Rangers Banter Archive July 04 2012

04 Jul 2012 21:36:04
time for non-Glasgow based fans
of Celtic and Rangers to support
their local teams instead of
just following the big teams,
then once again we will have a
football competition to be proud of.
Support the local team,
don't follow success or ,worse,
religious orientation, that all ends
in tears.
SPL - Partick Thistle to win it in
2 years!

I live 15 mins from ibrox, 25 mins from fir hill. can i please continue to support rangers???
J1985

I dont live in Glasgow!
I dont follow Rangers for the glory!
I follow Rangers because of my Father and his father before him and being brought up in the traditions of the club. I love my club and I am disgusted by the actions of a few men but will never walk away from Rangers. Its a true phrase once a Ranger always a Ranger. If Rangers where to completely disappear from the footballing landscape as we know it (as many people would rejoice in) then I could NEVER bring myself to follow another team.

Gers1986

Whats this? desperation now? Finally sunk in that you won't have the fan base to offset the loses of Rangers missing from the SPL, so come along now and support your local back stabbing team pish? The last bit is the best laugh, Partick Thistle will be lucky to be in the SPL in 2 years. Rangers will be back before you.

My Local team is Motherwell and i'd rather take an axe to my privates, than stand beside the Rangers haters who helped block my team from the SPL. Motherwell FC - Admin in waiting.

Should that then mean that the Clyde supporters who now travel from Glasgow (were there club was orginally based) out to Cumbernauld should now start supporting there local team i.e. Rangers or Celtic. Don't talk utter nonsense - yes there might be a small minority of supporters who follow big teams like man utd etc because they win but the majority follow the club because they have a strong affinity and love for that club.

So we've to stop supporting the big teams and follow Partick Thistle in order to make them a big team?

That doesn't make sense.

Ican see firhill from my front window and Iam a maryhill man born and bread but most of all Iam a Rangers man because my father was the same and his father too its born in us we are brought up with the Rangers tradition, thistle never I see more fans of Glasgow warriors going to firhill than thistle fans on a saturday.

I went to see thistle v honved early 70 s even although im a gers man ,they got humped so wheres the attraction there ,saw killie thump eintracht 5-1 with wee calemero running riot ,that was good fitba doug t.s.o

04 jul 2012 20:56:37
right then mr green!! next step!
! so ?? whats the name of the new club " what are they to be known as" and also where will they play?? clube crest??? colours???? so little time yet so much to do eh!!!!

Can't talk for Mr Green but sure club will be called Rangers/will play at Ibrox /same
Crest/shirts will be blue.

04 Jul 2012 20:52:09
im sad at what happened today...but is anyone else as gutted as me about the SFA's stance towards us being allowed back into the spl before the vote even occurred... im gutted they had that stance and as sad as it is to say... i will not be attending anymore scotland games whilst these men run our governing body.... shocking.... i really hope im not the only one feeling like this

The sfa stance is the correct one whether you like it or not, the old rangers no longer exist, the new rangers can't waltz into the spl it is morally wrong, the new rangers should be made to apply to the sfl with the likes of spartans etc. It's a scandal imo that there was a vote anyway, liquidation means dead football club and a vacant space in the spl for dundee and dunfermline to fight over and a space in the sfl for new rangers to apply for. johnbhoy79

04 Jul 2012 20:49:39
Not so much a rumour but more of a prediction. As we have known for a good few years now spl clubs are millions in debt. correct?. Some if not most of these clubs feared going to the wall with or without Rangers anyway. If what I am hearing is right, then the other spl clubs are using Rangers as an excuse, by saying to Doncaster that by voting no to the Newco for the sake os Sporting integrity, they could lose so much money that they could end up with liquidation themselves, so they shouldn't get the same sanctions Rangers got, as it's all big bad Rangers fault. So basicly clubs who are looking for a way out of their own debt, by going down the same road as Rangers will do so with far less sanctions or even none, because it's big bad Rangers fault. This chaps is sporting integrity Scottish style. Basket-case.

Don't think that's true at all. However clubs can't be part to driving Rangers to football oblivion for fear that their turn may be next.

Well did they not remove the expressed individual sanction's and replace with the SPL members can vote on each case on the merits.

04 Jul 2012 20:11:12
I think the whole story around the dmise of Rangers etc needs to be broken down into chunks to understand it entirely to be succinct:

1. Murray era - mostly good to begin with but obviously in retrospect went off the rails. But in essence is very different from people in the late 90's early 2000's who thought that house buying & speculation was a good idea (and for a while it was believe me). But this needs to be looked aty.

2. Craig Whyte - clearly a disaster as Murray was strong armed into seeling, ironically by a bank ! (that is quite possibly itself now facing sanctions for malpractice) - min short this guy was the one upon who's watch Rangers went down due to short term unpaid Tax - which was VERY wrong an needed to be punished.

3. The whole subsequent mess of who now "owns" what at Rangers still very unclear and now lots more to emerge

4. The sudden injection of "sporting integrity" into the debate. Correct that integrity needed to be shown but the vitriol of opposition fans - most obviously Celtic ones - on display is quite beggars belief. Most of them couldn't speel the word previously never mind know what it meant and juxtaposed at the same time as former athletics "cheats" are given a chance of some redemption (which actually does disp-lay some integrity) we have so called sports fans looking for a public flogging to go on ad-infenitum. This is the equivalent of someone driving over a body in the road, tghen going back to reverse over it - again and again !
5. Now the punishement & barely disguised retribution begins, obviously in the good name of "sporting integrity". It seesdm as if now sanction is good enough to satisfy people. They also seem to want an unlimited number of apologies from everyone, including - get this - the fans! Now how exacty do many tens of thousands of Rangers fans apologise to all these sainted individuals? Personally by letter, in blood I assume.
6. Then we have the governing bodies - a shambles no matter who you support in Scottish Football and obviously just making all of this up as they go along- guided on the whole by people with "sporting integrity" and lay qualifications in law & finance who populate the internet sites with opinion ranging from very clever, insightful fact to nothing more than hate fuelled bile. SFA / SPL admin is atrocious.

7. Where now - like a ship that isx not allowed to dock, Rangers (for that is what they are and will be called) will now have to drift from port to port, like poor migrant boat people that those very virteous, integrity filled nations always seem to reject at the last minute.

8 Where should Rangers be? 3rd division, no question and start again.

9 Money rules football sadly. Therefore within 3 - 5 years the already declining product that is Scottish Football will have degenerated to a shadow of it's former (poor) self.

10 RIP Scottish Football

Is your name Murray? is this an attept to re write history. Murray is a busines man, otherwise known as a cheat amd liar. whyte was a patsy for Murray. Other SPL clube run by jelous small minded people, who have no interest in fans or football

Okay, my first point. When you say most of them clearly Celtic fans, I feel you misunderstand how united Scottish football fans are against the memory of the now dead Glasgow Rangers. To feel only one club feels the need for sporting integrity is simply deluded.

Now my final point. You think the fans wouldn't know how to spell integrity far less what it means, then go on to use some impressive words. All very good until you see the disaster that is your own spelling and typos.

Anyway, hope you are enjoying the first week of your holidays and looking forward to primary 2 after summer.

Bysee bye.

Happy Sheep.

