glasgow sheep Posted July 8, 2012 Report Posted July 8, 2012 RST response to the Hibs Fans. They actually have a few good points at the start before descending into familiar hunnish fantasy. It is with little surprise but some dismay that we note the statement made today by the Hibernian Supporters Club. Give the propensity for these statements to appear in groups we feel it is worth correcting some of the inaccuracies contained within it before others make the same mistakes. After all, given the now shattered falsehood that ‘sporting integrity’ was the overriding aim of clubs in the SPL, we should do all we can to avoid another myth being perpetuated by those clubs and their fan groups. It is probably worth noting that we fully agree with the Hibs Club’s opposition to the SFA/SPL aim of placing Rangers into Division 1 of the SFL. However, their assertion that this is being done to assist Rangers is absurd. The Rangers fans have made it very clear that we wish the club to resume playing in Division 3. This has been communicated to both the board and the manager of our club and they are entirely supportive. This is the correct solution and one which means the club will forever be beyond reproach. The tactics being employed by the SPL and SFA in order to deny Rangers the opportunity to do so are outrageous. However, let us be very clear. This ‘solution’ is being cobbled together for the benefit of clubs in the SPL, like Hibernian, who have based their business models around having Rangers in the league. It is being done so that Rangers can be used as a cash cow to sustain these clubs whilst inflicting maximum damage on our club’s ability to compete. If our club are forced into this it will be purely to protect the financial interests of the current SPL clubs. Whilst we have little interest in whether the financial projections for the SPL clubs are accurate, the SPL chairmen clearly feel that they can sustain their clubs with reduced, or no, TV revenue and sponsorship and without the patronage of our away support. We wish them the best of luck. The SFL clubs are blameless in this scenario. They are being blackmailed by the spectre of formation of SPL 2 and should not have been put in this position by the SPL clubs and the SFA. The SFA are also attempting to blackmail Rangers into accepting these proposals using a licence document concocted specifically to threaten our club. That the Hibs Club should use Rangers’ successful court challenge of an unlawful SFA sanction as an excuse to attack our manager says everything about the motives behind their statement. If the Hibernian fans, or fans of any other SPL club, are unhappy with the plan to place our club, against its will, in Division 1, then perhaps they should address their concerns to the boards of the Scottish football authorities, rather than taking it as a further opportunity to attack our club. Indeed, the Hibernian Supporters Club are in an excellent position to do so, given that their Chairman, Rod Petrie, is one of the main architects of this proposal along with Stewart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the club chairmen who are lucky enough to hold privileged positions on the boards of the SPL and SFA. Rangers Football Club has existed and prospered for 140 years. We are in the middle of a very difficult period in our history but are resolute in the knowledge that our club will be here for another 140 years, and beyond. We look forward to being given the opportunity to make new friends in our journey through the Scottish leagues, starting in Division 3. We are sure this journey will benefit the clubs in those leagues and look forward to returning to a prosperous SPL with bountiful ‘sporting integrity’. If we are denied this opportunity then rival clubs should look no further than their own chairman for someone to blame Quote
baggy89 Posted July 8, 2012 Report Posted July 8, 2012 Dear Sevco5088 fan(s) http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DmQZmCJUSC6g P.S. you don't have any friends in the SPL, so you can't make "new" ones. MONGS! Quote
dickofthedons Posted July 8, 2012 Report Posted July 8, 2012 Surely something can be done - If club aren't standing up to this pish then the fans must. Fans all over Scotland knows what fate their club would've suffered in this situation, we're not the minority, they just want us to think we are. We'd be better off in a league without any of Rangers or Celtic, would the Huns give a shit about Scottish football if the EPL came calling?? No, so why is Scottish football giving such a shit in return? On another note - Craig Burley, you are a repulsive bastard, that is all Quote
Tyrant Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Killie and St Mirren already on record as saying they cannot survive if Sevco are not in SFL 1. Would say its a certainty that they will vote for SPL 2 and there will be others. So if Newco doesn't get promoted straight away a club (St. Mirren) with no debts will immediately go to the wall? What if they don't get promoted? Quote
Jute Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Statement in the Metro this morning from Berwick Rangers claiming that it will cost them money if Sevco are in division 3 next season and hinting that they will vote for them to get into division 1. Quote
Tyrant Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 So it costs them money to have the Huns in their league but it costs us money not to have them in our league? Ladies and gentlemen, once again: my good friend Jackie Chan: Quote
