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NEIL Lennon has revealed how sectarian “chaos and madness” left him exhausted and influenced his decision to quit Celtic. The former Parkhead boss said he was worn down by a *series of high-profile off-field incidents during his 11 years as player and manager at the *Glasgow club. During his time in Scotland, he was attacked by a Hearts fan at a game at Tynecastle and assaulted while out in the West End of Glasgow. Lennon, 43, was also sent bullets in the post and suffered a number of death threats. He stood down in the summer and has taken up a new role as manager of English Championship side Bolton Wanderers. In an interview, he said: “I don’t want to paint a bad picture because it’s fantastic up there from a football point of view. But it does wear you down in the end. “Maybe it was the chaos and the madness catching up with me, but I just felt desperately tired. When I was younger, I was able to have the energy and courage to get through it. “When I was getting bullets through the post and all that, I had good people of intelligence in the background who were looking after me. But in the end I was exhausted emotionally. “It all caught up with me. I needed a change of scenery. Did it change me as a person? Not really, no. “Did it have an effect on me? I think at times it did. Now I’m out of it, do I miss the intensity? Sometimes, yes. We live off that. “But I am loving what I am doing now. I can concentrate on the management and the football rather than the other stuff.” Lennon replaced Tony Mowbray at Parkhead in 2010 and as well as leading the club to three successive Scottish Premiership successes, he has also helped Celtic claim two Scottish Cup wins and masterminded their run to the last 16 of last season’s Champions League. In his new role at Bolton, he has won four of his first six games and admits it’s a “whole new challenge” for him. The former midfielder accepts he was “no angel” at Celtic but insisted he didn’t deserve the vitriol and has told of his anger that people in Scotland refuse to accept the abuse he was getting was sectarian in nature. He said: “At times I didn’t do myself any favours. But did I get a fair crack of the whip? No. “Some of what was said about the difficulties I had was irresponsible. I found it personal. People wouldn’t come out and say my treatment was sectarian. “They said I brought it on myself. They hid behind that *because they didn’t want to admit it. But it was sectarian in the stadiums. “People say, ‘He brings it on himself… he is an aggressive manager’. But so are some other managers. So are some players. I was high-profile, I came for a lot of money as a player. For me, my job was being part of Martin O’Neill’s team and to break the Rangers monopoly. We did that. “Nobody else had to go through situations and circumstances like I have been through. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through it. You would hope that all the nonsense that *happened to me would serve as a watershed. “The anticipation and the *rivalry in Glasgow will probably never tire. There is part of me that misses it but a bigger part of me that doesn’t.” http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/neil-lennon-sectarian-abuse-triggered-celtic-exit-1-3611120
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30134269 Sandy Easdale, chairman of the Rangers football board, sought assurances that boardroom changes would not force him out of Ibrox, Dave King has revealed. During discussions about a proposed £16m investment by King and a Rangers fans' consortium, he wanted reassurance that his position was safe. He was advised there was "no immediate intention to remove him or his brother [James] from the board". Sandy Easdale subsequently supported Mike Ashley's offer of a £2m loan. James Easdale is a non-executive director of Rangers International Football Club. A series of disagreements has broken out following the RIFC chairman David Somers' attempt to justify why the board accepted Ashley's offer ahead of the proposed investment from King and the consortium, and a £3m loan offered by Brian Kennedy. The latter has revealed that he was prepared to provide the loan at nominal or zero interest, and wanted Ibrox protected in a trust. Somers explained that the board opted for Ashley's loan, which has since been increased by an additional £1m, because it involved less interest and less security, Sandy Easdale also insisted in a strongly worded statement that he never agreed with the King consortium that they could provide proof of funding and the identity of all of the investors after shareholders agreed in principle to support the investment, which would have seen the group receive an equity share of RIFC and take control of the board. "I have grown tired of Mr King's antics," Easdale said, after offering his support to Somers' stance. This prompted a further response from King, who had already urged supporters to withdraw their financial support from the club on match days and in terms of merchandise. Ashley's Sports Direct already had a commercial arrangement with Rangers through the joint venture Rangers Retail Ltd. The terms of that have since been "normalised" and Sports Direct have entered a "partnership marketing agreement". Sports Direct have also given up the naming rights to Ibrox, but the company still retains "certain advertising rights". Around 10 administrative staff have been made redundant at Ibrox, including commercial and marketing employees. "It remains interesting that Sandy continues to take the lead on public company affairs," King said. "The truth is, when I spoke to Sandy on my recent trip to Scotland his main concern was whether, after investment by our consortium, he would still be able to stay involved with the club. "He indicated that Mike Ashley would look after him if he assisted Ashley in protecting his commercial rights. The new investment proposed by Paul [Murray], George [Letham] and I was seen as a threat to Sports Direct's desire to extend its influence over the Rangers brand in all its forms. "After discussion with Paul and George, I confirmed by email to Sandy that we had no immediate intention to remove him or his brother from board involvement at Rangers. "This concession was clearly not enough to gain his support and the board approved the inferior offer presented by Ashley. "Furthermore, in my meeting with the Rangers board I confirmed that I could give proof of funds within 24 hours of the board accepting our proposal in principle. I was never asked to do this."
