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  1. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7516-ice-bucket-challenge
  2. Sometimes you feel like a wee greet. http://willievass.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/100814-Rangers-v-Hearts/G0000hlKyrxgNifI/I0000Ko1_cYXoR6o/C0000DwY1ciUOXqU Will somebody put the pic. on here please.
  3. It may turn out to be an attempted payback for Operation Tango or disappointingly a damp squib but the possibilities behind the statement here are tantalising, to put it mildly: http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk
  4. BEARGER

    Longmuir

    Did anyone spot David Longmuir at game today? Wonder why he was there?
  5. Wednesday, 30 July 2014 The Scottish FA can confirm that both Peter Lawwell, the Celtic Chief Executive, and Ralph Topping, the Scottish Professional Football League Chairman, have been appointed to the main Board of the Scottish FA after nomination by the Professional Game Board. Stewart Regan, Scottish FA Chief Executive: “We are delighted to welcome Ralph back to the main Board, having already benefitted from Peter’s wealth of experience in the past year. I am sure both will play key roles as we enter the next phase of our strategic plan, Scotland United: A 2020 Vision.” Neil Doncaster, SPFL Chief Executive: “Ralph Topping will be stepping down from the William Hill Board on 1st August. He will therefore have much more time to devote to the professional game. We are delighted that Peter Lawwell and Ralph Topping have been unanimously elected by the Professional Game Board to serve the professional game on the main board of the Scottish FA.” http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=13546&newsCategoryID=1
  6. [h=2]Club Statement[/h]WRITTEN BY RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB "RANGERS Football Club Limited (the "Club") notes the findings of Lord Doherty in the HMRC case against Rangers Football Club plc (Oldco) and shares the views of many fans that so much of what later ensued at our Club following the start of that investigation was avoidable. "We are pleased to see the end of this sorry chapter in the history of Rangers FC, yet our greatest sympathy is with those who felt the pain of the last four years the most – our supporters. "In spite of almost unrelenting attacks and setbacks they have never flinched from supporting their football club with all their energy and resolve. "It is a matter for the authorities to explain their actions during this entire period that has seen the good name of Rangers severely damaged. "Our focus is on rebuilding the football club and getting Rangers back to where we belong. That, in itself, will help right some of the wrongs our Club and supporters have suffered over the last four years."
  7. DEREK JOHNSTONE today demanded an apology from some of the most high-profile names in Scottish football in the wake of Rangers' victory over the taxman. He said: "A lot of people in the game should hang their heads in shame. Rangers are owed a huge apology." HM Revenue and Customs this week lost their appeal to the 'big tax case' verdict that ruled Rangers were not guilty of wrong-doing during Sir David Murray's time at the helm. The spectre of the case cast a huge cloud over the club before a disastrous chain of events unfolded that led to Ally McCoist's side dropping down to the Third Division two years ago. On Wednesday, the Union of Fans hit out at SFA chief Stewart Regan, Neil Doncaster of the SPFL, Stephen Thompson, Rod Petrie, Peter Lawwell and lawyer Rod McKenzie for their actions and comments during Rangers' troubles. DJ told SportTimes: "They all came to the conclusion that Rangers were guilty before anything was proven. "They all had their say and every one has been proven wrong. "The most famous two words that were spouted was 'sporting integrity'. Well, where is the sporting integrity in what has happened to Rangers? The club and the fans have been proven right. "I hope the club are recompensed for everything they have missed out on in the last two years." Despite being cleared for the second time in the courts, the ruling is a bitter-sweet one for Rangers fans and the club as Ally McCoist's side look to complete their journey back to the top flight this term. But Johnstone insists the actions of some should never be forgotten after Rangers and the Light Blue legions were vindicated once again. He said: "A lot of people in the media jumped on the bandwagon as well. It was all built on ifs, buts and maybes, and too many people lined up to stick the boot into Rangers. "It was absolute rubbish. I think there should be many, many apologies sent to Rangers in the next few days. "It is good that it has all come out and Rangers have been vindicated. That is fantastic. "But there are a lot of people who will have their heads buried in the sand and will be keeping a low profile in the next few weeks." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-legend-demands-apology-over-ebt-debacle-170696n.24723784
  8. well a few weeks with no rangers games and old compo is lost and to make things worse the world cup has wetted my appetite for footie I just hope we at ibrox play a passing and free flowing type of game something that will have the fans begging for more , lets hope .