manc_don Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Completely non sensical, but I suppose they would have additional policing costs due them being the worst fans in the world. Still, this whole affair is a complete and utter embarrassment. The amount of abuse i'm getting from colleagues who don't usually give Scottish football an after thought is unreal. Sack the SFA and SPL. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 What do Berwick get something like £50k from the SPL money, if that? Quote
baggy89 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 RST response to the Hibs Fans. They actually have a few good points at the start before descending into familiar hunnish fantasy. I'm not certain they have any good points. It is with little surprise but some dismay that we note the statement made today by the Hibernian Supporters Club. Give the propensity for these statements to appear in groups we feel it is worth correcting some of the inaccuracies contained within it before others make the same mistakes. After all, given the now shattered falsehood that ‘sporting integrity’ was the overriding aim of clubs in the SPL, we should do all we can to avoid another myth being perpetuated by those clubs and their fan groups. What has shattered this, so called, falsehood? It is probably worth noting that we fully agree with the Hibs Club’s opposition to the SFA/SPL aim of placing Rangers into Division 1 of the SFL. However, their assertion that this is being done to assist Rangers is absurd. Rangers don't exist any more, so putting Sevco 5088 Ltd in the SFL 1 is helping, Sevco 5088 Ltd. They are being given entry to the SFL without accounts and leap frogging two divisions. I assume the assertation is that it might help other clubs stay afloat but that would be a mere by-product of helping Sevco 5088 Ltd. The Rangers fans have made it very clear that we wish the club to resume playing in Division 3. This has been communicated to both the board and the manager of our club and they are entirely supportive. This is the correct solution and one which means the club will forever be beyond reproach. The tactics being employed by the SPL and SFA in order to deny Rangers the opportunity to do so are outrageous. Do these SPL and SFA "tactics" include the owners and representatives of Sevco 5088 Ltd voting on behalf of Rangers Football Club PLC to retain their place in the SPL? and although no one will ever admit it the statements from Sevco 5088 Ltd fans that they want to play in SFL 3 (lets not forget, a higher division than they are entitled to play in), have more than a hint of we'll say we want to play in SFL 3 then it can be someone else's fault when we get what we really want and into SFL 1. The "beyond reproach" kind of gives the game away. However, let us be very clear. This ‘solution’ is being cobbled together for the benefit of clubs in the SPL, like Hibernian, who have based their business models around having Rangers in the league. It is being done so that Rangers can be used as a cash cow to sustain these clubs whilst inflicting maximum damage on our club’s ability to compete. If our club are forced into this it will be purely to protect the financial interests of the current SPL clubs. Again with the Rangers shite, and even if they did still exist since when did they generate more money than they deny the other 10 SPL clubs? Since when did the SPL go from being run for the benefit of them and their cousins to being run for the benefit of Hibs etc.? Since when did the distribution of money within the SPL not inflict maximum damage on all other SPL clubs affecting their ability to compete? Whilst we have little interest in whether the financial projections for the SPL clubs are accurate, the SPL chairmen clearly feel that they can sustain their clubs with reduced, or no, TV revenue and sponsorship and without the patronage of our away support. We wish them the best of luck. So now they are claiming to know more about the finances of all other SPL clubs than the owners and directors of said clubs? Pity they didn't have this insight into their own clubs financial health anytime in the last fifteen to twenty years. The SFL clubs are blameless in this scenario. They are being blackmailed by the spectre of formation of SPL 2 and should not have been put in this position by the SPL clubs and the SFA. The SFA are also attempting to blackmail Rangers into accepting these proposals using a licence document concocted specifically to threaten our club. Deflect, but keep the arrogance that feeds the belief that if you are to be martyrs the furthest you can drop is SFL 3. You should now be applying to the East of Scotland league if you wanted to be treated fairly by the SFA. That the Hibs Club should use Rangers’ successful court challenge of an unlawful SFA sanction as an excuse to attack our manager says everything about the motives behind their statement. What exactly does it say? That you were wrong to challenge a sporting sanction through a law court and flagrantly ignored the rules set out by the World governing body? Or that your previous club were arrogant enough to believe they could cheat and get away with it, an arrogance that seems to have been part of the assets transferred to Sevco 5088 Ltd. If the Hibernian fans, or fans of any other SPL club, are unhappy with the plan to place our club, against its will, in Division 1, then perhaps they should address their concerns to the boards of the Scottish football authorities, rather than taking it as a further opportunity to attack our club. Indeed, the Hibernian Supporters Club are in an excellent position to do so, given that their Chairman, Rod