Weesh a cud spell intergity~ never mind i know the meening of the wurd tommo

At point 4, you state "Most of them couldn't speel the word ..."

Suggest you check your own spelling. lol

Mac2.

Once again we have some fool blaming celtic again and by the way u r not RANGERS anymore when will u get it

Boohoo ya tube....trying to come over all intellectual....'most of them couldn't speel' yet your illiterate post is littered with errors and spelling mistakes, not to mention biterness.

for numpties like you, may i take this opportunity to remind you that dead rangers haven't received ANY punishment whatsoever....they were docked 10 points for going into administration, which is in the rules, and.......nothing else!

this pathetic diatribe sums up why no-one wants, likes or respects you, and your ilk.

RIP scottish football?? no, the only ones dead are rangers, the rest will survive....you aint all that y'know;)


taco

If and thats a big if. any clubs 2 go bust why not do a rangers just leave the debt and start a newco job done eh

Sorry,mostly rambling nonsense..........green jhedi

OP, your post made me chuckle.
In your point 4 you claim that most Celtic fans couldn't previously "speel" sporting integrity. I could point out your other speeling mistakes, but it would take too long.
In your point 6 you talk of the shambles of the governing bodies making things up as they go along. Only Rangers fans don't see that this was all being done for the benefit of Rangers. The judicial panel which didn't want to suspend your licence for a year or more. Or the attepmt to force you into SFL1. You may not like it, but Green certainly would and the bottom line is that Sevco FC may well struggle financially during the time out of the SPL.
Point 10. Scottish football will survive. Maybe there will be three different winners of the three trophies again.
Al

04 Jul 2012 19:51:43
As a Tim i find this a dark day for Scottish football. I think Rangers had to be treated like any other club and that would be 3rd division. On the other hand i know as an armchair fan i will lose interest in the canter towards the spl title. Competition is what makes sport healthy. Without it sport becomes meaningless.

What u want 2 remember here is if spartans put a applic in its down to who sfl clubs vote in

Well said this makes sense it will be boring for yourself.whats it going to be like for neutral fans in neutral countrys turn off in their droves

04 Jul 2012 19:00:36
This site is slowly getting worse, not posting valid comments, slow in updating and posting far too many anti Rangers posts.A new site will have to be found {Ed039's Note - Slow in updating, I have been on here all day, have a family and a job, so excuse me if its not to your liking. As for anti Rangers posts, everyone is welcome within the site rules, always have been always will be, so if you dont like it then I suppose "a new site will have to be found")

If all are welcome, how do you explain more Celtic comments than there are Rangers and this is 'allegedly' the Rangers page? {Ed001's Note - are you a bit simple? This is not a Rangers only site, this is a site to talk ABOUT Rangers. Not really difficult to understand is it? Now stop whinging.}

I must say ED39 if you don't mind me saying that you having a life , job and family is bang out of order . Seriously though great job and I don't envy you looking at what I can only imagine is a vast amount of nonsense in the postings . {Ed001's Note - I am thinking I might have to put a ban on editors having families and the like during a transfer window!}

Well said both ed's! I totally commend u's for all ur work, I know u's don't get paid for this, It's a hobbie to u's. U's have regular jobs like everyone else n u still get this sh*t off people! I'm a Celtic fan n there's not a lot going on at Celtic just now! The whole rangers escopade has taken over Scottish football n left us with nothing else to talk about! Things are changing daily at rangers and this site is great for following it! I wish it would be all over n done with cause it's been dragging on far too long! It's embarrassing for Scottish football. As if it wasn't in a bad enough state! Correct decision was made today! At least when rangers return to the top flight they will have gained a bit off there respect back and hopefully have a sustainable business in place so nothing like this will ever happen again!
Lay off the ed's guys there doing there best here!

Byars

Well said ed i am a celtic fan but today alone have been on most spl sites, me for one gets pi==ed off with stupid posts but you get morons in all walks of life ,good luck to all rangers and football fans hope it goes well for you's and we see each other sooner than later

Nope Ed, I fully understand.

Kindest regards,

Happy Sheep

Ed1 you really are a disappointment your dislike for Rangers are you really Reagan in disguise used to like this site but now full of anti-rangers comments and if any rangers fan are carefully watching Ed 1 is in there sticking his oar in at every chance sad sad sad {Ed001's Note - dislike of Rangers? Really? You aren't very bright are you? Because I don't dislike any team. I desperately want Liverpool to beat Everton, Man Utd, Arsenal and Spurs, but I don't dislike them, they are just rivals. Rangers, on the other hand, are not. If you knew anything about me you would know how stupid your comment was. There is only one club I would say I disliked, and that is Real Madrid, they are all that is wrong in football. I suggest you grow up a bit, when you do, you might get over your childish bitterness and resentment for anyone and anything that doesn't tell you what you want to hear.}

04 Jul 2012 18:50:34
Saw N. Doncastor on the news. What's with this 'bold move by spl clubs'? All the fans voted no and their chairmen followed them. All their fans issued a threat to clubs who vote yes and no one did bar the newco/oldco.
Pretty clear cut to me, issue threats and you get your way.
Now as a bear let it be the 3rd.

Doncaster is a joke, he should be fired asap.

This should never have down to chairmen or fans voting, Sevco are a new club and should start in Div3 anyway! Infact by the letter of the SFA rulebook Sevco should have to produce 3years of accounts before they are considered for entry to scottish league. But let's forget that rule as it would mean killing the mighty institution! Go to the 3rd and stop moaning like petulant kids!

DazzaBhoy

"Pretty clear cut to me, issue threats and you get your way."
Not so. How many threats did Rangers fans issue against just about everybody. Not going to away games of any team who voted no to entry to SPL, for example. That threat made no difference. Maybe the difference was that the fans of the other SPL clubs actually had a case.
Al

04 Jul 2012 18:30:41
now that we no longer have games against sellick in the league then if we draw them in the cups then they should get what every other team gets for away application, 800 tickets for the corner, it is only fair, there is now no rule that means they get the family stand, wot does other bears think about this
andygers74 {Ed039's Note - No, I dont agree, the thing that makes an old firm game special is the atmosphere and that would not be the same, remember others didnt cause our mess, the people in charge of our own club and them only)

I may be a tim, so don`t assume this is anti rangers. If you do go to div 3, this could be the turnaround Scottish footie needs, Let sky GTF, take the pressure off all clubs and start to produce young Scottish talent instead of filling our leagues with a littany of overpaid under skilled foreingers (with a few exceptions). It may take a few years, but may even improve our national team in the long run. Quite frankly, Sky and the European ruling bodies have ruined the competitive nature of football by only pandering to the rich (countries with the biggest tv audiences). Scotland needs to earn its place in football because we will never be able to buy it. The pain starts here for everyone, there is NO other option.

Well put ED,,,someone with common sense,let the denial & hateful kick us when were down mob keep there self persecution complexes too themselves!!!S

04 Jul 2012 18:06:26
Killie opted out---no guts to give a verdict.10 to 1 and then there's Killie.Silence speaks volumes.No respect for them now

An opt out was a NO vote anyway this was clearly stated before.

Killie will suffer more than any other team,no rangers or celtic fans visitng for years, cancel the pies!

In reply to 1 don't let facts get in the way of a rant.

