In what increasingly looks like a facsimile of updates on the defence of Bagdad in 2003, Duff and Phelps continue to accentuate the positives about the potential bidders for Rangers Football Club or its assets but the charade is finally running out of acts.
This afternoon’s withdrawal of interest by the Blue Knight (singular), Paul Murray, the accountant who was a director of Rangers during the hugely controversial EBT years, and Brian Kennedy, should allow minds to focus on the most important question, what next?
Here’s a prediction for you:
Rangers Football Club will play their last game on Sunday 13 May 2012. One day next week, possibly even before the appeal against the SFA Disciplinary Tribunal punishment, one, or perhaps more, of the prominent players who have been jockeying for position recently will commence proceedings to buy a club in the Scottish Football League, or form a new club, ask for permission to play at Airdrie or Paisley, and apply for SFA membership. If membership is granted, an application will be lodged to join the Scottish Football League as soon as a vacancy becomes available.
In time Craig Whyte will sell or otherwise lose control of Ibrox Stadium, and if it is still in an operable condition, the football team hoping to profit from the demise of Rangers will look to acquire rights to play there.
You have witnessed an incredible period of Scottish social history in recent months.
You can buy a hard copy of the new issue of CQN Magazine via Magcloud here.
The graphic below is just for a flick through, to read the magazine go here to it’s dedicated site.
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Alex Thomson’s latest
As the tribunal which punished Rangers FC for bringing the game into disrepute recently, publishes the reasons for its findings, we gain an astounding insight into a major UK football club completely out of control.
Rangers under Craig Whyte, the Tribunal says , were ignoring all sense of reality in any kind of management on Planet Earth – let alone within Glasgow, also a part of the planet though in recent weeks you’d be forgiven for disputing that one.
Here goes…
Take the Craig Whyte take-over of the club. Yes, this was the one where the Glasgow tabloids trumpeted Mr Whyte’s ‘off the radar wealth’ – he was the ‘billionaire’ saviour of Ibrox, remember?. Well, in the real world, nobody had a clue in Rangers about what his financial pedigree was and they couldn’t find out either. The tribunal records:
“A real and substantial concern existed as to the genuineness of his offer to purchase and as to his motives.
“A real and substantial concern existed as to the lack of information available about his history both personal and commercial and his apparent reluctance to divulge or provide any information which was requested.
“A real and substantial concern existed as to whether and from what source he could find and invest the very substantial funds which would be required in acquiring the majority shareholding,”
Yet astonishingly the whole thing went ahead and the Scottish FA Chief Executive Stewart Regan admitted to Channel 4 News last month that they – football’s governing body in Scotland -more or less took it on trust from Rangers that old Craigy was a good egg – when we now know nobody had a clue. And he wasn’t. The tribunal states:
“Mr Craig Whyte disclosed little or no information. Financial models for working capital requirements prepared by the finance officers and accountants of Rangers FC were repeatedly disputed and rejected by Mr Craig Whyte… Mr Craig Whyte produced his own working capital projections which were wholly at variance with those of Rangers FC…. despite their making all relevant confidential financial data available under secure conditions for the examination and scrutiny of Mr Craig Whyte and his advisers in a process of due diligence in their purchase consideration, almost no advantage was taken of this facility and hardly any enquiry or scrutiny of the detailed and confidential financial information about Rangers FC was carried out by or on behalf of Mr Craig Whyte or any of his companies. This failure to carry out ordinary “due diligence” enquiries served to increase the substantial concern felt… for the motives, the genuineness…”
So they knew little about Craig Whyte’s finances. And Craig Whyte made little or no effort to find out much about Rangers. At the time management there were concerned at Mr Whyte’s motives for buying the club at all…yet it all went ahead and nobody said boo. Incredible.
