the Stewart Regan jigsaw

[26th of foot 5,859]

There is a thread on VanguardBears highlighting Leggo's Latest blog, an interesting assessment of the relationship between Dr John Reid/Lawwell and Stewart Regan. Leggo utilises Dr Reid's past membership of the Communist Party of Great Britain(CPGB), by reminding the readership of the events of the Prague Spring, 1968. Devout rc and President of Czechoslovakia, Alexander Dubcek decided to throw off the communist yoke and embarked upon a three month process of breaking ties with the Soviet Union. This was dramatically halted when Brezhnez sent in the tanks and parked them on St Wenceslaus Square. This event split the CPGB, those supporting the Soviet Union's Hectoring actions became known as 'Tankies'.

 

It would appear Dr John Reid was a Tanky.

 

Leggo is of the opinion that Dr John has his Tanks parked outside the Hampden officies of the SFA.

 

The Stewart Regan jigsaw appears to be most revealing. He was educated at St Bede's rc school in County Durham. Apparently, he was headhunted for the SFA Chief Executive position by Paul Nolan of Nolan Partners. The company 'Nolan Partners' is a business partner of ra Sellik. Paul Nolan is biggest, bestest mates with Kevin Reid, son of Dr John; and Regan worked alongside Peter Lawwell whilst both employed at Coors.

 

Over the last couple of weeks, the on-message types in both broadcast and print media NEVER missed an opportunity to lionise Stewart Regan. It was lots and lots of, 'Stewart Regan has not put a foot wrong', 'the only man to emerge from this sorry debacle with any credit is Stewart Regan', and 'you have to feel sorry for Stewart Regan, five minutes in the job and he has landed all this on his lap". Remember, when asked by Allan McGregor on the plane home from Prague, "am I banned for a game or two"? Stewart Regan replied, "you'll have to wait to you open tomorrow morning's mail".

 

Yep, all those comments from Regan about sectarianism being at the core of the refeeing controversy, the secret meetings with Lawwell, and his sympathy for ra Sellik's plight. Mmm, anyone think Stewart Regan may have have been well briefed before taking up his designation as SFA Chief Executive?

[ian1964 10,459]

"Given Stewart Regan’s first two months in the job, could anyone really blame the SFA chief executive for wishing he was in Brisbane today watching England draw the first Ashes Test?

 

Instead, since leaving the world of cricket, he has been thrust into the deep end of the mire of problems in which Scottish football is embroiled.

 

There was the Allan McGregor trial-by-TV fiasco while the player was rep-resenting his country in Prague; the now infamous ‘Dougie-Dougie’ gate that finally saw Dougie McDonald fall on his sword last night.

 

Then there was the Hugh Dallas inappropriate email affair that saw the Head of Refereeing Development removed on Friday; a raft of internal political squabbling, and then, to top it all, the referees’ strike that turned Scottish football into an utter laughing stock last week.

 

As news filtered out that some of the foreign referees asked to bail out our game – and even the Israelis who did answer the SOS – had not been given the full picture as to why they were approached, some questioned Regan’s role in all of this and pointed accusing fingers.

 

But cut him a bit of slack here. It was an unprecedented situation and, whatever anyone says, his primary aim was to keep games alive with the shadow of the SPL cast over him and the organisation he now runs.

 

It was, then, heartening to see Regan’s stance yesterday – he remains unbowed; he is determined to modernise his Association and it seems inevitable that change and progress will come from the wreckage of where we are today.

 

And, make no mistake, that is rock bottom. It truly is time for Regan to show what he is made of. If ever we needed someone to provide genuine leadership, it is now.

 

l He has an opportunity to revamp, modernise and streamline an archaic organisation, underpinned by ludicrous committee structures which have antagonised and frustrated us all for years, not just in light of recent events.

 

lHe has an opportunity to put in place a new code of conduct which all players and club officials must adhere to in order to prevent any repeat of the farce last week became; in short, he has to get tough on those who cross the line in refereeing criticism, a promise he has now declared to the world.

 

lHe also has an oppor-tunity to completely modernise the practices of the refereeing system and the other pre-historic structures which need to be brought down. If those in his way don’t want to change, then he must name them, shame them and remove them. The game, now at an all-time low, is bigger than anyone, or any cobbled- together committee of butchers, bakers and candlestick makers who have had too much of a say, for far too long.

