BEARGER

UEFA explores creating third European club competition By ROB HARRIS Sep. 16, 2015 7:07 PM EDT ST. JULIAN'S, Malta (AP) — European football leaders have discussed the possibility of creating a third club competition. At a meeting of the 54 UEFA members on Wednesday, they explored the merits of a new competition for teams that fail to advance from the qualifying rounds for the Champions League or second-tier Europa League. They also considered whether the competition could be reserved for teams from smaller countries who never participate in the group stages of the existing cups. The discussions are at an early phase, and any changes to the club competition structure in Europe would not be introduced until at least 2018, when the current round of TV rights deals expire. Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan told The Associated Press that the intention of the new competition would be to allow teams to "maintain European football throughout the autumn and perhaps into the new year." "It's a discussion around whether it's a separate third competition exclusively for smaller countries who then relinquish their place in the Europa League and/or Champions League or whether it's a competition that basically acts as a further safety net for those clubs that enter the Champions League or Europa League but are typically out by August and then (instead) they fall down into a third competition," Regan said in an interview. Such a competition would appear more attractive to smaller clubs rather than English Premier League clubs like West Ham and Southampton, which failed to reach the Europa League group stage this season. "It will give more opportunity to the clubs who never get in the final stages to participate" in Europe, Volodymyr Geninson, executive director at the Football Federation of Ukraine, told the AP. It would chime with UEFA President Michel Platini's strategy of giving smaller nations greater access to competitions, whether by expanding the European Championship to 24 teams or spreading hosting of Euro 2020 across the continent. "We are really supportive of this," said Geninson, who was part of the "Top Executive Program" meeting in the Maltese coastal resort of St. Julian's. "For them, it will give opportunities not to finish the (European competitions) in August. It will give them opportunity to play in September and October." The competition could be completed by the end of the calendar year, rather than going through to the conclusion of the European season like the Champions League and Europa League. "Obviously finance will be important and what's the value ... in light of the costs of traveling around Europe and playing in a competition which some will see as lower value or not as premium as the Europa League," Regan said. "I don't think anyone would want to participate in a loss-making competition for the sake of it. "There is certainly a development benefit for some of the smaller nations to experience international football as opposed to only having one or two games with one or two teams and being out by August." The Europa League started in 2009 as a replacement for the UEFA Cup. A third competition, the European Cup Winners' Cup, merged with the UEFA Cup in 1999. "UEFA constantly reviews the format of its competitions and invites stakeholders, including member associations, to share their ideas in a consultative process," UEFA said in a statement. "There are no concrete proposals on the table at this stage as we are just beginning a new three-year cycle (2015-18) for club competitions. " ___ Rob Harris can be followed at http://www.twitter.com/RobHarris and http://www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports ___ Advertisement

Craig from SOS mentioned it earlier on this evening. Also being reported by editor of Copland Road Org.

Being reported that HMRC have lost their appeal.

Who's panicking ?

Looking for the contract end dates for our 23 first team pool, minus loan deal obviously. Anywhere I can find this?

Don't know if this has been posted on Gersnet previously. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=n2rh31Tu_Oo

Cannot speak too highly of the guys who do these tours. Great research, great tour, great day out.

That's your opinion, I disagree.

I at no time criticised the club or the armed forces, you should read my post again. The club did get it right on Saturday.

http://cafefootball.eu/en/access-all

And another, this photo posting is a doddle by the way.

YES!!!!!! The best player I've seen in a Rangers jersey

Your taking the piss now.

Wee bit of advice, look down the page for Gersnet Prediction League..

Never get this photo posting lark:confused:

Wish I could post photos

I see that a new large banner depicting our captain will be unfurled at tomorrow's game.

That was the main reason for posting.

No need, I should not have used the word p... Don't think anyone could be offended by that. If you read my post you will not see one word against our armed forces or the sentiment behind tomorrow's program. My critisism is of some fans behaviour. I will be there as usual tomorrow, thanks. Agreed.

That's pish IMO. Also although I accept the intent by the club and most fans is honourable there are some who try to turn it into a jingoistic pantomime, mostly the young team who have never been involved in a war.

Yoann Goircuff Ron Vlaar Royston Drenthe Kevin Nolan Emmanuel Eboue Carlton Cole Wilson Palacios Still all available,although Nolan talking to Leyton Orient I believe.

Good, seems right to me.

As title....

