David Murray is NOT Blameless

I was bemused to note on Sunday that Lee McCulloch has joined the growing bandwagon of Rangers employees current and past who have attacked Craig Whyte but apparently absolved David Murray of all blame for Rangers predicament.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/lee-mcculloch-brands-former-rangers-1456011

Yes, there are positives that Rangers can point to as we seek to rebuild, but it is absolute nonsense to suggest that all would have been great in the world if Craig Whyte had paid the PAYE and NIC, or if David Murray had continued to own the club at the mercy of Lloyds bank.

We are in Division 3 without European Football because David Murrays years of mismanagement led him to sell up to Craig Whyte.

Whyte may have failed to pay PAYE and NIC, but Rangers could not afford that £10M demand from HMRC, and would have had to sell half the squad in January 2011 to meet that requirement. Why he didn’t do so is for him to explain.

Of course, Whyte’s management of the club was shocking and incompetent at best, but Murray “sold” the club to him. Either Murray never undertook due diligence, or undertook it,  knew all about Whyte,  and decided to sell anyway. He left Whyte a football club with a yearly £10M deficit that would only be recovered by European participation, and selling players.

He also left him the risk on that possible EBT liability. As Paul Murray stated last week, his counter offer to the offer made by Whyte requested that Murray retain that risk, and own any liability. Murray refused.

Whyte took a legacy that could hardly be worsened, and managed the impossible, by indulging in a number of questionable transactions that strangled the capacity of the club to generate any type of money.

So, it is understandable that there is still anger towards Whyte. I should know, as I am still angry at him selling these Arsenal shares, and for mortgaging off future income to Ticketus, amongst his many sins, but the lauding of Murray from Ally McCoist in particular is infuriating.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/sfl-division-three/ally-mccoist-calls-on-ibrox-fans-to-reconsider-murray-reign-1-2654336

While some of the more gullible in our support are happy to believe Murray will sue all involved in slandering the Rangers name over the EBTs, they have apparently forgotten his only action against the press when he did own Rangers, was when his personal reputation was questioned. He spent 20 years allowing anything to be written about the Rangers support, about Rangers players, and basically everyone else connected to Rangers but him. He also allowed Martin Bain to mismanage Rangers on a grand scale.

Everything negative that has happened to anger the Rangers support in the last 20 years has either been attributable to the mismanagement of the club financially by Murray, or to the negligence of the club with regards to allowing Journalists and bloggers to lie about Rangers on a daily basis.

I’m not about to jump on the David Murray bandwagon, and neither should any other Rangers fan.

Bill

SPL

Many many Rangers fans were overjoyed yesterday as the FTT upheld Rangers appeal against HMRC.

It was a bitter sweet moment for me though as I wondered what could have been if HMRC and their agenda against Rangers hadn't been taken on by many anti Rangers activists, officials, executives and journalists.

I also thought of the future.

While many Rangers fans believed that the FTT ruling immediately rendered the SPL's kangaroo court null and void, Charles Green's statement was more understated.

He stated that the ruling undermined the SPL's investigation, but didn't go any further.

I believe he was right not to. Green is not silly.
I don't believe for one minute he thinks the spl battle is over. I agree.

Green has seen at first hand how determined these people are, and is well aware that they believe they are above the law.

Therefor here's my prediction.

The SPL will pretend the FTT ruling never happened, but will cherry pick some of the evidence presented and rule Rangers "guilty" before stripping titles as per their agenda.

Rangers will challenge the ruling, and win.

The fight continues.

Bill.

Remain Vigilant

The news that Walter Smith has returned to Rangers as a Director should please every Rangers Supporter.

I’m afraid, as many bears will be celebrating  this morning, I fail to share their enthusiasm

While it could be seen as the ultimate endorsement to the Charles Green Consortium, I am unconvinced.

