BrahimHemdani
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Everything posted by BrahimHemdani
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That is greatly appreciated, I can assure you and thankfully does not just apply to your good self. I do understand the perception of Messrs Regan and Doncaster in particular and don't forget Longmuir (oft touted as a "friend" of Rangers) was involved as well. However none of them are or were supposed to be friends (or enemies) of any club. I don't know who drafted the "five-way-agreement" but I suspect that whoever represented the football authorities, lawyers were involved as well? As far as I am aware the agreement has never been published but isn't it alleged for example that "that the SPL shall not . . . take or commence disciplinary proceedings against Sevco . . . in respect of any EBT Payments and Arrangements' and that this deal was struck within the 5-Way Agreement before Lord Nimmo Smith began his enquiry and before the FTTT announced its verdict on the Rangers tax allegations."; as were the rights to Rangers TV matches, which were alleged to be another major stumbling block. I would stress that I am NOT seeking to re-open the debate on the five-way-agreement. But whatever came out of the agreement I am sure that neither Regan nor Doncaster nor Longmuir nor all three together had authority to approve it far less implement it without the approval of the clubs who were their employers. The Boards of all three organisations would have given them authority to negotiate an agreement and then they would have had to go back to the Boards for approval. So "participants in the drafting and signing of that fateful document"; I am sure you are correct; whether they should be condemned to fire and brimstone for ever and ever, I am not so sure. I think it is worth reminding ourselves of Regan's statement in the immediate aftermath: "Of course it has been challenging for the Scottish FA and myself but it is important to emphasise the facts behind the popular misconception. "The Five-way agreement was exactly that. The Scottish FA played the role of peacekeeper between the SPL and the SFL along with Rangers oldco and Rangers newco. "Those discussions culminated in a presentation to all member clubs and the outcome was Rangers being accommodated in Division Three. "Throughout the process the Scottish FA's only priority was to look after the best interests of the whole of the game and to ensure 42 clubs did not suffer in the circumstances that affected one club." (Partial Quotation). Whether you accept the statement at face value is, of course, up to you or anyone else; but I don't think that there is any doubt that the SPL not the SFA, were in the driving seat. I also understand that I might be perceived to be an apologist for Regan or Doncaster or both but as I have said before, that is not the case; these gentlemen are more than capable of being their own advocates and certainly don’t need my assistance. Perhaps I should be more concerned about my public perception amongst Rangers fans and certainly if I had been then I would have led a much quieter life these past few years! Lastly, I can assure you that in the period I was involved (and again I want to stress that I was not involved in any discussions directly about Rangers) I don’t think I ever agreed with Mr Doncaster about anything particularly competition and league reconstruction! But that, as they say, is another story.
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That's a new one on me; is it a private club or can anyone get in? I did say he is a good player at this level; I didn't say that he is a disaster as a player; far from it. I enjoy watching him. By "disaster waiting to happen" I was talking in reference to his sending off. It is clear, not just from Airdrie, that his temprament is suspect and he is easily wound up, something opposition managers will have taken careful note of. If he can cure himself of that tendency or be cured of it somehow, then he could go on to be an excellent player for us through the leagues and I fervently hope that does happen. If not then Faure proved to be a very able CB at the beginning of the season and we have at least 3/4 others ready to step in. I well remember another Algerian CB (along with Whittaker) spoiling my trip to Malmo; I wouldn't want that experience again.
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I understand the perception and that it would be equal and opposite if the shoe were on the other foot as when Gordon Smith was in the same role (and for the avoidance of doubt, I know absolutley nothing about his family background).
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Thanks - correction - the Sporting fans. -
.......or Belgrade, Lyon, Athens, Bremen (difficult as that was) or what was the best night for me - Lisbon. We played to our limitations and everyone knew we were hard to beat. The Sporting fans knew before the game that if we scored first they wouldn't beat us, we weren't pretty to watch but we earned the respect of others (Barcelona excepted and even they settled for a draw towards the end at Ibrox).
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We only had one "tactic" if you could call it a tactic; long ball up to Daly, worked in the first half and we scored from it; but he won less and less headers as the game went on.
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The SFA have no control over the membership of the SPL. In theory Regan should be the single most powerful man in Scottish football but in practice he can only do what the member clubs allow him to do or give him a mandate to negotiate on their behalf. Much of the criticism of Regan comes from a misunderstanding of his power (which is virtually nil) and influence (which is only slightly more). Doncaster has much greater influence and power because he represents the most powerful clubs.
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That way Celtic would have had the revenue from old firm games but still more or less have been guaranteed the titles.
