Steve1872

division3 NOT a punishment CG told

interview on SSN Vinny‏@DarcheVinny JW: can you outline what issues there are with the SFA? CG: Transfer embargo, fines, football debts, key for newco to accept sins of oldco JW:Manager & players must just want to play? CG: Players like Goian have been loyal, but cant expect them to stay & understand why CG "we haven't got many players. Goian tremendously loyal, going to lose players CG "unfair on Ally to manage team, when SFA still want to put transfer embargo and we'll have no players at all". CG "Unless I accept sanctions, we will not be be granted permission to join SFA. There will be job losses at RFC". CG "Goian, Boca & Edu had agreed to stay in Div1, but Div3 is too much to ask". Fair play to them CG "this club needs Rangers fans to get behind it in it's desperate hour. Club will survive sins of oldco". CG "I'm starting to believe I'm winning them (Bears) over". What do we think about that?

http://forum.followfollow.com/showthread.php?t=888550 link here pdf file at start of thread

John DC Gow‏@JohnDCGow Neil Doncaster: "...personal attacks on Stewart Regan are unfair."

Jim White asks Neil Doncaster about an SPL2. He replies it wasn't on agenda today & "I'm not entirely sure where that suggestion came from." Quote of the week,surely!

Charles Green 1min 30 sec interview on here also http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/111094-charles-green-number-of-issues-between-rangers-and-sfa-over-club-licence/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

GIOVANNI DI STEFANO‏@DEVILSADVOKAT Duff & Phelps have switched off their fax machine in London so as not to receive my letter but we emailed it also and hand delivered But interesting the lengths some will go to create technicalities ... But it won't work with mev The more personal attacks on me the greater chance of success means we on right path so common you sheep give it all you gotI have zero hide And credit to The Sun for having the balls to publish but then the family have always backed me still well done I'm not the only one gutso DUFF & PHELPS DOING ALL TO AVOID BEING SERVED WITH MY LETTER! Incredible They HAVE the letter de facto but legally it needs to be delivered which they are creating difficulties but will be done shortly anyway Rangers football club plc cannot be liquidated without order of Lord Hodge in Court of Session so there is time to put things de jure right That gives Rangers Football Club Plc about four weeks to rectify the position in meantime no liquidation can occur MIke Dolan the MD of Duff & Phelps New York has now been served with copy of letter WILL be instituting proceedings in USA the authorities are hot on white collar crime anyway and in UK Court of Session (Lord Hodge) is siezed of the matter. Soon the complaint is filed in NY will send copy to Court of Sessions for notification of proceedings in seperate jurisdiction I had to serve D&P New York as London office were crafty in avoiding receipt of letter so its the same thing VVV I mean ask yourselves the simple question? WHY avoid legally receiving letter? They gonna get it anyway by recorded tomorrow! But New York accepted without any problems..I will be sending copy letter also to the District Attorney as "some of the RFC PLC" proceeds went through US "The 10 page fax you sent through eFax to 12122770176 was successfully transmitted at 2012-07-16 14:33:16 (GMT)." yesss The sensible thing now for the SPL and I will offer them way out is to admit both Rangers and Dunfermline to an extended league that avoids Legal action from me as a shareholder and Dunfermline

The Inverness board held an emergency meeting on Sunday to discuss the Scottish Football League decision to admit the Ibrox club to the Third Division and reject a plan to out them in the First. Reports had claimed SPL clubs could be on the verge of a U-turn despite being expected to name Dundee or Dunfermline as the replacement for Rangers tomorrow at their annual general meeting. http://www.football365.com/rangers/7903415/Caley-reaffirm-Rangers-stance But Inverness joined Dundee United and Hearts in this weekend stating they would not change their initial opposition to the SPL application. And they dismissed claims their club will be placed in immediate danger from any reduction in income that comes with the SFL decision. Chairman Kenny Cameron said in a statement: "We are one of the few clubs with no bank debt whatsoever, so our position is very far from immediately threatening, as has been alleged. "We look forward to the new season on the back of renewed commitment over the weekend from our major shareholders and sponsors, for which we are very grateful. "They fully appreciate that in May we, like other clubs, set our budget for 2012-13 and now there will be real change to the commercial curve because of events outwith our control. "It is important that our supporters keep making their contribution via season ticket sales. "We took their views on board and continue to hold the position that not allowing 'newco' Rangers into the SPL is the correct decision." Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan and SPL counterpart Neil Doncaster have claimed the league could lose about £16million annually as a result of losing the Ibrox club for at least three years, mainly from television deals. But Cameron said: "At national level, we are optimistic that the SPL's sponsors will take due cognisance of the situation in which the SPL finds itself and will stand behind the league." The plan put to SFL clubs on Friday included reforms such as top-flight play-offs and merger of the two leagues and Inverness will push for further discussions on change. "Our club has for some time been in favour of an expanded SPL and it is clear now that the reorganisation of Scottish football has to be at the top of the agenda," Cameron said. "We will be supporting such reorganisation over the coming weeks and months." Most, if not all, contracts have an exit or re-negotiation clause should either Old Firm team be absent and the television deals are the biggest cause for concern. Sky and ESPN were due to sign an £80million five-year deal this summer, although their existing £13million annual contract has a year left to run. Doncaster has apparently valued TV revenue at just £3million if the Rangers newco was made to start in the Third Division. St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour revealed his own club would be among five clubs struggling to stay solvent in the aftermath of the SFL decision and some lower-league clubs remain sceptical about their vote being applied. Queen of the South, one of the few clubs who voted for the First Division plan, said they only did so because they believe it is inevitable the new Rangers will end up in the second tier, and wanted to ensure reform came with it. A statement read: "We have been incredibly disappointed and angry at the actions and leadership of the senior members of the SFA and SPL throughout this whole saga. "There have been statements, both public and private, that have amounted to little more than threats. "The dialogue has been negative, focusing on and exaggerating the possible 'Armageddon' rather than rallying and actively trying to find solutions that all clubs and, more importantly, supporters would feel comfortable supporting. "Instead we were presented with a set of proposals that no one was happy with. "More importantly, the message from the governing bodies was that, even with a 'no' vote, they would continue to pursue the newco Rangers playing in one of the top two tiers next season. "There has been a lot of talk about how this is not possible under the current rules, but as the saying goes 'where there's a will there's a way'." Clyde hinted that Ibrox chief executive Charles Green had been promised that such an outcome could not come about amid warnings of an SPL2 breakaway. However, United and Hearts both said they would not countenance an SPL2 and Regan - who warned the Scottish game would die if Rangers relaunched from the bottom - has come under increased pressure with the leaking of an email that shows him driving plans to "relegate" them to the First Division