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https://twitter.com/Herald_Editor/status/535213375333359618/photo/1
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30106866
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There was an interesting footnote to the Daily Record’s coverage of Ed Miliband’s attack on Mike Ashley over the latter’s penchant for zero hour contracts; commenting on the recent flurry of Police activity regarding the acquisition of Rangers by Craig Whyte, it read : “The warrant was issued on the day four men – David Grier, Paul Clark and David Whitehouse, who worked for Rangers administrators Duff & Phelps, and Gary Withey, who represented Whyte – were all detained by police in England acting on behalf of Police Scotland. They are due to appear in court tomorrow. Police Scotland, who are leading a joint operation with HMRC, said “inquires are ongoing” in to the whereabouts of Whyte.” What makes that footnote particularly interesting is that Police Scotland’s Specialist Economic Crime Unit are once again working jointly with HMRC. Some will remember that until recently the former were investigating the latter with regard to leaks of confidential information in the Rangers Tax Case although “they found no evidence that the leaks came from within HMRC”. Perhaps it’s unavoidable given the scope of the enquiry and the limitations on resources but does it not strike anyone else as peculiar that we now have a former suspect at the forefront of an investigation into our club? An agency which itself has been open to considerable criticism over their handling of the whole sorry mess, with serious questions being asked about their professional competency. We don’t need to do “conspiracy theories” when it comes to HMRC – the facts themselves suggest that there are considerable grounds for a government enquiry into their handling of the matter. The latest criminal developments only serve to add fuel to an already highly flammable topic. This after all is the same government agency whom:- 1. As per Keith Jackson’s Daily record expose` allowed Craig Whyte, a man they were already pursuing for tax related matters to the tune of £4 million, to assume control of a company and then fail to contribute PAYE for a period of 9 months and as a consequence forced the company into administration. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-rangers-owner-craig-whyte-being-3992415 2. Treated complaints from Rangers shareholders regarding breaches of confidentiality in the Rangers Tax Case as “speculation about alleged breaches of confidentiality” whilst the platforms for the foregoing breaches, The Rangers Tax Case Blog and the BBC Scotland documentary – “The Men Who Sold The Jerseys” were picking up various awards courtesy of the confidential information they had broadcast. 3. Despite the investigation aforementioned by Police Scotland, have failed to explain how evidence in the Rangers Tax case, of which they were custodians, ended up in the hands of BBC Scotland. The remarks and summation by Lord Nimmo Smith in his SPL Commission Report have not been forgotten by the Rangers support, nor will the matter be allowed to rest until a sufficient explanation is provided as to how or who was responsible for such leaks. The Rangers support will welcome the latest flexing of the long arm of the law, not only from the sense of seeing some modicum of justice, but also a means of providing answers, long overdue answers to some of the questions this particularly dark period has caused. I doubt all will welcome such developments. The latest actions by the law enforcement agencies confirm what many of us have suspected for a considerable time – that our club has been used as the vehicle for a fairly elaborate and complex fraudulent scheme and in every sense is itself the victim of the perpetrators. It will be interesting to see whether there is a determination within our club to seek recompense, financial or otherwise, in respect of those who sought to punish the crime’s victim. The tale which will unfold if only half the story however. The decision making process at HMRC and their conduct into the investigation of our club is the untold story. The latter is a story which needs to be told and only a full public enquiry will suffice.
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A minute's applause will precede Scotland's friendly against England on Tuesday in tribute to the Scotland fan who died following their victory over the Republic of Ireland on Friday. Nathan McSeveney, 20, died when he fell in a Celtic Park stairwell. Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We have all been extremely saddened. "It is fitting that Scotland supporters have an opportunity to pay tribute to one of their own at Celtic Park." The tribute was announced after consultation with McSeveney's family, from Cumnock in Ayrshire.
