Crimson Dynamo

Apologies I only meant to post this once! Can 1 be deleted please?

At 86 former Rangers director Hugh Adam may be hard of hearing, but hard of recollection and understanding he most definitely is not. Meeting at his house just outside Glasgow for his first TV interview since the current Rangers implosion began, he is precise in what he wants to say. He’s made notes in preparation for our visit. After some time on camera it becomes clear Mr Adam wants to go significantly further than in a couple of previous, ground breaking interviews with the Daily Mail. He already told that paper that there were, double contracts to pay players under the so-called Employee Benefit Trusts (EBTs) introduced by Sir David Murray who lavishly expanded Rangers on borrowed money until its spectacular collapse and sale for £1. Murray flatly denies double contracts, saying there were just discretionary payments. But speaking to Channel 4 News Hugh Adam goes further. He’s clear that these other payments to players were not declared to the football authoritiesthe Scottish FA (SFA) and Scottish Premier League (SPL): “No I ‘m quite sure they didn’t declare them. I’m quite sure. The SFA isn’t pure in all this you know either. If something was put in front of them they’d have to examine it. It’s not a standard business.” The SFA says it followed the rule book and denies wrong doing (blog to follow). Now until the SPL inquiry is complete we don’t know whether or not the payments were declared. If they weren’t every player Rangers fielded with out telling the SFA/SPL full details of their money, would be ineligible and Rangers have to forfeit the match 3 – 0 to the other side. A lot of silverware in Govan could end up being moved and re-engraved. But like I say, it is all an if at the moment, assuming the SPL can be trusted competently to investigate itself in effect, over all this. Is it cheating, I ask: “It is. It is. But in football it’s standard practice. I mean it’s not serious cheating in that they were not putting money into their own pockets. The point is nobody really knew it was going on. You were a director and that was because you wanted to get a seat in the directors’ box.” And he paints a bizarre picture of life at Ibrox across the past fifteen years or more. A club where few – if any – of the directors were, he says, interested in directing Rangers at all. Everyone more or less happy to leave things to Sir David Murray and hop along to Ibrox to enjoy the box and the hospitality and that was really the meaning of being a director at Ranger PLC and that was it, beginning, middle and end. On that Hugh Adam is quite open. Of the EBT scheme itself he confirms again there were other payments made to players but nobody knew much and nobody asked. All in all it paints a strangely autocratic picture of a football club that was for some time expanding, winning and living the football dream. Sir David Murray came, expanded the business, talked big then crashed and burned And all the while everyone just seemed prepared to go along with the dream on borrowed time and a vary large amount of borrowed money. From Alex Thomsons Blog. Nothing we haven't heard already!

http://twitter.com/#!/alextomo EXCLUSIVE fmr RFC director says RFC directors weren't interested in directing. SFA/SPL not interested in governing. EXCLUSIVE fmr RFC dir Hugh Adam say extra payments weren't notified to SFA/SPL So is it cheating? I ask. "It is. It is." Says fmr RFC director Hugh Adam EXCLUSIVE fmr Rangers director makes new claims on how RFC broke SFA rules on player eligibility not really "exclusives" are they Hugh Adam has been saying this for weeks!

Hoping these "exclusives" are not just more of the same of what we have have already been hearing lots of hot air with no real substance

Indeed.... It is getting beyond a joke, with the sack him for that, strip rangers of this. Nobody truly knows what has been going at Ibrox and that is why it needs to be properly investigated instead of all the jumping to conclusions.

Three major exclusive interviews coming up soon on #c4news examining Rangers FC financial disaster. I hope it is not more hearsay and maybe this, that and the next thing http://www.channel4.com/news/alex-thomson

Really couldn't care less if Celtic win the league this week. I wrote this year off a long time ago, it means hee haw. They have no class whatsoever Lennon proved that yesterday over the whole "penalty" affair.

Would love to see Souness back in some form. Don't know if it would be fair to replace Ally at this stage though. If it were to come to pass though I'd love it. It would be a return to the Rangers of old the likes of McGregor would be told to GTF as soon as he appeared on the front page of a tabloid for feckn about on nights out. It is something Rangers should return to doing hopefully the days of stupid interviews to the press would disappear to.

I fear for some Celtic fans if Duff and Phelps have got their analysis right. We're talking spontaneus combustion on a frightening scale defo this one

I've seen it mentioned on a few sites. But I think it was Darrell King who started the rumour. There a links to a radio program on you tube with him discussing it. Personally I don't think Murray would've been that stupid to give players 2 contracts. He would've really been leaving himself open to all sorts possibly even jail.

I really don't understand the criticism aimed at McCoist just now. He must have been working under incredible circumstances in the last year and to his credit has carried himself and Rangers in a thoroughly professional manner which is alot more than can be said about Craig Whyte. I think we need to stick with McCoist until we are on a steading footing again and give him a chance with a clear deck if it didn't work out then think about replacements etc... But certainly not now

I personally think PLG should have been a lot more time in charge at Rangers. I think it was a real oppurtunity for Rangers to "clean house" and for the seeds for the future to be sewn. He was giving youth a chance and I think we would have ended up with a really good team. Even if it had taken a couple of trophyless seasons then so be it. I think bringing Walter back while it stabilised us and he got us to the UEFA Cup final and he was most definetly a fantastic servant to the club tbh I think it set us back years it was all quick fixes again with no patience for youngsters to learn properly. I really think Rangers AND Celtic have lost the ability to make players better. Both used to sign players and make them better or bring good youngsters through the ranks and make them better where has that gone? As far as Ally goes, I never really wanted him to be manager but I think he is doing a good job in difficult circumstances and I think at this most difficult of times the Rangers manager needs the fans support more than ever.

