved in the Rangers period in administration. High barriers normally have to be overcome to get the Crown Office to prosecute anyone. This case is remarkable in that it was pursued without necessary evidence, an inquiry – of sorts – will follow.
The headlines will explain that Newco Rangers’ founding director, Charles Green, was one of the victims, as well as insolvency practitioners and others involved around the time of the failure of Oldco and incorporation of Newco. No one yet is calling out who went after them. Why they went after them. Or on whose behalf they went after them. The latter question is perhaps the reason no subsequent prosecutions have taken place.
I have no time for Green, Duff and Phelps, Whyte or any of the other characters involved in this tale. But, in 2012 and 2013 the Scottish media led a campaign against those who sold Rangers assets to the stakeholders of Sevco Scotland. It was partisan and it was coordinated. It went hand-in-hand with the malicious prosecutions.
Innocent people were harassed, arrested and subject to years of pressure. The guilty sailed off into the sunset, untouched by the law. There is a custom for civil actions (like this compensation episode) to be paused while criminal prosecutions take precedent, it never goes the other way around.
The Crown Prosecution Service would rather we all looked the other way. News desks across the country know all about it because they were foot soldiers in the game. They are limited in what they can do, but if they could find 10% of the agitation they used a decade ago, the powerful might think twice before opting for a cover up.
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and on the “tv screen” was “the Ra on manoeuvres” my mate said so we aren’t allowed in I have a beer but watching the Ra in training is ok 🍀🍀
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😆😆
no doubt you ‘Brig folk were taking notes fron the tv screen on those manoevres!
TURKEYBHOY on 18TH NOVEMBER 2023 11:59 PM
The Huddle,
We need a ready to go guy in January.What’s the problem.Saying ,why not get better is just ridiculous.You can always get better,its getting and paying for them.ACH,whats the point.Thank God Big Jock never thought”Wallace,I can get better than him”
*Wispy was a shock signing and no just tae us but the huns tae, they were over in Dortmond getting a very credible 0-0 draw after only winning the first leg 2-1 and yet the headlines on Scotsport that night was of Jock being back in Edinburgh making the signing.
The rumours abound at that time were not of Wispy, but another Edinburgh based player who had initially been on the jambos ground staff but was released due tae disciplinary problems and picked up by their Leith rivals who Jock had coveted due tae his time there but it seems he didnae want tae sign for us so we went after Wullie instead, 3+ years later he went down south where he made his name.
Let’s all do …
My mate back then was from the leafy suburbs of Shettleston road :-)
The tv screen was like an outake from the wind that shakes the barley …
I need to admit it was brilliant at the time … nothing better than a terrific rendition of “bhoys of the old brigade” when you are blitzed travelling around Europe
Did you play in the 50 @ side on the day of the game in Ekeren … there was a cracking big grass park with nets, a total bowling green … but every player had the hoops or something green on … would love to watch that back … everybody thought they could kick a ball, 99% on the park could hardly walk !!!
Hot Smoked @ 7.40.
My thoughts in a nutshell. Couldn’t give a sh’t other than I don’t want any of our guys injured. That’s it!
BTW fair play to those who are interested, but just can’t take the SFA bile towards us and their love affair with all things Ayeboaks.
HT 2-2.
Calmac and Co will be happy to get off the rain lashed surface and get a wee cup of hot tea and a slice of orange – expertly sliced by Ryan Jack for all his performing teammates.
No doubt Calmac will, once again, play the entire 90+minutes while the token “orangeman” sits on the bench sooking the zip of his Scotland cagoul. 🙄
The only player I would look at from this League is Lennon Miller at Motherwell
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 7:40 PM · EDIT
Big Oh can learn from someone who is a similar height and plays a similar holdup game
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so you think Shankland is a better player than Oh then?
would that not be a bad commentary on our signing policy if that is true?
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No mate, you know what I mean
Shankland is 5 years older and 5 years wiser…..
Emeraldbee 8.34pm
Totally get that …
Compared to Celtic in my opinion a totally different sport, Celtic is so much more important … BUT there is always a but …. Why let the SFA, the Huns or any other entity deny us enjoying Scotland … look at Callum, I read on here keep Callum fresh for Celtic … Calmac wants to play for Scotland, Callum missed out on a lot of caps, it’s our Scotland …. Again different from Celtic don’t let the blazers / SFA / Huns take your national team away from you …
Mon the bhoys on blue 🏴🏴🏴🏴🏴
Did you play in the 50 @ side on the day of the game in Ekeren … there was a cracking big grass park with nets, a total bowling green … but every player had the hoops or something green on … would love to watch that back … everybody thought they could kick a ball, 99% on the park could hardly walk !!!
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😄
i wasnt involved! i was 19ish when we played in ekeren and my career was well over 😄
i went on one of the buses from celtic park with 2 of the loveliest and brilliantist girls i have ever known (and still do 💚)
but our tickets hadnt arrived by the day before. this was before mobile phone days so i went to celtic park to sort it out. they faxed director chris white (remember that smarmy git?) and we had to meet him outside the ground to get tickets off him. to be fair he turned up and produced the goods, in the ‘main stand’. still wish i had been behind the goal that mikey scored in!
