the shame of the anti rangers brigade
So the Rangerns share issue was a success
22 million quid raised
Charles Green has a plan how to spend it
More on that though later in further posts
The pathetic attempts lately by anti Ranger s brigade to belittle this achievement
Well it says more about them <and all that jazz you know?>
One of them; Paul McConville actually posts this week suggesting
Green had not offered Rangers supporters the chance to purchase shares in the club per se
Instead he offered them the chance to purchase shares in the company that owns the club
Was in itself accurate what he states but at the same time lamentable
He even admitted himself <almost> in the same post such lament
Then again though I would ask when reflecting on such matters Paul
Why post it?
An interesting angle his logic presented though and for this thankfully he did post it
Relates to the 140 Year history
Which seems to be the new battle ground all things Rangers
For in making his statement
Did the rangers hater not actually
Reiterate the cyclical argument put forward by those who defend Rangers have a protected history
I simplify but am sure the legal logic is something like
Old co owned the club
Old co died
The club itself did not die
De facto
The club remains alive
Bought over by new co
Just passing ownership
140 years of history protected
A club owned by a company part owned by the fans
As argued by a Mr Paul McConville
Leggoland has been good thE last few days I must say
He is certainly rubbing it in with the reporter chap Brian McNally
A guy he doesnae like who currently hails from Newcastle
To be fair
The chap a Mirror journo has in the past put the boot into Rangers
Usually via Twitter
Well seems these day according to Leggoland are well and truly over
Leggo also seems to have be on the case about some shop manager at Sports Direct
Middle manager of some sort i assume in the Mike Ashley empire
Who may or may not be a friend of the belittled Mirror journo
Fact they both work and query live in geordie land is a wee bit tenuous i’d have thought
Point Leggoland makes
This shop keeper is being less than Efficious
in the delivery of saleable items to the Rangers Megastore
via Sports Direct Newcastle
What seems to be getting dear Leggoland in a lather
is this Inefficiency is impacting on the sale of his new book about Scott Scotland Symon
a big selling item in the Rangers store (well until they ran out of stock)
I am of course being a wee bit naughty here
Suffice to say I love reading Leggoland
And his incesant works seem in this case re McNally to have delivered
He has – whether the shop manager from Newcastle is one – many more targets in mind
watch out Leggo is about
Moving on
we have one of Phil 3 name fellow rangers hating bloggers Angela Haggerty
Seek some publicity with an anti Rangers tirade
Angela is of course editor in chief of Phil’s book “downfall”
So what she posts should be of no surprise to us Rangers fans
In response to her criticisms of all things Rangers
Liquidation, history, remorse and punishments
Let us – just like earlier in this post – keep it simple
So if we can for now park EBTs to one side
When Craig Whyte took over old co
They were a profitable business
That is old co owners of Glasgow Rangers FC
Highlighted by significant monies raised through successful trading Periods
and reduced debt (in particular to the Lloyds TSB)
Of course
At this time the club itself had also been successful on the field
For due diligence on the sale of old co and GRFC
Step forward the The Independent Scrutiny Committee chaired by old co Chairman Alistair Johnston
On review of old co sale to Craig Whyte this committee fulfilled its remit
It Advised against the sale of old co to Craig Whyte
A counter bid by Paul Murray and the Blue Knights was put forward
and supported by AJ to avert the perceived danger to old co which would befall if the sale went through
This was ignored by Sir David Murray and Lloyds TSB
It was also ignored by the SPL and SFA
The two main beneficiaries of a quick sale of the old co to Craig Whyte were of course Murray and Lloyds TSB
The sale was made
The warnings of what would happen to old co ignored
The scrutiny committee and its terms of reference in itself a complete sham
Murray and old co Rangers CEO Martin Bain publicly falling out over this
1. Sir David Murray got rid of the EBT issue and potential liability linked to his parent company through Old co
2. Lloyds TSB not only reduced their risk via Murray’s company as Above
They also got their £18m debt owed to them by old co repaid in full
How it was repaid by CRaig Whyte mattered not to either selling party
So Craig White took charge of old co Rangers
Sir David and Lloyds TSB departed
From there on in
the financial and corporate governance arrangements at Ibrox seemed to implode
No one bothered
Directors were sacked and or resigned
The voice of concern by Alistair Johnston was long forgotten
I note Rangers fans were equally culpable in this acceptance of Craig Whyte
There were no formal meetings at the club
Accounts were not published
HMRC payments were delayed
Strange financial transactions occurred
– sale of Arsenal shares
– investment in lowly tiered english amateur football club
A big tax case was joined with a little tax case
And then a PAYE tax case emerged
The transfer shambles of the summer worsened in January 12
With the team struggling Jelo was sold
Where the money went who knows?
Certainly nobody was brought in as a replacement
although attempts to get Daniel Cousin at the last minute were pursued
By February 12 melt down
No one could do the sums
For ticketus = champions league money
even paying tax/ debts all things being equal
based on past years performances the club should have been breaking even
Where had all the money gone?