  9. Morning Folks, Confessions first, I'm a Hibbie but I come in peace. I wonder what you Rangers people make of the latest SPFL rule fudge to help Hearts out of their troubles ? Now before anyone says , but they are out of administration now, that is not the wording of the new SPFL Club insolvency rules adopted on 1st June last year. Rule E4 on page 37 of the SPFL rules states , " .......for each second or later season, during the whole or part of which such insolvency event or insolvency process is continuing and/or subsisting the club concerned shall be deducted 15 points ..... " Now Hearts may have completed the administration part of their insolvency process, but they are currently being run under a " Voluntary Arrangement " status supervised by BDO and this will continue until all the conditions of the CVA have been met. It is easily checked on Companies House web site. Their insolvency process will not be complete until BDO issue a certificate under the Insolvency Act 1986 of Completion of Voluntary Arrangement. Dundee F C had a similar form issued on 30/10/2013 which completed their insolvency process and is also on Companies House site. Hearts should be looking at a further 15 point deduction next season unless BDO complete the Voluntary Arrangement before the season starts, but this is being ignored by the authorities who don't seem to understand the new rules which were introduced just prior to Hearts insolvency event. Now we could complain, but we would just be accused of being bitter Hibbies ( which is probably true ) but you guys have real grounds for complaint, if the rules are being fudged to help Hearts ( it was all that bad Romanov's fault ) They will get away with it unless a real noise is made in the media and with the SPFL. 15 points off will help yours and our promotion bids and it is how the rules have been written. Anyway, good luck next season, hope you finish second , behind us, we are no use at play-offs. Actually have been missing you at Easter Road.
  10. EDIT: thread was already in motion here: http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/vb/sh...084#post491084 Hamilton win on penalties (scored all 4 of theirs, Hibs missed 2) Hamilton were by far the better team from start to finish. Playing some lovely football, unlike Hibs. I know this is not Rangers - but it is relevant to next season
  11. .......never mind challenge for promotion. KEITH reflects on Hibs' extraordinary collapse and looks forward to a Championship season that will see three of Scotland's biggest clubs vying for a top flight return. SCOTTISH football awakes this morning to quite the Bank Holiday hangover. Let’s call it a bad case of the Hibeegeebees. Because what happened yesterday at Easter Road completed the routing of a top flight that has been wobbling and shaking since Rangers collapsed in a heap in February 2012. Back then, prior to Craig Whyte’s arrival on the scene, today’s landscape would have been unthinkable. But the reality is next season Rangers, Hearts and Hibs will all be playing in the second tier. That’s not to say we should all be overcome by grief at the thought of it. These three clubs have managed to make an almighty mess of their own business, be that off the pitch or on it, where Hibs have failed so spectacularly over the last weeks of the season. Yesterday they too got what they deserved and even though relegation had been in the post for weeks, there was something insufferable about the way they managed to botch it on their home turf against a Hamilton side that wanted a top-flight place more. All over the park. Terry Butcher and his players ought to be ashamed of themselves for the way they have let their supporters down and for the agonies they dumped on them yesterday. This will not be easily forgiven and nor should it because this woeful run has been nothing short of disgraceful for a club of such standing and status. Hibs should be up there leading from the front but instead they dropped off the face of the map and into a Championship all set up to boggle the mind. How can it be that these three giants can have fallen so hard? And what happens when at least one of them fails to clamber to the top of next season’s promotion ladder because three into two does not go. One of them is staying in that league for at least two years and the consequences of an extended stopover could be even more eye-watering than the penalty shoot-out which eventually saw Hibs go down yesterday afternoon. It had to be penalties, didn’t it? The ultimate form of torture for a support out of which the living daylights has been well and truly thrashed. There was one last kick in the nuts for them and it came in the shape of a defiant Butcher insisting he will not throw in the towel. To be blunt, he has been a calamitous appointment – an unmitigated disaster – and there have been absolutely no signs that he is capable of turning this team around. On current form, unless he can find a way to wheel and deal and clear his squad out, Hibs will do well to survive in the Championship next season never mind compete for promotion. At least they have a derby to look forward to (how much will the SPFL pay the broadcasters for that?) but this may simply open the door to a whole new world of suffering and humiliation. The Hibeegeebees? You better believe it.
