Uilleam

As far as I recall, Whyte set up a deal with Ticketus involving the future rights to season tickets. He used the money which was lodged with solicitors or in escrow somewhere, and released immediately the one Pound coin changed hands with DM. This looked gey close to Financial Assistance, a breach of the Companies Act. Lloyds Banking Group swallowed this whole, or to the tune of 18M GBP, or thereby, the debt which the Rangers' division of Murray International owed. Subsequently, Ticketus bought further rights to further season tickets. There was nothing unusual in the deal with Ticketus, except, perhaps its scale, and the fact it was to be used for paying off debt, rather than easing cash flow. When Whyte put the Company into Administration, which ended in formal Liquidation, Ticketus realised that it had bought a pup, and sued for the money. Now, if memory serves, it found, to its dismay, that it had no claim beyond that of any other creditor. I think that it had been misled on matters of Scots' Law.

I think it clear that Whyte had but one intention and that to put the Company onto the rocks. He had no intention otherwise.

Does that mean his starting XI was wrong?

Aaaah. reverse juju still workee

Nah. Too many nutters, here; not as many as you have, but still too big a risk. Booze and firearms, man.....

Don't have your gun laws.....

It's early, very, very early, in his career, but, already, I worry about the weight of the shirt on him.

Our CF, per SKY had four (4 nr) touches in the 1st half. (I wouldn't mind that if he had bagged a hat trick.) Is it just that he is unpopular in the dressing room?

Livingston has been solid, well organised, quick to get (back) into shape, strong, and dangerous on a couple of breaks. We have been disastrous.

So, who starts against the Belgians?

Oooooh Aaaaah, up the 'RA, I shouldn't wonder.

Is it too early to despair?

Crocker and Walker. FFS SKY!!!

1 - 4 Fgs: Lawrence

Can you have a surprise birthday party, when everyone knows about it, bar you, of course?