Then entered Duff and Phelps
Brought in with due haste by Craig Whyte as HMRC were partially neutered
What followed seemed to the uninitiated in such complex financial matters
in a word: shambolic
From Rangers struggling to meet financial accounting deadlines so they could play in Europe next season
Soon there very existence was in jeopardy
Would be buyers came and went including the Blue Knights again
Fans looked on bewildered
Players took pay cuts to keep old co alive
Despite the points penalty for administration
The team played on and manfully achieved a credible second place in the spl table
even getting a much deserved victory over Celtic at Ibrox
By the time Charles Green came to town the club was heading for liquidation
HMRC said no to a CVA
Then entered the shenanigans of the SFA / SPL
Old co and new co
We had already had Fifa involved with old co
when duff and phelps successfully challenged through the court of law
Legality of the SFA commission
who sanctioned Rangers with fine and transfer embargo for not paying paye taxes
To get a football licence in the country for season 2012 / 13
New co had to accept the sentences handed down by sfa commission to old co
And oh of course pay all previous legal fees for said SFA
Despite old co winning the bloody case
it truly was Cap in hand stuff
Or so they thought
No one had bargained for the Yorkshireman Charles Green
The die hard Ally McCoist
And of course the fabulous Rangers support
There was still fight in new co after all
At this time the SPL commission had now been set up to investigate Rangers on dual payments
Found to have a case to answer for by SPL investigators
Celtic lawyers Harper McLeod
Rangers were in the doc again
Judges appointed and a legal framework set
A combined SFA / SPL hush hush out of court offer was made to newco before the season started
Except various punishments on dual payments
including stripping of titles and cups won over a ten year period
Plus goodness knows what other financial penalties
and future competitive penalties including deducted points applied over future seasons
The sop
We will let you in Division 1
Rangers rejected and so by the way did the rest of Scottish Football
This was dangerous times though for Rangers
It was the times of BBc exposé and Bafta awards
It was the time of George Orwell and blogger awards
All with a seemingly coordinated anti Rangers agenda
Eventually after much disagreement Rangers were readmitted to Scottish Football for start of the season
SFL Division 3
Minus of course
Those players backed by their union
who had jumped ship and not transferred their player registration old co to new co
Off they went in their merry way to England and Europe
New co had now lost spl prize money from last season
plus other monies owed but withheld by Scottish Football Authorities on a reregistration of club agreement
The SPL zealots were happy
Or happier
A TV deal was struck with Sky and ESPn for the new season
It needed though to include Rangers
Yep division 3 games
They will bring the viewers we need argued the power brokers
New co are weak though so pay them buttons was the second cry
The final sorry parts in this pathetic chain of events are
– old co and Sir David Murray were found not guilty of illegal Tax avoidance and won the EBT big tax case
– the new administrators of Old co through formal liquidation are now reviewing matters with many commentators suggesting potential criminal proceedings to follow against a number of the key protagonists linked to the events listed
(in particular the sale, running and administration of the club)
– the SPL still investigate Rangers over EBT dual payments despite the HMRC verdict
– HMRC have appealed to the highest authority to be given a mandate to appeal the old co EBT verdict. Currently a decision on this is pending
I have set this post out in a way that I hope is fair and accurate
No doubt if Rangers had lost the EBT case then they would have had to face the punishments for the crime
Primarily to a severely besmirched character given the consequence of liquidation and illegal tax avoidance
I refuse to believe there was direct cheating involved during the many titles and cups now under the microscope
Of course
The EBT case though as noted was won by Rangers so the points are redundant
Despite the subsequent posturing by the anti rangers brigade that such victory was nothing to be proud of etc
Unfunded hospitals, libraries et al
Well let us have an amnesty in all tax avoidance schemes used by clubs and employees of all other employees in Scottish Football
Before we go running down that road
Scottish Football again is under the spot light now
The dreaded word
Reorganisation
Much posturing again on all sides
I for one want Rangers to be promoted through the leagues purely on merit and their position in the table
Use the time this brings us wisely to develop a club built on a philosophy of home grown youth
Such a great opportunity exists for this culture within the club to be nurtured
Of course with new co successfully raising millions through share issue
There is the other side of the coin
The unpaid creditors
The unpaid PAYE tax bill
The lost credibility
How right is that?
The discredited club with all that doe
All shame on the financial fiasco of 12/ 13 should be fronted to one person
Craig Whyte (he was the driver of the train and he was director of service)
It is he who ran Rangers in to the ground
It is he who caused the hardship and embarrassment
In his name and the running of old co
newco and rangers then Rangers now have nothing to be ashamed off
They did no wrong
They were indeed in most cases the wronged
The evidence to support this position tabled throughout this post
If the anti rangers brigade can not reach that conclusion then the further shame is on them
FOOTBALL IS BLOODY MAD I CAN TELL YOU 