Let’s all do
We must be around the same ages … well you might be 51 and am 53 … close enough
My big sister bought me £100 worth of “manweb” shares for my 21st …. Which was the July before Ekeren … I bought a £7.50 yearly passport and cashed the shares in for £97 … about 4yrs later the shares were worth about £1k … she said don’t cash them in they be worth more …. was too scared to tell her I cashed out for £97 :-)
The experience was worth more than the cash
I was behind that goal …
Think we had to play all the youngsters due to the foreigner rule … got a feeling Brian O’Neil played and wee Brian MacLaghlin fae Calderbank, played with his brother Martin at u-21s … Brian came to our training one night … nobody could get the ball off him
🏴🏴🏴
Brian MacLaghlin fae Calderbank
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the squiggle 😄
SHANKLANDQUICKNEWS…
On a phone line:
‘Hi Lawrence. Celtic here; we see your playing pretty decent every week – how dyou fancy signing for us?’
‘Wow, I’m flattered. Will I be a regular starter?’
‘Aye definitely’
‘…For how long?’
‘Four’
‘Wow – yer offering me a four year deal?’
‘Naw; you’ll be a regular starter for four weeks – then wee Kyogo, Daizen and Oh are back fae the Asian Cup’
‘……’
‘Hello Lawrence; ye still there son? Hello….?’
Eddie Munster
(Hope none of the big/wee shop read these pages)
Quad … 9.04pm
Hello Lawrence ..
Your on £2k @ week
Peter Lawell wants to know if you fancy £8k @ week
Shanklands wife ..:. Get to Celtic park … NOW
Shanklands wife then says …
I don’t give a flying fxxxxxx
If your playing or not
GFTB. Lol. Good point ;)
But IMO, bad business by Celtic to buy a stop gap at 8k per week on a 2/3 yr deal with no sell-on potential just to mostly warm pine and block progress to any ‘yoof’ players who may merit the chance of a step up.
HH
£8k & week
Lawrence then says …
I don’t care if am playing …. Show me the 💰
Quad 9.13pm
He reminds of Leigh Griffiths … why not take a punt, he is never a Kyogo or even big Oh (who I really like) but a player who has resurrected his career … and a Hun as a kid
Perfect for us …again I like him
But we are just bumping our gums … Brendan will decide
Brendan get him signed 🍀🍀
but as i said earlier Shankland must fancy his chances of a move to england where he will play every week and earn even more cash
and not have the hassle of moving from the mini’s to us
goalscorers are priceless. if he is that good then england is his place
GFTB on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 9:18 PM
I’ll take yer word LS is the real deal – be surprised if it happens.
We will likely have Abada, Palma, Tilio and Mikey J all fit. Plus Jonny Kenny’s loan ends at the end of Nov.
We should have more than enough to beat SPFL teams in that time. SHOULD is doing a bit of heavy lifting tho.
Guess we all hope Brendan is plotting a few bigger signings for January anyway.
SS all you gotta do is apologise
Just post, I will see it and your back…..
SS all you gotta do is apologise
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i think Churchill tried to get SS to apologise 75 years ago but it didnt happen
Scoddland: Keeper crap. Full backs poor (includes Taylor) Dyke dreadful. Manager no clue.
Shankland should have been on all of second half….Brown not international class.
Norway the better team.
Scoddland will get hammered in Germany.
Thats all :)
GERRYBHOY
No putting a tenner on then???
Thank goodness this international crap is finished ,on to real football.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jP5ouNZymXI
I really dae think We have a very Special Team about to Achieve beyond so many expectations.
Just get there early and see the Incredible high skills of our team.
MOD…..eh no, not at all.
I live in Germany and will be taking cover during the Euros.
Probably on the golf course. …. :)))
HH
Gerry
Quad 9.29pm
We are all just hitting the keyboard pretty sure as you said Brendan will be ahead of the game …
In my humble opinion … Shankland is in a different level from Kenny, Mikey j …not saw Tillio to make a judgement …
Anyhow … that’s me done … roll on Motherwell and back to the “real” fitba
Hail Hail 🍀
ps … Shankland = goals :-)
Well done Scotland.
A comfortable 2nd place , 5 pts clear of Norway.
Very fortunate to qualify.
Will not do well in Germany.
Scotland 3 Norway 3
Surely no one could have predicted that scoreline . . . . .
For
GerryBhoy.
I didnae realise I’d still be the Youngest wan at the Shipbank.
53?
It is mental, I always thought you were younger, actually a lot Younger about 3. years.
Busy period coming up – Hopefully we All get hame.
Gerrybhoy
We always got hammered when we went to euro’s or world cup
Am glad my kids have the opportunity to see us there again….
PETEC on 19TH NOVEMBER 2023 10:04 PM
For
GerryBhoy.
I didnae realise I’d still be the Youngest wan at the Shipbank.
53?
It is mental, I always thought you were younger, actually a lot Younger about 3. years.
Busy period coming up – Hopefully we All get hame.
No clue about any of that. Am 74 and have lived in Europe for a long time.
Must be a misunderstanding of some sort,
HH
Gerry
Mod…….. well I must say that I have visited that place before, where after
rarely qualifying, we got…………………… hammered.
That will happen again next year. We are simply not good enough
at that level.
So, it is called…………. Pessimist, defeatist, pragmatist
All of the above. ;)))
HH
Gerry
GERRYBHOY – apologies as I mean’t the comment to GFTB.
Sorry.