04 Jul 2012 17:57:24
Well looks like the no brigade showed their "integrity" and stood by their word so cheerio for now. just don’t expect any sympathy from us bears when any of your clubs end up hitting the wall as we will be back stronger that ever just think its ironic that a club like Motherwell will sit in judgement of us when they got away scot free when they entered administration which will probably end up happening again not only to them but clubs like Kilmarnock and DUFC then it’ll be our turn to poke them with the sporting integrity stick and laugh used to support most of the Scottish teams in Europe but not any more lets see how they survive and credit to them if they do but just keep looking over your shoulder as this is the start of an new era and the rangers are on their way back.

Rant over and out......

If we do go into administration it will be a point reduction?/ is that not what happened to the old Rangers ? 10 points is a bit of a breeze if you not near relegation. Thankfully our lot pay the tax man so no chance liquidation....wooo hooo sorry on that one RANTER. Looks like all the teams pay tax ,so all have same conditions if admin...10points. Good call all should do it now including CELTIC that way no one will have debt?? while NEWCO are away.

You are being liquidated not put into administration.You got that life line and could not hack it!

Point1 your r not rangers anymore when is that going 2 sink in point2 if teams do go 2 the wall these teams wont leave transfer fees unpaid and a massive trail of debt point3 no one likes u because u show no respect 2 oyher teams all this we will walk through all divisions shows no respect and we will be back stronger ok good luck with that

Lol so deluded.

And remember, Murray, Whyte et al will have the blood of any other Scottish club who now goes to the wall on their hands.

All the other fans wanted was extant rules fairly applied. A brand new club, in this case Sevco 5088 FC, must apply to join the senior set ups bottom tier. This must apply even if Sevco 5088 FC has bought, and may play at - providing they are not plunged into administration again by Whyte in Green's clothing - the ground the now dead Glasgow Rangers used to cheat at.

@no1, I think u have missed the point mate, if it happened to another club there is no guarantee you will come back out of admin that easily, as with Rangers it could lead to liquidation if any cva is not agreed with creditors.

04 Jul 2012 17:44:21
Theres now a wonderful opportunity for Scottish football. Everyone in the SPL can reign back their spending rather than try to keep up with a runaway overspending Rangers. Everyone has a chance at success and euro football now.

SFL clubs can now enjoy 3 years of Rangers money.

Due to less money in SPL and more in SFL, the settlement agreement can be adjusted or scrapped.

There isnt a hope in hell that there will be a Rangers in Division 3. There are only 2 options.
It will be Division 1 or SPL after a years haitus.

Poor performance in Europe means a lower co-efficient, which in turns means less places and/or more qualifying rounds, which in turn means less European participation, which means less money (especially in Celtics case). Celtic fans consider this, no player with ambition will sign for you now because there is no point. Originally they could use it as a stepping stone to the EPL, but why would the EPL clubs sign from Scotland when the players are not being tested? Celtic, less TV money, less ticket sales, poor performance in Europe = poorer product, the downward spiral has begun.

04 Jul 2012 17:26:21
What a boring few years some rangers fans are going to have. Boycotting games boycotting sky boycotting audi hope tennents dont pull out or it shall be a few years of sitting in watching lottery and casualty every sat and doing the garden on a sunday back to work on monday talking about what? Cause you were not at a game you never seen the chelsea man u game or the barca real madrid game because i cancelled my sky.

Everyone knows a new club formed after one was liquidated isn't supposed to get into the SPL but apply for div3 in SFL.

Changing the rules recently to allow hand over of member share was awful.

I don't know what the fuss was about.
Oh and this isn't punishment in case some misguided people think it is. This is simply a knocked back application.

What a sad small minded person you are to gloat on other peoples misfortune. Obviously your own life is so insignificant you have to focus on ours

Yet all you'll worry about is us.It will be funny paying no attention whatsoever to the spl,i wont conversate on any ball thats kicked in the spl with guys at work,the spl is dead to me.
drumlad {Ed039's Note - Will it sill be dead to you when/if Rangers make it back)

Sure we will be ok watching all the sporting integrity kicking in.Why would I not watch R/Madrid at the pub just because you cancelled your sky.seeing your trying to be smart

Its gony be pretty boring for celtic fans as well with no old firm games to look forward to

They "big games" on telly are mostly pure mince anyway. Go to boozer for el classico, and just forget all that over-rated, over-hyped, money-corrupted english dump. Expand your mind instead. :-) {Ed001's Note - if you think El Clasico is not even more over-rated, over-hyped and money corrupted than English football, then you have problems! All football on telly is over-hyped.}

Ed0039,not at all.when we make it back,thats fine.i was really just making the point that i have no interest until such time as the gers are back there.I dont want any club to go bust,but i think the spl will be very different when we get back.i reckon a few teams are gonna be struggling financially,i just feel sorry for the backroom staff and families etc that will be the first to go when teams are skint.
drumlad

Boring few years???

We'll be on a mission trying to get back to the SPL. celtic will just be going through the motions of winning 1 title after another in a league that will be wrapped up by xmas. And we're in for a boring few years???
J1985

Surely all rangers minded pubs and clubs will also cancel their Sky sports packages in support of your cause ////so nowhere to watch ......johnnyG

04 Jul 2012 17:10:43
it cracks me up that most of the rangers fans thinks that everything around them will crumble now ther not in the top teir of scottish football killy the dons and well have been border line as have most of the scottish football teams but they have survived becouse they live in ther meens and that is why ther will be no probs up in the top flight i personly think yous should be worring that if the rangers dont make it up one year back to the top thats three league wins in a row we will p=ss are selfs gota go now bears to worry my self# wonder who we will get in the champions league, jodrok {Ed039's Note - Time will tell, I see a few times facing financial hardship, yes Rangers have caused this mess, but your club has been riding on the oldfirms coat tails for long time now, now there is no old firm's coat tails to ride on, we will need to wait and see)

That's the Champions League qualifying round, sometimes referred to as the banana skin round.

By living within their means do you mean by your two examples £11 and £14 million in debt?

Killie £11 million in debt, dons £14 million in debt and well already been in administration and you call that living within their means. Please promise me you won't ever take a job in banking

@3. There is a job going at Barclays. He should apply there first.

As a very happy dons fan I would like to say, live within our means in our case means we can service our debt. The now dead and gone Rangers couldn't. Thats why they are dead and gone.

I can tell you who you'll get in the champs lge bud- three teams that'll smash your back doors in. My crystal ball's burst but I can still handle this. :-)

04 Jul 2012 16:49:33
Im totally confused with what is goin on the now. from what i gather 5-7 clubs in the SPL dont want us in the SPL, SFL dont want us in div 1 so the best option is div3 to keep all happy, but the finanicial implications would destroy the game. So surely the sensible solution is to take the raft of 5-7 clubs fans and remian in the SPL with sanctions over total financial meltdown of Scottish Football.

I am aware that the sporting integrity is important and I understand the logical thing to do is to go to DIV 3 which i can accept, but surely if these financial statement are true then there is no other option than SPL with sanctions or the SFL accepting us in DIV 1.