Petrie, is one of the main architects of this proposal along with Stewart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the club chairmen who are lucky enough to hold privileged positions on the boards of the SPL and SFA. Arrogance again. What makes them believe that this has not been done. Rangers Football Club has existed and prospered for 140 years. We are in the middle of a very difficult period in our history but are resolute in the knowledge that our club will be here for another 140 years, and beyond. We look forward to being given the opportunity to make new friends in our journey through the Scottish leagues, starting in Division 3. We are sure this journey will benefit the clubs in those leagues and look forward to returning to a prosperous SPL with bountiful ‘sporting integrity’. If we are denied this opportunity then rival clubs should look no further than their own chairman for someone to blame It existed for 140 years. In a few months it will no longer exist. It certainly will not compete in any league championships or cups of Europe again. They can wear blue (and orange) sing songs about killing catholics, go home and beat their wife after a loss and a bottle of buckfast but they will from now on forever be known as Sevco 5088 Ltd. Rangers Football Club is dead, get fucking over it. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Sorry to post yet another of my emails up but perhaps will encourage others to do the same. This time to Duncan Fraser via duncanf@afc.co.uk which was posted on Mad Dear Mr Fraser I hope you don't me mind me contacting you at what must be a busy time at Pittodrie. I got your email address from a message board and felt I'd rather address this email directly to you rather than through the feedback email. I have had some email correspondence from the club, including Dave McDermid, earlier last month which made it clear to me that AFC were against the manipulation of the rules to allow a new club directly into the SPL and that they should apply to join the SFL, along with any other clubs, just as ICT and County did in the past. I was then heartened to see the SPL appear to take a strong stance and vote almost unanimously to deny SeveCo's application to join the SPL. Unfortunately since that vote last week, and the hope that some integrity still existed in the game, we have had countless leaked documents and briefings to the press that suggest that integrity has long since gone from our sport. The latest documents issued by the SFL make it clear that significant pressure is being applied to SFL clubs by both the SPL and the SFA to allow Seveco into the 1st Division. This is being done on the pretext of questionable financial statistics that also don't seem to take into account the fans response to this gerrymandering. Furthermore it is being widely reported that the SPL/SFA are threatening to create an SPL2 to put Seveco into if they are not admitted to SFL Division 1. For me, and many other fans, this league fixing is more abhorrent than simply allowing them into the SPL would have been. Not only does it create an uncomfortable precedent that if a club is big enough and has enough influence it can do what it likes and indeed cease to exist and still find itself resurrected at the top of the game but it has also been made clear that this is being done for narrow financial reasons that require Seveco to be promoted (presumably with the aid of reconstruction if needed) directly following this coming season back to the SPL. It would appear that the SPL are essentially blackmailing SFL clubs into doing their bidding with the threat of withholding of contracted payments while hiding behind the veil of sporting integrity suggested by the No vote last week. I see no point why any club should continue in this sham of a league if these proposals are followed through, nor why fans should pay premium prices to watch such a competition. Clearly the purpose of the majority of clubs is to provide opposition to two big teams from Glasgow and grab as much money as possible. No thought has been given to the overall competitiveness, fairness and integrity of the leagues nor to the public image and support these clubs, leagues and the wider game in Scotland will be viewed with. From what has been stated publicly I would expect that AFC are opposed to these proposals and the bullying, threats and blackmail exerted on the SFL clubs by the SPL. The questions then arises who is actually driving this? Were Aberdeen FC aware of this plan when voting No? Does Neil Doncaster have the support of AFC and other SPL clubs? and Why haven't AFC spoken out against these plans, as surely they are implicated and guilty as prominent members of the SPL? I like many others bought my ST on the back of AFC stating they would vote No. The behavior and machinations of the SPL and SFA since have disgusted me and made me question why I should spend £100s if not £1000s of pounds each year following a team who play in a corrupt League, governed by a incompetent and duplicitous Association in a game seemingly in existence purely to make money and further the aims of the two biggest clubs regardless of what they have done and whether they even meet the most basic requirements for SFA and SFL membership. This is a time of great turmoil in our game, but also one of great opportunity. It is a chance to recalibrate the game both financially and competitively. To abolish the self interest and greed in our game for the benefit of all. To end the democratic deficit and financial deficit at the top of the game by not only instituting voting reform but with