While Green speaks well, and acts like a Chief Executive should, with drive and charisma, and credibility that Craig Whyte or Martin Bain would never have, I have one remaining concern

Being the eternal worrier I ask Rangers fans to remain vigilant, because Smith has been fooled before. His own “consortium”, including “The Blue Knights”, advised him when he was being asked to front their bid for the club to wrestle control of the club from Green in June, that the deal was done.

He was embarrassed and humiliated by the powerbrokers within The Blue Knights, and my only hope is that he has now detached himself completely from that group, and embraced the new regime, with Green at its head.

If he has been much more careful and had lawyers do due diligence on Green before committing, we might just be able to have real confidence that this is an endorsement we should pay attention to.

Charles Green is not silly. He’s been all things to all men in his drive to make the IPO a success and this should be noted and remembered. Getting Smith on board could just be a calculated way to gain customer confidence.

I would hope that, with hindsight, Smith can see that Craig Whyte’s gross mismanagement was allowed to happen because of the mismanagement by Murray and Bain before him, and Murray selling the club down the river to save his own skin.

I am slightly concerned that Smith’s return could pave the way for many former club executives and employees from the Murray regime to return.

I took some criticism last week for asking Rangers fans to be vigilant. That remains the case this morning.

Walter Smith, as good a Ranger as he is, is no better judge of Character than anyone else. His refusal so far to condemn anyone from the Murray era should ring alarm bells.

His 9 in a row captain Richard Gough this morning “wrote” about previous regimes and specifically mentioned Whyte but NOT Murray

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4639246/Youll-NEVER-make-a-better-signing-Charles.html

This is common amongst players and employees of Rangers during this period, and a real concern that Murray apologists will never acknowledge his part in the darkest period in our history. That includes Smith.

As the club moves towards a bright new future, I can’t stress enough how much I want to believe Green is the right custodian for the club, and that Smith recognises just why the club needs to be rebuilt.

I believe that in order to move on we need confidence that the mistakes of the past can be acknowledged, and that nothing like it can ever happen again.

Bill.

Be Vigilant

There is a growing measured vigilance about the Rangers support with regards to both the upcoming IPO, and what exactly that money will be used for, and all other finance going in to the business from Rangers fans.

Some searching questions have been posed by bloggers Bill McMurdo  and Chris Graham in recent days, with the Richard Wilson of the Herald also writing well today that Rangers fans should be vigilant, and it’s something we should embrace, in order that we as a club and a support collectively can not only start planning for the club’s 150^th Anniversary in 2022, but further beyond.

So, while we should recognise that Charles Green has made some sparkling statements and exposed the agenda of some of Rangers enemies within the Scottish game,  and thank him for that, we should also make him aware that we will not allow this to be a smokescreen that covers the board’s activities in running the club.

Defending the club should not be selective, either. The support do not wish to see a new regime that is simply Murray LIte, where lies and propaganda about the club and the support go unchallenged, unless it is deemed to be personal by the senior management of the club, or deemed to manage their investment.

I’ll be clear. Lies such as Brian McNallys that Rangers fans were singing “The Famine Song” DO damage the reputation of the support, and are designed to damage our reputation to international investors. Perpetrators should be challenged through formal procedures, and also publicly.

Also a worry is persistent rumours from well informed parties that David Murray stands to gain significant sums from proposed deals to buy the Albion and Edmiston House, and that funds are allegedly being filtered out through the club to current investors.

My source has told me in no uncertain terms that Rangers fans should be vigilant, and that just because some rumours are appearing on sites like Rangers tax case or similar, it should not be discounted

There are allegations out there that should the IPO fail, then “assets” will be sold off to “shady” middle eastern business men.

Of course these cannot be substantiated, as like the earlier John Brown allegations, when those making the allegations are questioned they have a tendency to clam up.

That should give confidence that their allegations are codswollop, but Green and the investors haven’t published any accounts, nor quashed these rumours. Yet.