Steve

I'm at the stage I will accept nothing less than division three, I'm actually looking forward to it, there are some amazing characters around the lower leagues, but I recon if we do this with a wee bit of humility and a good dose of humour, our club will come out this stronger. We need to lose the baggage now and remember we are a Scottish team in a Scottish league and drop all the outdated empirical outlook let's sit back and enjoy it now, there's nothing else for it, we the fans were never going to be able to control any of the outcomes or financial implications to Scottish football, so why worry about it now, let's make this a new chapter in our clubs history, although our history is fractured we are still the same club, we the rangers support won't let it end, in fact going by the amount of regular posters from the other side on rangers websites they won't forget us. So to our old foes I say we will see you in a bit maybe, some of you maybe not, who knows.
AlexMci

Steve, when I went to school if the vote was 10-1 against, the one was the dying corps of oldco, and one abstention, I would not be able to conclude from that only 5-7 clubs were against!
Alex, thought your post was quality right up to the part you seem to feel Sevco 5088 FC have a history. No games played yet mate = no history.

04 Jul 2012 16:22:08
Gers Apply To SFL 1
Wed, Jul 4, 2012

Tweet By Lindsay Herron

CHARLES GREEN has confirmed that Rangers will apply to join the Scottish Football League after today's rejection by the SPL.

The Rangers Chief Executive says he is deeply disappointed at the 'no' vote today at Hampden and false hope that there was a chance of success.

He said: "We are deeply disappointed that our application to rejoin the SPL has been rejected overwhelmingly by the member clubs.

"This time last week, all of us at Rangers were resigned to the fact that we would not be admitted, due mainly to the public declarations of clubs indicating they would not support our application.

"At the weekend, we were approached by representatives from the SPL suggesting our application still stood a chance of success and we should discuss this further with clubs. This we did in good faith but with the knowledge of the hurdles that lay ahead of us.

"We had asked the SPL whether it would be more appropriate for us to withdraw our application but were advised against this.

"We made a presentation to the SPL clubs this morning, detailing our proposals in support of our application and this included what we believed to be penalties and sanctions that would have dealt fairly with the difficulties caused by events at Rangers prior to our acquisition of the Club on June 14.

"Sadly this was rejected by the other clubs and we regret that our Club and our supporters were given false hope by this initiative.

"We will now proceed as we had planned from late June to apply for membership of the SFL.

"It is entirely a matter for them whether our application will be accepted or rejected and we will make no representation to any member club prior to that application being considered. We also recognise that the SPL has been placed in a difficult position because of the way events have unfolded.

"If our application were to be accepted, Rangers will play in whichever division the SFL sees fit and we will move forward from there.

"The Club hopes that the supporters, who have been absolutely tremendous since the Club went into administration on February 14, will continue to support the Club and make Rangers a success once again."

Well they got what they wanted (or their fans did) - Good luck in the SPL, you're gonna need it. I am looking forward to following my team whatever div they end up in (Hopefully 3), with no favours we begin again. Hopefully on the way back we can help some of the lower clubs financially, at least that will start to repair our dignity.

04 Jul 2012 16:14:47
If Ian Black does sign then it absolutely stinks.

Rangers fail to pay Hearts £800k for Lee Wallace.

Rangers get to keep Wallace.

Hearts then have to let Black leave for free as they cannot afford to offer him a new contract.

Rangers then sign Black on a free.

This is morally wrong.

Mac2.

Why we wanting ian black the guy gets red cards every game {Ed039's Note - Over exaggeration if ever I have heard one, who that has turned up for training so far is better than him?)

Part of getting their SPL licence is they pay off all football debts so get back in your pram {Ed039's Note - But SPL licence has been refused)

How is that cause hearts were operating outwith their means just like rangers were
condem rangers for it by saying they cheated and then condem rangers cause hearts can no longer afford players
aye yer logic is what is morally wrong

Fed up listening to the morally wrong and sporting integrity p*sh constantly being spouted, when will people like you ever be satisfied, let me guess when Rangers are no longer.
Cant wait for the reply they are your sevco now, predictable boring sh*t by bitter people like you.

Rangers forever.............

4) are you kidding? You have been liquidated as Whyte failed to pay anyone! Your still due punishment for years of EBT's, Dual Contracts, lies and deceit! Your infamous club still has a long way to go clean up it's act and be accepted again in Scottish Football! A wee bit of remorse wouldn't go a miss.

You should be happy you's still have a club to support. You's have fleeced face painters, paper shops etc

Bhutta’s Newsagents, Glasgow £567.45
Campbell Medical Supplies, Paisley £3,386.73
Daily Record & Sunday Mail £312
Glasgow Leading Attractions (The Willow Tea Rooms) £1,525 to name but a few

Yet somehow your able to buy your stadium, training ground and car park. These items were given a value of £110m yet you had the opportunity to buy them for £5.5m? If you actually sit down and think about it you have got off really easily!

DazzaBhoy {Ed039's Note - Dazza turn off the water works mate, as I have said it is not the fans who caused this mess, yet it is the fans who are made to suffer (yes and creditors before you cry again), so your pop at people who have been through the mire is way beyond banter now. I paid my season ticket money for 21 years but I have never had a say in how it is spent, send an email to SDM or Craig Whyte if you feel so strongly about it)

04 Jul 2012 16:02:34
ok so were not in spl but most of us knew it was coming so really not that bothered we have no team left to compete in spl anyway so its maybe a good thing however i do find the spl vote on newco a disgrace and I for one and im sure many others will follow be boycotting the spl away games when we do get back to spl cause as far as im concerned they are punishing the fans and not the people ie murray and white with the no vote so i will not be paying a penny to go to away games next or in 3 seasons time, also was up in dundee last week and you'll love this thomson was in the local paper on one page saying he wont change his mind on the no vote and adds EVEN THOUGH IT MAY PUSH OTHER CLUBS IN TO ADMIN?? and on the next page it tells you how many players goodwillie gomes etc have left due to not being able to afford them and on the next page they are advertising season tickets?? you cant beat the evening telegraph and steven thomson lol lol lol

Good 1 mate hope there 1st to start there crying when it goes tsss up

To OP, it's Whyte, not White.

If it was my club (Aberdeen) or any of the other clubs you mob fondly mocked as the diddy clubs for years, would you see the need to change, relax or ignore the rules to save the fans pain? You wouldn't be demanding a no vote, I agree, because there would be no need. There would be no option. We would be heading to div 3 with no further need for thought and a large amount of gloating from you lot.

I don't blame you all for hurting. If my club were dead and gone like yours I would be devastated. No one can be sure if they've not been in the position but I would like to think through the hurt and pain I'd be able to show a little humility. I am impressed with this site as it seems to have a lot of fair minded and moderate fans, but stillso little humility, and an acceptance of div 3, in the main, in the hope it sinks other clubs. As for other Rangers forums, for which I know this site has no responsibility, the content is vile and offensive bigotry which, in all honesty, I'm surprised is not being investigated by Strathclydes finest.

04 Jul 2012 15:46:33
Rangers newco refused SPL entry after chairmen vote
Rangers will not play in the Scottish Premier League this season.

SPL chairmen met at Hampden to vote on the club's application to replace the old Rangers in the top flight.

A league spokesman said: "Clubs voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL."

The reformed Ibrox club are now expected to play in the Scottish Football League but it is not clear which division they will enter.

Use accessible player and disable flyout menusAdvertisement
Interview - SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster
Rangers FC plc entered administration in February owing up to £134m to unsecured creditors. The company will eventually be liquidated and has been replaced by a new company.