  12. http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/275976-spfl-pay-broadcaster-up-to-250000-per-season-to-show-rangers-games/ The Scottish Professional Football League is contractually bound to pay BT Sport up to £250,000 per season in return for the broadcaster airing Rangers matches. STV understands that under the terms of a renegotiated TV deal following the removal of Rangers from the top flight in 2012, a clause was inserted making the league liable to additional production costs incurred setting up at lower league grounds. It is understood the league agreed to the insertion of the clause in order to guarantee broadcast contracts which were essentially null and void after Rangers were expelled from the then-Scottish Premier League and were subsequently admitted to the bottom tier of the Scottish Football League. The SPL paid the Scottish Football League £800,000 for one season's worth of rights to show Rangers games but that deal was absorbed when the league bodies merged in 2013. It is not known how much has been paid out to BT Sport and ESPN, who were the holders of the contract for the 2012/13 season, to date. The overall payment is capped at £250,000 per season. In a statement to STV, SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "The support given to Scottish football by our broadcast partners, in 2012 and since, has been fundamental to the ongoing health of the game in this country." It is understood the league thought it necessary to agree to the deal in order to protect revenue from broadcast contracts. Nevertheless, the revelations in short mean the SPFL pays a broadcaster in order for Rangers games to be shown on television. BT Sport said in a statement: “[We] were delighted to inherit the SPFL rights from ESPN at the beginning of this season, however we cannot comment on contractual details.”
  13. Good results last night see's Hibs slip into the play off spot. If Kilmarnock get a draw at Easter Road on Saturday then Hibs will be in the play off. If Hibs go down then its a wet dream for Doncaster and Co, how jammy can they get! Rangers v Hearts 4 times, Rangers v Hibs 4 times, Edinburgh derby 4 times. A top flight league of 18 is a must.
  14. @Martin1Williams: Sons of Struth to hand out red cards to allow #Rangers fans to protest against the board & their business review at Dunfermline
  15. IN THE standard media take on Rangers’ affairs, Graham Wallace is the big, bad bouncer barring entry to the club to Dave King, a man whose deep pockets would ensure everything went with a swing for those inside. Yet, Ibrox chief executive Wallace has tried to create the impression that King will be welcome to join the party. Just not take it over. “We have quantified a range [of investment, the figure being £30 million] where we think the club needs to be looking at in order to be competitive,” said Wallace, as the club published a damning 120-day business review which showed £70m had been haemorrhaged over 18 months. “Right now we don’t have the authority to issue a fresh batch of shares and say to Dave King ‘Here you are… £20m? In you come...’ “What we’ve said is we will go to the shareholders for authority in the autumn and the timing of that is important because it gives us time to demonstrate stability in how we’re running the business from an investor’s perspective. When we do that, the equity offering will be open to existing shareholders, it should probably also be open to fresh investors, including Dave King, and potentially others. There’s no one stopping Dave King or anyone else putting money into the club today other than the regulatory authority the board needs to have. “Dave has said before, there may be 15 per cent of the existing shareholders who may not want to participate further, in which case there’s a significant block of stock that would be available.” Wallace denies the current directors fear their power being diluted by King’s involvement. “When we met with him, when you look at his ambitions and his vision for what he would like the club to be, they’re not dissimilar to what we’re trying to do,” insisted the chief executive. “We want to be competitive, we want to be punching at the top of the Premiership and in order to do that we know the club needs investment.” Rangers supporters find themselves in an horribly invidious position. They are understandably contemptuous of the current board for the cash burn and calamitous contracts that Wallace excoriated in his review. However, through a gushing press for King, the only alternative being presented is a man who mismanaged his own financial affairs so profoundly he had to repay more than £40m to the South African tax authorities and lodge certain payments to 
prevent his convictions landing him in prison. “A wide cross-section of the fan base is looking for some form of guidance, some form of reassurance as to how their club has been run,” Wallace said. “I hope as they look at this review that they get a sense of where it’s been, where it is now, and more importantly where it can go. “People are worried about putting their money into the club and three months later it not to be there and they’ve lost their £400. I completely understand that, and I’ve been repeatedly asked if the club is under threat of another administration and I’ve said the same thing every time – no, it’s not. “The point about the fans is, yes, there’s a desire on behalf of a segment of the fanbase to support someone like Dave King, who’s offering up – on paper, at least – a potentially significant amount of money to invest in the club. I understand that. “We’re giving the assurance that if the fans continue to back the club in the way they have, then there is no threat to the financial stability of this business. That’s the single most important thing. If fans are really concerned about the financial health of their club, if they give us the support by behaving as they have done and renewing their [season] tickets, then we’re in a very very strong position.” That is tantamount to the emotional blackmail the supporters’ coalition the Union of Fans has railed against. Wallace might not be so tainted in the eyes of the wider support, and might have been perceived more as a figure to trust by them, were it not for the £1.5m loan at exorbitant rates the club required only months after he stated such an injection would not be needed to keep the club afloat. The chief executive now accepts his credibility was damaged. “It was an issue, yes. I responded to