Caley Thistle say they hold their position that Rangers Newco should not be in SPL and hope that sponsors stick by the league Caley say the reorganisation of Scottish football has to now become top of the agenda. More soon

The Bluenose - Rangers Supporters Assembly 56 minutes ago. John Brown hosted a meeting today for supporters clubs and groups on Glasgow. A number of ex players were in attendance today and a number also submitted their support and apologies for not making the meeting. John Brown gave a short presentation and this covered his proposals as well as teh current board situation and their takeover. Since the the formation of Newco Sevco and the £5.5 buyout, Rangers have lost a huge sum of money on the players who left the club, lost the SPL place and lost the SFA license All youth players and their parents are worried of their future now that the players have become free agents with no clarification of their contract situation At the recent RFFF Ally McCoist could not ask all fans to buy season tickets as the doesnt fully trust the new baord yet and has not worked with them long enough With regards to Bomber's plans, he will set up an independant bank account this week for investors to pay into. The plan is for wealthy people and ex players to contribute £40k each to reach £10m to buy out Charles Green's consortium. Fans would be asked to pay a yearly £100 membership and season tickets sales of around £12m to £14m before sponsorship and commercial deals would top up the investment. The essential of the project is to remove Charles Green, protect the assets and build the club back up again. John gathered information over the weekend that Charles Green will own 10% of Rangers after a successful stock market floatation with AIM. John is 100% certain that Craig Whyte is pulling the strings behind Charles Green and that they are in it together and anyone who supports Green is being disloyal to the Club. Douglas Park and Jim McColl were offered 50% of the new company for £6m and then when they asked for deeds and documentation proof, they were never supplied with this. John is 100% certain that Craig Whyte is detailed on a signed letter with the first charge over the assets John asked Charles Green after the recent RFFF meeting to see the deed documents andCG agreed to this. John has since left 18 messages for Malclom Murray to arrange the meeting and this has not yet happened John is unsure of the cost to buy the club from Charles Green as they have not yet got round the table to discuss fees John raised that any potential deal will have to take into account the Ticketus debt and that this may be repaid over 10-20 years There are 1 or 2 possible bids going in for the club this week John suggests "to starve them out" with reference to the current board and not buy season tickets. When John did meet Malcolm Murray recently, MM was not aware of a bid of £8.7m to Charles Green made the previous day Going forward, John would offer Ally McCoist a 5 year contract, pay back all of the small creditors of the oldco and give back the debentures to the former owners of these. His structure of the new set up would make sure that they ring fenced the major assets - Training ground, stadium and car park

John Bomber Brown‏@johnbomberbrown When our manager Ally McCoist tells the fans to buy the season tickets then thats when you know ally has trust in the board.

'Bomber' Brown: Craig Whyte Is Calling The Shots Details Published on Sunday, 15 July 2012 14:46 Written by DarcheVinny . . At a supporters meeting, held in the Thistle Hotel (Glasgow) this afternoon and organised by John 'Bomber' Brown, it was alleged that Craig Whyte still holds a floating charge over Ibrox and Murray Park (a floating charge which was registered with Companies House on March 21st), and is very much calling the shots still at Rangers. John Brown reiterated his belief - as already shared via twitter earlier in the week - that Craig Whyte is '100%' still involved. However, unfortunately for all the supporters present and the hundreds of thousands who weren't, there was no proof that could be provided to back up this allegation. It is a very serious accusation, especially following the previous supporters meeting held in the Ibrox Suite with the RFFF and new Rangers board, where Rangers Chairman Malcolm Murray made it absolutely clear, that Craig Whyte was definitely not involved with the new regime. I would expect that the Rangers board will release a statement in reply to this repeated allegation, as it is very serious and genuinely a terrifying prospect for all supporters. With regards to the rest of the meeting, there were no real revelations, despite what we all thought we were going to be given prior to the meeting. The same accusations and calls for transparency were made, without providing any transparency being provided by the hosts. I again cannot question John Brown's intentions with his 'bid' (if you can call it that), as he is taking an incredibly brave route here. He is putting his Rangers legacy on the line, as he believes our club is in the wrong hands and needs to be saved. I cannot criticise that. We all want our club to be in the right hands, and fair play to John Brown for trying to give us an avenue to do so. He wants us - the fans and lifeblood of Rangers - to ringfence the assets of the club, to protect them from Charles Green and his investors - because as 'Bomber' said, 'they are all rats'. In order to do this, he wants to raise £10million and has already committed - or will committ - £40,000 of his own money, which is an incredible commitment from John himself, especially when you consider the fact that he is currently unemployed. However, when asked if raising £10million could actually achieve this aspiration of ring fencing the assets, he said he didn't know. I for one, could not pledge my tiny amounts of spare cash, to a cause which does not seem to be achievable at this stage? Supporters were again urged to not buy season tickets, but also urged to support the manager, Ally McCoist. I don't really think those two requests go hand in hand? Ally himself was misquoted again, with regards to the comments he made regarding season tickets at the last meeting at Ibrox. I was at that meeting at Ibrox, and I can tell you all that Ally McCoist said that he could not advise supporters to buy season tickets, based on the fact that we didn't know what league we were playing in. When asked, if he were a supporter, would he buy a season ticket? He answered firmly, yes. If Ally was in our position, he would be buying his season ticket, regardless of what 'Bomber' or anyone else would like to tell you to the contrary. According to John Brown - I still can't believe he said this - buying a season ticket from the current regime, is disloyal. In Brown's opnion, a supporter is disloyal to buy a season ticket from the new owners. Well, I have something to admit, on that basis, I am disloyal. I have filled out and sent back my season ticket renewal form, as my Father said to me that it was the best way for us to support and help Rangers at this time. Who am I to disagree with my Father's advice? Without him, I wouldn't be a Ranger at all! I cannot support John Brown's suggestion that we need to starve the new regime of our vital money. I cannot starve my club of money. If, as Brown suggest, Charles Green could shut the gates forever, I could not forgive myself for contributing to that, by starving the club of money. All in all, the meeting was a waste of an afternoon - bar a catch up with old and new friends, before and after - and we learnt nothing new. A quick look around the forums this evening, will show you that this side show is only further dividing an already divided and very strained support. I would urge John Brown to continue to keep up the pressure on Green and co. as it can only force them to be transparent, or get caught out. We supporters and our beloved Rangers, can only benefit from that. I would also urge John Brown to not call a meeting like that again, until he actually has something new to tell us, with real proof to back up his allegations. A lot of supporters will have had to have travelled a hell of a long way to attend, and it isn't fair to ask them to do it again unless there is new information to be revealed.