There is uncertainty about who will replace Rangers in the SPL. Dunfermline, who were relegated last season, or First Division runners-up Dundee.

SFL clubs met on Tuesday to discuss a proposal for Rangers to enter Division One but the Glasgow giants could begin season 2012-13 in Division Three if that idea does not gain the support of a majority of clubs.

Eleven out of the 30 clubs have already indicated their opposition to Rangers entering Division One, with a vote scheduled to take place on 12 July.

Eight SPL clubs had already gone public with their opposition to a Rangers newco entering the top flight ahead of Wednesday's vote, with an 8-4 majority required for the application to be successful.

He said: "The three viable options are effectively: bringing 'newco' Rangers back into the SPL with a range of appropriate sanctions; putting Rangers into the second tier of Scottish football; or Rangers going into the bottom of the pyramid into Division Three.

"The third option, I was keen to stress yesterday, would inflict massive damage on the whole of the game in Scotland and effectively punish 41 innocent clubs for the misdeeds of one."

Regarding the possibility of Rangers heading down to the First Division next season, Doncaster added: "There's lots of things that need to happen before that might take place.

"The SFL clubs will be meeting again next Thursday and will be voting on that. It remains to be seen how that plays out."

04 Jul 2012 15:43:47
I think it is now time that Rangers fans made a stand against Green's plans to prevent us moving to the 3rd Division. We need to protest against these plans, especially as the vast majority of fans want to see this happen. I for one will support the club through these difficult times through the lower divisions.

Please Green request entry to the 3rd Division as we Rangers fans want.

Offer us a 3 year season ticket for double the price of an SPL ticket for a year, either pay in installments or upfront, and let us put the funding in place to get us back to the SPL.

And then we can all get back to supporting a youthful with some experience grow as it moves up the leagues. Might even bring some enjoyment back to watching a team that have looked somewhat tired over the past few seasons.

I for one will not shed a tear for the same teams who voted in Sentana, putting all of the Scottish clubs in a precarious financial state which was hitting all of us even before the current ressession and well before our demise in recent months.. They will live or die by their own decisions not ours. {Ed039's Note - Another protest??)

He can only apply to the SFL - whatever league they put us in, for whatever reason, is beyond Mr Green's control - it's about time a lot of you cut the guy a bit of slack and support your team

It has to be D1 for me, it's ok all these fans saying D3 hey prob don't buy season tickets FFS!

04 Jul 2012 15:30:08
Dundee SPL
Airdrie SFL1
Stanraer SFL2
Rangers SFL3

04 Jul 2012 15:23:19
hi ed - can someone at ibrox not grow some, and make a decision, instead of sitting back and letting every other club, chairman, supporter dictate to us what they have decided to do with our future. rangers fans have spoken / voted, 3rd div, with no more penalties, sanctions, bans, deductions hanging over us, they made their views painfully clear, time for "the rangers" to make ours !! {Ed039's Note -They are businessmen, they only see pound signs on spreadsheets)

Agree with the Ed on this one. Green is only in it for the green!

But I fear we may have to put up with him for 3-4 years as our club sits in the doldrums, so he can make his return and then get out with a hansome profit.

Is it not time for the other clubs to put their balls on the line and vote no to the newco SPL, and the SFL allow us entry to the 3rd.
Any businessman in charge of the newco would try their arm to get into the spl- that's where the money is or what little is left.
All this pussy footing about 'you do it, naw you do it!' It's all great for them to come out before a vote and say no just to appease their fans, but the sfl didn't vote and deferred to the 12th trying to put the emphasis on the spl clubs, guess what they will do? This indecision and mess is not of RFC's making, it is because the SFL and probably the SPL don't know what they are doing or wanting, amateurs.

04 Jul 2012 15:21:05
Gers not in SPL next season. Already cancelled sky sports. Follow follow?

ic

Where are you going?Where do we follow,follow? {Ed039's Note - There was a question mark after the follow, follow so he was asking a question)

04 Jul 2012 15:12:37
Rangers Supporters Trust statement says they now want newco to start in Div 3. 75% of Ibrox season ticket holders agree. What's the problem?

Mr Green... SPL.... SFA. Oh.. and Money!
P.O.B.

OP - RST could probably hold their meetings in a phone box and your other statement is totaly made up or i have missed the poll of all season ticket holders, %ages are very misleading mate look at the headline today 82% of well fans vote no, then look at the details and probably only 60% of well under 1000 people voted no meaning 40% did not vote no but a sensational headline
Back to the subject in hand Why the F do we want to go to div 3, half the support would stop attending after the first dozen games or so, one year of low quality football in div 1 would be bad enough but 3 years would be even worse (if things can get any worse) for us


JG

04 Jul 2012 14:56:00
ah well my fellow bears that wanted div 3 have got their wish, or maybe not, now we are at the mercy of the mighty SFL, personally i feel sick -

At today’s General Meeting, SPL clubs today voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL.

The first nail in the coffin of scottish football and they dont even have the balls to announce the result of the vote, lets see if the SFL will put the final nail in the box and lose three generations of supporters to the scottish game (my father, myself, and my son) in one fell swoop, but on the bright side

a very gutted JG

JG re "don't have guts to announce result of vote"
ER all the media, STV, BBC, SKY saying vote was 11 - 1 as an ex bear try and guess who the 1 was? Timalloy

If you have to start at the bottom apply to join the english league you would be in the epl in 3 seasons..financially better off

England don't want you's playing friendlies down there, so why would they want you playing there every week?

Get england right out your head plonker!

Tim as usual you dont read my post , you just jump in before you engage your brain, you may not know this but i am away in a place where there is no STV, BBC, so i went to the SPL website and their statement, you may be reading between the lines but they never stated the vote was 11-1 please send me the link for the website where i can find this.

JG

@2 No more of this English nonsense--even Ed is tired of it. {Ed039's Note - Very much so)

By the way tim i forgot to add

I WILL NEVER BE AN EX BEAR

JG

@1 What are you doing back on hee? You stated in your own page 'the battle has been won' What an idiot you are.
The vote was not 11 to 1 it was 10 to 1 with one abstension, even you balls that up!

04 Jul 2012 14:40:33
Okay that is Newco officially NOT in next season's SPL (source: BBC)

So all hinges on the SFL next Thursday. Would love to be a fly-on-the wall to hear Reagan's whispers in certain quarters ears during the next few days!

SPM

04 Jul 2012 14:37:21
No to us staying in the SPL - in a way I am glad Charles Greens last minute bid to accept a raft of sanctions which would have meant that once again us Gers fans would have been paying for it. Wonder how long Mr Green and his consortium will hang about now ?

Gers1986

04 Jul 2012 14:35:44
Last minute hope for SPL gone.Reagan sounded hopeful on news but not to be.Who wants us now?Will we have a home next season?Disaster finally sinking in

04 Jul 2012 14:30:12
Well its no to newco 1st or 3 division
it is...3rd Div for me ! and let the SPL
get on with it

i'll give it a year, 2 at most & SPL clubs
will be falling by the way side, &
I hope they remember this day
when they listened to their fans
who would rather see their clubs
fold over the hatred they have for
Rangers cunningly disguised as sporting
integrity.