a question at the AGM about [whether there] ‘is sufficient cash to continue to trade in the near term’ and I said there was. That was an honest answer made on the assessment of what was available at the time. As we’ve gone through the review, there were certain assumptions made in the business plan which, when we went to push the button on them, we found they didn’t exist. So yes, we got to a position where we had to look at an alternative strategy for a very short, defined period of time. So yes, our credibility was questioned. “Subsequent to putting the deal in place there were offers of similar amounts at vastly reduced monies. I think we’re in a better place now.” A huge measure of sensible husbandry is required at Rangers, but with Wallace stating manager Ally McCoist’s playing budget for the Championship will be “comparable” to the indefensible £6m with which the club have bulldozed their way through two part-time lower divisions, questions can be asked about lessons learned. Perhaps in one sense they have been. Rangers announced in their review that they will appoint a chief football operations officer, essentially a director of football, who will “concentrate initially on developing player talent identification, scouting and recruitment capability”. In the past two years, Rangers have certainly been guilty of having a flawed recruitment strategy that has been the largest consistent drain on their revenue and resources. “In terms of building this club to be competitive back at the top level, the level of infrastructure is not there,” said Wallace. “So scouting, recruitment, talent identification, managing and driving value from sourcing players [needs to be addressed]. Bringing players in here, if they’re good enough to play for us great but if they’re not then they might do a season and move along and get some value. “We’ve no one looking at that. That’s what I see this particular role focusing on. It’s very much a support role for me, for the manager, at an overall level. The hunt for this person begins now and it’s about getting the right person, with the right skill set and the right experience. I’d hope over the course of the coming months to have someone.” Wallace maintains this new appointment did not reflect on McCoist’s job security. “I have never even had a thought about the manager’s future. We speak every day and meet two or three times a week. “He’s obviously interested in the financial budget. We’ve talked about it. He knows we’re going to make funds available for the summer. He doesn’t know the magnitude, the number. We will sit down and agree that.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-open-the-door-to-dave-king-1-3390262
  16. RECORD SPORT can reveal the league’s top brass have ordered an urgent investigation into an alleged rule breach in Killie's 3-0 defeat to Celtic at Rugby Park last month. KILMARNOCK could be plunged into crisis with the SPFL set to probe a claim that a staff member forged a player’s signature in order to play him against Celtic. Record Sport can reveal the league’s top brass have ordered an urgent investigation into the alleged rule breach which relates to the champions’ 3-0 win at Rugby Park last month. And, if 
found guilty, Killie could be hammered with a range of sanctions including a possible points deduction which could condemn Allan Johnston’s team to a nerve shredding relegation play-off. It could also provide a Premiership lifeline to 
St Mirren, Ross County, Hibs and Partick Thistle and save them from going down. SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster refused to comment last night when Record Sport contacted him about the dramatic developments. But we can confirm Doncaster has been briefed about the accusations of 
foul play and has personally ordered a 
full-scale inquiry. The SPFL have not yet established which player is at the centre of the allegations. It’s understood 
the SPFL probe will 
consider a claim that a Kilmarnock office worker witnessed another staff member forging the player’s signature in the lead up to a game against Celtic last month that the champions won 3-0. It is alleged that 
the SPFL contacted Kilmarnock to alert them to the fact that a player’s signature was missing from a page of paperwork and that, unless it was submitted, the player could not be registered in time for the game in question. It’s then claimed 
the missing signature was added but not by the player. And – if this accusation is proven to be correct – then Kilmarnock could face the prospect of a points penalty which would almost certainly tip Johnston’s team into the dreaded play-offs. The SPFL’s rule book demands that member clubs act in the utmost good faith at all times. But Doncaster’s team will also investigate whether a more specific rule break, relating to registration of player’s regulation 72 which states: “Any Club which, in the opinion of the Board, unfairly traffics or deals in the Registration of any Player or otherwise abuses in any way the Registration, transfer, or Compensation systems shall be dealt with as the Board may determine.” A source told us: “A wide range of sanctions, ranging from a slap on the wrist to expulsion, would be open to the SPFL board if these allegations are found to be true. But in this instance a points deduction would be 
one of the more likely outcomes. “Points deductions would normally be considered if a club played an ineligible player – even if it was simply down to an honest mistake with paperwork. “But in this case, it could be argued that the club not only fielded an ineligible player but also that a deliberate attempt was made to deceive the SPFL office bearers. If that were to be the case then it would be treated as a very serious matter.” It’s understood the complaint was also made to club chairman Michael Johnston who pledged to carry out an internal investigation. Record Sport attempted to contact a spokesperson for Kilmarnock but no-one from the club was available to comment. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/kilmarnock-scottish-professional-football-league-3449000
  17. We've waxed lyrical about the board, team, manager, youth set up, supporters groups, membership scheme, infrastructure, share issue and anything else that we might find relevant. So, if you were Wallace, what areas would you prioritise that would shape your strategy? Wee bit of fun but after all the debating it'd be nice to see where we stand and how close our concerns are to the board's intentions.