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I absolutely respect your right to form your own opinion of Mr Regan and never said anything to the contrary; but I do not understand what his brother has to do with the SFA.
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If Mr Lawwell had had his way we would still be in the SPL albeit with a points deduction; he, at least, knows where Celtic's bread is buttered.
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I'm not bothered about the DR; I think it's just that some fans always want to blame the opposition players, manager, the referee, etc etc; rather than the shortcomings of one of our players.
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Mohsni has indeed been a disaster waiting to happen. He is always chirping away at the referees, which makes him an easy target. Undoubtedly he is a good CB at this level, hardly ever misses a header and his interceptions are well-timed. However, he is lackadaisical in the extreme: he was one of several at fault for Stranraer's run busting equaliser as he jogged back towards LB from the corner and last night there were several occasions when McCulloch could be seen shouting and gesticulating at him to get back into position following runs up the park. There were numerous occasions when he pointed out unmarked players whilst he was marking no one. He had lost the plot long before the end of the match and his passing went with it. His first caution was for an off the ball incident when he walked about 20 yards to confront an Airdrie player and both Faure and MCulloch were trying to hold him back from getting involved with Bollan. McCoist must have seen what we all saw and should have substituted him with Cribari or moved Faure to CB and sent on Foster at RB instead of replacing Clark. It's a bit late "talking to him" after the event. How long would he last in an old firm game, never mind the white heat of Tynecastle next season?
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In tribute to those that perished in the Ibrox disaster 1971
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
I too was at the match but tended to stand on the other side of the terracing at the Rangers end, so knew nothing of what happened until later that evening. One of my abiding memories are the number of photographs of Jock Stein tending the dead and dying on the pitch; when fans of either side sing their hateful songs they should be reminded of his words. -
In tribute to those that perished in the Ibrox disaster 1971
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
I too was at the match but tended to stand on the other side of the terracing at the Rangers end, so knew nothing of what happened until later that evening. One of my abiding memories are the number of photographs of Jock Stein tending the dead and dying on the pitch; when fans of either side sing their hateful songs they should be reminded of his words. -
I think the best way I can answer your question is to say that when you are involved with any committee you will make assessments of the people with whom you have to interact, how best to influence their judgement and at the same time hopefully gain their trust and respect. That is the best way to get things done and it does not mean having to give in all the time. Indeed when I resigned one committee member referred to the "sometimes difficult and testing circumstances" of our discussions. At the same time one can form good relationships that can be useful outside the boardroom or even over coffee before or after a meeting. My comments that you have quoted again were made in that context. I hope you will understand that I have done my best to be factual. I may already have over-stepped the boundaries of confidentiality and there is nothing more that I can add.
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For your information: The Joint Action Group (JAG) was established following the Football Summit in March 2011 to develop proposals to deliver the 8 Summit commitments. The JAG - which has representation from the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Premier League, the Scottish Football League, Celtic Football Club, Rangers Football Club, Strathclyde Police and the Scottish Government - has carefully considered the commitments and has developed proposals to support their delivery. These proposals are set out in the summit report. The JAG continued to meet until the end of 2011 with a focus on supporting the further development of the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act and to consider and agree further measures to tackle unacceptable supporter conduct. These measures are being developed, monitored and reviewed by the Joint Review Group (JRG) which meets regularly. When I was Chair of SDS in 2011-12 I was a member of the JRG and I believe it was well known that I was (a) a Rangers fan and (b) the former Secretary of RST. In fact there was some concern over the sensitivities involved; but I did manage to overcome same and attended two meetings of the JAG itself, including the final meeting. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/254430/0121641.pdf http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/254430/0124485.pdf However as Chair of Supporters Direct Scotland (SDS) I was representing all fans not just Rangers fans. This was a difficult tightrope for me as I am sure you can appreciate. Rangers were represented at the JRG by David Martin, Head of Security (though he did not attend many meetings) and Celtic were represented by Robert Howat, Secretary of the Club. The discussions were mostly about fans behaviour in the context of the OBB and the SPL rules on that subject. As I have said elsewhere I did my best right up to the last meeting with Ministers: (a) to push the concept of strict liability in terms of fan behaviour rather than the "reasonably practicable" defence; and (b) the illogicality of an offence of singing in opposition to prohibited groups as well as the obvious offence of singing in support of such groups; as well as other anomalies that I perceived or were drawn to the attention of SDS by the Trusts. The above are of course gross simplifications of discussions that went on over many months and you can take what you like from my contribution. However, I was deeply honoured and humbled to be in a position to represent fans views on these important matters with Government, the Police, the Clubs and the Football Authorities and I could not have done so if I had displayed any bias either in favour of or against Rangers or any other club for that a matter. There were no discussions about the ownership of Rangers as this was not the object of the JRG. I hope you find this clarification helpful.