While they are under no obligation to do so, they could quite easily clear the rumours once and for all by inviting one or two knowledgeable journalists or Rangers fans to pore through the books in detail and then demonstrate the necessary confidence in the current management to the support.

As well as re-assuring Rangers fans, it may just put certain individuals back in their box.

I am wary about investing £500 until I know for certain that every pound will be used for Rangers benefit. If Charles Green wants to allow David Murray to rape our club again by asking for millions for the Albion and Edmiston House, then he should not be using our money to line Murray’s pockets, no matter what return the club will get in the long term.

The audacity of Murray hiving off both assets from Rangers all those years ago, now seeking a return on them from the club, whether from Rangers current capital, or from the IPO is morally repugnant, and he should be taken to task for asking for anything. If he wants to “sell” what were originally Rangers assets, he should be pressured in to finally doing the right thing for Rangers and selling for a nominal sum or a penny.

Let’s not forget, that the source of all of our issues is Murray. Yes, Whyte took an ailing business and left it in intensive care, but the man who started our journey down and set us on a path to ruin was most definitely Murray.

While I resent the possibility that Whyte or Duff and Phelps will get millions out of the BDO Process from the oldco, they do not stand to rape Rangers FC as it stands. If rumours are true. Murray is in the process of fucking our club over once more. If, for talking sake, he gets £2M for both assets, then that’s £2M lost to youth development, scouting, or recruitment of players when the transfer embargo is lifted.

I will also have reservations about the Community Share scheme (buyrangers) until the powerbrokers from the RST can demonstrate that they are 100% genuine about fan unity, and can practice what they preach.

I’m unconvinced that it is solely a vehicle to allow less wealthy fans to invest, and more convinced that it is a mechanism to build the powerbase of the Rangers Supporters Trust

If there is any suggestion that voting rights will be proxied to the Trust, rather than staying with each investor, it should ring alarm bells.

The message to all Rangers fans is simple. Be aware before you part with your hard earned.

Bill.

If You Know Your History

Our neighbours across the city have spent the last two days on a PR Offensive regarding their “125^th” Birthday. Now a simple understanding of Celtic’s history will tell you they were founded in 1888. While there have been many guffaws about the obvious calculation error, Celtic are justifying moving their celebrations forward by a year by citing that a meeting on 6^th November 1887 was the birth of the club.

So, despite celebrating their centenary in 1988 with a “double”, telling everyone for 124 years that they were founded in 1887, and having 1888 on their badge, Celtic have revised history and now state they were formed in 1887.

Why is anyone’s guess, but revising history is not new for Celtic, who have been selling the world a romantic fiction version of their foundation in 1888, emphasising that the club was founded to feed the poor oppressed irish Catholic community in Glasgow.

In fact, Celtic’s unofficial outlet, CQN ran a nauseating piece restating this propaganda yesterday, which was interestingly being retweeted on Twitter by many prominent Celtic fans, including MP Jim Murphy.

The propaganda is being hammered, without question. Obviously some knowledgable supporters of many sides know the propaganda is verging on crossing that boundary between spin and fabrication but it’s worth restating again that Celtic’s origins were far more cynical and contrived than they will ever admit, and that’s being polite.

Two more accurate descriptions of that time are here

http://www.hibernianfc.co.uk/page/TimelineDetail/0,,10290~1750603,00.html

From Bill Murray’s book on the “Old Firm”:

““It is well known that one of the reasons brother Walfrid, a Marist brother, sought the formation of a catholic football team was to help feed and clothe the poor of the parishes where he worked. But as well as concern for the suffering poor, brother Walfrid was also prompted by a fear that protestant soup kitchens might tempt young Catholics into apostasy. Moreover he was equally worried about the dangers of young Catholics meeting Protestants in their place of employment or leisure, particularly during the years after leaving school which he considered the most dangerous as far as "religious duties" were concerned. A catholic football club then could serve the dual purpose of easing the pain in starving stomachs at the same as it kept young Catholics together in their leisure time, free from the temptations of Protestants and Protestantism. The aims off his helpers may have been more prosaic, but when the circular announcing the formation of a catholic club in the East End of Glasgow was circulated in January 1888, its religious foundations were stressed".”