A lot of ex players were in attendance. John Macdonald,Iain Ferguson,Dave McPherson, Gary Mcswegan,Charlie Miller, Derek Ferguson, Bob Malcolm, Peter McDonald, Willie Johnston and Colin Stein were all at the meeting.

https://twitter.com/DarcheVinny

Andy Goram, John Brown and Ian Martin? Someone help me out there with who Ian is? Attendance so far, is poor, for the size of suite that we are in We have Charlie Miller, Colin Stein and Willie Johnston (I think) sat in the front row

GIOVANNI DI STEFANO‏@DEVILSADVOKAT My letter to the Administrators of OUR company RFC PLC invokes the powerful s.994 of the Companies Act 2006 'A member of a company may apply to the court... for an order... on the ground that the company's affairs are being or have been conducted in a manner that is unfairly prejudicial to the interests of its members generally or of some part of its members... ' [emphasis added; a 'member' is simply a shareholder] And I am a shareholder

he says bears are wanting to know what his buisness plans for the club are ,he will reveal them, bears want to know who his backers are he will reveal them bears want to know about craig white and his involvement in the club he will reveal that and if whit or green try to ue him he is ready , bears want to know about x players that are behind him there will be loads at his side today to give him there vfull backing and the x players that cant be there will be sending best wishes and sending there full support, if you want to know anything ask him today, this has cost bomber today for the use of the hall i think it shows he is comitted , i am still offshore but will be behind bomber and my best wishes today go to him , i hope the bears can get behind him and get our club back.

GORDON McDOUGALL last night told SPL clubs facing up to financial oblivion: Youâ??ve only got yourselves to blame. Caley Thistle chief Kenny Cameron caused outrage among SFL clubs on Friday when he blasted them for not voting Rangers into the First Division. The Highlanders chairman claimed the decision could wreck Scottish football â?? even though SPL clubs also rejected newco Gers at a July 4 vote. Livingston chairman McDougall has every sympathy for clubs who are now in grave danger of going under. But he is adamant it was NOT the SFLâ??s problem to solve. He said: â??The SPL model, in my opinion, has failed. â??I would feel sad if clubs go bust and hope they come through via a CVA or whatever, but I wouldnâ??t feel responsible. â??We are all concerned about the future of the game â?? money has never been harder to come by. â??But everyone I have spoken to feels this is an opportunity to start again. To improve the situation.â? McDougall didnâ??t hold back as he reflected on the most tense period in Scottish football history. He is SICKENED by recent events and will be stunned if SFA chief executive Stewart Regan survives this shambles. Asked if heads should roll at Hampden, McDougall said: â??Yes. Itâ??s fairly obvious, but that is out of my remit. â??I feel there are positions which are untenable. Iâ??m not really concerned about the SPL, Iâ??m talking about the SFA. â??Weâ??ve been railroaded, weâ??ve been threatened. Everything about the whole exercise has been wrong. â??Itâ??s been very difficult, itâ??s been all-consuming, brain-numbing at times. â??You spend hours working on it. Itâ??s not a nice situation and not a good situation. â??I could never have imagined on the day Rangers went into administration that weâ??d be standing here in this position now. â??Itâ??s been a changing picture all through. But go back 20 or 30 years, could you ever have imagined Rangers in this position? â??There have been so many aspects to this â?? the Craig Whyte scenario, the different bidders, the Duff & Phelps situation. â??Itâ??s maybe unfair to say it could have been sorted out, but I do think the football administrators could have dealt with things quicker. â??Thereâ??s a bit of apprehension to see what is next. But if itâ??s accepted and itâ??s finished with, then great. â??Letâ??s get on with the football, letâ??s get on with the game. â??But I couldnâ??t guess whatâ??s going to happen next.â? McDougall insists the SFL decision was based solely on the â??sporting fairnessâ?? reason put forward by chief executive David Longmuir. And he wished boss Ally McCoist all the best in his battle to revive new Rangers. He added: â??I hope Rangers will come back stronger and obviously without the baggage theyâ??ve had. â??Ally and Charles Green are sincere that they will come back with a new company that does well in Scotland. â??The Rangers people said what they had to say, one or two surprising things. I donâ??t want to expand on that. â??But I donâ??t think anything about Rangersâ?? business plan had an impact on the SFL decision at this stage.â? McDougall is preparing for Rangers to start again in the Third Division â?? although he fully expects SPL clubs to be working behind the scenes to find an alternative solution. But he has told the SFA and SPL they are wasting their time if they try to start a breakaway league. He added: â??There was a proposal â?? not on a resolution just a discussion â?? strongly in support of a 42-club model to fix Scottish football. â??If clubs are invited to break away, they would have to make that decision when it comes up. â??But the people at the SFL vote were in support of 42 clubs looking after the future of the game. â??Realistically, there are only 11 out of 30 clubs that could adhere to the criteria youâ??d want in the SPL. â??But around the hall there were no dissenters. We are looking for a 42-club model for Scottish football and thatâ??s it. â??As far as we are concerned, SPL2 is dead in the water. â??As far as the powers-that-be are concerned, who knows?â? McDougall, who expects the SPL to pay their annual settlement figure to the SFL in due course, believes Scottish football should move on from this affair and ponder reconstruction over the coming months. He insists there is no ideal solution that will lead our game back to the heady days of the last century, but reckons an expanded top flight would be a good place to start. He said: â??There is no utopia. Personally, I loved football when there were 18 teams in the top division. â??I went every week for years and I canâ??t remember any meaningless games. â??People disagree with me, but that was just football then. You went to see your team and you enjoyed it. â??Iâ??m not fussy on numbers, I just want equitable distribution so there are no cliffs to fall off. â??The main thing wrong just now is when you drop from 12th to 13th place. Itâ??s an £800,000 drop and that is unsustainable â?? you canâ??t sustain your youth programme. â??I hope whatever happens itâ??s going to improve Scottish football. I sincerely hope itâ??s going to be a fresh start. â??The damage is hard to measure. Whichever way the cards fall, you hope it turns out in the fullness of time to be good for the game.â? Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/4430291/This-is-SPLs-mess-not-ours.html#ixzz20eY0OWs8