  18. WITH boardroom civil war on the horizon at Hampden, MailSport unearths secret hijack plot and asks 'Has the SPFL gone power crazy?'. The SPFL’s blindside run at the SFA’s powerbase is about two things – control and cash. But the clubs’ push for power could end up costing the game MILLIONS in grassroots sponsorships. The professional clubs would take complete control of the development budget for football in Scotland if they won the day with their resolution. They believe the money could be better spent under their own umbrella and have also made a play to take control of the main board of the SFA. However, big-money backers of the game – like Tesco Bank, McDonald’s, sportscotland and the government-backed Cashback for Communities scheme – base their contributions on the fact that they are all-inclusive and not aimed at the elite end. MailSport believes all of these relationships – plus others with local authorities – would be in jeopardy if the pro clubs took control and ran the game to their own ends. The two boards will meet on Tuesday, brought to the table for the first time in a year to discuss the proposals – and the pressure will be on to avert a civil war in Scottish football. Revealed: The secret copies of four explosive resolutions the SPFL have proposed for the SFA's AGM. Here’s everything you need to know about the resolutions: Q/ So what do the SPFL want? The resolutions in a nutshell: 1. The Professional Game Board (PGB) provides one representative – Celtic’s Peter Lawwell – to the seven-man main board of the SFA but the SPFL want this increased to two. 2. Currently the president and vice president of the SFA must have served a minimum of a year on the PGB or Non-PGB, as well as four years on the SFA Council and have attended a minimum of eight Council meetings in five years to qualify for a nomination. The SPFL want to do away completely with these criteria. 3. The SFA main board control the budget for football development, from Mark Wotte’s performance department to the grassroots programme for kids and coaches run by Jim Fleeting and Andy Gould in Scotland. The SPFL feel the professional game should control this entire pot and want the PGB – in other words, the senior clubs – to take control. 4. The main board currently control the ability to elect any club for full membership. The SPFL want that right to be passed to the clubs to approve or veto new members. Q/ What’s the grand plan behind them, then? Individually, the four resolutions wouldn’t be as threatening but it’s their cumulative effect that could have grave consequences. The end game? The clubs will have two from the PGB on the SFA board plus control of a hand-picked president and vice president – thereby controlling the seven-man board with a majority of four, thus controlling the SFA. The clubs would also have access to the money currently used to fund the development of the game. They would also control future votes by being able to stifle any additional membership requests which would jeopardise their power of veto if they vote as a group. Q/ Why shouldn’t the pro game be better represented rather than the juniors and amateurs having a disproportionate say? They probably should – but if there are no checks and balances of their powers, is it good for the game as a whole to have pro clubs with vested interests running the entire game from the national team down to the grassroots? If push comes to shove with money and power, who will they seek to serve other than themselves? Q/Okay, but the current system still allows long-term blazers gaining power on the back of nothing but good attendance. Also true, and the SFA main board IS weak – the system does need looked at to allow more appropriate talent to rise to the top. Q/So this resolution is a good thing? Yes – and no! If there’s no need for office bearers to be time-served, you could end up with flavour-of-the-month fly-by-nights parachuted in by the clubs without any examination of their bona fides or their intentions. It’s possible that we could see some real talent and acumen appointed – but you’re relying solely on the judgment of the clubs to find it. Q/ What do they need to pass the resolutions? Each vote requires 75 per cent approval from the 94 members. Q/ Will they get what they need? They’re not speaking for all 42 clubs because a cursory call round indicates they haven’t actually consulted the rank and file. It’s unlikely they would get universal membership approval for all of it – the perception will be that the top 12 clubs will stand to benefit the most. Q/ Hang on, it’s Mike Mulraney of Alloa proposing all of the resolutions, though? He was one of three lower-league chairmen elected to the SPFL board last summer along with Les Gray (Hamilton) and Bill Darroch (Stenhousemuir). The weight of the Premiership members – Stephen Thomson (Dundee United), Duncan Fraser (Aberdeen) and Eric Riley (Celtic) – will be behind this but having Alloa, Stenny and Accies involved lends it an ‘everyman’ look ... not just being driven by the big clubs for their own gain. Q/ What about the cash, then – how much is at stake? Hard to put an exact figure on it but so much of it is ring-fenced for specific grassroots and community use, it’s not nearly as much as they think. The irony is the biggest chunk of the performance strand of it – around £2m – is used for Club Academy Scotland. So the clubs already benefit. Just not to the extent they think they should. Q/Why do the clubs feel