Uilleam

Provided it is not Lord Mulholland presiding, we should get away with it.

This is taking a team of young guys (under 20, for the most part?) and sticking them into the Juniors. It will certainly toughen them up, but.......

I think that BDO perhaps is taking its figures from the best possible analyses of values, whether of brand/goodwill, players, real estate, or whatever. I am not sure that all of that, indeed any of that, actually washes. I expect that we will see in the fullness of legal time.

Anyway, you seem to have won a watch with Herr Tuchel.. He came at the end of January and has done very well, with players who are not "his". It will be interesting to see what he does over the summer.

Here is something from The Evening Times, today. This is about the case of BDO (the Liquidators) v Duff and Phelps (the Administrators). Do keep up. https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/19290721.rangers-sold-fifth-fair-value-brand-worth-16m-snapped-nothing/

Compared to the rest, Abramovich is a knight in shining armour. Mind you, that is setting a low bar. The guy who bought Leicester, and died tragically, seems to have been a decent owner. Are his heirs/successors continuing in the same vein? There may be some lessons to be taken from the Yanqui sports business/franchise model, but to import it wholesale would be unwise, and unacceptable.

OOOOOOOOOF!!!!!! Archie MacPherson weighs in, in today's Times, no less (Oh! Tempora! et cetera). From Rangers' point of view, the piece is, alas, tripe (although I have no idea about his dispute with rasellik, and care not). Walker made completely unprompted, and completely unsubstantiated, allegations about a "Rangers' perilous financial situation." Normally, this would result, at the least, in issue of a 'cease and desist' request to the broadcaster and its mouthpiece. Perhaps this has been done. Capriciously bandying around such assertions, on air, without proof, or, without full understanding, as maybe thought likely in Walker's case, is a dangerous game, and goes beyond "fair comment". It can have a deleterious impact on company share prices (I do appreciate that football may be "different", although the point stands), and may lead to legal action against the perpetrator. Perhaps, therefore, Walker's "ban" from Ibrox is a lesser punishment. As an aside, Walker's absence from the airwaves is not a great loss, in the opinion of this viewer (and his mates). FOOTBALL | ARCHIE MACPHERSON Old Firm clubs’ unwanted unity is bad news for everyone Archie Macpherson Monday May 10 2021, 12.01am, The Times Rangers and Celtic have banned Walker, the Sky broadcaster, from their grounds https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/old-firm-clubs-unwanted-unity-is-bad-news-for-everyone-sm2w7nhbk There never has been a time when the Old Firm “beat their swords into ploughshares” and then went on to shower their critics with rose petals. In fact, they now seem to have reached a pinnacle of sensitivity by applying George Orwell’s dictum that sport “is war without the shooting”. In banning the broadcaster Andy Walker from their premises for making what they considered to be unjust comments in his Sky television role they have also created together something unique in my experience — paranoic unity. It is not that I was ever free of accusations of the partisanship that I believe lies at the heart of this current controversy. I was broadcasting and writing at the time Jock Stein was on one side of the city and Willie Waddell on the other. At times there was a simmering, tense atmosphere. The confrontations could be brutal, but these incidents seemed to clear the air and Stein in particular seemed to relish and respect you for squaring up to him. It was not gentlemanly, but it was grist to the mill of human contact, eyeball to eyeball, sometimes in barrages of abuse. Back then when you talked to a manager, you felt you were talking to the entire club. Of course, there were occasional threats about not darkening their doorsteps and that you would never be allowed to speak to their players again. But these were fleeting eruptions of anger that were never formalised and any errors of judgment were sorted out there and then. Clearly that landscape no longer exists. What does exist is less clear, except to Walker, who knows that both clubs would like to see him out of the broadcasting door. But his existential crisis affects everyone in the media. The Stein/Waddell nexus has given way to a more corporate entity, which by comparison with their age is faceless and more sinister. The trend towards establishing “in-house” communication with the public fosters good relationships with the Old Firm’s respective supporters, and in truth there is no club I know that would want a prying, investigative journalist in their midst, trying to shine light into dark corners, if such existed. Clubs are entitled to have as bland an output as they wish “in house”, but that must not interfere with the right of other media to question, probe and criticise, in that principled public duty of journalism, to enlighten. To hide from that diminishes any club’s credibility. Sky television, meanwhile, might wish to compare anything the banished Walker has said about the Old Firm to Gary Neville’s description of the Glazer brothers, owners of Manchester United, as “scavengers and criminals”.

