Uilleam

The case rumbles on, leaving no stone unturned........ Rangers stars Steven Naismith and Steven Whittaker agreed wage cuts to help Ibrox backroom staff James Mulholland Friday May 28 2021, 12.01am, The Times Steven Naismith, who now plays for Hearts, feared backroom staff would suffer more than players if Rangers made people redundant https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rangers-stars-steven-naismith-and-steven-whittaker-agreed-wage-cuts-to-help-ibrox-backroom-staff-jdnds5rld The former Rangers forward Steven Naismith has said it was a “big deal” to ensure non-playing staff would not lose their jobs as part of moves to prevent the club being liquidated. Naismith, 34, who now plays for Hearts, told how his contract was rewritten to ensure administrators tasked with securing the club’s financial future would not fire backroom employees. The Court of Session heard how Naismith secured the guarantee in the months before leaving Rangers to sign for Everton in August 2012. He told advocate Andrew Young QC that he and fellow player Steven Whittaker, 36, agreed to take a cut in wages in return for the assurance. The evidence emerged on the 16th day of the case during questioning by Young, who is acting for the club’s former administrators Paul Clark and David Whitehouse in a multimillion-pound compensation action brought by the financial services firm BDO. Naismith said that he and Whittaker were worried that non-playing staff would “suffer” more than players in the event of redundancies. He said that you hear about “when clubs are in these situations and it effectively is a lot of the people that do more for the club than most that suffer . . For me and Steven at the time, it was a big deal.” (..................................................................................) Yesterday the court heard that West Bromwich Albion were interested in signing Naismith and that the proposed deal would have increased his wages by up to 50 per cent. The court heard that Albion thought Rangers were paying Naismith more than his actual deal. The court also heard from Bill Popp, a sports marketing expert who was involved in attempts by the US businessman Bill Miller to buy Rangers. Miller, who made his fortune in trucking, withdrew in May 2012. The court heard that Miller had information that players and management staff were being paid “way above” market value. Popp said: “What I do recall is that it did seem by doing this, whoever structured that agreement made the club nearly unbuyable. Your liability was going to jump suddenly to having all these key staff with big exit packages. “If I remember correctly those were obligations of the club — someone was going to have pay those obligations.” The hearing, before judge Lord Tyre, continues. Is it strange, even contradictory, that WBA thought that Rangers was paying Naismith more than was the case, indicating a salary, which, while considerable, was below par, but Popp/Miller found that players and management were being rewarded with pay "way above" market value? Maybe it's just the Yanks' inability to get to grips with soccer, and its madcap ways. Straitened financial circumstances but maintaining a high wage bill probably would have seemed imprudent and unsustainable to the Americans.

The three that you decide to miss.

With so much talent on the market, could it be that it is not Eddie Howe who is playing ducks and drakes with the Club Like No Other, but it which is doing so with him? It would seem to be spoiled for choice at the moment.

I didn't see all of the match, but from what I did see, it was of mediocre quality, and the England players in the MU team looked jaded, and out of form. (As did Pogba, whom I would not take in a Lucky Bag, since you ask.) Doesn't bode well for Southgate, that.

He need not worry, then, lifestyle issues mean that he won't live long enough to see the inside of a care home.

You pointed out that, when he ended up in a care home, he might not be able to tell the difference?

Do you suppose that Malky had categories of people? In a hierarchy of acceptability? I wonder what the texts, etc. would have contained if he had been asked to consider French, Italian, Turkish, Eastern European, or North African players? Perhaps best we don't know.

The show continues, and in yesterday's Act, the position and attitude of the constituency MSP, St Nikla, was revealed. Not much of a surprise from the top of the bill act, it has to be said, but prepare yourselves: "Nicola Sturgeon gave “short shrift” to a plea from financial experts to help Rangers FC during attempts to secure the club’s financial future... ....She said, ‘We can’t be seen to be biased.’” The proposal from D&P possibly looked like it could hold water, financially, unlike most of her interventions with public money. On the question of 'bias', St Nikla demonstrated her support for the irony and steel industry, but surely the thought of putting a further boot into a Scottish Institution, associated with Unionism, never crossed her nationalist mind. It would be interesting to know what D&P's proposal actually was, and how long she/the government spent on considering it; Days? Hours? Minutes? Seconds? Nicola Sturgeon ruled out lifeline for Rangers as club tried to stay afloat James Mulholland Thursday May 27 2021, 12.01am, The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/nicola-sturgeon-ruled-out-lifeline-for-rangers-as-club-tried-to-stay-afloat-f0vtht6nv Nicola Sturgeon gave “short shrift” to a plea from financial experts to help Rangers FC during attempts to secure the club’s financial future, a court has heard. David Whitehouse, 55, told the Court of Session yesterday that Sturgeon, the deputy first minister at the time, was reticent about allowing Scottish government intervention when the club was placed in administration in 2012. The former administrator for the Glasgow club told Kenny McBrearty QC that he and his colleagues had approached Sturgeon. He said that she ruled out giving any help to Rangers. Whitehouse said: “We got short shrift when we approached her. She said, ‘We can’t be seen to be biased.’” Whitehouse, a managing director of the financial services firm Duff & Phelps, was giving evidence for the second day. He has been called as a witness in an action brought by BDO, the liquidators of Rangers. The financial services firm is suing Whitehouse and Paul Clark, 56, for £56.8 million. BDO believes that Whitehouse and Clark failed to cut costs sufficiently after they had been drafted in to sort out the ailing club. Lawyers for BDO claim that the pair could have raised more money for the club. Both Whitehouse and Clark deny allegations of negligence and are contesting the claim. Whitehouse and Clark were appointed by the Court of Session as administrators after HMRC took Rangers to court for £18 million of unpaid tax in February 2012. The two men went on to sell the business and assets of the oldco to Charles Green’s consortium for £5.5 million before BDO was appointed to liquidate the old company. They were later among seven men indicted over fraud allegations relating to Rangers. The case against them was dropped in June 2016 and both Whitehouse and Clark sued the police and prosecutors last year. Prosecutors admitted the case against the duo was “malicious” and conducted “without probable cause”. They both received multimillion-pound settlements. Prosecutors further admitted that Charles Green — who headed the consortium that bought the club, was also arrested during the probe and eventually acquitted — was wrongfully taken to court and that the prosecution against him was malicious. The hearing continues.