Notably, the Celtic Wiki, refer to Pat Welsh as a “fenian activist”.

http://www.thecelticwiki.com/page/Welsh,+Pat

Another piece of Celtic’s history tells us that Michael Davitt laid the first piece of turf at Parkhead

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Davitt

Also notable is the fact that Celtic supporters have been updating the Wikipedia history of Celtic to make changes from 1888 to 1887, although the changes have not been made throughout the page, which makes it look inconsistent and inaccurate.

The real history is hardly the most romantic story then, is it, no matter what year they were constituted (1888 byraway)

Segregation, bigotry and Anti british sentiment formed that club and underpin everything they stand for to this day.

Bill

Source:

http://sweepingsince1888.blogspot.co.uk/2008/09/celtic-fc-and-their-formation.html

Celebrate 140 Years

Rangers today celebrate 140 years as Scotland’s greatest institution behind the Church of Scotland.

It’s something we should celebrate, as our club reaches another milestone in our illustrious history.

This club we love is the most successful club in Scotland and the best supported club in Scotland.

As I write this, the club has sold 50,000 tickets for the next Division 3 match on Saturday against Peterhead. We are the only club in Britain with that kind of real “on the ground” support.

It’s easy to forget just how big we are as media outlets try and diminish the achievements and standing of the club.

It would also be understandable if bears accepted that as we are, for now, a division 3 side we should not command the same media coverage as we did in the SPL, however, I’d challenge that and remind all bears that we are still the best supported club in Scotland by a distance.

Therefor, while the media will put us on the front or back pages when news is negative, but 6 pages in from the back when it is positive, the simple response is to stop buying or reading print media, listening to certain snide Radio stations, and using websites of national broadcasters, until we get the level of fair recognition we deserve.

Our sporting institution is just that, and our club has a rich sporting heritage of success and dignity that is unmatched in Scotland.

Set up by 4 young lads whose only dream was a football one, it displayed Glasgow’s proud Protestant heritage of dignity and respect, and found Scotland’s proud Protestant people ready and willing to take the club to their hearts.

The club has grown and evolved over the years, but still attracts the largest crowds, the largest demographic, and the largest tv audiences in Scotland, and welcomes supporters of all creeds and faiths to every last nook and cranny of the club. Our club has been at the vanguard of change for 140 years, and has always been careful to balance its heritage with its future, and while David Murray may have skewed that balance, one can only hope that today’s press conference to celebrate that 140 years is underpinned going forward by a true desire to build a museum to celebrate everything Rangers, then now and forever.

Of course, finances and how the current management team achieve such a museum should be transparent and funded without limiting the club’s ability to compete on our journey back to the summit of Scottish Football

The existing sponsors of the Scottish game are well aware of the pull of Rangers, and this may well force the hand of the SFA and SPL as Sky and others apply pressure to restructure the game in Scotland.

Peter Lawwell may disagree that change in the game is inevitable, but as powerful as he is, that decision will be forced by Sky, the SFL and Rangers

When this happens, and I believe it will, then Rangers will be in a very strong position to recover and build for the next 140 years.

Some Celtic fans are trying their best to question the continuity in our history, in a rather haphazard fashion that is to be laughed at and ridiculed.

Rangers are never going to go away, and the SFA's transfer of licence from Rangers oldco to newco alongside legal clarification from Lord Nimmo Smith that seperates the football club from it's controlling corporate entity only tells us what we already know.

As Celtic celebrate their "125" years, their own controlling corporate identity (as I've previously blogged) was founded in 2001.

No one is questioning that the football club was founded in 1888, even though their original corporate entity was formed in 1897, nine years after the club was formed. The same principle applies to both clubs.