Impact upon supporters My colleague Andrew Smith referred to the way in which fans found their voice on this issue, and were mobilised via social media, as the “Supporter Spring”. It was a point well made: for all the talk of the absolute primacy of sporting integrity, the financial ramifications of a Rangers-free top league meant that many clubs wanted to let them back into the SPL; it was the fans who were having none of it, and it was their pressure and the threat of boycotts which backed their clubs into a corner. The same was true for the SFL clubs as fans began to communicate with each other – and their clubs – across social media and the internet. Fans effectively seized power from clubs which were wavering and dictated events, with their absolute conviction that Rangers should be punished for misdeeds and that sporting integrity should prevail proving the driving forces. When ten of the SPL clubs voted against Rangers, many of them thought that Rangers would end up in the First Division, but the SFL fans had other ideas, with their clubs voting 25-5 to instead place the newco into the Third Division. Such is the force of fan power that supporters have become emboldened and yet more change may come onto the agenda. The loss of the Old Firm veto over SPL regulations means that the top flight can now be overhauled in favour of the majority of clubs, while the clumsy attempts to woo SFL clubs with the promise of SPL2 looks to have backfired and, as Martin Hannan writes on pages 8-9, may even threaten the position of SFA chief Stewart Regan and the SPL’s Neil Doncaster. Practicalities So, how will the clubs in the Third Division cope? For most of them, the arrival of the Rangers hordes may not bring as big a financial fillip as they may be expecting because the costs of policing the Rangers games will be astronomical, especially where the local force has little experience of dealing with the Old Firm (such as Dumfries & Galloway police service) and especially at those grounds which will only be able to accommodate a fraction of Rangers’ travelling support. However, the long-term benefits of Rangers’ presence in the division will undoubtedly be felt in the increased interest in the clubs, which (leaving aside Queen’s Park, who play at Hampden) have crowds which currently average less than ten per cent of their capacity. The aggregate average attendance across the seven other Third Division clubs is around 3,250 (compared to a capacity of 27,832 plus Hampden’s 52,025). Of all the Third Division clubs, Queen’s Park and Clyde (who have a capacity of 8,029) will benefit most, with Queen’s Park confidently predicting a crowd of 20,000 at Hampden for the festive season visit of Rangers. There is also the question of if – and how – the matches will be covered. As well as the lack of facilities for the large corps of 50 or so newspaper and internet journalists who follow Rangers to away matches, how or whether Rangers matches will be televised remains unclear. Where does this leave Rangers/Green? Undoubtedly in a better state in the short term, although the loss of key playing assets has also made the club balance sheet less attractive. Nevertheless, although a handful of top players have remained loyal to the club, Rangers will no longer pay 80 per cent of their turnover in salaries to top players and the costs of competing in the Third Division will also be far smaller than they would have been had they entered the First Division and been forced to recruit a whole squad of relatively expensive players. As it is, the cost of fielding a squad to blitz the Third Division will be a fraction of that they would have needed to spend to compete in the First Division. However, Rangers’ income will be decimated. There will be no SPL prize money (which last year was £2,6m), no Sky money, no SPL sponsor-ship money, a reduced corporate hospitality market and no European competition. The club has also lost several smaller sponsorship deals, with one taxi company reportedly pulling out of a £70,000-a-year deal with the club. But it is the impact upon gate and season-ticket receipts that will be the most profound. The average Rangers season ticket last season cost £450, yet the cost of most of the Third Division season tickets is £150, and the pitiful take-up of season tickets at Ibrox (said to be still in three figures) shows that fans have been biding their time. Crowd sizes at Ibrox, which averaged 45,000 last season, will inevitably suffer, too, partly because there will be few away fans. It seems certain that Ibrox will see less fans paying less money for their tickets. However, it’s also worth bearing in mind that when Hibs went down to the First Division, there was no reduction in ticket prices and the crowds went up. The same scenario seems unlikely to unfold with Rangers, however, for whose fans winning holds no novelty value. Although some costs will be reduced – notably policing and stewards for the Old Firm games – Rangers’ whole infrastructure will need to be radically downsized. Nevertheless, Rangers were encumbered by an unsustainable debt burden and have for many years been running at a loss so, in an ironic twist, in the short term the lack of a huge wage bill may ensure not only that the club survives, but actually prospers. For how long it does so under Charles Green and his opaque coterie of anonymous directors is another story... http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/rangers-newco-counting-the-cost-of-their-demise-1-2412834