From the SUN website DAVE KING today outlined his Rangers dreams, hopes and targets – on and off the park. The Ibrox chairman spent 25 minutes discussing his hopes and ambitions for the months, weeks and years to come. King has sensationally revealed he plans to bring the Rangers’ ‘Oldco’ – which went bust in 2012 - OUT of liquidation. Dave King revealed his long-term plans for Rangers Keith Campbell He also believes Rangers can win the Scottish Premiership title next season – and THANKED Celtic for signing Scott Allan. The bombshell interview is sure to stun supporters up and down the country. Here is the full Q&A with the Scottish daily papers – over 3400 words – in which he opens up. Q: CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE CLUB’S CURRENT FUNDING? DK: “There are already the loans of over £4million put in by myself and the Three Bears, which was for working capital and financing from the end of last season to the beginning of this season. “Funds would no longer be required now because of season ticket sales, which are of a level beyond what we were budgeting on. “And additional funding would only be required depending on transfer activity into probably the end of the first quarter of next season. So we are very comfortably funded for the next six months. “Myself and the Three Bears have indicated to the board and to Mark that we will continue to fund on the basis of what we are doing.” Q: THE INITIAL LOAN YOU PUT IN AFTER BECOMING CHAIRMAN WAS £1.5M? DK: “They had already put in £1.75million and then put in another £750,000 so it is about £4million which has been absolutely perfect to see us through to the start of season and the season ticket cash coming in. “The season ticket cash is not enough to get us through to the end of this season, we know that. “The deficit we had looked at when we held our previous board meeting five weeks ago is now less, because the season ticket sales have been better than we expected and we’ve had good walk-ups to games as well. “If the guys keep playing football the way they are now, I think we can see the deficit coming down. You are just talking about hundreds of thousands and the rest will depend on Mark’s transfer activity.” Q: THERE HAS BEEN AN ASSUMPTION THERE WILL BE A SHARE ISSUE BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR. HAS THAT BEEN DELAYED? DK: “Until we get the audit out of the way, it is on the backburner. For me, that’s just admin. It doesn’t matter as far as funding is concerned. "Whether we provide that through loans or new shares, I’m quite indifferent to it. “The club will get the money it needs, whether I buy shares or I give a loan. I’m comfortable with that.” Q: IS IT DIFFICULT TO EVEN CONSIDER GOING TO THE MARKET WITH THE POLICE MATTER ONGOING? DOES THAT COMPLICATE MATTERS? DK: “For me personally, not really, and I’ll tell you why. “I have never regarded the ability of Rangers Football Club, where it is at the moment, to go to the public market in any way or get third party funds - I think it will still depend largely on the fan base and investors like ourselves. “If we raised money in a public issue - say £2 to £5 million - I would always consider it to be unlikely. "I really don’t think Rangers, where the business is at this moment in time, is something you should be putting other people’s money into. “I would find it very difficult as a businessman to say to an institution in London that there is a business case for investing in Rangers.” d John Gilligan, Dave King and Paul Murray seized control at Ibrox PA Q: ARE RANGERS STILL LOOKED UPON AS TOXIC BECAUSE OF THE LEGACY? DK: “I wouldn’t use the word ‘toxic’ anymore. I would have used that previously, but I think ‘problematic’ is a better word to use at this point in time. “There are issues still to be resolved. We are grateful that at least the football side seems to be working. “That’s very important from the fans’ perspective and takes the pressure off us. There is still a lot we have to do. "There are a lot of things behind the scenes which are still problematic if I was sitting down with a financial institution in London with regard to them investing £5 million in Rangers. “They would ask me questions based on the recent history - some I could answer, some I could give them my best guess, some I could say ‘I think we are in control of the outcome and will get there.’ “Others I would have to say there is a lot of other stuff going on behind the scenes we don’t know. “That is a reality of the legacy we stepped into. “The event that we now call regime change was the beginning of a process of recovery and we are delighted with the progress we have made on and off the field. But there is still a lot do me done.” Q: ARE YOU CONCERNED THAT ANYTHING FROM THE COURT ACTION MAY IMPACT ON WHAT YOU’RE DOING HERE? THERE SEEMS TO BE SO MANY VARIABLES? DK: “It would start from the ultimate economic impact - that would be my true concern in terms of taking the club forward in terms of funding and sustainability. “There are certainly a load of complications with the legal action as to where things might end up. “Craig Whyte has now come up with this new Worthington claim. There are a lot of messy things which will have to be dealt with. “We have a vision going forward where I would like to see us taking Oldco out of liquidation and putting assets back into Oldco - putting the old Rangers back into the old company. We can’t do it while all this stuff is being sorted out. “But these are the areas behind the scenes, where we are fairly senior commercial people, and I think we can do that. “The timing will depend on the litigation. Craig Whyte’s got this claim - is it a serious claim? We don’t know that yet. “I’m just hoping we continue to do what is right on the football field and leave us to deal with the other challenges as best we can when they arise.” Q: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU THAT YOU REVIVE THE OLDCO? DK: “I don’t think it is important, I just think it would be a good thing to do. It would be back to the traditional Rangers. “That is the company and it is a valid thing to take a company out of liquidation and put the assets back into it. “It would be a good thing to do. I think the supporters would like it. “It is not economically important but it is something I would like to do.” s Rangers fans are constantly taunted that they're not the same club by rival supporters Keith Campbell Q: WOULD IT GIVE YOU SOME SORT OF CLOSURE? WOULD YOU ALMOST PUT AN ASTERISK AGAINST THOSE YEARS. DK: “Exactly. You can never rewind what has happened, but you can try and look back in 100 years’ time and say there was a blip of four or five years in Rangers’ history when this all happened and it was resolved to the norm again.” Q: IS THAT EVEN FEASIBLE, HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING AT IT SERIOUSLY? DK: “It is practically feasible and legally feasible. We just have to get in the position where the liquidators have done everything they can. The club can then be rehabilitated. “But if you have all these claims floating around, where we don’t really know who is claiming assets and what they are, then it will continue for a longer period.” Q: WOULD PART OF THAT BE THAT BDO WOULD HAVE TO PAY BACK 100 PENCE IN THE POUND TO CREDITORS? DK: “You don’t have to pay 100p in the pound to creditors. “If creditors accept a compromise and waive some of the debt it could be 50p or 60p in the pound. “That’s not a legal requirement, but certainly the creditors have to be happy with the settlement.” Q: FROM A MORAL PERSPECTIVE WOULDN’T IT FEEL GOOD FOR RANGERS TO DO THAT? DK: “Yes. At the moment if you look at the potential for the liquidation, with getting the money from Collier Bristow plus potential other claims, if HMRC are taken out the picture, then there is an opportunity for them to get 100p in the pound. “Take Craig Whyte out of the picture as well with this new claim as well and people could conceivably get 100p in the pound. “Because there weren’t many other creditors in the club. “Because of the situation with the tax case - not through frugality or conservatism or the way the club was being run – the club basically couldn’t get credit because people knew about the big tax case. “So the club was fiscally responsible by default.” df Charles Green transferred the assets from Rangers 'oldco' over to the 'newco' PA Wire/Press Association Images Q: YOU HAVE EXPRESSED REGRET IN THE PAST ABOUT THIS. IS THAT PART OF WHY YOU WANT TO DO THIS? DK: “Yeah, but I think also it’s an emotional thing as well with the supporters. “They hear all this, ‘you’re not Rangers any more’. And ‘You are a new club.’ “We just want to put all that behind us and say we had this unwanted period and now we are back to where we were. “I think it would be a good thing. “Is it really, really important in the way forward? “I don’t think so. “It’s more emotionally important than practically important.” Q: THOSE ‘NEW CLUB’ JIBES.. HOW MUCH DO THEY HURT YOU? DK: “I don’t hear it as much as the fans do. I’m told about it but I’m not in there all the time. “But it’s part of being in Glasgow. “It’s part of the history of the two clubs. “Rangers fans over the years have been keen to have a dig at Celtic when there is an option to do so. “To me that’s not really serious. But if we could do it I think it would be a nice thing to do.” Q: BUT THERE ARE ALSO JIBES QUESTIONING THE CASH-FLOW SITUATION AT THE CLUB. WHERE IS DAVE KING’S MONEY? DOES THAT GET TO YOU? DK: “Not really. “Clearly, I put money in the club, I did what I said I would so, which is fund the shortfall – and the shortfall has been funded. “We have gone out and got players and we are winning the league. “We have got our season ticket money as well.” Q: DO YOU THINK YOU BOXED YOURSELF INTO A CORNER WHEN YOU SAID YOU’D SPEND £30M OF YOUR CHILDREN’S INHERITENCE? DK: “No, because people are not saying that to me. Not outside of this room. no one ever says that to me. “It only ever comes up in chats with you guys. “And you people have reasons for continuing to bring it up.” s Former Rangers boss Ally McCoist is no longer on the club's books PA Q: ALLY McCOIST. SOME SAY HE’S TAKEN A LOT OF MONEY OUT OF RANGERS WHEN HE SHOULD’T HAVE. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY TO THAT? DK: “To be a bit picky, you use the word ‘despite’, but to me there is no ‘despite’ about Ally McCoist. “I think he was treated poorly. “I think he was the manager of the club and was not given the backing of his board. “He was imposed upon by the board to take a salary cut against his contractual terms and conditions, which was unfortunate. “He did all of that. “So I think Ally has been treated very poorly by the club, quite frankly. “And I am very grateful that because he is the Rangers man that he is that he has been gracious enough to accommodate us by coming to a formal compromise. “So I certainly don’t look on Ally as having done anything even remotely untoward so far as the club is concerned. “I think he held his end up professionally – he was vociferous in standing up for the club when there were suggestions of league titles being taken away. “Ally remained a Rangers man right throughout this in the most difficult of circumstances, for him personally because of his relationship with the club. “He wasn’t a manager who had come in from a distance. Ally was part of the fabric of the club. “I have nothing but respect for the way Ally has dealt with what must have been a very difficult situation. “Professionally and I think personally.” Q: WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE DAY MCCOIST CAN WALK OUT AT IBROX TO TAKE THE ACCLAIM OF THE FANS? DK: “I would love to see that and I don’t see why it shouldn’t be there. He deserves that. “Ally has been fantastic for the club and I am really looking forward to him returning to the club and being part of what we are doing going forward.” Q: WHEN? HAVE YOU INVITED HIM BACK TO THE DIRECTOR’S BOX? DK: “We have invited him, yeah. “We are quite keen to get him back and get his mum back. “My mum misses his mum, so all the mums would be happy.” Q: CYNICS MAY LOOK AT TIMING OF THIS. IT LOOKS LIKE MCCOIST HAS A JOB TO GO TO NOW WITH BT SPORT. DK: “I think from my perspective I can say that’s definitely not the case. “I’m not saying it’s not the case he will work on the Champions League. “But what I can say is the discussions with Ally happened some months ago. “Ally has shown no resistance at any time whatsoever to reaching some form of compromise. “There are labour law issues I wasn’t familiar with because they are different from South Africa. “But the lawyers tell me Ally was steadfast in saying, ‘let’s make this happen.’ “So if he does have another job I say good luck to him. “The fact is he has accommodated Rangers and because of that I am extremely grateful for his contribution. “He didn’t have to do it.” Q: COULD THIS NOT HAVE BEEN AGREED A LONG TIME AGO? HE’S ONLY GOT A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO RUN. DK: “It could have been done a long time ago. “But my priorities, frankly, were not with Ally McCoist. “We had bigger cashflow and structural issues. “There were a number of very, very complex issues occupying my mind before I engaged Ally. “And I only formally engaged him in advance of the trip I made in July. “When I got hold of him it was quite quick. I reached out to him and said I was coming to Scotland and I know you have said you would like to meet one to one, can we get together? “He was straight up for that saying ‘any time’ and he has been fantastic.” s New Rangers boss Mark Warburton has made a sensational start at Ibrox Keith Campbell Q: MARK WARBURTON HAS HAD A SUCCESSFUL START AT RANGERS. COULD YOU SOON DISCUSS A NEW CONTRACT? DK: “I think that’s a bit premature. “But certainly we are alert to the fact he has come in and hit the ground running and has been everything and more we hoped for. “There were a number of considerations for the manager’s position. “But it really has worked – I would go as far as saying significantly beyond my expectations.” Q: ARE YOU THINKING THIS TEAM COULD WIN ONE OF THE NATIONAL CUPS? DK: “My expectations haven’t changed – I honestly felt we would win this league comfortably. “I felt we’d get it right. “There is a personal comfort about the way we’ve started that allows me to say to Mark , let’s start bringing in a level of player who can help next year and beyond. “I wouldn’t have thought we’d be in a position to be as well prepared for next season as