HENRY WINTER | GIOVANNI VAN BRONCKHORST INTERVIEW Giovanni van Bronckhorst: You have to be an obsessive as a manager, it is a sacrifice you need to make Giovanni van Bronckhorst learned from the likes of Cruyff and Advocaat but he also brings a modern approach to life at Rangers as he prepares to start a new campaign Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer Saturday July 30 2022, 12.01am, The Times Van Bronckhorst enjoys Scottish Cup success with Rangers in May IAN MACNICOL/GETTY IMAGES The long, distinguished list of managerial talent emanating from the Netherlands is remarkable, ranging from Rinus Michels to Johan Cruyff, from Leo Beenhakker, Dick Advocaat, Frank Rijkaard, Guus Hiddink and Louis van Gaal, from to Bert van Marwijk, Erik ten Hag and Gio van Bronckhorst. It’s particularly remarkable for a country of only 17 million people. “18m! 18m!” Van Bronckhorst immediately interrupts. “Close to 18m now! I saw it in the papers this week!” It’s a very Dutch intervention, very direct and delivered with a smile as we talk on Friday afternoon. Van Bronckhorst has just finished preparing Rangers for the start of the Premiership season, away to Livingston at noon on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Van Bronckhorst held an open training session at Ibrox and 6,000 fans braved the squalls of rain. They want proximity to the players, to the club they love, but also a glimpse of Van Bronckhorst at work. Against all odds, he guided Rangers to the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt in May and, although they lost, 100,000 fans travelled. They believe in Van Bronckhorst, who played for them with distinction, and hit a few piledrivers from 1998 to 2001 having left Feyenoord, before heading on to Arsenal, where he won the title under Arsène Wenger, and then Barcelona, where he won the Champions League under Rijkaard (against Arsenal). Van Bronckhorst celebrates scoring the opening goal during the 2010 FIFA World Cup semi-final match between Uruguay and Holland LARS BARON/GETTY IMAGES After a final hurrah at his beloved Feyenoord, and retiring following his 106th appearance for the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final, Van Bronckhorst launched himself into coaching, first with Feyenoord, then with Guangzhou in China and last mid-season back at Ibrox when Steven Gerrard moved to Aston Villa. His team faded against Celtic in the league, but won the Scottish Cup and took over Seville. So why do the Dutch make good coaches? Is it the country’s culture of studying and questioning? “We have our thoughts on football,” Van Bronckhorst replies, “and we have a rich history with not only the Dutch national side but also club wise. We are quite successful for such a small country. For myself, it’s the development from when I was young, first in the academy at Feyenoord, working with great coaches from the Netherlands. One of my coaches was Wim Jansen, a great coach and also a very important player in the 74 squad [of Michels] when Total Football began. “From the age of eight, I was taught in that way of playing by Jansen. He was talking about [passing] triangles and making the pitch big when you have the ball and making it small when you’re chasing the ball.” It shaped his thinking. “When you develop in a certain way of playing that will always stay with you.” As a player, Van Bronckhorst moved seamlessly through a range of positions in keeping with Total football. “Cruyff started it and also Feyenoord taught me,” he continues. “I started as a left midfielder in the academy and towards the end of my time in the academy I played also as a central defender, building from the back, and as a left winger.” Van Bronckhorst, right, challenges Michael Owen during his playing days DENIS DOYLE/GETTY IMAGES That accelerated his understanding of the game. “I was exposed to all the different positions to ‘sense’ the position but also to learn about each position,” he reflects. “And now, it’s a very big part of our coaching: our set-up with and without the ball. That’s the influence I had as a boy and with all the coaches I had: Beenhakker, my coach at Feyenoord, Van Gaal, Van Marwijk, Rijkaard. I’ve had the privilege to work with great managers.” Wenger looms large in his thinking and influences. “Well, he was the first coach I had who was not only specific about football but also the way you live, your rest and your food,” Van Bronckhorst explains. “Wenger was the first one I encountered with low fat food in the training ground at Colney. We couldn’t have fizzy drinks. We did yoga. He was the one with the total mindset to be football player. “He was also the first talking about data, how many metres you’ve run, how many sprints you had. That opened my mind as a football player. Apart from, of course, Wenger’s technical and tactical knowledge what always stuck with me in the time I was at Arsenal was to invest in the hours when you’re not on the training ground.” Wenger was, still is, obsessive about football. Van Bronckhorst understands. “Managers have to be ‘obsessive’ because it takes a lot of hours of the day being a manager. That’s a sacrifice you have to make. You can only do that when you have the passion for it and the support from home.’’ Van Bronckhorst says managers have to be obsessive due to the long hours IAN MACNICOL/GETTY IMAGES His background, reflecting his parents’ Indonesian roots, helps him move even more easily in the modern multi-cultural, multi-lingual dressing-rooms. “Yes, it’s important. The first time I had it was at Rangers where we had so many different players from different countries.” He thinks of the era of Lorenzo Amoruso, Claudio Reyna and Jorg Albertz, among others. “We had Italians, Americans, Dutch, German players. You always have differences in culture and habits but a big part of being successful as a team is you gel together really well and perform.” That also occurred with Carles Puyol (Spain), Ronaldinho (Brazil), Deco (Portugal) and Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), among others, in that 2006 Champions League glory. “The coach I had at Barcelona with Rijkaard really understood the way of managing a [diverse] group like that.” Dressing-rooms are even more polyglot now, demanding more from a manager. “With all the different cultures you have to have a different approach,” Van Bronckhorst says. “With players from Holland you can be quite direct. With players from South America you have to be careful in the way you approach them personally or in a group. Man-to-man management is getting more important now. I’m direct but I make sure the best way to approach a character. “It’s also about changing generations [in society]. My eldest kid is 20 and 16 the youngest and there’s a difference in bringing up the kids now and what they have, with social media, with everything around them. It’s the same with young players in your team. Concentration levels are less than the older players. I make sure when I talk to them it’s quite short and quite direct. And if you see my squad now I have a 40-year-old [Allan McGregor] and I have an 18-year-old [centre-back Leon King], one or two generations between them so I also have to take that into account when I address those players.” Van Bronckhorst was attracted to the values and culture at Rangers IAN MACNICOL/GETTY IMAGES As a manager, Van Bronckhorst draws on lessons absorbed from his parents. “I was brought up with these important values: the respect you show to other people and treat people the way you want to be treated. These are values I take into account bringing up my own children together with my wife. It’s also the way I act in the club. I’m very strict. I was brought up a very strict way. Also the Dutch way is very strict but you have to adjust to the culture you’re in. I learned that in China. “But because I was at Rangers before, I knew the values and the culture, so I had a good feeling from the start. Rangers’ values are the same as I have. You see it everywhere from the players, the directors and the board — we want to keep our standards high and always respect other players, other teams with the same dignity as we treat ourselves.” Living up to the standards of the past is vital. Van Bronckhorst’s players emerge from their Ibrox dressing room and funnel down a corridor full of pictures of club legends like Jim Baxter, John Greig, those who shaped Rangers. They then gather in a tunnel etched with images of the countless trophies won. “History is a very big part of this club,” Van Bronckhorst says. “We are celebrating 150 years of Rangers this year. “I find the history inspirational because I like being around the old players of the club, the legends. John Greig is one of the legends — the legend — of the club. I love being with him because he tells so many stories of the past and that’s one of the things I love about this club, all the history, all the memories. “The more I hear those memories, the more involved I feel. We had the 150 year anniversary on Wednesday in the Civic Hall and I met Walter Smith’s wife and the son of [Willie] Waddell, the coach who won the European Cup-Winners’ Cup [in 1972]. I love being and talking with those people because it’s part of the club, it’s why the club is so successful and so known. We are all here to write history for the next generations.” He almost did in Seville. “To actually have 100,000 people supporting us there is crazy,” Van Bronckhorst says. “I’m very aware of the support we have throughout the years, the fans are amazing, they come in numbers wherever we go. That’s an important part of this club. In the end, it wasn’t the game when we won the second European trophy but if you talk with all the people who went there and the memories they made with their families, with their dads, with their sons it’s amazing to give them the experience and memories that will last forever. I’m privileged to be part of this club again now as a manager. “I’m only the 17th [full-time] coach in Rangers history! 150 years! It’s amazing. It’s an honour. I continuously want to improve as a coach. That never stops. I want to keep the standards high, keep working hard and keep bringing silverware to Rangers.” Livingston v Rangers Today, Tony Macaroni Arena Kick-off 12 noon. TV: Sky Sports Main Event from 11am https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/giovanni-van-bronckhorst-you-have-to-be-an-obsessive-as-a-manager-it-is-a-sacrifice-you-need-to-make-39m3n5n0r