dissolution of the SPL and rejoining with our SFL competitors in a unified league system. To make it a game to be proud of rather than ashamed. This will by necessity take time. Forcing change from above for the sole purpose of getting Seveco back into the SPL for 2013/14 will have the opposite effect. So I ask AFC to publicly state their opposition to this sham. I ask for answers to my questions posed above: Who is driving this? Were Aberdeen FC aware of this plan when voting No? Does Neil Doncaster have the support of AFC and other SPL clubs? Why haven't AFC spoken out against these plans? And I ask that the earliest opportunity once this mess is sorted that AFC move for a motion of no confidence in the leadership of both the SFA and SPL, a motion that currently has almost unanimous support with in the footballing fans of this country. Yours faithfully Quote
Kowalski Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Great stuff GS, with four key questions I wouldn't mind seeing the answer to - hopefully you'll get some sort of response. Tomo seems to be chasing UEFA/FIFA. Surely by their standards even they can no longer sit back and watch this corrupt farce play out? Here's a very good letter that somebody on RTC sent to both organisations: Dear Sir, I am writing to express my concern with regard to a football related matter in Scotland, a jurisdiction which is represented at FIFA and UEFA by the Scottish Football Association (SFA). I am sure you will be aware, especially given the guidance reportedly requested from FIFA by a football club in England regarding the signing of a former Rangers player, and by Sportklub Rapid Wien for unpaid debts, Scottish football club Rangers FC is currently in administration and are expected soon to undergo a liquidation process. My concerns relate largely to the conduct of the SFA and the the two league bodies in Scotland (the Scottish Foootball League (SFL) and the Scottish Premier League (SPL)). I would like to express my concern that principles of sporting integrity in Scotland are threatened and it is submitted all these aforementioned administrative bodies have sought to have a new company take the place of Rangers FC in contravention, I suggest, of Article 19 of FIFA statutes relating to Sporting Integrity and contrary to UEFA fair play provisions. Rangers FC have been in administration (an insolvency process) since 14/02/2012 and it is expected will shortly be placed in liquidation(a winding up process) leaving unpaid debts estimated in the region of £140,000,000 (one hvndred and forty million pounds sterling). The long list of unpaid creditors has included several substantial sums to football clubs,both domestically (such as to Heart of Midlothian FC and Dundee United FC) and abroad (U.S.Citta de Palermo and Sportklub Rapid Wien). Despite the foregoing, the administrative bodies mentioned have sought to have a new company take the place of Rangers FC which they also refer to as Rangers FC in the highest echelon of Scottish football. This was rejected by the clubs in that division, but now the administrative bodies are seemingly seeking to disregard all normal procedures for application for league membership and try to have this new club, which, as stated, the administrative bodies refer to as “Rangers” placed in the second highest division in a league of four divisions. It has also been stated by at least one chairman of a Scottish football legue club, namely Mr. Turnbull Hutton of Raith Rovers FC that the representatives of league clubs have been subjected to undue pressure by the administrative bodies aforementioned in order to act in a way to ensure that this new company is given membership of the league. Mr. Hutton alleges the following: “We are being bullied and railroaded. We are being lied to by the Scottish FA and SPL. It was a ridiculous document which came out last week whereby the threat was if you don’t vote for acceptance into the first division, a breakaway SPL2 will come along and those who didn’t vote for it will not be invited. What kind of game are we running here? It is corrupt”. I suggest that when such a respected figure in Scottish football as Mr. Hutton makes such a statement, it is disturbing. I submit the actions of the Scottish football administrators may be contrary to both the spirit and indeed the letter of the Sporting Integrity provisions FIFA outlined in Article 19 of the statutes relating to promotion and relegation and as such must raise much concern. I would also like to express my concerns at the way several other issues have been dealt with by Scottish football administrators in relation to Rangers FC. It has been alleged that contrary to UEFA rules players at Rangers had “two contracts” in order to circumvent tax liabilities.This matter is inter alia the subject of investigation by UK tax authorities, but despite the fact this practice is contrary to football rules per se, the football authorities in Scotland have not concluded an investigation into this matter. It should furthermore be noted that Rangers FC were found guilty on a separate charge of bringing the game into disrepute and despite losing an appeal on this matter, chose, contrary to FIFA rules to seek redress via the domestic legal system. A Scottish court deemed a sanction issued by football authorities to be outwith its powers and was struck out. I need not outline the hazard for governance of football this represents I suggest the Scottish football authorities have prima facie not sought to uphold the principles and rules upon which membership of FIFA and UEFA is based, and one might be