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After 3pm apparently for those on Sky Go or in the house! He's going to be explaining the Ashley loans... Comments: - David Somers claims Dave King consortium investment offer was breaching regulatory requirements so rejected them at 'Stage One'. - Somers claims 8 people were in King consortium but SA businessman refused to provide names and proof of funds. - Somers said that King was prepared to offer up 3 names before giving the rest if agreement made in principle. - Stage Two represented comparing Ashley and Kennedy bids whereby former was approved due to better deal on interest and security - Somers also claims Rangers make a lot of money from existing retail deal with Mike Ashley.
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From last week: http://t.co/aNmKNADMKG (PDF file) Collyer Bristow settlement confirmed within this. Also, BDO suggest there are £168.7m of unsecured creditors (including £94m noted for the HMRC monies (including the BTC).
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A super legend as a player but why is he allowed to still be manager....1 or 2 results could be swept under the carpet but the following shows he isn't the man. Peterhead 2-2 Rangers Berwick 1-1 Rangers Annan 0-0 Rangers Stirling 1-0 Rangers Rangers 1-1 Elgin Rangers 1-1 Montrose Stirling 1-1 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Annan Rangers 0-0 Stirling Montrose 0-0 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Peterhead Rangers 1-1 Stranraer Rangers 3-3 Stenhousemuir Raith 1-0 Rangers (cup final) Forfar 2-1 Rangers Rangers 1-1 Albion Rangers 1-3 Dundee Utd Brora Rangers 1-1 Rangers Ventura Fusion County (no laughing at the back please) 3-1 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Hearts Alloa 1-1 Rangers Rangers 1-3 Hibs Rangers 1-1 Alloa
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Have we really spent more than £20M on players wages over these three seasons? And for what, two minor league titles? Our manager is a disgrace, will leave it at that.
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ALLY McCoist is pleased for Rangers fans that Mike Ashley has given up the naming rights to Ibrox. The Gers this week announced that major shareholder Ashley had agreed to turn down the chance to rename the stadium. Supporters were vehemently opposed to the move and had staged protests outside the Sports Direct stores owned by the billionaire. He said: "I can understand people trying to rename stadiums for financial purposes. "But I think to the vast majority of supporters it will still remain Ibrox no matter what you put in front of it. "It would remain what it has been for years and all through the generations. "From the Rangers point of view you could call it whatever you wanted but it would still be Ibrox. "I'm just glad we won't get the opportunity to find that out. "Any good news is welcomed by the Rangers supporters and I think the majority see it that way. I'm delighted for them." McCoist received some good news himself yesterday when he discovered that Lewis Macleod would be available for the SPFL Championship match with Alloa today. Macleod has been training with the Scotland squad this week - but the 20-year-old midfielder was not needed for the Euro 2016 qualifier with the Republic of Ireland last night. And the Gers manager is hopeful that being away with the national squad will have given the youngster a massive lift ahead of the league game. He said: "Lewis has trained with us and is in our squad. "I had a chat with Gordon Strachan. Thankfully, he's in agreement that we would like him to get a game at the weekend. "I think he has a chance of being in our squad! It's safe to say that he is in the Scotland squad for a reason, and the reason is that he has been doing well. "We are delighted that he is back in the squad for the Alloa game because we want all our best players available. On current form Lewis is certainly one of them. "I would imagine he would join back up with the Scotland squad after the game. He's loved it. I spoke to him and he has thoroughly enjoyed it. Gordon said he's done just fine which is encouraging but not surprising." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-boss-mccoists-delight-over-name-game-188737n.25877768
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The 22-year-old man was fatally injured during the 2016 European Championship qualifier at Celtic Park in Glasgow, police say. A man has died after suffering a fall at Celtic Park in Glasgow during a Euro 2016 qualifier between Scotland and Ireland. The 22-year-old fan appeared to fall in a stairwell at exit 33 within the stadium at the end of the match around 9.30pm on Friday, police said. He was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he died of his injuries. A police spokesman said: "Relatives have been informed and the Health and Safety Executive have been made aware. "There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be prepared for the procurator fiscal." Scotland made their first home victory over Ireland in 53 years as they beat their neighbours 1-0 in their Group D qualifier. They go level on seven points with Ireland and Germany, with Poland Group D leaders with 10. The stadium was almost at its 60,000 capacity during the match. http://news.sky.com/story/1373720/fan-dies-after-stairwell-fall-at-celtic-park Tragic, R.I.P.