By Richard Bath Published on Sunday 15 July 2012 00:00 The shockwaves from Rangersâ?? fall from grace will resonate through every aspect of Scottish football â?? and beyond Financial implications The ramifications of sending Rangers to the Third Division were spelled out to the SFL delegates shortly before they made their fateful decision, and those ramifications are severe with a potential loss of between £16-17 million in sponsorship and television income. Under the scenario outlined by the SPL, the prize money each SPL club will receive at the end of next season will be less than 10 per cent of that which they received at the end of last season. So Celtic got £2,957,000 for being champions last season and would have got £2,141,000 had Rangers gone into the First Division â?? but next year they would receive just £287,000 were they to win the SPL. For smaller clubs at the bottom end of the SPL who are already struggling, the implications are potentially disastrous: the second-bottom team would have received £870,000 last season; with Rangers in the Third Division that figure goes down to just £84,000. Several of the smaller SPL clubs are run on such a shoestring that Rangersâ?? demotion could well put them out of business. Dunfermline, for instance, were unable to pay their players in February when Rangers failed to pay them £80,000 owed from a cup fixture. Motherwell have already stated that they face going out of business following Rangersâ?? demotion. Nor are they alone: heavily-indebted Kilmarnock, Dundee United and Hearts can all scarcely afford any reduction in income, while even Celtic have started cutting their playing budget. The nub of the issue is the SPL television rights deal with Sky and ESPN, which is worth £80m over five years from 2013. The deal includes a clause which insists that both Rangers and Celtic must play in the SPL. The deal is now expected to be renegotiated downwards, or even be scrapped altogether, although there have been calls for First Minister Alex Salmond to use his much-vaunted influence with Rupert Murdoch to apply pressure to ensure that the deal remains in place (see page 1, News). The Clydesdale Bankâ??s £10.5m sponsorship of the SPL ends next summer, and the likelihood of a procession for Celtic (who are 1-33 to win the SPL with bookmakers) will make it even more difficult to find a successor. Nor is is just all about sponsorship and TV rights. The loss of Rangers to the SPL will cost the average SPL club just over 2 per cent of its turnover through the loss of ticket sales for home games to Rangers. While clubs such as Hearts and Aberdeen will be relatively well insulated, the clubs with smaller crowds will be hit hard. Had St Johnstone not played Rangers in 2010-11, its turnover would have been down by 5.18 per cent; for Dunfermline that figure was 4.02 per cent and for Inverness Caley Thistle the figure was 3.39 per cent. It is not just the SPL clubs which face financial hardship. The SFL clubs currently benefit from a trickle-down sum of £2m a year, which was agreed when the SPL was formed. This, however, comes almost exclusively from the television rights deal and the SPL sponsorship deal, both of which are now in question. The SFL clubs will not countenance a reduction in that sum, yet SPL sources insist it will be stopped if the TV and sponsorship deals come to an abrupt halt. We could yet see an ugly legal spat over this one, with the financial survival of a whole raft of SFL clubs at stake. Social implications The days when the shameful sectarianism which has become the rocket fuel for the Old Firm rivalry has been any secret are long gone. But will the disappearance of the Old Firm game from the calendar for at least the next three years do anything to remove the anti-social excesses which have accompanied the fixture? These are such that Les Gray, the then chairman of the Police Federation, last year called for the fixture to be banned on public order grounds after there were so many arrests after one derby that every police cell in Glasgow was full within four hours of the final whistle. â??Itâ??s safe to say the police service dreads Old Firm games,â? said Gray. â??The policing of the game does not concern us, because we have got into a routine now, and it is very orderly and there are only a small amount of arrests at the game. But it is the murder and mayhem that follow after, in the pubs and the clubs and the homes throughout Scotland. That is the concern for us because it is now at the stage where we are finding it difficult to cope with the resources and also financially, bearing in mind that the police budget and all the public sector budgets are being cut back.â? Violent attacks increase ninefold on Old Firm weekends, and there has historically been a 41 per cent increase in domestic violence on Old Firm weekends. As well as murders such as that of 16-year-old Celtic supporter Mark Scott in 1995 which precipitated the launch of the charity Nil By Mouth, the sheer level of violence that accompanies the Old Firm match is such that Strathclyde Police incurred costs of £2.4m for the seven derbies played during the 2010-11 season, of which only £300,000 was paid for by the clubs, with the rest being spent on disturbances away from the two grounds. Nor are the police the only service stretched to breaking point by the Old Firm games: hospitals also suffer, with one widely-accepted estimate putting the cost to society of the games at £40m per season in terms of policing, prosecutions, hospital care and social services intervention. Footballing implications In the short-term, the most obvious effect of this weekâ??s events is two divisions with the shortest odds in world football, with Celtic at 1-33 to win the SPL and Rangers 1-50 to win the Third Division, the shortest odds Ladbrokes has ever offered (itâ??s still drawn some business, with one punter putting £50,000 on both sides winning their respective leagues). Yet the effects will be felt in many other, more subtle, ways. With less money, each side in the SPL will need to reduce its wage bill, with young Scottish players likely to be the beneficiaries. The European dimension means that race to be the best of the rest will also assume greater importance, with the obvious corollary that the league will be more even and games will assume a greater significance. Whether this will energise supporters â?? or convince Rangers fans from Aberdeen or Edinburgh, for instance, to follow their local teams â?? remains to be seen. The cups will also be less dominated by the Old Firm, with Rangersâ?? weekly playing standard meaning that they are likely to be uniquely vulnerable. The removal of the Old Firm veto means that a pyramid reorganisation of the leagues can now be countenanced. Quite where the Rangersâ?? fiasco has left SPL2 remains difficult to tell. Although it is now clearly back on the agenda, such is the suspicion that it is merely a ruse to fast-track the newco back into the top flight that there must be grave misgivings about the willingness of fans and their clubs to look seriously at the whole subject in the near future.