 

 

Will he grasp these opportunities? That is the key question. We are about to find out exactly what Stewart Regan is made of.

 

One challenge he faces will come when the SFA’s General Purposes Committee finally open their Celtic file, after today’s postponed meeting.

 

In it, there will be comments from Neil Lennon on referees made after the matches against Rangers and Hearts, and there will also be Gary Hooper’s claims that referees want to give a disproportionate amount of decisions against Celtic so they can tell someone they have done it.

 

With every referee in the land watching in the wake of McDonald’s retirement and all the fall-out his initial misdemeanour created, just what will this committee do, given Regan has promised tougher sanctions?

 

This is the same body, remember, who took no action against Celtic as a club, or their former player Aiden McGeady, for comments made against the very same Dougie McDonald back in February and March.

 

Remember then, just after the un-named Parkhead ‘source’ blabbed to a BBC source that they were popping off DVDs of bad decisions to the SFA?

 

McDonald sent off Scott Brown in an Old Firm game at Ibrox and, yes, it was a debatable decision which some referees would have deemed a red, others a yellow.

 

That night, on the official Celtic website, their match report claimed “any fair-minded person would not have deemed it a sending off.”

 

Days later, when asked about the red card and McDonald’s performance, McGeady said: “It’s fair to say he wasn’t impartial the other day.”

 

 

The General Purposes Committee turned a collective blind eye. Anyone looking for the seeds of why the referees walked out, when the battle lines were drawn, in fact, can trace it back to that time.

 

Make no mistake, this situation is about one club – Celtic. Anyone in denial of that should answer this question: Before the McDonald affair six weeks ago, was there any hint of a strike, was there any criticism more than the norm?

 

Celtic have been at war with the SFA ever since, and that has only been heightened by the failure of the referees and their superiors to sack McDonald before he finally took matters into his own hands, something that might just aid those he leaves behind.

 

The Parkhead club were right to demand his removal and now they have got their men in Dallas and McDonald.

 

But now the focus turns to what appetite Regan and the SFA have to punish them for comments emanating from the club in recent weeks. McDonald has gone. That defence card cannot be played any more by the club.

 

Ever since events at October 17 on Tannadice, things have been whipped up by the manager’s over-reaction to decisions and Dr John Reid’s comments at the recent AGM when, again, he questioned people’s integrity, and inferred an institutional bias against his club.

 

Yes, other bosses have their outbursts, slaughter officials after games, use rhetoric such as ‘shocking decision’ and ‘he made blatant mistakes’.

 

But the only other person in the country’s football community – apart from the inferences and innuendo that has come from senior Parkhead figures such as Reid – to have questioned the integrity of the game has been Hearts owner Vladmir Romanov.

 

What is he on now? His third or fourth fine? Make no mistake, he will be watching this one with interest.

 

If nothing is done to counter what has been coming out of Parkhead in recent weeks – with Lennon’s appeal over his dismissal to the stand at Tynecastle still pending, and a further trip to face the Disciplinary Committee to face an excessive conduct charge looming a week tomorrow – then the officials may well point and say: “We told you so.”

 

That said, the men in black, yellow or blue don’t exactly come out of this mess looking squeaky clean; they could have posted intent to strike last Sunday and then acted like men and got around the negotiating table.

 

They should have gone public and said that if issues weren’t addressed promptly, they would have gone on strike and at least given Regan the time to try and placate them and put in place what they wanted.

 

Who were the victims at the weekend? If their beef was with Celtic, or any of the individuals at that club, they should have named them.

 

While the turnstiles ticked over at Parkhead on Saturday, many clubs were denied crucial revenue due to the officials’ actions – albeit that the weather had the final say.

 

Regan must say to the ref-erees – “we will do more to back you, but that can never be allowed to happen again.”

 

He must also demand transparency in relation to everything that is done by their department. He must demand a system that sees referees who continually make mistakes demoted.

 

And he must destroy a refereeing structure that sees former peers and pals sit as judge and jury on anyone in bother, the very thing that protected McDonald until last night.

 

Regan must now show resolve and courage in everything he is about to confront. The very future of the game is at stake.

 

If he’s got that in him, we might just have a chance ... we wish him well."

 

By Darrel King

[Super_Ally 0]

Brown's headbutt red was debatable?

 

Stopped reading there.