This could be the end of Scottish
football as we know it.

Why would the clubs die, they can reinvent themselves as Motherwell Newco, or Aberdeen Newco, it's been done before

Vambo

04 Jul 2012 14:23:27
SPL vote NO to rangers newco. source SSN

Who would prefer to apply to the Blue
Square prem rather than D3?

This is the only chance we will ever have
where we dont actually have a league!

J

04 Jul 2012 14:22:28
SPL statement - "At today's General Meeting, SPL clubs today voted overwhelmingly to reject the application from Rangers newco to join the SPL."

not surprising eh?

04 Jul 2012 13:52:05
"Sporting integrity" seems to be the latest buzz word. I don't recall any mention of sporting integrity when Airdrieonians went bust, bought out Clydebank relocated the team to Airdrie and kept Clydebank's spot in 2nd div. Simply an excuse to cover up years of pent-up jealousy. If this "integrity" argument was applied to other business, we would have to liquidate RBS and Barclays, ban them from hiring staff for a year and stop them having branches on every High St! I appreciate that Rangers are in the wrong and should be punished, but let's put it in perspective and stop hiding behind the "sporting integrity" argument."

04 Jul 2012 13:38:18
Fact: If Rangers move to Div 3 then the SFL will benefit however the SPL will suffer.

Fact: If Rangers move to Div 3 then Sky will pull the plug.

Fact: If Rangers move to SPL then sporting integrity is out the window.

Fact: If Rangers move to Div 1 then half of Scottish teams will suffer.

Fact: If Rangers move to Div 1 then Sky contract will remain.

Fact: If Rangers end up in Div 1 or 3 then several SPL clubs will go into administration and take the 10 points deduction to wipe off debt.

Opinion: If the whole of Scottish football is to benefit then Rangers should be in Div 3.

Fact: If Rangers move to Div 3 then the SFL will benefit however the SPL will suffer.

Not necessarily as the SPL could no longer afford to pay the £2 million to the SFL clubs.

OP i am confused, you say if we end up in 3 then the SPL will suffer, sky money gone and teams will go into admin

then finish off by saying if the whole of scottish football is to benefit then we should be in Div 3

??????

JG

@1. So the SPL could no longer pay the SFL? Sounds like a question of Sporting Intergrity here. SPL not paying their debts to other SFL clubs. Hope the SFA will be as pro active then in tackling that problem if it arises.

04 Jul 2012 13:06:10
If you can't get on the Clyde FC site, here's the statement...

---------

The club sent two directors to attend the meeting of the SFL clubs yesterday and they have reported back to the Board. The meeting and conversations covered the best part of 5 hours but there were only a few overarching themes.

The clear message portrayed is that Scottish Football is in a very dark place indeed and there is simply no good solution to what is now a structural problem that has gone beyond a one dimensional issue of where Rangers should play next season. No matter what happens now there is going to be enormous fallout across the Scottish game. Whether some good can be extracted from the impending mess will depend entirely on the SPL clubs, guided by the currently absent leadership of the SFA.

Neil Doncaster wanted only one thing from the meeting, to get a steer from the SFL clubs whether they would allow Rangers into SFL1. He talked the clubs through a detailed explanation of where the SPL clubs would lose £16m next season if Rangers were not entered to the top division of the SFL. This was delivered as a matter of fact, it was a "reality". It seems that most, if not all, major sponsors of the SPL have exit clauses if either of the 'Old Firm' are not within the SPL. The total figure was not new, but the detail behind the number and its impact on individual clubs in the SPL was set out clearly. There were challenges made regarding the flip side of saving the central income from sponsors and media, the obvious impact of loss of supporters to the game who have strongly voiced their intent. Supporter reaction has not been factored in, again there are realities, the SPL clubs are waiting on their Sky cheques in August and clearly that was more important. Nowhere in the presentation was account taken on the impact to the finances of clubs, and more importantly the relevance of the game, should supporters stay at home.

The consequential impact on the SFL from the presentation was that the SFL would lose its entitlement to circa £2m per annum from the Settlement Agreement put together to compensate the SFL for the SPL breakaway, this was made very clear by Neil Doncaster. He told the clubs that if the SPL didn't have the money then they could not pay the SFL. The reality however, which was clear from the detailed figures, is that the SPL, whilst losing an enormous amount of funding, would have the cash to make payment; it is just that the SPL would not meet the legal obligation to the SFL as the cash would be used to finance the SPL teams.

The undeniable statement made on behalf of the SPL is commercially understandable. The SPL would not allow £16m to flow out of their coffers, the impact would be too catastrophic for the SPL clubs to contemplate and as such the only options are that Rangers enter SFL1 or, as a less attractive backstop, a breakaway SPL2 will be formed. There is no prospect, from an SPL point of view, that SFL3 can be allowed to happen.

Neil Doncaster was delivering a very unpalatable proposition and he did it clearly and effectively, hence the representatives of Clyde Football Club understood that the only thing that mattered was the impact on SPL clubs from the loss of money from media and sponsors.

It was to the credit of every SFL club, and probably to the surprise of Neil Doncaster, that nobody asked him to improve on the £1m offer.

The SFL clubs were given a steer for themselves by Neil Doncaster, if the SFL could not tell him how they might vote, then he would expect the SPL clubs not to vote at their meeting either.

There were a few new things learned in the meeting, not least that the rules of the SFL would allow any club accepted into the SFL, by a simple majority, to be placed in any division. The rules do not state, nor imply, that they must join at the bottom tier, only custom and practice around good governance and integrity has seen teams join in the bottom tier. In addition, the attendees at the meeting were left in absolutely no doubt whatsoever by Stewart Regan that if the SPL clubs voted to allow a Newco into the SPL then it would be blocked by the SFA refusing to transfer the SFA membership. It was however caveated well enough to make it less than an absolute statement. The meeting was full of implied actions and outcomes, the use of clever language when delivering the speeches allows anyone to defend with ‘that is not what I said'. However, nobody will have left the meeting with anything other than the very clear messages being put across. Denials of the substance of the message being delivered do not assist anyone in this absolutely dreadful situation.

There will be no winners. Any level of integrity for the sport will be lost by one outcome and financial collapse, we are told, will fall upon the SPL with the other. Sadly, the SFA and SPL have decided that whilst they say they are looking for a collaborative solution, they have very clearly made sure that by their own inaction that the blame will sit with the SFL - no matter what the outcome. The Board of the SFL are being put under intolerable pressure by the other bodies looking to avoid the implications of properly applying their own governance procedures.

In summary, the SFA implication is that there will be no entry to the SPL. The SPL implication is that it therefore has to be SFL1 with a bit of restructure, or an SPL2 with the rest of the SFL cut adrift. There were no other options. Whilst Stewart Regan said that the SFA did not favour an SPL2, there was no equivalent abhorrence of that proposal as was attached to the proposal for a Newco in the SPL, leaving the implication that the door remains wide open for the SPL to secure their £16m with or without the SFL.

The Board of the club will consider the feedback from its representatives and also the outcomes of the next few days and will keep its supporters fully appraised, but in the meantime see no reason to amend any previous comment.

04 Jul 2012 11:52:39
Can Rangers not just go into division 3 n shut the league up!
No one likes us, it's 3rd div or nothing!