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I speculated that this was worth a thread on its own. Apologies if not, admin....merge it with Whyte Arrest warrant. However, it is a different revelation (though it may be connected, of course): "In a further development, The Daily Telegraph understands that while Wallace and Nash were still in their posts, documents related to the 2012 share issue were passed to the Serious Fraud Office for investigation. The SFO had no comment to make." It is tagged on here; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11231964/Former-Rangers-owner-Craig-Whyte-issued-with-arrest-warrant-as-four-others-are-detained-by-police.html
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Teams: Marshall, Whittaker, R.Martin, Hanley, Robertson, Mulgrew, Brown, Maloney, Naismith, Anya, S.Fletcher Forde, Coleman, O'Shea, Keogh, Ward, McGeady, Hendrick, Gibson, McClean, Long, Walters
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THE Crown Office will today issue a warrant for the arrest of disgraced former Rangers owner Craig Whyte, the Daily Record can exclusively reveal. Whyte is wanted in connection with alleged fraud over his purchase of the Ibrox club in 2011. The sensational news comes after it was revealed that police forces in England, acting on warrants from Police Scotland, made dawn arrests today in connection with a long-running inquiry into Rangers. Four men were arrested at addresses in Thames Valley, Surrey and Cheshire. The first of the four is Paul Clark, London managing director of former Rangers adminstrators Duff & Phelps. The other three are former Duff & Phelps north of England managing director David Whitehouse, David Greer, a former partner in the business, and Gary Withey, a solicitor who worked with Whyte’s law firm Collyer Bristow. The arrests came at 6am today. Whyte, who has a flat in Monaco, is believed to be out of the country. It is thought the allegations over which the men have been detained centre on claims that Grier and Whyte were known to each other before Duff & Phelps were appointed as Whyte’s choice of administrators for Rangers in 2012. HMRC had at first opposed Whyte’s choice of administrators. Whyte bought the club from Sir David Murray in 2011 for £1 promising to wipe Rangers’ £18 million debt to Lloyds Banking Group. It later emerged he had sold future season ticket sales to London firm Ticketus to finance the deal. In 2013 financial industry regulators cleared Duff & Phelps of wrongdoing over the Rangers’ administration, though they said the company had left itself open to criticism. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/sc...-crown-4628861
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http://news.stv.tv/west-central/299623-four-men-detained-after-police-probe-into-sale-of-rangers-in-2012/ I'd like to remind people of their legal obligations in speculating over individuals and alleged criminal behaviour. -
Strapped in for yet another transfer window? Well, here we go! Graeme Shinnie (Left-back, 23, Inverness Caledonian Thistle) Max Power (attacking midfielder, 21, Tranmere Rovers) Express Graeme Shinnie on wiki -
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ibrox-hate-figure-brian-stockbridge-4625845 Rears his head.. Sorry, on mobile... Hence lack of copy and paste
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Sky Sports Victory Shield England vs Scotland Thursday 20th November, 8pm kick-off Huish Park Stadium, Yeovil LIVE on Sky Sports Scot Gemmill today announced his squad for Scotland Under-16's Sky Sports Victory Shield match against England in Yeovil. Scotland can no longer retain the trophy after set-backs against Northern Ireland and Wales but the side will be looking to bounce back against the Auld Enemy, two days after their senior counterparts take on each other at Celtic Park. Scotland Under-16 squad to face England: Goalkeepers Aidan McAdams (Celtic) Kieran Wright (Rangers) Defenders Daniel Baur (Heart of Midlothian) Tony Gallacher (Falkirk) Dan Meredith (West Bromwich Albion) Kieran Freeman (Dundee United) Lewis Bell (Celtic) Jason Krones (Rangers) Midfielders Liam Burt (Rangers) Lee Connelly (Queen’s Park) Connor McLennan (Aberdeen) Kristi Marku (Celtic) Jamie Barjonas (Rangers) David Turnbull (Motherwell) Forwards Jack Adamson (Hibernian) Jack Aitchison (Celtic) Zak Rudden (Rangers) Glenn Middleton (Norwich City)
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The emergence of Mike Ashley as the key shareholder in Rangers has raised many questions on what his exact intentions are. Some are of the opinion that billionaire Ashley will invest millions into Rangers which sees us dominate Scottish Football and participate in the Champions League. The conflicting aspect of Ashley investing in Rangers is the fact he has complete control of the income generated by the sale of club merchandise and the £1 stadium naming rights, although denied in certain quarters as scaremongering, was only just revoked after pressure to comply with possible fiduciary duties. Why invest millions when he’s taking money out of the business?........... http://www.therst.co.uk/mike-ashley-what-are-his-intentions/
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keith jackson @tedermeatballs 5m5 minutes ago Oh Roy! What have you done? They must be feeling the pressure... Gardai called to Ireland football team hotel Gardai were called to an incident at the Republic of Ireland football team hotel tonight. An ambulance is also believed to have been called to the scene at the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links in north County Dublin. Garda sources say they are aware of an incident at hotel tonight. The exact nature of the incident remains unclear. Repeated efforts by Independent.ie to contact the FAI Communications team were unsuccessful. The international team, managed by Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane, are based at the hotel ahead of the crunch Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland on Friday night. The team are due to fly out to Glasgow tomorrow. http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/gardai-called-to-ireland-football-team-hotel-30740600.html