forgiven for suspecting instead have been seen to facilitate Rangers in circumventing many of these principles, in particular Article 19 aforementioned. I would furthermore, like to bring to your attention that throughout this controversy the SFA had in positions of extreme seniority and authority, employees who were prima facie compromised by a perceived conflict of interest not only by close former association with Rangers FC and by former or current employment but having an intimate relation to the matters which were the subject of dispute in relation to transgressions by Rangers FC. I would with regard to the foregoing like to mention Mr.Campbell Ogilvie who is President of the SFA and was a director of Rangers FC when it is alleged there were dual contracts. I would like to inform you that this matter is causing widespread concern in this jurisdiction and is scheduled to be the subject of debate in the UK legislature in the form of a parliamentary committee of investigation. Alex Thomson, who is considered one of the most respected jounalists in Europe, experienced in reporting on the most pressing of contemporary concerns and is Chief Correspondent of Channel 4 News in the UK, has taken a keen interest in this story which he has characterised as “misgoverance”. I hope that the matters outlined here will be resolved in an equitable way but must record my pessimism that this is now possible without intervention from a body outwith Scotland. Yours faithfully, etc Quote
manc_don Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Great email GS and good find Kow, i'd certainly say they both pretty much sum up my general mood. Fingers crossed Alex Thomson get's somewhere with his pressure. Quote
Kowalski Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Rangers have refused International clearance for the transfers of Davis, Lafferty, Ness, Whittaker and Naismith. more soon @bbcsportsound @BBCBMcLauchlin Quote
Tyrant Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 How do they have a choice? Because the OldCo hasn't formally been liquidated yet? Quote
Madbadteacher Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Rangers have refused International clearance for the transfers of Davis, Lafferty, Ness, Whittaker and Naismith. more soon @bbcsportsound @BBCBMcLauchlin Fa? duff and duffer maybe. Quote
Terrymac Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Apologies if this has been posted slready. Hope someone like Raith Rovers propose the motion gor Div 3 or out! Can't see Aberdeen, Celtic or any of the larger clubs putting their head above the parapet! Another Week, Another Sevco Vote July 9, 2012 by Gordon Johnston Last week ten out of the twelve current Scottish Premier League clubs rejected Sevco. Only ex-football-club Rangers FC PLC (in administration) supported their application to join the SPL, while Kilmarnock abstained. This week it is the turn of the thirty Scottish Football League clubs to decide whether Charles Green’s brand new almost-football-club will have somewhere to play in the season that is scheduled to start in just a few weeks’ time. But, as there seems to have been at every single stage of this saga, there is a twist. And yet again there is an attempt to ignore rules that don’t suit and make up some new ones that might. Clubs will meet on Friday 13th July to discuss a number of motions. But according to the meeting papers leaked to the media there will not be straightforward vote on which division to admit Sevco into. In normal circumstances a new club would make up the numbers by starting in the lowest division. There is simply no precedent for any other action. However the fiction that Sevco is really a reincarnation of Rangers means that a gerrymander has been proposed. So rather than a simple vote there will be two separate decisions. The first would admit Sevco to membership of the SFL. Presumably the issue of whether Green’s clubs actually meets the membership criteria laid out in the SPL Rules is something that can simply be ignored. And the second vote would let them play in the third division – but with proviso that the Board of the SFL be given the power to promote them by two divisions if a suitable financial agreement with the SPL can be reached. In other words, it is proposed that the Board would take the final decision and not the clubs – and also that promotion for Sevco could be bought rather than earned on the field of play. If this notion is supported then the game of football enters a whole new era. One where results between football teams are not paramount and where money can decide sporting outcomes. One where the integrity of the game can be sold openly. It is far from certain though that Scotland’s lower league teams will support Sevco Already many clubs from Raith Rovers to Clyde and Annan to Partick Thistle have decided to stand up against the proposed fix. Their boards have met and statements have been released explaining why they will back sporting integrity. And any clubs wavering should perhaps read a column in a Sunday rag from one Craig Burley. Proving that he is as inarticulate in print as he is behind a microphone, Burley wrote the following inflammatory piece: “Has it really come to this? The future of Scottish football placed in the hands of a few nonentities from the lower divisions. “Muppets in charge of clubs that draw embarrassing crowds of 200 people suddenly standing as judge and jury over a decision that could cost the country millions of pounds in lost revenue.” Nonentities? Muppets? Well that should persuade them to back your view, Craig! The question that all thirty