Correct me if i'm wrong, all spl and sfl clubs vote according to their fans which I as a rangers man i admire the clubs . I wish my club would listen to its fan because 75% off us want division 3. Is there any chance that fans of all scottish clubs help rangers fans only this once and help us have our voice heard, We all want division 3. The scottish fans are the ones that are the heart and sole of scottish football without us the sfa spl and sfl can make any decisions they want but for what no football clubs left. What the spl and sfa are doing to the sfl forcing them to sort out thier mess is a total disgrace and should not be allowed. Fifa and Uefa said they would't step in the spl had to fix it themselves where are they now that the spl and sfa are trying to pass the buck to the sfl. Its time for the big boys to step in its just to close to the start of the season and its hurting 42 clubs not just mine.( mines deserve it).

Scottish Premier League clubs have voted overwhelmingly against the Rangers' newco joining the top flight next season. Source Sky news

Watch out,it looks as if it could be nothing.No one wants us.

Completely agree. As a non Old Firm supporter clubs cannot shout about sporting intergity and put Newco in 1st division to retain tv money- hypocracy!

I think the consequences will be most clubs will go part-time. i.e.

1. Newco in 1st division. Fans will go nuts. Huge drop in gates.Part-time football.

or

2. Newco in 3rd division. Huge drop in tv money. Part-time football, maybe via administration.

Nothing stopping clubs going full-time again at a later stage, once they have sorted themselves out.

04 Jul 2012 11:31:59
what times the big decision likely to be at ed any ideas?
good mornin hows you? {Ed039's Note - No confirmed time, decision might not even be made today, something I have said before on here and was ridiculed for saying it)

SPL chairmen should not get involved in SFL chairmen business. That's the problem here too many folks involved in others business. Just do what your club it's fans and Scottish society expects and move on.

I agree with you Ed . Charles Green only submitted application to join SFA on Friday I doubt that has even been dealt with yet In saying that I think it's a disgrace to treat the fans like this. Smoke and mirrors I say Smoke and mirrors

Ah,how sweet the vindication Ed!
I got a roasting last week for using the word "unfortunate" regarding Donald Finlay's karaoke episode.
You'll never guess what happened a few days later?
Incredible as it seems none other than the Celtic fan's recently adopted "superhero" and much loved journalist of the year,Ch4's Alex Thomson,uses the exact same phrase?
I wonder if AT will be accused of condoning sectarian bigotry,and having underlying issues in the same manner as i was?
I shan't be holding my breath for too long
but nonetheless apologies or excuses are awaited.
P.O.B.

04 Jul 2012 10:33:43
Just think in 5 years from now when rangers are SPL champions again it will be the best party ever. P.S. that's if all the other clubs havnt went bust. {Ed039's Note - Get real pal)

Cling to your dream---that's all you can do.If it makes you happy mate,well and good.To the rest of us,it's all a nightmare!

04 Jul 2012 10:09:35
Regardless of the SFL vote for div1 or Div3,
The SPL needs to vote today to not allow Newco in.

There's no need to delay. Because even if SFL vote NO the SPL cannot change their vote to a YES. It's just not possible now. The SFL vote cannot be a consideration for the SPL.

They've all said they'll vote NO, thats not a conditional NO depending on how the SFL swings, how ridiculous.

All the fans in Scotland including Rangers fans want Div3.

1) I agree that we should be in div 3. However all the SPL chairman have realised that they will suffer without the TV money, so they will put off the vote until the SFL clubs vote for us to go into div 1. Once they reject us then they will come up with some form of compromise that cripples Rangers, ensures Celtic win the league and gives the clubs money to survive. If clubs need either of the old firm to survive they shouldn't exist. IMO we should go to the 3rd div and start again, not out of spite but this punishment was good enough for Livingston so it should be the same or us. If that means part time clubs in the SPL then so be it, we can't apologise forever and despite what people think it isn't our fault that some other clubs are run as badly as ours was/is.

04 Jul 2012 09:51:37
Are the So called footballing chairmen , directors of plc clubs not breaking the fiduciary duty as defined in the Companies Act 2006 , since in effect they will be voting against the success of their own companies? I.e loss of income etc? All contained in sections ss171-177 Companies Act 2006 {Ed039's Note - Did you read the Stewart gilmour article in the paper today)

@ED39 many apologies ed I didn't read the article I was discussing it with my uni tutor, she raised this point. {Ed039's Note - Dont apologise?? I wasnt having a go, I was just asking a question)

They also have to act with the highest integrity in their businesses under the companies act.
They also have to put sporting integrity before profit according to UEFA regulations.

Football clubs do not make profits and do not pay dividends to shareholders.

04 Jul 2012 09:41:57
On ssn that vote could be delayed on rangers future reason being to see what sfl division will have us. Cake and eat it spl/sfa just shows Scottish football can't survive without us. Vote now and live by your decisions because we have to live with the previous owners decisions.

Rangers actions by past owners has been shocking and shows a lack of integrity yes but what the sfa/spl are doing shows a total lack of integrity too.

Shocking

04 Jul 2012 09:41:07
Well today's the day. What time's the vote at?
Then 12th July, a week tomorrow for SFL.

It's looking very probable now that it's SFL Three and 3-5 years to get back to SPL. Will Ally stay? Will 6 SPL teams go broke? ( they can do an admin, dump debt and sell players and live within their revenue quite easily.)

04 Jul 2012 07:28:57
I know people are saying that we are not entitled to any transfer fees for the players who have left but what about the players that have came through the youth ranks and are under 24? Are we entitled to compensation for these guys or not? {Ed039's Note - No because the company that trained them are soon the cease trading)

Ed 39, dont think it is a simple as that, yes PLC held their contracts and as you say "soon" to cease trading but as of now they are still in existence, so either they hold the contracts and a binding agreement that players could leave for reduced fees or the contracts were transfered with the other assets, its all as clear as mud along with everything else thats been happening for the last 4 months

JG {Ed039's Note - Of course that's true bu the newco won't see a penny of developmental fees although I think something should go towards the creditors pot if there is the possibility)

04 Jul 2012 04:47:13
Some guys on here need to stop being hypocrites. One week you are going on about wanting walter smith back because he does not think green is the right man for the club and correct me if im wrong but did walter not ask ally to walk away last season. And now some are going mental because the players are walking away because they dont think green is right man for the club. So walter is right but the players are wrong?

04 Jul 2012 01:30:11
Rangers will end up in the SFL3. Where they belong in the new season.

I'm a Rangers fan and i hope you are correct.
I do not know a single Rangers fan that wants anything other than Rangers starting in SFL3.
I hope the fans of the other SPL clubs get what they ask for then continue so show the same level of support they have shown their chosen club. i.e. not buying tickets. And these clubs continue to play to less than half filled stadiums.
Scottish football will continue, but without TV revenue the clubs will have to reduce their wage bill accordingly. This will in turn reduce the standard of football in this country dramatically.
It doesn't matter to me what division Rangers play in. I will still support them. i n the short term starting in division 3 will hinder us. but the only way is up from there and one day we will play in the top division again. what ever state it happens to be in when we return.