Think that’s weird? Well check out what happened – or didn’t – once Craig Whyte was behind the chairman’s desk at Ibrox Park – on the odd occasions he actually went there, along with his lawyer Garry Withey:
“… in the course of the first few weeks of his chairmanship Mr Craig Whyte and Mr Garry Withey were in attendance at Rangers FC Headquarters at Argyle House, Ibrox on a frequent basis, but Mr Gary Withey then became an infrequent attender. Mr Craig Whyte’s attendance became irregular and increasingly infrequent. When he attended at Argyle House he spent little time speaking to any of the operational and administration managers and staff. He was difficult to access. He spent most of the time when he was in Argyle House closed in the Chairman’s room in meetings with persons unknown.”
Directors were left unsure what it even was they were supposed to direct – men like John McClelland and John Greig who had long association with Rangers. They were facing their biggest test in the club and – the Tribunal rules – they were about to fail it spectacularly:
“… as a result of the discussion and the perceptions of both Mr John McClelland and Mr John Greig arising from the absence of any management accounts or financial information about Rangers FC being provided to them, the failure to convene any Board meetings and Mr McClelland’s exclusion from the offices, they both arrived at the conclusion that they were now being so marginalised and excluded from the governance of Rangers that their position as directors was untenable.”
But did they do anything? Did they tell anyone? Did they inform the Scottish Football Association or the Scottish Premier League? Did they inform the media? No. no, no and no. The Tribunal damns them as individuals who could and should have acted but they did not act.
They walked away.
“Mr John McClelland and Mr John Greig resigned in October because they knew that they were being excluded and marginalised at the same time as they had great concerns for the governance of Rangers FC and were deeply suspicious of Mr Craig Whyte… Other than resignation there was no evidence that either of these directors took any steps with any person or authority to do anything about what they knew was happening.”
Paragraph by paragraph the age-old Rangers defence of ‘it was the boss not me’ it cut to shreds in the measured prose of deliberative , legal minds:
“… certain directors and / or senior managers were entirely aware that Mr Craig Whyte, a director of Rangers FC was engaged in a deliberate programme of non payment of taxes, non-cooperation with and frustration of the attempts of the auditors appointed by Rangers FC to carry out the annual inspection of the books of account and preparation of the statutory annual accounts…These matters all frustrated preparation of the annual accounts and prevented the holding of the annual general meeting which required to be held by 1 January 2012.
“From May 2011 Mr David King was aware that he was being excluded from the governance of the company and he appears to have done little about it except repeat his demands to Mr Olverman and Mr Craig Whyte for information. “
So too David King .What is that old saying, that for wrongdoing to triumph, all it takes is for good men to fail to act? As the Tribunal states itself, in a reflective moment:
“ …individual directors and employees must have known that what was happening within Rangers FC was entirely wrong and illegitimate but they chose to do nothing to bring it to the attention of the public. That may be matter for their long term reflection but it does reduce the mitigatory impact of the suggestion that Rangers FC were innocent victims. “
For anybody requiring this last bit in black and white – if anybody at Ibrox dares to whine that it’s wrong to blame Rangers FC for Craig Whyte’s craziness – they should be ashamed. Are you listening, Ally McCoist?
He engaged in a disingenuous correspondence in which he claimed to be anxious to put his case to the tribunal face to face but had singularly failed to do so, citing safety issues. This was the same man who was regularly spotted in public in Scotland and elsewhere.
He engaged in a campaign of derogatory, ill founded and ill judged criticism of the integrity of the Judicial Panel Protocol, its members and the Scottish FA itself. He alleged bias and a lack of fairness.
The tribunal could come to no other conclusion that his conduct was scandalous and disgraceful and in each case represented a contempt of the proceedings of the most serious kind.
http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/it-boss-me/1469
I’ve just spent the last 5 minutes drawing a Paul Murray hair-do onto all the photos in the paper, including the new French President and Lord Leveson.
I’m now going to try and make them all look as pissed off as Brian Kennedy.
Kennedy’s speech and mannerism remind me an awful lot of Souness.