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Aberdeen have agreed an investment deal that will wipe out the club's debts. As the Dons released their annual accounts, it was revealed their net debt of £14.49m will be cleared if the restructuring plans are approved. Willie Donald and his wife Elaine, who own the Stonehaven-based engineering company WM Donald, will become shareholders in the club. The Pittodrie outfit hope to see the plans given the go-ahead at next month's AGM. Aberdeen chairman Stewart Milne told BBC Scotland earlier this year that he remained optimistic that the club could soon be in a "debt-free position," as they target new training facilities and a new stadium. In the annual club accounts, Aberdeen revealed turnover rose from £7.85m to £11.158m last season with wages increasing from £5.256m to £6.084m. The club say the wages increase is a result of higher bonus payments. Milne told the club website: "The period covered in this report has seen a significant change in the fortunes at Aberdeen given the team's success in lifting the League Cup." It was also confirmed that if restructuring plans are approved, Aberdeen FC Community Trust will also receive a "sizeable shareholding". On the restructuring plans, Milne said: "The negotiations have been ongoing for a number of months now and these arrangements will, I believe, be transformational for the club. "The club are indebted to Willie and Elaine for the role they have played in this. If the final steps are approved at the AGM we will have a strong balance sheet and the debt servicing burden will be removed, allowing us to drive forward on training facilities and the plans for the new stadium with much greater confidence in our ability to raise the additional investment needed." Willie Donald said: "Our family recognises that we have been fortunate to have grown our business in a city and region that has benefitted from the impact of the energy sector over the last 37 years. "We decided some time ago that we wished to give something back to the community, we see the football club as a vital and central part of the community, and indeed the whole North East of Scotland and see this investment as an excellent opportunity to deliver our objective." As part of the restructuring plan, the net debt of the club will reduce by £14.49m and its share capital and reserves will rise by the same amount. Debt of £4.42m owed to the Stewart Milne Group will be converted to equity. SMG shareholding in the club will rise to around 43% but only up to 29.9% of this would be voting rights. Aberdeen Asset Management will convert their remaining debt to equity and Willie and Elaine Donald will end up with a shareholding of around 20%. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30016970
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/charlies-sake-hope-rangers-cash-4610915#rlabs=1 JACKIE McNAMARA is desperate for Dundee United’s cash row with Rangers over Charlie Telfer to end. The clubs are locked in a stalemate over the Scotland youth star’s summer switch from Murray Park to Tannadice. Telfer has made four appearances for United – scoring in the 3-0 win over St Mirren earlier this month – while he made his one and only top-team appearance for Rangers as a sub in April. Under SPFL rules clubs can receive compensation for developing and training players under 23 who move as free agents. Rangers argue they are entitled to six years’ cash for the player between the age of 12 to 18. United, meanwhile, believe the Championship side should only receive money to cover two years since liquidation in 2012. Tannadice chairman Stephen Thompson was even claimed to have said “you’ve only got two years of history”. With both clubs unable to decide on a fee for the player the dispute will now be heard by an independent panel. And McNamara said: “For everybody it would be good if it was sorted, especially for young Charlie. He came in last week against St Mirren and he was excellent. “He was a bit unfortunate not to start the game at Motherwell on Friday but for all of us it would be good if we can get that resolved so we can move on. “There are all sorts of things come in to it, I’m not an expert on that. That will be up for the people in charge of the tribunal to decide.”
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12147393.html
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Just a quick heads-up for anyone who's interested to let you know that Gersnet's 3rd double page column in WATP magazine will be in Issue 7 which comes out at some point over the next week and I think it might even be available at the Alloa game on Saturday. In Issue 5 we had articles from Andy Steel & CammyF, in Issue 6 we had articles from Frankie & myself and in the latest Gersnet column for Issue 7 we have an article from stewarty titled 'Price sensitive information'. WATP magazine issue 7 will be available in your local newsagents and WHSmith stores across Scotland and Northern Ireland and also on sale on match days. It's excellent quality and value for money at only £2.95 and you can also subscribe to the magazine to have it delivered straight to your door. On their website there's also the opportunity to buy individual copies and back issues, so check it out here if you're interested - http://www.watpmagazine.co.uk/index.html Here's the front cover of Issue 7 so you know what to look for.....