Why let the facts get in the way of propaganda?

Bill

David Black RIP

As Ulster Prison Officer David Black’s family come to terms with his murder by Republican terrorists, his murder hits home very uncomfortably that IRA Murderers are still on the loose, and still killing, no matter what banner they are killing under.

The hypocrisy of Martin McGuiness condemning the killing has also been put under the microscope by blogger David Vance at his atangledweb blog.

Many on the mainland adopt an ivory tower mentality to violence and murder in the Province, and it’s shameful.

While the Provos distance themselves from “dissidents” from the “Real IRA”, conveniently forgetting the 30 prison officers they murdered, here on the mainland in the UK, these dissidents are walking our streets, and being given free reign to go about their business like you or I.

In fact, they are given more licence than you or I.

While Rangers supporters are shadowed by FOCUS officers all over Scotland, with the recently freed Conor McGhie only walking free after major public protest, Dissident IRA Republicans stand freely with banners outside Celtic Park, and raise money for those murderers in Ulster.

Just last week the Real IRA had banners hung over fences outside Celtic Park raising money for these murderers, without an officer in sight.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A6nXNnfCUAAoKY2.jpg

http://pbs.twimg.com/media/A6nW2hICUAAyLq7.jpg

This is NOT a foreign problem, this is on OUR doorsteps here in Glasgow.

Why are FOCUS not addressing this cancer in our midst?

Bill

The Daily Record

As BDO were called in yesterday to liquidate the corporate entity RFC 2012 that used to own Rangers Football Club, the Daily Record today misinforms its readers that “140 years of history have died”.

Rangers have existed since 1872, yet their first controlling corporate entity was established in 1899.

What is in process of being liquidated is the corporate entity that was established in 1899, not the football club established in 1872.

That shouldn’t be too difficult to understand

Clearly the Record are either “at it”, or are hopelessly incompetent.

The Daily Record was founded in 1895, and, as a newspaper, have been owned by various corporate entities. Their current owners are Trinity Mirror PLC, who were formed in 1904. Does that mean that the Daily Record existed in a vacuum for 9 years and that period of it’s existence doesn’t count?

Do not buy the Record

Bill.

WP Archives: Mar 26 2012: Celtic FC: Always Cheated Never Defeated

Rarely do Old Firm games pass without incident. And yesterday’s was no different.

While the talking point should be that Rangers raced out of the blocks to dominate Celtic, with an inexperienced 19 year old dictating the play, and Sone Aluko giving the Celtic defence nightmares.

No, instead the main talking points are Neil Lennon being “sent off”, him apparently not being allowed to sit in the main stand at Ibrox (untrue), and Cha’s sending off being unjust as he wasn’t the last man.

Lennon is quoted as claiming at the media conference following the match that Rangers’ security people advised him not to sit in the stand, for his own safety.

“We’re at Ibrox to win the title and I’m told by Rangers’ security it wouldn’t be safe for me to sit in the stand. That sums this country up.”

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2012/03/26/celtic-boss-neil-lennon-insists-he-has-witnesses-to-prove-he-should-not-have-been-sent-to-stand-at-ibrox-86908-23801746/

Rangers safety people denied this.

It has come to light in the last hour that this statement is untrue.

In fact, it was Celtic’s security who advised Lennon not to sit in the stand.

http://sport.stv.tv/football/scottish-premier/celtic/301643-celtic-move-to-clarify-neil-lennon-directors-box-advice/

So, either Lennon has been misquoted by the Daily Record (and many others), or he is now a proven liar who can’t be trusted by his own security people to behave himself. Why else would he have been advised to this effect?

He’s sat in the stand on other occasions without as much as a cross word.

He made other allegations about the Referee and his assistants during the same rant.

Are we to believe him? Can he be trusted to be telling the truth?

Cha’s sending off was not for being the last man when he wasn’t. He was sent off for denying a goal scoring opportunity.