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McDonald was one of our top referees and widely viewed as a "go to" man for derby games and refereed 4 cup finals. He was on the FIFA list for 11 seasons and officiated at more than 100 international matches. You cannot buy that kind of experience. He made a big mistake in the Dundee Utd v Celtic game and compounded it by lying afterwards and shamefully put the linesman in an impossible postion; all of which I am sure he deeply regrets. It cost him his career as a referee. But I see no issue with the SFA using his vast experience as a Development Advisor for younger referees. I am sure that the the first thing he will say in any lecture is let my mistakes be an example to you all.
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These are excellent questions. As most people on here are aware, I was close to the SFA in 2011/12 and met Regan on a number of occasions (not to discuss Rangers I hasten to stress!) but I am no longer in that position. My assessment, for what it's worth, is that Regan WILL apply the Articles and Rules of the SFA as evenly as he can (though I am in no doubt that Lawwell's position on the full SFA Board may make that quite awkward for him on occasion); but the second issue is much more difficult if not impossible for the SFA to control. I did have that discussion with Regan and it is simply the case that the SFA cannot control who buys and sells shares in a football club, they can only control (or seek to control) anyone who (i) is a member of a club; or (ii) is involved in any capacity whatsoever in the management or administration of a club; or (iii) has any power whatsoever to influence the management or administration of a club, So if an owner is not involved in the management or administration of a club they have no control over that person or body. What is interesting in my view in that context however is that: 13.4 The Scottish FA is authorised to request full disclosure of the identity of all of the shareholders of a member and details of all beneficial interests represented by any such shareholder and all members and other relevant persons under the jurisdiction of the Scottish FA will be required to meet all such requests without delay. Failure to do so will constitute a breach of these Articles and the Judicial Panel will have jurisdiction to deal with any such breach and to impose sanctions in relation to it. One wonders if they have asked those questions of Rangers; but even if they have I doubt if they could be forced to disclose the information.
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Winning the Scottish Cup only helps us once three years accounts are in, unless we get special dispensation, which requires the SFA to put forward a case. So winning the cup this year or next doesn't get us into Europe. The earliest we can be in Europe is 2015/16 based on 2014/15 accounts. However, if we win the cup in May 2015, we can't be put forward for Europe without special dispensation, because the 2014/15 accounts won't be out in time. Realistically therefore you are looking at season 2016/17 based on SPL (hopefully) position in our first season back 2015/16 or winning the cup that season. In reality the 3 year ban is 4 full seasons.
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I can certainly shed some light on that and in fact I am fairly sure that it is in the public domain. Remember that it is up to the Club to report the facts to the SFA on their Annual Return or within 10 days of anything occurring that might be reportable. Article 10.1 Each full member and associate member shall lodge with the Secretary not later than 1st June in each year the Official Return and shall notify in writing without delay any subsequent changes to the details contained in such Official Return to the Secretary. Article 10.3 In addition and without prejudice to the requirements imposed on members under Article 10.1 (Annual Return), members shall intimate (i) any proposed changes to the details of any person listed on the Official Return, (ii) the appointment of any person who is required to be listed on the Official Return and (iii) any other matter relating to any person listed on the Official Return which the member (acting reasonably) believes may be relevant to the Board in determining whether such person is fit and proper to hold a position in Association Football, in each case to the Scottish FA from time to time by submitting any such proposed changes, appointments or matters to the Secretary within 10 working days of the effective date of such proposed changes, appointments or matters arising or coming to the attention of the relevant member, and the Board must be satisfied that such changes, appointments or matters are bona fide before granting permission thereto. So in theory the information about Whyte should have been on the Annual Return or otherwise notified within 10 days. But bear in mind that essentially Whyte was running the Club on his own at that time and the one person whose job it would have been to notify the SFA, Martin Bain, had either been sidelined or dismissed (not sure of the exact dates). Obviously Whyte would not have been keen to disclose details of his murky past; especially his previous disbarment from being a director. As I have said elsewhere, bear in mind also that Regan was less than a year in the job at that time and unsure of his ground. His primary focus had been on revamping the SFA Committee structure, planning for a pyramid structure in the leagues etc. I don't know what prompted it but I do know that there was extensive correspondence back and forward with Whyte's lawyers who were obviously under instructions to use whatever delaying tactics and obfuscation they could. I know that they simply didn’t respond to some SFA correspondence. Regan would have had to follow normal procedure which would have been say to wait 2/3 weeks for a reply and then send a reminder. If the reply he got wasn’t satisfactory then same again and I k now that that went on for months. It’s easy to criticise him for that but by the same token he couldn’t just phone up Whyte and say you are hereby suspended from being a director of Rangers, a club which Whyte owned lock stock and barrel. To be clear, I am not an apologist for Regan, I am just giving you my interpretation of what happened. That is why I have also said that should there be any doubt in the future about a director or proposed director of Rangers being fit and proper then I think you will find that Mr Regan will follow a much more robust procedure.