clubs now have to ask themselves is whether they trust their Board. As things stand, if they want Sevco in division three as most appear to they will need to take a risk – give Board members the power to promote the brand new club by two divisions if they feel like it. The only other option they currently have is to reject Sevco’s membership of the SFL entirely. Unless one of them proposes an amendment t the motions on the table, that is. Any club can do so under Rule 58 of the SFL’s Rule Book. So a single club could call for a simple vote on whether or not to allow Sevco to play in the third division next season. That would take away the proposed fix, the grubby little deal that would allow Sevco to buy a place in a higher division. And I think that such an amendment would have a damned good chance of achieving the support of a majority of clubs. SPL clubs could back their leaders and leave them to negotiate a deal. Or they could make their views know and stand up for the principles on which football has always been based. My preference would be for an open competition among all clubs who wish to join the league. But it seems like that won’t now happen – unless a club was to take some sort of legal action to stop Friday’s meeting. If the votes go ahead then the best that we can hope for is that Sevco starts its footballing life in the third division. This wouldn’t be some sort of a punishment – by being the only club to be considered for the vacancy it would actually still be benefiting from special treatment. But such an outcome is better than the alternative. Many SFL clubs it seems are losing patience with the whole saga, with its repeated attempts to bend the rules to suit Sevco. And if SFL CEO David Longmuir really has lost the trust of his clubs he could find himself looking for a new job soon. His SPL counterpart Neil Doncaster could be joining him in the dole queue. And over at the SFA, Stewart Regan’s position isn’t looking too secure either. SPL clubs have already rejected a move to allow Sevco straight into the Premier League. It is now incumbent on SFL clubs to reject any notion of promotion to the first division for the new club. Quote
glasgowdon Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Apologies if this has been posted slready. Hope someone like Raith Rovers propose the motion gor Div 3 or out! Can't see Aberdeen, Celtic or any of the larger clubs putting their head above the parapet! Another Week, Another Sevco Vote July 9, 2012 by Gordon Johnston Last week ten out of the twelve current Scottish Premier League clubs rejected Sevco. Only ex-football-club Rangers FC PLC (in administration) supported their application to join the SPL, while Kilmarnock abstained. This week it is the turn of the thirty Scottish Football League clubs to decide whether Charles Green’s brand new almost-football-club will have somewhere to play in the season that is scheduled to start in just a few weeks’ time. But, as there seems to have been at every single stage of this saga, there is a twist. And yet again there is an attempt to ignore rules that don’t suit and make up some new ones that might. Clubs will meet on Friday 13th July to discuss a number of motions. But according to the meeting papers leaked to the media there will not be straightforward vote on which division to admit Sevco into. In normal circumstances a new club would make up the numbers by starting in the lowest division. There is simply no precedent for any other action. However the fiction that Sevco is really a reincarnation of Rangers means that a gerrymander has been proposed. So rather than a simple vote there will be two separate decisions. The first would admit Sevco to membership of the SFL. Presumably the issue of whether Green’s clubs actually meets the membership criteria laid out in the SPL Rules is something that can simply be ignored. And the second vote would let them play in the third division – but with proviso that the Board of the SFL be given the power to promote them by two divisions if a suitable financial agreement with the SPL can be reached. In other words, it is proposed that the Board would take the final decision and not the clubs – and also that promotion for Sevco could be bought rather than earned on the field of play. If this notion is supported then the game of football enters a whole new era. One where results between football teams are not paramount and where money can decide sporting outcomes. One where the integrity of the game can be sold openly. It is far from certain though that Scotland’s lower league teams will support Sevco Already many clubs from Raith Rovers to Clyde and Annan to Partick Thistle have decided to stand up against the proposed fix. Their boards have met and statements have been released explaining why they will back sporting integrity. And any clubs wavering should perhaps read a column in a Sunday rag from one Craig Burley. Proving that he is as inarticulate in print as he is behind a microphone, Burley wrote the following inflammatory piece: “Has it really come to this? The future of Scottish football placed in the hands of a few nonentities from the lower divisions. “Muppets in charge of clubs that draw embarrassing crowds of 200 people suddenly standing as judge and jury over a decision that could cost the country millions of pounds in lost revenue.” Nonentities? Muppets? Well that should persuade them to back your view, Craig! The question that all thirty clubs now have to ask themselves is whether they trust their Board. As things stand, if they want Sevco in division three as most appear to they will