Now Lennon is inferring that Callum Murray is in some way biased against Celtic, despite the same Referee sending off 3 Rangers players in Old Firm fixtures last season.

Somehow missing from the paranoid debate about the SFA today just days after Lennon himself was given special treatment by SFA Compliance officer Vincent Lunny, were any incidents whereby the decision making favoured Celtic.

So, the incident whereby Scott Brown raked his studs down the thigh of Sone Aluko, then booted him for good measure, with no punishment is not to be talked about.

http://gifninja.com/animatedgifs/723140/broonaldo-0-3.gif

Nor is Kris Commons Olympic diver impression that won a free kick that led to Celtic’s second goal. How someone so fat can display such athleticism is remarkable.

It will be interesting to see if the newspapers “clarify” their view of the security advice to Lennon, or if they backtrack.

My money is on the sweeping brush to be used by all concerned.

Bill.

WP Archives: Mar 22 2012: The SPL’s Kangaroo Court

There are various webs of intrigue in Scottish Football at the moment, with hidden networks of individuals actively trying to damage Rangers Football Club.

Their work is usually so secret, that it is conveniently far enough away from any individuals of interest to Rangers supporters for the eyebrows to be raised.

Now and again though, coincidences arise which are absolutely startling.

One of the current modes of attack on Rangers as they struggle in Administration and seek new buyers, is the investigation by the SPL in to Rangers alleged use of EBTs from 1998 until 2010.

During that period, Rangers have won 7 SPL titles.

The purpose of the investigation is allegedly to establish if Rangers did not comply with SPL regulations

 The intention of many Celtic supporters in asking for the investigation has been for the club to be stripped of all trophies won during this period.

Many Rangers fans are 100% sure that this will not happen.

I’m not so sure.

The club will have to be absolutely squeaky clean on this, and be able to prove through the courts that they have complied with all regulations.

If not, what awaits them is unthinkable.

First of all, lets look at the SPL Committee set up to act as Judge and jury.

SPL chief executive Neil Doncaster and secretary Iain Blair, will compile a report for the SPL board. The board consists of Eric Riley (Celtic), Stephen Thompson (Dundee United), Derek Weir (Motherwell), Steven Brown (St Johnstone), SPL chairman Ralph Topping and Doncaster himself. A decision will then be taken on whether the information provides prima facie evidence of any breach of SPL rules.

Will Riley leave the room, or take no part in the investigations?

Is there no conflict of interests in him, or for that matter any of the other club representatives, in deciding any possible punishment for Rangers?

Thomson, of course has previous and is despised by the Rangers support in response to a number of comments about the club and the support, not to mention a dispute over rip off ticket prices for a Dundee Utd cup replay, contested by the Nithsdale RSC.

We Rangers fans cannot expect either of these two to be in any way objective.

Of course, these Directors of our rivals in Scotland are only the Judge and Jury, not the investigators.

So, what of the investigators?

The SPL board have appointed “Harper MacLeod” law practice to investigate.

“Harper MacLeod” also act for Celtic Football Club.

 On their website, on the “What our clients say”, there are two very interesting testimonials:

 “Lorne Crerar has shown the vision and management excellence to create a very dynamic and strong growth firm. Rod McKenzie clearly has had a role to play in this development and in addition, he is still “on the tools” and provides great support to our Club. They also have a very impressive Chief Executive in Martin Darroch.

The working environment, partnership and employee relationship appears to be first class and clearly the excellent pattern in staff retention reflects this.”

Peter Lawwell, Chief Executive, Celtic F.C. Limitedwww.celticfc.net

“Lloyds TSB Scotland has benefited from a close working relationship built up over a number of years. Their approach to managing Client relationships focuses on understanding the business need and developing interesting and innovative solutions. Harper Macleod really understands what they bring to a client relationship and it is clear that their success in recent years owes much to a clear implementation of a strategy built on strong personal and business relationship with the Bank.”