[maineflyer 0]

After all the opportunities so far declined by the SFA to sort out this mess, does anyone seriously believe they will now take decisive action? No, neither do I.

 

Once you reach that inevitable decision, the aimless ranting of sports journalists doesn't warrant much attention. The only credible attitude to the SFA is to expect fukk all, believe no one and leave any sense of justice to your sleeping hours.

[Stimpy 0]

So septic have managed to manufacture themselves a position where they have a say in who's hired for The SFA and still get it wrong, and make themselves look even more incompetent than they ever have?

 

Is that correct?

[Zappa 0]

Article by Traynor today -

 

 

Is SFA chief Stewart Regan out of his depth?

 

By jim Traynor on Nov 29, 10 08:40 AM in celtic

 

 

Well done Bhoys. You got him. The SFA's chief executive Stewart Regan wielded the axe but it was you lot, keyboard Christian soldiers who did it.

 

Hugh Dallas has been brought down. Dragged out. Thrown into the fiery pits of Hell where his kind belong.

 

Dougie McDonald has just joined him in the place of eternal torment so be warned. Watch your backs. You could be next.

 

Celtic fans' forums have been crackling and buzzing. In their eyes an anti-Celtic, anti-Catholic member of the Establishment has fallen and the world is a better place.

 

You could feel the glow of glee. You could sense the cackling behind the messages as fingers tap danced across keys. It was a glorious triumph for good over evil.

 

After all, those who were outraged and appalled by the behaviour of the SFA's referee chief were only marching on Hampden in the name of His Holiness?

 

And if you believe that then you'll also believe Dallas is a bigot, which he isn't.

 

I can't claim to be especially close to Dallas but I have had enough dealings with him over the years to be sure he is not sectarian.

 

He's hardly someone who would stir up anti-Catholic hysteria despite what the media director of the Scottish Catholic Church, who doesn't know him at all, might have you believe.

 

Peter Kearney very kindly offered to help the SFA with their anti-sectarian policy but maybe the governing body should pass on that one. The SFA have enough problems right now but being overrun with bigots isn't one of them despite the now-infamous email.

 

It was forwarded by Dallas but is one offensive email powerful evidence to suggest a widespread sectarian problem? And was Dallas indulging in bigotry when he pressed the send button on his keyboard?

 

Before you answer ask yourselves what charge you'd level at one of the others sacked by the SFA, an office worker who as far as I'm aware is a member of the Catholic Church? Is this person also a bigot? If anything, Dallas should have been sacked for stupidity. There might also have been a case for his dismissal because McDonald remained in place for weeks after lying to a supervisor and Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

 

Somehow Dallas should have forced McDonald's removal.

 

However, if the SFA got rid of their head of referees because they believe him to be a bigot that's wrong.

 

It would also be wrong if Regan acted because he was being influenced by outside sources and there are some within his organisation who believe, rightly or wrongly, the chief exec might have made his decisions based on what others wanted.

 

Whatever, Regan hasn't shown himself to be much of a leader and his handling of the strike by referees has been especially dismal. He said at the end of last week that everything was in place for foreign referees to be air-lifted in to take charge of Scottish matches.

 

Contracts had been agreed and signed and the officials were "nailed on", he declared. Strange then that a number of them reversed out when they discovered why our refs were on strike.

 

What exactly were they told and by whom? But really, we shouldn't be surprised if the full story wasn't told in this case.

 

It never is in Scottish football which blunders on without any real direction.

 

The lack of leadership, honesty and transparency is disgraceful and please, don't tell me this is exactly what Celtic are trying to achieve.

 

They have their own agenda and perhaps one day we'll all find out what it is. In the meantime we are all being dragged back into our murky past.

 

It is pretty horrible but there are too many people in this country who live to create divisions and who thrive on hatreds.

 

Yet they all claim to be good, Christian folk. They are pathetic and what we've been witnessing in the world of Scottish football over the past month is a desperately sad reflection on our broken society.

 

There are too many lame brains who are easily led by the dangerously deluded and it will get worse for all of us.

 

It seems the majority are now at the mercy of a minority who believe that if they shout at the top of their voices and often enough they'll get attention, that if they repeat the same half-baked theories of persecution they'll be given credence.

 

Sadly they might be right. It is almost accepted without question now that Celtic have been systematically wronged over the decades. Forget evidence, they just have.