the need to control it then? A couple of reasons. They don’t like the way Wotte is running things, they don’t think the performance strategy is worth what it costs, they don’t like the lack of control and input they have over performance schools and, simply, they see money they don’t have and they want it. They still don’t have a sponsor and a lack of cash will see them struggle to fulfil their promise of jam for all down through the divisions. It’s ironic considering the SFA has underwritten the only decent thing they’ve achieved as a body – the Premiership play-offs – to the tune of £1.5m. Q/ Are they right about the performance strategy, though? It’s still early but there is evidence the strategy is having an effect. Scotland won the Victory Shield at Under-16 level for the first time in 15 years. The U-17s have made the UEFA Finals in Malta, winning all three games in their elite round. The U-19s are in the elite round in England next months. The women’s team are well on their way to the World Cup in Canada with a 100 per cent record from six qualifiers, a feat that could earn the SFA close to seven figures. Throw in the fact the national team are back up to No.22 in the world rankings and they have a decent claim to their strategy working. Q/ But what about the rest of the game outwith the clubs? That’s the big worry. The SFA has overarching responsibility for the game as a whole and its development from the ground up. At last count, there are 130,768 registered players in Scotland from the youths to the amateurs to welfare to the women’s game. Meanwhile, the SPFL’s development branch – Club Academy Scotland, for pro youths from 11 up – sits at 3,185. Throw in the first teams and the clubs account for around three per cent of the football players in Scotland. Q/ Surely they should be the SPFL’s focus? They are. A working group set up between the organisations is looking at streamlining Club Academy Scotland and clearing out the jersey fillers and creating more ‘best v best’ football at the elite level. However, the clubs don’t like the performance schools and that they have no say in their operation. What some of them do like, though, is the idea of regional academies like the Forth Valley experiment involving Falkirk, Stenhousemuir and East Stirling. Q/ What benefit is there in the clubs taking on responsibility for the rest of it? Very little, if any. All they see is a top-line figure and pound signs. The problem, however, comes with the fact that much of the money is simply used to leverage other funding. For example, £476,000 is budgeted for a community programme that helps fund 70 coaches across the country – however most of their salaries are paid by local authorities through partnerships with the SFA. These partnerships would disappear if councils thought they were simply funding the professional game rather than its community branch. Q/ What about the other backers of grassroots football? Their visions all involve inclusivity and community benefit. McDonald’s work with all the home associations and have invested more than £1m every four years over more than a decade committed to growing the game. Likewise Tesco Bank, with £1.2m over the past four years. The government’s Cashback scheme has pumped in £2.2m over three years. On Wednesday, Regan and Fleeting were in the Isle of Lewis to unveil a new facility at Back that has received nearly £500,000 from Cashback, sportscotland and the Big Lottery. These resolutions would leave the pro clubs responsible for this kind of commitment to remote communities. Would they be interested? The Movers and Shakers The looming SFA AGM is shaping up to be one of the stormiest in the organisation’s 141-year history. Delegates will consider the four resolutions that would effectively hand control of the SFA main board to the clubs. Alloa chairman and successful businessman Mike Mulraney (right) is the name on the resolutions. He wants clubs to elect an extra member to the board – in addition to Celtic’s Peter Lawwell (left). SFA chief executive Stewart Regan (far right) has a fight on his hands. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/scottish-football-looks-set-civil-3434596
  19. The next Scottish league season will kick off on 9 August - the weekend after the Commonwealth Games finish. All four divisions in the Scottish Professional Football League will start on the same date, but there will be cup action during Glasgow 2014. The first round of the Challenge Cup will be played on the last week of July, with the League Cup opening on 2-3 August. A full fixture list for the campaign is expected to be announced in June. Neil Doncaster, SPFL chief executive, said: "The first official SPFL season has already provided many highlights and memorable moments, and we look forward to its conclusion including the widely anticipated play-offs, which this year will feature the new Premiership play-off. "We are also very busy planning for season 2014/15 and are pleased to announce the start dates across league and cup competitions. "There are some very positive stories to be told across all our leagues at the moment and we only see the level of interest in Scottish football increasing further in the months ahead and as next season kicks off." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27066071
  20. If they manage to stave off the liquidators that is! Hearts beat Partick Thistle 2-4 today, but St Mirren beat Motherwell 3-2 and Hearts are now relegated....