Bugeyes' turn. It must have been galling for Mr Craig Whyte to see his erstwhile friends, colleagues, and co-conspirators, picking up money for nothing. Hence he has reappeared, and, seemingly, seeks his share of free money from the Lord Advocate's puggy machine. I have to say that he demonstrates more front that Blackpool - more front even than Sturgeon, although that may be hard to believe. I suppose that you don't get "wealth off the radar" by being backward at coming forward. Craig Whyte set to sue police for £10m over botched Rangers inquiry Marc Horne Thursday July 28 2022, 12.00am, The Times https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/craig-whyte-set-to-sue-police-for-10m-over-botched-rangers-inquiry-s0h7scrp7 The total cost to the taxpayer of the failed police investigation into the takeover of Rangers FC is set to rise further, as the businessman Craig Whyte seeks £10 million in compensation. The botched fraud investigation into the collapse and sale of the club has triggered a public inquiry. More than £40 million has been paid out to people who were prosecuted maliciously. Whyte, 51, who bought Rangers for £1 from Sir David Murray in 2011, was charged but later cleared. Six other men were charged before being exonerated. They included David Grier, David Whitehouse and Paul Clark of Duff and Phelps, the multinational finance firm that managed Rangers’ affairs after it entered administration in 2012. The Court of Session paved the way for significant compensation settlements in 2019 when it ruled that the lord advocate did not have immunity from claims of malicious prosecution. Whitehouse and Clark have already secured £21 million in damages, plus £3 million in legal costs, from the Crown Office. They were arrested in 2014 after their firm’s offices were raided but the charges were dropped. The pair also received an apology from James Wolffe QC, the lord advocate at the time, for a “very serious failure in the system of prosecution”. Last year Charles Green, a businessman who went on to become chief executive of Rangers received an out-of-court settlement of £6.4 million for being wrongly prosecuted. The Scottish Sun reported that Whyte is preparing to sue Police Scotland. It quoted a source who was close to him as saying: “Mr Whyte’s been biding his time and watching how the other cases pan out. The wheels are in motion and 12 months is permitted to progress the claim to the next level. “His team has always said Police Scotland and the Crown had nothing on him and like the others he should never have been arrested. The only difference is Mr Whyte went to trial where he was cleared. “This doesn’t affect his right to claim compensation. He believes he’s entitled to the same as Mr Whitehouse and Mr Clark.” Police Scotland said any civil claim pursued by Whyte would be “fully defended”. Duff & Phelps, now renamed Kroll, which employs 5,000 people in 30 countries, has begun legal action against the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service for reputational damage. “They are seeking £80 million,” a source close to the case said. Last month The Times reported that Detective Chief Inspector Jim Robertson and Detective Chief Inspector Jacqueline O’Neill, who led the botched investigation, travelled to New York, Ohio and South Africa at taxpayers’ expense after arranging meetings that were said to be “wholly unnecessary”. A complaint involving Sheriff Lindsay Wood, a former Rangers shareholder who granted more than 20 warrants during the inquiry, is also being investigated. The Crown Office has said it cannot comment on an active case. Comments for this article have been turned off

Too many teams in the 'Professional League'. Too many organisations and too many people involved in the governance and administration of football. There are your starters for 10, Ron. You're welcome.

It's strange, but Glasgow is full of Turkish Barbers, and I'll wager that none of them would style hair like that. I wonder how long it will be until he sports something more 'fashionable'.

No thanks for the memories.

Let's hope that whatever keeper faces the Belgians is not undone by a long shot.

Ac-Cent-Chu-Ate the positive......

There is no point in having a strike, if it does not affect the employer, or customers, or suppliers, etc. Or, rather, a strike which affects no-one is unlikely to be effective. Of course, some years ago, transport management -SPTE, or somesuch- asked Rangers to encourage its support not to use the Underground to travel to Ibrox on match days. A ludicrous proposition when one takes into account social, economic, and environmental, costs of traffic, traffic congestion, etc. One wonders about the longer term prospect of driverless trains, and the impact of that on thought processes.

Yeah; all bets are off...

"Rangers will make an offer to Beşiktaş for Kartal Kayra Yılmaz after Rıdvan Yılmaz!" This won't be a Buy One Get One Free deal, I imagine, although there may be a discount for quantum. Actually, it makes sense for the Club to cover itself, in case in has bought the wrong Yilmaz. (Did the fhilth not fall into this trap, fairly recently?)