we’re going to be. “I’m not being arrogant but I think we can prepare for next season. It gives us a lot of time to think about it and get it right.” Q: WOULD IT SEND OUT A MESSAGE IF RANGERS WON A MAJOR TROPHY? DK: “If we could accelerate our entry to Europe then that would be fantastic – if we somehow won the Scottish Cup - but that’s hit and miss. “We’re at an early stage and let’s use the enthusiasm on the field to start early and plan for next season. “This season was put together quickly and it has worked out well for us.” Q: IS IT RIGHT YOU GENUINELY BELIEVE RANGERS CAN CHALLENGE CELTIC FOR THE TITLE NEXT SEASON? DK: “Yes – definitely.When we had the last discussion about this I think I said that we could be a solid second on our return to the top flight. “Given the level of budget, the three transfer windows – we definitely felt we could come up and be second to Celtic. “The way things are going and the increased confidence that the board are feeling with Mark and the business makes it easier for us to free up money to back Mark’s judgement. “My feeling now sitting here today is that my confidence has grown and we can start next season INTENDING to win the premier League. “Celtic are strong and experienced, but I think we should start the season with the intention to win the league.” Q: YOU HAVE SAID BEFORE YOU ONCE FEARED A HEAVY DEFEAT TO CELTIC. ARE YOU PAST THAT STAGE ALREADY? DK: “You are asking me to talk about football – and if you’d seen me play the game you’d know that football skills were not my strength. “I think this team could perform very, very well in the Scottish Premier but we are alert to the fact that we’re not at the level yet and we will add at least another five players at a high standard before we get to the Premiership. “I don’t see myself sitting here at this time next season making excuses to the fans about us not being able to win the league.” Q: IN YOUR MIND, IS THE GAP BETWEEN THE TWO SIDES NOT AS BIG AS YOU ONCE ENVISAGED? DK: “It’s not as big in my mind as it was three or four months ago.” “We haven’t done it yet. Celtic have got a bigger budget than Rangers. “But do I think the quality of player Celtic has is a multiple of the budget that Rangers have? I do not. “Do I think the level of business that Mark Warburton has done is at a level that go on and compete with Celtic – yes I do. And Mark believes it more importably.” Q: YOU SAID EARLIER TODAY YOU’RE GRATEFUL TO CELTIC FOR BUYING SCOTT ALLAN? DK: “It was nice of them to help us out!” s Rangers made three bids for Scott Allan before he signed for champions Celtic PA Q: YOU MAY LIVE TO REGRET SAYING THAT NEXT SEASON? DK: “Next season is a different season – next season we will have another five or six Scott Allans. “Scott Allan is one player. The value to us of having him taken away from Hibs is more than the value was for us having him the next couple of years. “It was a pity as we liked him and Mark liked him, but Celtic took him and that’s that.” Q: YOU CLAIM HIBS INITIATED TALKS. SO DID YOU FEEL USED? DK: "Perhaps, we were but that’s business. “I regard it as an honest mis-communication within Hibs. “We spoke to a senior person who ostensibly had the authority to encourage us to make an offer. “Then when it went to the highest level of board they said they didn’t think they could do a deal. “They had sold their season tickets and Scott Allan would have been there marquee player and I get their decision. I accept that. “What I didn’t want was for Rangers to be seen as doing anything untoward. But we are also not offended by the turn of events. “It’s business.” Q: WEREN’T YOU TEMPTED TO FORCE A DEAL BY TABLING A £1M BID FOR ALLAN? DK: “We made a series of bids and it was made clear to us in the clearest of terms that he was not for sale to us. It wasn’t a negotiating position and we backed off at that point. “Then I was delighted to find out that our neighbours assisted us in moving us on.” Q: ARE YOU STILL PLANNING TO APPOINT A DIRECTOR OF FOOTBALL? DK: “It’s gone for the moment while we are re-building the club. “For us to go through the re-building stage and impose someone else on the management then that is very unwise. “It’s okay if you are Barcelona and you play 4-3-3 regardless of the manager, but right now we are still finding our way with a new manager and we have to let that settle in. “It’s more important for now that we rely on Mark’s eye.” Q: IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU GOING FORWARD THAT RANGERS GET ONTO SFA BOARD? DK: “It’s important because we want that level of influence and I think it’s important because of who Rangers Football Club are. “I think there is an inevitability now that Rangers are on the way back. “There is an acceptance from the other authorities about how Rangers being back is a good thing and we must have a seat at the top table.”