need to take a risk – give Board members the power to promote the brand new club by two divisions if they feel like it. The only other option they currently have is to reject Sevco’s membership of the SFL entirely. Unless one of them proposes an amendment t the motions on the table, that is. Any club can do so under Rule 58 of the SFL’s Rule Book. So a single club could call for a simple vote on whether or not to allow Sevco to play in the third division next season. That would take away the proposed fix, the grubby little deal that would allow Sevco to buy a place in a higher division. And I think that such an amendment would have a damned good chance of achieving the support of a majority of clubs. SPL clubs could back their leaders and leave them to negotiate a deal. Or they could make their views know and stand up for the principles on which football has always been based. My preference would be for an open competition among all clubs who wish to join the league. But it seems like that won’t now happen – unless a club was to take some sort of legal action to stop Friday’s meeting. If the votes go ahead then the best that we can hope for is that Sevco starts its footballing life in the third division. This wouldn’t be some sort of a punishment – by being the only club to be considered for the vacancy it would actually still be benefiting from special treatment. But such an outcome is better than the alternative. Many SFL clubs it seems are losing patience with the whole saga, with its repeated attempts to bend the rules to suit Sevco. And if SFL CEO David Longmuir really has lost the trust of his clubs he could find himself looking for a new job soon. His SPL counterpart Neil Doncaster could be joining him in the dole queue. And over at the SFA, Stewart Regan’s position isn’t looking too secure either. SPL clubs have already rejected a move to allow Sevco straight into the Premier League. It is now incumbent on SFL clubs to reject any notion of promotion to the first division for the new club. We've made our position clear on Newco. Not sure what your statement even means. Quote
baggy89 Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 We've made our position clear on Newco. Not sure what your statement even means. I think he's suggesting that Aberdeen or Celtic would not put forward, in a meeting that they are not invited too, the motion of a single vote to allow Sevco 5088 Ltd entry into SFL 3 with no other amendments. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 do we not have a thread for this? I'm sure I've copied and pasted a load of shit into some thread somewhere or other. and I do think that afc have questions still to answer, but then I posted that somewhere else too. Quote
Kowalski Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Latest Tomo blog: http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/hampden-vote-friday-13th/2221 Suggesting there might be / should be a protest at Hampden on Friday!? Quote
glasgow sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Latest Tomo blog: http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/hampden-vote-friday-13th/2221 Suggesting there might be / should be a protest at Hampden on Friday!? I've seen very few suggestions of this elsewhere, almost as if Thomo is trying to get one started himself Quote
maverick sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Latest Tomo blog: http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/hampden-vote-friday-13th/2221 Suggesting there might be / should be a protest at Hampden on Friday!? My memory might be failing me given all the jiggery pokery, but of the three clubs (Stenhousmuir, Brechin, Dumbarton?) to come out saying "Rangers" need to go to div 1, two of them happen to be sitting on the board. And the statements from those clubs came out after Longmuir (?) said the process needed to be free from further undue influence. I genuinely can't think of an election anywhere on earth as blatantly rigged as this. Scottish football makes Mugabe look democratic. Quote
glasgow sheep Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 Now would be nice if afc answered my email in a similar manner The Press & Media manager at Motherwell posted this on Steelmen Online in response to similar questions. "I have also read suggestions that because Derek Weir is on the board of the SPL, he would have played some part in the document that was published by STV a few days ago. Well, to copy and paste a reply I added to FirParkCorner earlier: I think it's worthwhile starting by saying that neither I or the club can comment or put out a statement for every media story or bit of speculation that may turn out in a newspaper or website - certainly not with deadlines that's for sure. We would be here all day and it would take us away from the job of trying to improve the club in every area which is our main focus. I can confirm no one from Motherwell Football Club had any input into the production of the document you linked and in fact had not seen it prior it to it being distributed. Furthermore, no one from the club has taken part in any discussion with anyone from the Scottish Football League. Any discussions between the Scottish FA (SFA), Scottish Premier League (SPL) or Scottish Football League (SFL) would take place between the executives of each organisation. We, as a club, will not be a party to threatening any other club. Regardless of what league they may play in, each club is free to make their own decisions on any issue as they see fit. " Quote