The strings controlling Paul Murray’s left arm is broken.
This press conference is fantastic propaganda. At no point have any of the press pointed out that the conditions on the bid made by TBK have made the bid impossible, in that the possibility of a CVA is remote to impossible.
The bid fails due to the demand for CVA exit. Simply put this press conference is nothing but posturing.
Why doesn’t one of these journos ask Paul Murray about the part he played in Rangers’ downfall?
Billleeee av u seen Beeeanka?
Af fought she was dahn the vig wiv Rickkeeeeee an JAHNEEN!!!!
U bin up there aincha?
Yeah ah av actually wot ov it?
Was BEEEEEEEANGER er ornott?
U
Only the strings attached to his head are working now.
NOT ONCE has anyone yet said the famous 4 letters…
H
M
R
C
I’m calling my press conference tomorrow to explain why my bid couldn’t go ahead because I didn’t have enough money.
But if I had I was going to have Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish as my front men. Sir Alex was going to do the first year with Kenny as assistant before moving upstairs to become Director of Football. Kenny would then be the second youngest young manager in Scotland – if Ali was prepared to take a back seat for a couple of years.
Made sense to me…
Potentially if the LBC buys Rangers the last 2 owners of the huns would be Green and Whyte.
Kennedy’s money offer is risible. M£5.5 for a club with M£134 in debt; ie 4p in the pound for creditors!
Sounds as if Kennedy has learned a wee lesson from Craigie boy bidding for Goodwillie.
Pathetic.
The tax case is irrelevant apparently!
So WTF has all this been about ya nutter!
Brian kennedy says the taxman is irrelevent,aye nay bother
Is Kennedy Souness shaved and balded?
If you’ve ever wondered what Munchausen’s by proxy looks like in the cutting edge world of business, then watch the press conference.
They were dead to me weeks ago.
They remain so.
Eastenders is less histrionic, less sensational, less convoluted.
U
O.G.Rafferty on 11 May, 2012 at 16:22 said:
Yer man AT is most definitely in his stride today.
Getting right to the heart of the matter.
Love it.
pigalle
Tomorrow’s too late……
great
Is looking up things on google due diligence?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeMNa9l7p_M
Shocker – Kennedy says he likes to do things privately and hates to be in front of the cameras . . .
Was the boul’ Brian…………….doin’ his best Souey impersonation?
All surly pomposity and arrogance.
What a performer!
this is pure comedy gold
QUANTUM, QUANTUM, QUANTUM!!!
“I don’t like being in front of cameras”
you could have fooled us Brian
ulysses mcghee on 11 May, 2012 at 16:25 said:
you better not be on here messing aboiut unless that kitchen is finished.
ulysses mcghee
Peeing myself at that!
This is now an absolute crisis……
Whit no sh!t Sherlock
Kennedy is not a football man.
Ask any Stockport fan..eg Oliver Holt.
He is a rugby man. Wants to see Glasgow play at Ibrox.
Big congratulations to the family in Clare…..it almost sounds romantic.
Roadside birth in the wee hours.
All my best to all of them! HH !
So Kennedy called a press conference to tell folk he is a private person who doesn’t like cameras? Brilliant.
Quantum Leap.
It’s their only way outta this!
You can’t see them under the desk, but Paul Murray is wearing shorts.
Sally’s botty well and truly skelped in both of AT’s blogs.
Gregg’s will be pulling the shutters down as there is a big comfort eater heading their way.
This is like our custodians in 1994 in reverse.
Celtic 1994 – We have the club there are no problems – Gies money
Rangers (IA) Blue Knights plus publicity hunter – We don’t have the club there are no problems – We have little money.
Laughable!
LB
Paul Murray going to extremes to tell us he is not a smart Alec.
Whit No …………….
I am a big rugby follower. Kennedy is despised at stockport county.
Now Kennedy threatening the press!
This is the end of the road, we don’t do walking away!!!