Manus Fullerton, Former Director Wholesale Banking Scotland, Lloyds TSB Scotlandwww.lloydstsb.com

Of course, Lawwell is a household name in Scotland due to his position of CEO at Celtic, but Fullerton is rather less known.

Fullerton was the top man at Lloyds Banking group during the period where Rangers were being strangled by the group. He is also a former Trustee of the Celtic Trust, which is a supporters Trust for Celtic FC, alongside arch Republican Jeanette Findlay of Glasgow University, and former Glasgow Lord Provost Alex Mosson.

The links that this firm have to those with interests at Celtic and an agenda against Rangers are clear.

Rangers should be raising an objection as to their suitability, but a rudderless club is being kicked when its attentions are elsewhere, and it seems the Administrators are unaware of this agenda.

Let’s hope that the club are clean on these allegations, as the investigators, and the Judge and Jury cannot be trusted to act with any integrity

Let’s just hope that Hugh Nielson isn’t assigned to the case

http://www.bentjudges.com/Harper_MacLeod.html

It may be that the top man Lorne Crerar who also works at Glasgow University (near Ms Findlay?) takes on the task.

More likely it will be Rod McKenzie, who is Celtic’s Lawyer, and has been for a number of years, as he also represents the SPL.

Fair’s fair, eh?

Bill.

WP Archives: Mar 22 2012: Dermot Desmond – Media Silence Deafening (Part 2)

During my research in to Dermot Desmond I have been stunned by some of the hyperbole and venom directed at him by ordinary Irish people.

You see the people of the Irish Republic are angry that the Republic of Ireland has lost any independence it once had to Europe

Like any economic collapse, ordinary people want scapegoats and want others punished for their excesses and contribution to the crisis, whether their reasoning is justified or not,

In the UK, we had Fred Goodwin. In the Republic they have a handful. One of them is Dermot Desmond.

One such example, from politics.ie states “if the likes of Dermot Desmond, Smurfit, Noel Smyth , Denis O’Brien and the rest had been dealt with properly when they were “supporting” the “lifestyles” of Haughey and Lowry etc we would have avoided the Banking and property crisis.”

There are countless others.

During my previous article I gave an overview of Desmond’s involvement in the Moriarty Tribunal, and the Glackin report. At the end of the article I referenced two other public tribunals, the Mahon Tribunal, and the Flood Report. Both reports are the same enquiry relating to the time in Office of Charles Haughey, and a number of allegations with regards to payments to Mr Haughey, and some of his staff.

The Final report of the Mahon Tribunal is not yet published, but is expected to be published today.

http://www.u.tv/News/Mahon-Tribunal-report-due-later/10ab78e3-95f3-437c-8b8a-ce6c195464cd

It is expected that Fianna Fail supporter Desmond will be referenced once again in the final report.

In the interim report, there are a number of allegations against Desmond in relation to demands for money, from loans. Interest is not expressly mentioned, nor is tax:

http://www.mahontribunal.com/index.php?title=Second_Interim_Report

http://www.mahontribunal.com/index.php?title=Second_Interim_Report#The_role_of_Mr_Dermot_Desmond_at_the_March_1990_meeting

http://www.mahontribunal.com/index.php?title=Second_Interim_Report#Mr_Stafford.27s_claim_that_Mr_Desmond_made_a_further_demand_for_.C2.A330.2C000_for_Mr_Mara_in_September_1990

 As it stands in the interim report, the conflict of statements between Mr Mara and Mr Desmond is unresolved.

That may change in the final report, but it is unlikely.

While this is an ongoing report which started many years ago, and references allegations circa 1990, the news of the tribunal itself has not reached the shores of Scotland. In this global age, where journalists can door step Craig Whyte in Monaco, it seems Scottish Editors don’t read newspapers far closer to home in Dublin.

Of course, I’m led to believe one of Whyte’s residencies in Belgravia has already been door stepped. While the hacks were in the area they could have dropped in on Dermot, who also has a palatial property in the area. If they have, it’s been a very well kept secret.