  21. On BBC R4 this am confessed without being prompted to do so that without Rangers there was a lack of competition. He seemed quite subdued not the usual triumphalism nor indeed the usual Timmery. Still doesn't get you absolution, Peter.
  22. ...............and staff were threatened... but Raith Rovers chairman Hutton says: I'd do it all again It's now 20 months since Turnbull Hutton stood up to be counted amid threats and warnings of the imminent 'slow lingering death' of the Scottish game. But the only thing dying around Stark's Park in March 2014 is the chairman's latest attempt at comedy on his club's website. With no victories for Raith Rovers in the Championship since mid-December, a tongue-in-cheek message from the 67-year-old to fans declaring 'Don't Panic' and signed by 'Captain Mainwaring aka Turnbull Hutton' has gone down like a lead balloon among the denizens of Kirkcaldy. 'Supporters of other clubs liked it but I've been accused by Rovers supporters of patronising them. I've even been accused of being on the sauce while writing it. I've not had a drink this year,' chuckles the Harvard University-educated former head of United Distillers. His point to the malcontents is that Rovers are, these days, in pretty decent nick. They reached the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup before crashing to St Johnstone and a Ramsdens Cup final against Rangers awaits at Easter Road next month. Grant Murray's team might be just four points from the relegation play-offs, but they are also sitting six points from fourth place in Scotland's tightest league. And, vitally, off the park, Raith Rovers turned a profit last year. After the fall of the SPL that Hutton so reviled, clubs like them are now earning four times as much as they did under the old set-up. It's certainly not the Armageddon chillingly forewarned by the SPL's Neil Doncaster two summers ago; an episode that saw Hutton endure a crash course in fan animosity that makes the current levels of disgruntlement at his Dad's Army stunt seem akin to a spot of love-bombing. In July 2012, Hutton led the fightback against what he saw as attempts by the SFA and SPL to 'blackmail' the SFL into solving an SPL problem, using 'a campaign of misinformation and disinformation'. SFL club reps like Hutton were told by SFA chief executive Stewart Regan that a 'slow lingering death' awaited the national game if newly-liquidated Rangers were sent all the way down to the Third Division. Hutton's impromptu Monty Python-inspired speech on the steps of Hampden, when he branded the SPL a dead parrot, saw him emerge as an accidental hero to a wider Scottish football public unimpressed by the authorities' attempts to give the fallen Ibrox club a softer landing in the old First Division. But the fallout also saw Hutton labelled Public Enemy No 1 by Rangers fans. He still maintains his motivation was to stick up for his under-fire director, Eric Drysdale, who was on the SFA's supposedly-anonymous panel that, in April 2012, handed Rangers a one-year transfer embargo and banned Craig Whyte for life from any involvement in Scottish football after he ran the club on to the rocks of ruin. Despite a particularly nasty backlash, however, the redoubtable Hutton says he would take the same stance if it happened again. 'There was all this talk about Armageddon and the slow death of Scottish football, but the best thing to come out of that whole episode was the death of the SPL,' he said. 'I didn't need or want that kind of profile. People forget that situation did not come about because of the Rangers financial situation. It was because of the involvement of Eric on that three-man panel. 'Ally McCoist's famous "who are these people?" speech kicked off a whole series of events that placed me to the fore. Eric was eventually outed, we had threats to our staff, supposedly viable threats to burn our stadium down. 'Eventually you think: "To hell with this!" How could I support the rule book being ripped up for Rangers? I came out on the steps of Hampden, had 25 reporters in my face and I told it like it bl**dy well was. 'But you stick your head above the parapet and suddenly you're all over the bl**dy internet and it spiralled out of control. I became "Turnbull The Tim", which I found quite amusing. But pro-Celtic - or anti-Rangers - had nothing to do with me taking the stand I did. 'I got some charming personal emails. One said: "I hope you die of cancer" and "The only slow lingering death I want to see is yours, Hutton". 'But there were far more supportive emails than nasty ones. I tried to answer them all but it got too much. I stuck them in a "love" file and a "hate" file on my computer and I've still got them to this day. 'Looking back, would I play it different if it started today? I don't think I could and I don't think I would. 'You've got to stand up for what you believe in. The consequences of speaking your mind are beyond your control but I'd do it all again. Everything that's happened since then suggests my view was the right one.' In a month's time, Rangers - still mired in a financial maelstrom - are due to cross paths with Raith Rovers for the first time since that fateful summer. Hutton expects a backlash. 'Ally McCoist is the only one from Rangers we've spoken to,' he nodded. 