I don't trust this. I think this would be what we already had under the previous board.

SSN saying Brian Kennedy held discussions with administrators this week

Hoping whom ever does takeover they are not connected to the old board. I would prefer somebody new

Do we really want this???

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2012/03/09/rangers-in-crisis-ticketus-backing-paul-murray-consortium-bid-to-buy-cash-stricken-ibrox-club-86908-23781661/ TICKETUS have emerged as shock backers of Paul Murrayâ??s Blue Knights consortium who are trying to buy Rangers. The news will stun fans after chairman Craig Whyte admitted selling future Ibrox season tickets to the London-based company and using the cash to buy the club last May. Administrators Duff and Phelps are determined to clinch a deal for the club soon and insist there are a number of parties interested in a purchase. Murray and his Blue Knights are among those high in the running but news that Ticketus are also part of the group will amaze the Rangers support. Whyte stated that Ticketus paid £20million in return for ticket revenues for the next three seasons in a confession which enraged a fanbase who had been previously been unaware of the dealing. However, with the club falling into administration last month, Duff and Phelps are seeking buyers for the stricken club and Murrayâ??s Blue Knights are understood to include Ticketus.

Agree with this. But I definitely think it would be possible: AFC Wimbledon have had 5 promotions in 9 years starting at the very bottom in England and are now in League 2. I think even a newco Rangers would have much more resources available than Wimbledon. I don't personally want this but if we are liquidated and or are going to be so severely punished for "alleged" this that and the next thing that it will set us back years then why not.

I don't think Rangers and Celtic going to England ever seriously got off the ground. I'm sure it was talked about at some level. But I think the main obstacle was that there was an expectation that both Rangers and Celtic would go straight into the Premier League possibly at the expense of other clubs who had earned the right to be there unlike Rangers and Celtic. But in the event of a newco and Rangers applying to the very bottom of English Football and working up from there I couldn't see any real opposition to that from England

Have to say I agree with you Frankie. I would prefer Rangers stayed in Scotland but only if it was the current Rangers and not some newco. If we were liquidated and had to start afresh from the bottom I would rather it was down south.

From Wiki Gretna Football Club was founded in 1946 by servicemen returning from the Second World War. The club initially played in the Dumfries and District Junior League.The following year, the club moved to the Carlisle and District League, which is run by the English Football Association. This was despite the club being based in Scotland, although Gretna is very close to the Anglo–Scottish border. They remained in this league for all but one season until 1982, when the club moved to the newly-created Second Division of the Northern League. The club won this league and were promoted immediately, before back-to-back championship wins in the First Division, in 1990–91 and 1991–92, resulted in their promotion to the first division of the Northern Premier League. During this period, the club featured in the FA Cup, becoming the first club based in Scotland to appear in the competition proper since Queens Park had done so in 1887. They managed to take Rochdale to a replay in 1991 and gave Bolton Wanderers a scare in 1993 before being beaten.[8] The club saw its future in Scottish football and applied twice to join the Scottish League in 1993 and 1999. To help boost their later application, they played a Rangers XI in a game to raise money for victims of the Lockerbie air disaster. Gretna won 2–1 against a strong team.[citation needed]

Did Gretna not play in England before moving to Scotland? I seem to recall them playing in the FA Cup also.

He suspected that Craig Whyte wasn't a fit and proper person to run Rangers if he suspected this then he should've compelled the football authorities to investigate this properly at the time, not nearly a year after the event. After all he would've only been asking them to do their job (as far as I understand this should have been done by the SFA/SPL and wasn't hence the Nimmo inquiry now) and if they wouldn't then release a statement asking why they wouldn't.

Have to be honest and say to hell with Paul Murray and Dave King both statements today were just grandstanding. I think David Murray's statement shows that to be the case which he basically said "if I'm dirty then so are you Dave". Paul Murray was a director Rangers and knew the state of Rangers finances but did hee haw about it. Same with Alistair Johnston when asked if administration was a possibility a while ago he could only nod in agreement and he only came out and said how angry he was about Whyte when the sh*t was about to hit the fan I believe he said he didn't agree with it last May but then he buggered off and we never heard anything from him same with Paul Murray he moaned a bit but then only reappeared when it was all going pear shaped. If AJ had all this evidence why wasn't he asking for Police and FSA investigations last May. I really am starting to believe it's all some mad scheme they have all concocted TOGETHER including Whyte to liquidate Rangers and start afresh. If Rangers are to be saved I want it to be someone new with no connections to the old board the more news stories I read the more it seems they are all rotten to the core. It seems they are all out for themselves and cared for anything but Rangers

A lot of this is the Goldfish bowl mentality of Scottish Football. No one outside of a select few really knows what is happening. Most of the "rumours" and stories floating about are merely trying to sell papers, get more hits on a blog or damage the name of Rangers or in some cases all 3!!