Would Dalcio get on the bench?

As you have pointed out, "Who thought if would be a good idea to have no proper football for ten days and then two games in four days. Far too many blank weekends due to dreary international and cup competitions." So what else is there to gossip about? Apart from which, Rangers' transfer rumours drive the fhilth support crazy.

Surely 'Silent Stan' Kroenke has a mate who might want to soak the Rangers' support?

Roman Abramovich is a business man and a rogue, who made lots and lots of money following the collapse of the Soviet Union. I have no doubt that his ethics were -and are still, perhaps- questionable, generally, and in pursuit of business opportunities. When he bought Chelsea, it was bruited that this was a move to raise his profile in a democratic country, and, thus, make it more difficult for enemies in Russia to target him. I don't know the truth of this, but, overall, given the origins of his astounding wealth, I agree that he might be regarded as less than totally, well, kosher. The Glazers are just a shower of cu nts. They are very rich Americans who acquired Manchester United via a leveraged buy out, which they almost immediately converted into a totally leveraged buy out by saddling the Club with, as far as I can see, the total cost, in debt, of its own acquisition. It is a bit more complicated, I think, but it does his look like pretty sharp practice, and of course, the money that the Club makes is, for the most part directed to interest payments and to debt reduction. The Glazers pay themselves Directors' Fees and expenses, natch. The Club remains in debt, not through any financial profligacy of its football operations, but through the very means of its acquisition in the first place. The Glazers have, now a -what?- £3Billion+ asset, which cost them very little of their own money, and little risk. Nice work if you can get it. No wonder the support hates their guts. Manchester Citeh is in a different league from the robber barons of Machester United, and the unscrupulous owner of Chelsea. Lay aside the fact that this Club has driven a camel train through any vestiges of Financial Fair Play, and level competition. It is owned by one part of the ruling family of Abu Dhabi, and most of its sponsorship income comes from other parts of the same outfit. It could not, and would not generate that income from another sources. That is a relatively minor part of it. Have a look at the article linked below: https://medium.com/@NcGeehan/the-men-behind-man-city-a-documentary-not-coming-soon-to-a-cinema-near-you-14bc8e393e06 Different league, and yet the press and the football industry fawns over the franchise.

Similar, perhaps, but not in the same ball park.

Cracking result for Chelsea. I particularly enjoyed it as I can't stand that ersatz and franchised side. A repeat in the CL Final would be excellent, and highly amusing.

I've been in a few beer dens, if that is any help....

There will be many threads....

Well, only one of them can read.....

#RangersFC are today delighted to announce that a pre-contract has been agreed with Fashion Sakala, and he will join from Belgian side KV Oostende in the summer-subject to international clearance and a work permit being received.

Spot Sunday's micro-aggressions

Have any of them ever been to Steòrnabhagh? Or Kirkcudbright, for that matter? Milngavie?

That is exactly what Mr Duncan Ferguson did. Well, perhaps not..... Burglary attempts at his homes In 2001, two burglars broke into Ferguson's home in Rufford, Lancashire. Ferguson confronted them and was able to detain one of them, who subsequently spent three days in hospital. The second man managed to flee but was eventually caught. Both men were sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment for their actions. In 2003, Ferguson caught another burglar at his home in Formby, Merseyside; the burglar attacked Ferguson, who retaliated. The burglar was hospitalised and later alleged that Ferguson had assaulted him, but this was dismissed by police.

Now, that is worth more than a hill of beans, that.

Well, neither is Big John Kennedy

I've just realised that this match is a "six-pointer".

Lacrimae Christie?

If only we could package it.