Chris Graham‏@ChrisGraham76 And sure enough, Timothy first up with comments on the article. Never fails.

By Ewing Grahame 11:59PM BST 14 Jul 2012 1 Comment An e-mail he sent on June 23 to colleagues â?? including Scottish Premier League chief executive Neil Doncaster, his Scottish Football League counterpart David Longmuir, SFL President Jim Ballantyne, SFA vice-president Alan McRae, Hibernian chief executive Rod Petrie and SPL chairman Ralph Topping â?? outlined his plans. The item which has caused most anger was his instruction to Petrie â?? a man who claimed on May 14 that sporting integrity was â??beyond purchaseâ? - to brief newco Rangers owner Charles Green â??confidentiallyâ? on the various issues so that there could be â??no surprises.â? Regan also said in the email that Dundee will replace Rangers in the Scottish Premier League next season, even though the SPL clubs are not due to choose between them and rival candidates Dunfermline until their annual general meeting tomorrow. He also makes it clear that for newco Rangers to be granted membership of the SFA â?? which they need in order to compete in the SFL - Green must accept the transfer embargo handed down by the SFAâ??s judicial panel in April, even though it was ruled unlawful by Lord Glennie at the Court of Session in May. On top of that, Regan stressed that the club will still be responsible for any other fines and sanctions imposed as a result of the wrongdoing of previous regimes, such as the improper registration of players. Reganâ??s plans were thwarted on Friday when SFL clubs voted by 25-5 to instal Sevco Scotland Ltd in the Third Division rather than the Third. â??I donâ??t see how he can survive this,â? said one SFL chairman. Regan's email: Dear all, Many thanks for your contribution and support over the last two weeks in trying to deliver a programme of change that will move Scottish football forward whilst addressing the need to deal with the Rangers matter with integrity and in line with our own values as an organisation. I was hugely encouraged with where we got to last night on a long and tiring phone call and I thank all of you for your efforts to move this issue forward. I thought it would be helpful if I summarised where I think we are: 1. The Rangers Football Club will be relegated to the 1st Division of the SFL with immediate effect and will be replaced in the SPL by Dundee FC. 2. The television rights for Rangers FC matches in the SFL will be purchased by the SPL for the sum of Ã?£1m as a one-off fee for the season 2012/2013. 3. The two leagues will merge into a single league body - The Scottish Professional Football League - effective season 2013/14 - with a working party set up immediately involving representatives from the SPL, SFL and (if required) the Scottish FA to plan the integration of the two bodies - people, rules, rebranding, commercial considerations and so on. 4. A new Board of Directors will be appointed to govern the single league. The make up of this Board will consist of an Independent Chairman, CEO, 3 representatives from the Premier League, 2 representatives from the Championship/Leagues 1 & 2 and 2 Independent Non-Executive Directors. 5. Play-offs will be introduced immediately with the first matches taking place at the end of the coming season 2012/2013. 6. Enhanced parachute payments will be implemented from the end of the season 2012/2013 to soften the landing for club(s) relegated from the Premier League. 7. A revised all-through distribution model will be put in place to provide: a) An all-through distribution model for clubs 1-22 and a minimum guarantee for 20 clubs in Leagues 1 & 2, equivalent to what they would earn under the current settlement agreement. 8. A Pyramid System will be put in place which open up the bottom of League 2 effective from the end of season 2013/2014 with the first opportunity for promoted clubs to enter the league being 2014/15 thus allowing for licensing to take place. 9. Consolidation below the Third Division to take place to create a Lowland & Highland League structure effective 2014/15 with appropriate play-offs and promotion/relegation to be put in place. Clubs to be briefed that the previous season 2013/2014 will involve the opportunity to enter play-offs for the first time. In terms of actions/timings I think the following needs to happen in this coming week: A) A joint statement today from all 3 bodies confirming that productive discussions have taken place on a new blueprint for Scottish football. Consultation will continue over the next two weeks with a view to clubs getting together week commencing 2nd July to try and agree the way forward. (D Broadfoot to provide this and circulate to DL/ND for approval) B) Rod P / Jim B to finalise the all-through financial model by Wednesday this week latest. C) Neil / David to finalise the detail on Governance, Commercials and Play-Offs (ideally Monday/Tuesday) and incorporate these, plus the financials in B) above into a legally binding Heads of Terms 'draft' for presentation to each league body w/c 2nd July. D) DL to organise SFL Board Meeting w/c 25th June to gain buy-in to the plan and also arrange an all club meeting w/c 2nd July E) ND to gain support from SPL Clubs 28th June F) SFL Clubs Meeting to be planned for 3rd July G) SPL Club Meeting to be planned for 4th July H) Scottish FA Board to sign off on the final plan post 4th July. Subject to approval all bodies (including Newco) to sign legal documentation. I) Agree joint communication strategy J) In parallel to A-D above, could Rod Petrie please brief Charles Green confidentially on the discussions from a Scottish FA perspective so that there are 'no surprises' and there is a general acceptance of the plan plus all of the other conditions discussed e.g. transfer embargo, fines, repayment of football debt, waiving rights to legal challenge, acceptance of relegation and so on. K) Andrew to ensure our check list of disclosures relating to Newco and Fit & Proper Person criteria are delivered by 2nd july. The Board will need these plus the Heads of Terms above in order to complete this plan. The Scottish FA Board have agreed to provide a one-off restructuring budget of £1m on condition the above plan is delivered. I hope this covers everything. Speak soon....now off to the airport! Regards Stewart http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9400788/Rangers-in-crisis-SFA-chief-Stewart-Regan-could-become-latest-casualty-in-saga-after-email-leak.html