Kowalski Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 I think they'll end up in either Division 1 or the SPL. Somebody is keeping the SPL door open, otherwise why haven't Dundee or Dunfermline been offered the Club 12 space!? Quote
Stewart Posted July 9, 2012 Report Posted July 9, 2012 http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/sfl/2012/04/26/rangers-are-welcome-to-apply-for-division-three-but-will-have-to-join-spartans-cove-rangers-in-the-queue-says-sfl-chief-86908-23837719/ LAST time David Longmuir had to welcome a new club into the SFL it involved checking out the credentials of Cove Rangers. Now, just four years on, he’s faced with the prospect of visiting Ibrox and weighing up what Glasgow Rangers have to offer. Ally McCoist admitted for the first time on Tuesday he could now be in favour of the SPL giants dropping down to the Third Division. Whether his crisis-hit club emerge from administration – or suffer liquidation – the Ibrox gaffer sees it as a viable option following the heavy sanctions imposed on them by the SFA this week. Longmuir doesn’t want to get too excited about the possibility of Rangers applying to join the SFL. But the chief executive can’t help wonder what it would be like to have to evaluate their UEFA five-star stadium, instead of Cove’s tiny Allan Park. In 2008 when Gretna went bust the SFL needed a new member, with eventual victors Annan beating competition from Preston Athletic, Spartans and Cove for the vacant spot. And Longmuir told Gers fans last night that if their club – irrespective of status and history – apply for membership, they’ll go through the same process as any outfit in the country. He told Record Sport: “If Rangers or anyone else applied for entry into the SFL they would have to go through the same process as Annan, Spartans FC, Preston Athletic and Cove Rangers did four years ago. “They would have to put a proposal to us on why they should be allowed in and then hope they were voted in by the SFL clubs. “At the moment it’s difficult for me to comment on Rangers’ situation. But anything that brought excitement and freshness to the SFL would be something I’m interested in. “It would be the same process, given any set of circumstances. When Annan were welcomed in the process took a couple of months during the close season. In the past we’ve had to assess the likes of Annan, Cove and Preston on the basis of ground criteria, facilities and financial stability. “So checks have to be done, which would obviously be a bit different if Rangers were involved. “However, at the moment there is no vacancy in the SFL. Rangers are in administration, which is a situation other clubs have found themselves in and survived. “The same could happen to Rangers. As a Scottish football supporter, I hope they do.” Longmuir is well aware of the financial benefits a newco Rangers could bring to the SFL should they apply for entry on the back of liquidation. And while he’s reluctant to offer an open invitation to the Ibrox club he did assure their fans it IS possible to one day start again in the lower echelons of Scottish football. Longmuir said: “Currently, the SFL don’t have a vacancy. The issue Rangers are facing is an SPL matter because they’re a top-flight club. “If things change we would follow a tried and tested process, which we’ve always done. “If a vacancy arose in the SFL, for whatever reason, we would open up an application process for clubs. We did the same when Gretna went into liquidation. “A vacancy was opened up in the Third Division and we went through an application process, which allowed a new club to join. “The 29 member clubs of the SFL would be asked to vote on who they wished to bring in to the Third Division. “It’s based on a lot of criteria and the last time it was Annan Athletic who were successful. “So of course it is possible for Rangers to play in the Third Division. They only need to look at recent history to see how the process works. “I know there has been a lot of talk about this but Rangers are still an SPL club. I believe the SPL and SFA still have a role to play in their survival.” The main beneficiaries of Gretna’s liquidation in 2008 were Annan, whose proposal was accepted by the SFL, and the club are now thriving in the Third Division. Galabank boss Harry Cairney accepts if Ally McCoist’s side did drop down the leagues it would be near impossible for rival teams to challenge for the title. But he also believes the novelty of Rangers in the bottom tier of Scottish football – as well as ensuring bumper gates for the minnows – could be a good thing for the game. Cairney said: “Rangers in the Third Division would limit the chances of a club like Annan winning the championship. But financially it would guarantee us two great home gates. That would be a big plus for our budget. “No one has really viewed the possibility of Rangers being in the SFL but I can see the logic and merit in it for them. It would make sense on a lot of levels. “I just wonder how their fans would cope with seeing their team, which has such a grand history, experiencing this level of football. “I think the SPL would want to keep Rangers in the top flight but after the penalties dished out by the SFA this week maybe the club is thinking it’s the way forward to drop down. “Because of the penalties imposed on them, Rangers aren’t going to win the SPL in the next two or three seasons so why not join the Third Division? “They would have to apply, of course, so would they get in? The Third Division chairmen would have to vote on it in the same way we were accepted into the SFL.” Noticed this earlier. What's changed? Quote
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