 

It is almost at the stage where, if you are not Catholic you cannot be a Celtic fan and that if you are not a Celtic fan then you must be the enemy. It's all b******s of course.

 

What isn't is the fact that the nutters, the misguided, the twisted and the real bigots have been allowed, and maybe even encouraged to force the issues.

 

Sanity has to be brought back into play and a lead should have been taken by the SFA, who haven't exactly covered themselves in glory recently. The game is in meltdown, all the old problems and suspicions have bobbed back to the surface, workers have been thrown to the "Christians", referees are in revolt and anarchy is close.

 

The game needs a leader but Regan, who should have been right at the front calling for order and sense, wasn't even in the country at the weekend.

 

The man who really should have been at the heart of our game making sure no more of the stand-in refs would renege was in England.

 

Regan went down to his family home when he should have been at a match.

 

But this is a man who has to be forced into speaking publicly. This is a man who doesn't seem to get it. This is a man who might be out of his depth.

[wabashcannonball 0]

SFA= selik football association.

[ian1964 10,459]

Graham Poll On Dallas & SFA

 

 

He was the man who would not come off the field when hit by a coin during an Old Firm game despite the blood running down his face. The same man who didn't contemplate giving in to the bullies when a scaffolding pole came through the window of his home.

 

But this weekend Hugh Dallas was finally beaten, dismissed from his position as Head of referee development for the Scottish Football Association for forwarding an offensive email.

 

Whatever the truth or merits behind the final nail in his professional coffin, Dallas was a superb referee who was respected throughout the world of football. His close friendship with Pierluigi Collina, with whom he still serves on the UEFA referees committee, was cemented when they officiated together on the 2002 World Cup Final.

 

It is of course the same SFA that dismissed Dallas which had failed to suspend Dougie McDonald after he admitted lying to Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, to cover up an error in a game at Tannadice last month.

 

I was told two weeks ago that one of the major powers (Celtic) in Scottish football would not be happy until Dallas was ousted from his post. Whether that is true or not, this has been a sad weekend for refereeing north of the border.

 

After feeling compelled to withdraw their labour to highlight the unacceptable level of criticism and abuse levelled at them, Scottish referees saw match officials from Israel, Malta and Luxembourg flown in as replacement.

 

Predictably the managers of those teams who had 'guest' referees lavished them with praise, even Lennon, who held back his usual criticism despite two dropped points at Parkhead.

 

The man in the middle at Celtic was Alain Hamer, a very experienced Champions League referee who was also scheduled to officiate Rangers' game at Dundee United on Sunday; that is, until fell foul of the weather.

The double-appointment of Hamer was contrary to UEFA guidelines which state a referee scheduled to officiate a Champions League game on a Tuesday is not permitted to perform his duties on the previous Sunday, thus observing a two-day gap in appointments.

 

I remember saying to Dallas back in 2000 that I would love the opportunity to travel to Scotland and take charge of an Old Firm game. His response was to suggest only someone who didn't understand what was involved would make such a claim.

 

Clearly, after this week’s events a lot of us don't understand.

 

 

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1333856/GRAHAM-POLL-Hugh-Dallas-superb-referee-finally-beaten.html#ixzz16iFexO14

[26th of foot 5,859]

I note the number of off-stage players involved in this Scots farce increases daily, some cannot stop themselves running on for the final bow. Today's latest claimant in the, 'I did it, I did it' drama is, Paul McBride QC. The leading light in the Scottish Tories claims vidication, "Celtic feel vindicated in their stance that referee Dougie McDonald should be sacked", according to a high profile QC close to the club's Board. The chutney sniper got all sanctimonious by further stating, "there is no sense of triumphalism at Celtic Park, but there is a sense of quiet vindication".

 

Aye, that's right, no triumphalism; just the thought of Dr Reid, Peter Lawwell, and Paul McBride heading down the Garvaghy Road for a cerebral walk. Stewart Regan is throwing a stick in the air, Dr John and Peter Lawwell are banging drums, but Paul McBride is swaggering in a quiet vindicative type way. It's what ra Sellik do best, surreal farce.

 

Here in deepest, darkest Lanarkshire; I can see the Scottish Conservative Party's latest bunnet hustler, Paul McBride leading their long awaited revival? Well, they started the surrealism.

[ian1964 10,459]

REGAN ON THE ROPES - David Leggat

 

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2010/11/regan-on-ropes.html