By Chris Graham Published on Sunday 15 July 2012 00:15 FRIDAY the 13th may, ironically, be the day that Scottish football finally managed to put an end to the horror of the past few months. Whether the SFA are prepared to respect the decision taken by the SFL clubs to put Rangers into the Third Division remains to be seen, though, and there is still a good chance that they could re-enter the fray to provide an unwelcome and 
possibly gruesome sequel. In David Longmuir, it seems the SFL have found a man who is actually willing to look after and represent his member clubs properly. Dare I suggest he could be a future chief executive of the SFA? The SFL chairmen should also be congratulated for taking on a very difficult responsibility, abdicated by the SFA and SPL, and dealing with it in a fair and positive manner. If â??sporting integrityâ? has been genuinely applied by any group throughout this sorry state of affairs then it may be them. Stewart Regan must have been getting an increasingly bad feeling as the week progressed and club after club from the SFL made negative statements about his and Neil Doncasterâ??s contribution to this saga. Regan has been accused of lying to SFL clubs, bullying and threats so many times during the Rangers debacle that it seems only a matter of time before he resigns or is removed by a seemingly impotent SFA board. When Regan finally reacted to the SFL vote it was with a collection of vague, unconvincing soundbites. He talked of â??innovationâ?, â??consensusâ?, â??clarityâ? and â??togethernessâ?. All things he has been accused by SFL clubs of being unable to provide or having destroyed. Scottish football certainly needs these things â?? especially innovation â?? but I would be terrified for the future if it was to be subjected to any more of Reganâ??s peculiar brand. The reaction from Rangers was perfect. There has been some suspicion that, despite public statements to the contrary and the fansâ?? clear wish for Division 3, Charles Green in particular might be happy to be placed into the First Division or a newly formed SPL 2. The SFA threat of withholding a licence and further sanctions still remains, but both Green and Ally McCoist, our steadfast and hugely impressive manager, have made it clear that they will abide by the SFL decision. I sincerely hope that they are allowed to do so. Iâ??ve been critical of Charles Green and, for me, many doubts still remain, but it is by standing firm on issues like this and listening to the fans that he will slowly improve his standing. Itâ??s difficult to see where the SFA can go now, unless SFL chairmen are prepared to indulge SPL 2 in stark contrast to their public position. There is still some worry the SFA may use the appellate tribunal, which they have still not reconvened, to conveniently suspend Rangers for a year and then catapult them back into whatever reorganised structure comes to pass. It would certainly call the independence of that tribunal into question should that happen. Of equal concern is that the SFA would be vindictive enough to withhold the licence transfer or place further sanctions on the club. In fact, it would be unbelievable if it were not for their behaviour so far. They are already making noises about further sanctions to the media. Rangersâ?? fans are looking forward to beginning a new adventure in the Third Division, free from the type of vitriol aimed at the club by the rather more vocal fans of other SPL clubs. Iâ??d like to think weâ??ll see an end to that now, but Rangers are all they have talked about for months and I doubt the forthcoming SPL campaign will provide much stimulation. I can only assume they will move on to concocting a new wish-list of punishments for Rangers whilst still desperately trying to claim the club no longer exists. Well, Rangers exist all right, and I hope the Division 1, 2 and 3 clubs will see the benefit of our travelling support and the income they generate in the years to come. Rangers now have the chance to win every single title and trophy available in Scottish football. Iâ??m confident that is what we will do if given the chance, but I do wonder what sort of SPL we will return to and how many of the current teams will still be there. â?¢ Chris Graham is a Rangers season ticket holder and writer for therangersstandard.co.uk http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/sport/it-s-time-to-let-fans-of-rangers-get-on-with-their-new-adventure-1-2413185