04 Jul 2012 01:03:49
ed dont you think because theres a chance of playing in the spl if not probably the third division if one of those points were to accept the embargo why not sign players just now but i wouldnt want to be in the spl if we get those 6 or 7 punishments
AndyBear98 {Ed039's Note - I don't think there is any chance we will be playing in SPL)

I'm not so sure, Ed. I sense the tide is turning and today's possible deferal of the vote just adds to my thinking.

A castrated Rangers in the SPL suits everyone to some degree, really, and I think that's where Rangers will end up. Green's proposals, I think, will be acceptable to other SPL clubs so it's just the SFA that needs to sort itself out. If it doesn't then Regan will have to go.

McWulf {Ed039's Note - it's possible but I think that too much has been said now to allow rangers into SPL)

03 Jul 2012 22:35:48
It all makes the clearest possible sense. Running one football club whilst having a financial interest in another is about the clearest potential conflict of interest possible in the business of sport.

Yet Channel 4 News can now reveal such possible potential conflicts are a commonplace within the game, involving key individuals, and it is allowed within the rules of the governing bodies as presently written.

Not only that. In one case this perceived conflict involves none other than the current president of the Scottish Football Association, Campbell Ogilvie, already described as “heavily conflicted” by his own chief executive and currently offering to stand aside if his presence in the job is a problem.

Offering – but not doing so.

Channel 4 News has a Companies House list of Rangers shareholders for 2008 and 2010. They prove, for instance, that the current Airdrie chairman and president of the Scottish Football League, James William Ballantyne, had 568 Rangers shares in 2008 when chairman of Airdrie.

Now, nobody is pretending these shares are worth very much money at all in the vast sea of Rangers shares. People will be interested in the principle of all this, though, not the money.

Let us consider some other high-profile figures – like Mr Ogilvie. He remains president of the Scottish FA, despite that “heavily conflicted” comment from his chief exec. In 2008 a Companies House report showed Mr Ogilvie held 3,505 Rangers shares whilst in senior management at Hearts. That year he became chief executive at Hearts and suddenly transferred his 3,505 Rangers shares to his wife Karolina, who already held 400 – thus giving her 3,905 shares.



And so to the one-time sectarian crooner Donald Findlay. Infamous for leading sectarian singing at an Ibrox function in 1999, he may have been forced out of Rangers over that unfortunate musical issue but he has not left Rangers in so many other ways. By 2010 Companies House records will tell you he held 9,900 Rangers shares whilst Chairman of Cowdenbeath FC.

No doubt there are other examples.

And so to the rulebook. Well, the Scottish Football Association rules state that:

“Except with the prior written consent of the Board, no Member, Associate Member or Official, may at one time either directly or indirectly:-

21.1.1 hold or seek to acquire beneficial ownership of or deal in the shares or securities of another club; or

21.1.2 be a member or shareholder of, or lender in any capacity to, more than one club…”

Along the corridor at Hampden Park, the Scottish Football Association handbook says pretty much the same things. And in the rules there is the rider that owning less than a 3 per cent total share value is OK.

We are talking about way less than 1 – let alone 3 – per cent in these cases.



The rules also state that having family members owning shares means they are treated as associates. That is, you’re all one in the eyes of the SFA and the SFL rulebook. Transferring shares from, say, Campbell Ogilvie to his wife would make no difference at all in law. Presumably Mr Ogilvie knew all this – he’s widely seen as an expert in football regulation.

So it’s a curious tale. What binds these people to their shares, since it cannot be the financial value? Emotion? It is far from clear. And what makes them hang on to them year after year, when doing so clearly suggests a potential conflict of interest to many, regardless of whether or not any rules have been broken?

Jim Ballantyne said everything had been declared to the boards, and in any case the share numbers are absolutely miniscule. He said:

“I see no problem here at all” and “I cleared everything with the boards” and “You are talking about the tiny fragment of one percent of ownership and this involves absolutely no influence whatsoever”.

We say that may well be true, but would it not be sensible to divest all shares in any other club when running a different one, let alone the SFL itself, just in order to avoid any perceived conflict of interest?

“No – not at all. It’s never been raised at any board meeting,” said Mr Ballantyne.

“Well, I’m raising it now’ I said.

“Well, you’re not in football,” he replied. I cannot seriously think that the president of the Scottish Football League believes only football directors can take a view on this – not the fans, not the public and not journalists. But that is what he told Channel 4 News.

And so to Donald Findlay. His case is perhaps the most curious of the lot. There is the perceived conflict of interest in running Cowdenbeath whilst owning almost 10,000 Rangers shares.

We asked Mr Findlay about the shares issue. We received the message back that he is not interested in answering, and a Cowdenbeath messenger said Mr Findlay says: “You can do what you want.” So the world must wait to know whether or not Mr Findlay regards his Rangers as a conflict of interest. If he does, he certainly does not want to talk to us about it.

At the end of the day, what you have here is another spotlight into the cosy, cronyish old world of Scottish Football, which has predictably lumbered into the 21st century only to come close to real collapse through lack of proper oversight and governance.

Many would simply say any sport which allows anyone a financial stake at all in one club whilst running another is a sport badly in need of urgent overhaul.

From these men today, no consideration or comment on the fans, the public, how this might look. Just the usual insouciance when faced with the concept that whether rules are actually broken or not, this hardly conveys a healthy impression of Scottish football.

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Didn't realise this has turned into his twitter page , good grief.

Yeh, very good. Check every other clubs shareholders and you will find some of them hold Celtic shares. When the lottery winner and the former Celtic director owned, sorry ran it into the ground, Livingston, they were still large shareholders in Celtic. I just love the way everything is a conspiracy, as if these shareholders could possibly have had any influence over events at Ibrox. In case you hadn't realised it the failings are with the individuals.

As a tic fan I can't say I was bowled over by this article

Doesnt say shareholders it is Members associate members or officials of SFA and their respective clubs i.e. persons of responsibility who are involved with decision making within the respected Leagues ( as now Ballantyne,Findlay and Ogilvie all have an input in the outcome of SFA/SFL decisions on Newco...luckily after this was aired all have decided to abstain from any vote due to conflict of interest and therefore classed as a No Vote) 16 YES votes required...JohnnyG

It's hardly a smoking gun.

If Ogilvie (wife), Ballantyne and Findlay were to get rid of their Rangers shares, it would not change any emotional attachment they have to Rangers.

Morgan the Wolves chairman is an avid Liverpool supporter. He even called his son Red.

It's like saying Terry Butcher should not be ICT Manager because he captained Rangers.

Bit of a non story.

Mac2.

I think you'll also find other clubs such as celtic will hold shares in rangers it gives them a right to see first hand whats happening at agms etc. i think you'll find its only a conflict of interest if its a majority shareholding .you lot really have got mr thomson on a right wild goose chase now ,even his timmy informants must be laughing at the stories theyre feeding him now

It's only regarded as a conflict of interest if the shareholding is in excess of 3%.

Mac2.

03 Jul 2012 22:20:33
Enoughs Enough why does bomber not put up or shut up?! I for one am backing green and will be buying a season ticket all these publicity seekers and hot air blowers had there chance before we were liquidated they are creating a song and a dance now where were they wen needed? Cowards that couldn't do what was needed,Green is only person who putting money into us,browns latest rant is pathetic and he's never the man to front a consortium. Celtics £100 million? I urge all true blues to back green and not risk things by waiting on more pretenders.

Campsie Bear