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Numbers don’t add up for Rangers boss Ally McCoist
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
Worse when you go upstairs looking for your glasses and find them in your hand........ -
Numbers don’t add up for Rangers boss Ally McCoist
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
Tell me about it, like wondering why the kettle isn't boiling when it's not switched on. -
Numbers don’t add up for Rangers boss Ally McCoist
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
Thanks and that was exactly my point. Not necessarily saying that the particular ones I've named are the best just that we are well on the way to losing a unique opportunity. Some might argue that we wouldn't have won the SPL3 last season with the type of team I have listed but some of those who were getting a game like Hemmings and Naismith just weren't good enough. And on the contrary few would argue that the squad we have assembled this season is overkill in terms of SPL2 at least, witness the fact that (up until last Thursday ) we were massacring the rest of the division by an average of 4-0 or 4-1. -
Numbers don’t add up for Rangers boss Ally McCoist
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
BD? Don't think my friend Bluedell is up yet! -
Numbers don’t add up for Rangers boss Ally McCoist
BrahimHemdani replied to ian1964's topic in Rangers Chat
I think most fans would disagree and take the view that we have had a unique opportunity in the annals of Rangers FC to prove that the youth system works by fielding a team predominately of youngsters from the academy along with 2/3 experienced players and still be good enough to at least to win SPL 3 & 2 if not 1 (as the team gained more experience). Consider: :sg: :jig: :kh::lm::mckay: :al: : If I was allowed to bring in one or two free transfers, I would go for Daly (because we do seem to be short of strikers but that might be down to my lack of knowledge of the young players), who can and should score for fun at this level and Mohsni, in my view the one who shows the most promise (if he can control himself at a higher level, which may be doubtful). I have included Stoney only because I've heard good things about him but none of the rest of the current crop, only because I don't really know much about them. I have included Hutton because I believe he could turn into a true leader though I realsie he's a controversial figure and many would prefer Crawford or Murdoch. I have omitted Perry for reasons I don't think I need explain. As of right now: Simonsen, Foster, Smith, Templeton, Shiels and Cribari are not in the team and not needed; Law hasn't kicked a ball since October; Black is much improved but did we really need him and his 6 cautions in the last 9 games, and the jury's out on Clark and Peralta in my opinion. Stuttgart are the classic example of a European Club who have an excellent youth system: VfB Stuttgart are well known for producing many fantastic young players through their youth system which has a very high reputation. The club currently has more than 60 players in all three Bundesligen in Germany. This makes VfB Stuttgart the most successful youth academy in Germany as no other club can match that number. In Stuttgart the main purpose is to produce top talent for the first team. They are able to keep a lot of players in house or trade their talent to other clubs. For that reason the club doesn’t have to spent high transfer sums for outside players, something which they couldn’t afford anyways so a good youth team is needed. Thomas Ahlbeck, youth manager, proudly named Mario Gomez, Sami Khedira and Timo Hildebrand as just a few examples for Stuttgart’s Talent-Schmiede. Exciting young players currently forcing a breakthrough in the first team include the likes of Raphael Holzhauser, Kevin Stöger, Daniel Didavi and Rani Khedira. Bruno Labbadia is very happy to be working with a club with such a successful youth system as it in turn gives him many options for his first team. http://cfccod.wordpress.com/2013/03/26/vfb-stuttgart/ We have been drawn against them in the CL 3 times in the last 10 years and they have marginally the better record with a win at Ibrox in 2009 and two wins (2003 & 2007) and a draw in 2009 against us at home (Rothen to Bougherra - what a goal), when they qualified for the last 16 only to go out to Barcelona. I once had the opportunity of putting this precise point to SDM and he said that Rangers fans wouldn't stand for the 2/3 seasons of no success that it would take to bring through a youth team to SPL level; methinks opportunity lost or almost lost.