He's a Slav ffs!

Good.

Gdansk Stadium 8pm BT Sport 1 And for free, gratis, and for nothing: btsport.com/final BT Sport You Tube You're welcome

I'll believe that when it is confirmed by the BBC.

Well, according to BBC Scotland's Irishman English: "It was Lawwell's influence that helped put Ian Maxwell in his role as as chief executive of the Scottish FA and it's been Lawwell's support that's helped Neil Doncaster in his role as chief executive of the SPFL." https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/55864412 I think that offers some, ahem, clarification.

Throw him a ball, and see what foot he uses?

What do we do if he was 'Home Educated'?

I think that he is worth a look, at least.

Humza's now infamous tirade, "White, white, white....." etc. leads me to think that he ought to attend Ibrox, to watch The Famous. I am sure that the Club would be delighted to invite him to a match, and extend the red carpet. He could even meet the team. "White......em...not white, not white, em not white, white....em... "etc.

Well, he's still on his feet, which, I suppose, indicates stamina, a quality he would require if, Heaven forfend, he were required to represent you. (Apparently.) In the latest day's action, "Members of a team of financial experts tasked with saving Rangers referred to a leading player at the club with a four-letter word, a court has been told. The vile calumny was revealed to the court as: a “complete twat”. .." Inevitably, the country inquires, "Who called the Rangers' star a complete twat?", and, more on point, perhaps, "Who called the complete twat a Rangers' star?" Are we spoiled for choice, here? Of more interest, perhaps, and amusement, is this snippet: "Clark spoke yesterday about Blue Knights,.....He told Kenny McBrearty QC, who is acting for BDO, that he did not think the bid by the group was credible as it did not have the necessary money." If only SDM had engaged the services of Duff and Phelps (or whatever it was called prior to takeover by D&P) before selling! He would not have been 'duped' by D&P client, Craig Whyte!!! Terry Munro would be a bluenose!! Paul Clark and David Whitehouse had harsh words for Rangers football star James Mulholland Tuesday May 25 2021, 12.01am, The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paul-clark-and-david-whitehouse-had-harsh-words-for-rangers-football-star-vcvdzl5tn Members of a team of financial experts tasked with saving Rangers referred to a leading player at the club with a four-letter word, a court has been told. Paul Clark, 56, told lawyers on Monday that he accepted it was “unwise” to describe the star, who was not identified, as a “complete twat”. The Court of Session was told that the unflattering comments were made in the course of conversations involving Clarke, the finance expert David Whitehouse, and Craig Whyte, the owner of Rangers FC in 2011-12. Both Clark and Whitehouse were acting as administrators to the club and were trying to secure its financial future. Clark said that he was unsure about whether it was him or Whitehouse who made the remarks. The court was also told that the pair made remarks to Whyte about the club’s manager, Ally McCoist, and the club legend Sandy Jardine, and Clarke said he may have made “scathing” remarks about Paul Murray, a former Rangers director who led the “Blue Knights” consortium that tried to buy the club in 2012. Clark was giving evidence for the second day in an action brought against him and Whitehouse by the liquidators of Rangers, BDO, which is suing them for £56.8 million over claims that they did not cut costs well enough after they were drafted in to sort out the ailing club in 2012. Both Whitehouse and Clark deny allegations of negligence and are contesting the claim. They were later among seven men indicted over fraud allegations relating to Rangers, before the case against them was dropped in June 2016. They raised an action against the police and prosecutors last year, after which it was admitted that the case against them was “malicious” and “without probable cause”. They both received multimillion-pound settlements. Clark spoke yesterday about Blue Knights, which withdrew its bid to buy Rangers in May 2012. He told Kenny McBrearty QC, who is acting for BDO, that he did not think the bid by the group was credible as it did not have the necessary money. Clark also told McBrearty that the administrators never considered devising a deal to save the club by selling assets such as the Ibrox stadium or the training ground at Murray Park. He added: “We were not nor did we look to an alternative strategy in relation to the heritable property.” The hearing, before Judge Lord Tyre, continues today. Comments for this article have been turned off

The Temple of Dreams, indeed!! "......and worse than that Humza, the whole structure is held up by Three Pillars....."

It's not a Pollock, but it does illustrate that 'Less Is More'.

I suppose that the Club is of the opinion that it has a broader back than any/all of those individuals it wishes to pursue, and that it has a very decent chance of obtaining a judgement against them (all of them, hopefully). Those who the Club wishes to pursue have to consider their costs against the likelihood of a successful defence, and the likely financial fallout of an unsuccessful one. By going onto the front foot with a series of, on balance, winnable cases, the Club may be able to force the targets to, say, admit liability, issue profuse and public apologies, accept the Club's costs to date, and make a token payment to a charity of the Club's choosing. I hope to god it is acting under advisement on this.

Legal action, you say? The club could have hired Mossad and the IDF, and even those fine fellows would have struggled to prevent supporters gathering.

Did Jack Ross just fail his audition for the fhilth job? (I am sure Eddie Howe will fail to trap.)

Easy for ewe to say...

As usual, the real heroes of the day were -and remain- unrecognised, and unrewarded: step forward Air Traffic Control