By Martin Hannan Published on Sunday 15 July 2012 00:00 SCOTTISH footballâ??s top official, SFA chief executive Stewart Regan, was the subject of a proposed no-confidence vote at the meeting of the Scottish Football League on Friday. Last night he was facing calls to consider his position, with the men who proposed and seconded the no-confidence vote, Livingston chairman Gordon McDougall and Cowdenbeath secretary Alex Anderson, calling for Regan to â??think about his positionâ?. SFL president Jim Ballantyne decided that the vote should not take place on Friday, but McDougall confirmed last night: â??I proposed the vote of no confidence, but it wasnâ??t put to the meeting. I donâ??t know why.â? Anderson said: â??The whole situation has disgusted me, the way it has been handled. â??It is a sad, sad day for Scottish football, what we have been forced into, and the top people in the SFA and SPL should all be looking to their positions. Regan needs to look at what he has said and done, and the way he has handled things, and he must consider his position. Iâ??m sorry to say this, but the SPL and SFA tried to get us to make a decision with our hands tied.â? The issue which has put the SFA chief executive under pressure is his vocal campaign to link league reconstruction with putting newco Rangers into the First Division. An SFL club director said: â??We were bullied and intimidated over the issue. â??We were basically told â??Rangers into the First or elseâ??. â??It backfired, because Iâ??m sure some clubs changed their vote after reading his comments about â??slow lingering deathâ?? in the press.â? As yet the SFA has still to approve Charles Greenâ??s application to assume Rangersâ?? membership of the association â?? a condition of playing league football â?? with disciplinary action against the original company also unresolved. The SFA board may want Green to accept some sanctions as a condition of the newcoâ??s membership, and the appellate tribunal will definitely meet to reconsider their verdict after Lord Glennie set aside the transfer embargo. Yet it looks most likely that newco Rangers will play in the Third Division against the wishes of the gameâ??s leadership in Scotland. The full extent of the lengths to which the Scottish football authorities were prepared to go to shoehorn newco Rangers into the First Division can be revealed today. A document prepared for the Scottish Football Associationâ??s Board and dated 18 June has been obtained by Scotland On Sunday. It was said by an insider to be the â??culmination of weeks of talks between the SFA, SPL, SFL, oldco Rangers and then newco Rangers.â? The document is headed â??Scottish FA: Newco & Scottish Football, A Strategic Reviewâ? and has Reganâ??s mark of authorship â?? on page 6, dealing with the â??top ten risks to be addressedâ?, the second â??risk to be addressedâ? is said to be â??social unrestâ? which is the phrase used by Regan after the SPL voted not to allow newco Rangers into their league. It was this initial review which led to the proposals put forward by the SFA, SPL and SFL last week calling for the restructuring of the professional game in Scotland, tied to the plan to put Rangers into the First Division. As far back as 18 June, however, the authors knew they were in for possible trouble with their plans. The risks to be addressed included â??threat to solidarity payment [the £2 million paid to the SFL by the SPL] and future survival of 20 remaining clubsâ? â?? the first time the number of possible casualties has been mentioned, amounting to almost half the 42 professional clubs in Scotland. On the last page under the heading â??Questions to Considerâ? the author asks: â??What is the mechanic per footballing body to approve a package of measures out-with [sic] the rule book?â? This is believed to be a reference to the conflicts between the SPL and SFL rule books on how to deal with a club going into liquidation. Other questions are: â??Does the Scottish FA need to call an EGM? Do we need unanimity to move forward â?? potential challenges as to whether we have powers to do this?â? Benefits of the package were that it would â??show leadership for the game in Scotlandâ? and avoid â??a fan backlashâ? with â??a positive media outcomeâ? â?? three â??benefitsâ? that did not accrue. In the bizarre lexicon of the SFA, the review is known as an â??Aunt Sallyâ? document â?? it is actually referred to as such in SFA minutes â?? with controversial proposals put up for discussion so that they can be accepted or rejected. The supreme irony is that much of the plan for restructuring the professional game in Scotland was visionary, involving a single league body with four divisions named Premiership, Championship, League One, League Two; a revised percentage allocation of cash to all 42 clubs; the introduction of play-offs between all leagues; parachute payments between top two tiers and for a club falling out of the bottom tier; the launch of a pyramid system below the professional league, with the Highland League continuing as it is and a new Lowland League to be formed from the Junior leagues, the East of Scotland and South of Scotland Leagues. Most of those proposals made it into the eventual tripartite plan announced last week, though that will now be phased in over two years rather than go ahead immediately as Rangers have been put into the Third Division. It is a matter for conjecture just how much of that vision will survive and become reality. An SFA spokesperson said last night: â??This is a discussion document that was issued to the Scottish FA Board based on dialogue between the Scottish FA, SPL and SFL on the subjects of Rangers FCâ??s status and league reconstruction. In light of the purchase of assets by Sevco Scotland on 14 June, it was essential that all implications of this development were made available to the Scottish FA Board for consideration before further discussions with both the SPL and SFL. The Scottish FA were effectively the â??marriage brokersâ?? in the discussions on league reconstruction.â? Itâ??s a marriage that is yet to be consummated and will start without a honeymoon, because last night St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour blasted the SFL for rejecting the plan to put Rangers in the First Division. Gilmour said: â??This is horrific news for St Mirren Football Club. The consequences are terrible â?? catastrophic even. I just hope they realise the damage they have done to Scottish football. Five clubs in the SPL could be in administration within weeks â?? and we will have to do everything we can to avoid being one of them.â? Such feeling has prompted speculation that the SPL 2 plan could yet be revived at tomorrowâ??s SPL agm but Hearts managing director David Southern cast doubt on that last night. â??Anythingâ??s possible for discussion but certainly nothing has been mentioned to us as a club that that is on the agenda for discussion,â? Southern said. â??We think it would be a very, very short discussion indeed. We are focused on the new season. Rangers, as has been elected, will play in Division Three. Thatâ??s how it stands at the moment and thatâ??s how we fully expect it to stand at five oâ??clock on Monday evening.â? A statement from Dundee United was more emphatic. It said: â??For the avoidance of doubt, following yesterdayâ??s vote, the club would not support any counter proposals for the formation of SPL 2 or regarding any other route for The Rangers Football Club to join the SPL.â? http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/disgusted-chairmen-call-for-sfa-chief-stewart-regan-to-stand-down-1-2412833

cannot be used other than a contingent possible hypothetical insolvency nor can HMRC enforce...statute is called BILL OF RIGHTS 1689 “That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void” and before all you critics open your big mouths the Statute is valid today as when it was signed and I know cos I WON in 2003 with it BUT the HMRC has NEVER been the problem...its a contingent liability...in feb 2012 RFC PLC assets exceeded its liabilities NEVER insolvent and millions missing and the SFA will have to take that into account and as a shareholder I have the right to take court and NOT only in this jurisdiction BUT also ITALY cos I am an italian citizen and as one I am protected by the constitution