'He came to see us playing Dumbarton. Eric Drysdale and I passed the time of day with him, and it was fine. But the other faces at Rangers keep changing and we've never played them since. 'There's still a hangover from when that whole episode was at its peak, with the likes of Sandy Jardine mouthing off about boycotts and stuff like: "We won't forget". 'I don't know if we are still on a boycott list but I'd imagine the Ramsdens Cup Final won't be a happy family day, filled with brotherly love. 'I've been involved with the tournament from its inception and there have been some wonderful finals over the years, like Dundee United vs Stenhousemuir and Alloa vd Inverness. They were all happy family days out but I've a feeling this year's won't be.' This season also 'marks' the 10th anniversary of another dark episode in Hutton's colourful Stark's Park tenure. Not even his formidable 35-year business background could have prepared him for the crazy five-month tenure of Claude Anelka, brother of France's enfant terrible Nicolas. Claude's previous job had been as a DJ in a Miami nightclub and he arrived with a fearsome sidekick named Styx amid promises of luring a stream of 'new Thierry Henrys' to Kirkcaldy. 'It was Monty Python stuff, frankly,' says Hutton, who joined the Rovers board in 2000 and found himself increasingly 'sucked in' to becoming a 'reluctant chairman'. 'I took a stroke in April 2004 and I was out of the frame for around eight weeks, which was unfortunate, because at the same time Claude Anelka surfaced. He promised £180,000 per season for the playing budget and, as a struggling First Division club, the board had to look at that. 'He was going to be director of football, with Antonio Calderon staying as manager - but Antonio couldn't work with him and he packed up and returned to Spain. 'Claude became boss and, unknown to me, held a press conference and gave a line about making Raith Scottish football's third force. 'Then Styx arrived with all of his belongings stuffed in the back of a Peugeot van; a pile of soul records, 10 to 12 pairs of trainers and a heap of unwashed jeans. 'We had supposed "young superstars" turning up who had never played 11-a-side before. There were Czechs, Muslims, French players, English guys and the odd Scot. You name it. 'Raith at the time had more rented housing in Kirkcaldy than the Scottish Special Housing Association. That came back to bite us when they all disappeared and we were left to pay the outstanding council tax and electricity arrears. 'Anelka did put the money in, but the additional costs far exceeded his investment. It was a pretty big fiasco and, when it came to a halt, we were left to pick up the pieces. 'There were meetings with our local MP (and future Prime Minister) Gordon Brown, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer at the time, as the Reclaim The Rovers campaign gathered pace. 'But some investment failed to materialise and that rescue deal was seriously under-funded. We've been battling that legacy ever since. 'Ironically, it's only in the last two years we've seen a turnaround, helped by league reconstruction. Before it was £60,000 to win the First Division, now it's £60,000 per place.' Hutton has seen high times with Rovers, particularly when Jimmy Nicholl's team stunned Celtic to win the League Cup in 1994. He was also in the Olympic Stadium with his son and daughter the following year for a 'once-in-a-lifetime experience' when Danny Lennon's goal saw the famous, if short-lived, scoreline: Bayern Munich 0 Raith Rovers 1. Given the club's chequered financial history in the modern era, however, in typically blunt fashion Turnbull prioritises Championship survival over a potential first Scottish Cup triumph in Raith's 131-year history. 'If I had to make a call, I'd rather we stayed up,' he says. 'I don't want to be a Wigan and win the Cup and go down. I know some supporters would take a different view but balancing the books is paramount. 'Winning the Cup would be a fleeting moment of glory and then a short-lived trip to a Russian outpost. Cup success would also bring its own financial challenges in terms of stadium improvements for a one-off shot at European football. 'I'd be more excited about the St Johnstone game if we weren't on a disastrous run. St Johnstone's Tommy Wright and Callum Davidson came to see us against Hamilton last month and we were 4-0 down at half-time. I hope that lulled them into a false sense of security.' With that, the chuckling Hutton heads off to an appointment with his dentist. 'His name is Graeme Smart and he supports Hibs, who we beat 3-2 at Easter Road in the last round. His brother Gordon is married to Kate, daughter of (Dunfermline legend) Jim Leishman. If Graeme goes above the usual pain threshold this time, I'll go for him …' Whatever else has been said about this Burntislander, and there has been plenty, nobody would ever describe time spent in Turnbull Hutton's company as akin to pulling teeth. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2576251/Rangers-supporters-branded-Public-Enemy-No-1-stadium-staff-threatened-Raith-Rovers-chairman-Hutton-says-Id-again.html#ixzz2vs7DmEeS Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
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