Perhaps one of the investigative reporters currently sniffing round a non existent side contracts issue at Rangers, will turn their attention to the man many in the Republic have disdain for.

http://www.soldiersofdestiny.org/dermotdesmond.htm

Now with a new clean Government in place, it seems Desmond’s thirst for influence is undiluted

http://www.politicalworld.org/showthread.php?t=6941

Given the influence of the man at Scotland’s second biggest football club, surely the harem of amateur hacks, and “credible” investigative journalists who have spent so much energy on Rangers in the last few years will be all over this, or Desmond’s questionable business relationship with Dr John Reid?

I won’t hold my breath

Bill.

WP Archives: Mar 19 2012 - Dermot Desmond – Scottish Media Silence Deafening (Part 1)

Many people in Scotland will be unaware that Celtic FC majority shareholder Dermot Desmond was in an Irish court again in the last month challenging public court tribunal findings critical of his business dealings.

His action was “halted”

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0218/1224311978242.html

So we have a strange situation where Mr Desmond has felt aggrieved at an allegation that he has misinterpreted.

He clearly doesn’t like being criticised.

Now whether his legal advice was that the tribunal had implied he was complicit in fraud, or that he knew there was no such allegation, but simply wished to send out a message that he cannot be criticised is up for debate.

As it stands, criticism from the Moriarty Tribunal, and from another public review in to his affairs (The Glackin Report) will stand.

Not many in Scotland will have heard of any of this.

The Scottish Media, who were so quick to delve in to every transaction of Rangers owner Craig Whyte, have been curiously silent.

While Desmond is robust in defending himself in the Irish Press, with rare interviews re-iterating that he does pay tax in the Republic, the very fact there are allegations to the contrary in the Irish Press, and online media world at least points to a far more open media than Scotland is graced with.

Such questions are apparently not allowed in Scotland.

They also don’t seem to appear in any Independent News Media titles, such as the Irish Independent, or the Belfast Telegraph.

That could perhaps be explained by the fact that Desmond has a minor shareholding in the group.

Don’t bet on these papers running any of this stuff, at least not in BetDaq, as Desmond owns that too

So what exactly are all these public reviews and tribunals referencing Desmond?

The first of these reviews is the Glackin report., whish was subsequently used in the Moriarty Tribunal

http://thestory.ie/2012/01/17/the-glackin-report-complete/

There are a lot of references to Desmond here, and the whole report is worth reading.

Essentially, the report alleged that a company called United Property Holdings , whose majority shareholder was Desmond, acquired a site in Dublin for £4M , and hived it off to two offshore firms called Chestvale and Hoddle, who subsequently sold the site to telecom Eireinn for  a profit of £5.3M, with UPH profiting to the tune of £2.3M.

The public interest in this derived from the fact that it appeared a starting block to major riches for Desmond, and some of his fellow defendants. The major news came from an an alleged conflict of interests, whereby the chairman of Telecom Eireinn owned 10% of UPH.

The report suggested collusion of the UPH shareholders to line their own pockets at the expense of part state owned telecom Eireinn. Desmond strongly denies the findings, and has continued to challenge them to this day.

As of now, these findings have not been retracted.

No matter how this plays out, one thing is certain. It is very unlikely that the Scottish Media will cover this, or task any investigative reporters with delving in to every single bank account he has, every transaction any of his businesses undertake, or who all of his business associates are, and what their dealings are.

Nor will they query open boasts from sources close to Celtic Park that Desmond payed the salary of both Roy Keane and Robbie Keane during their times with Celtic.. Were there two contracts for the players? Were they declared?

The most famous of the public reviews referencing  Desmond was the Moriarty Tribunal, which can be found here:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0322/moriarty.html

The full report runs to almost 2,400 pages, but the specific references to Desmond include both the Glackin allegations, and newer revelations of several payments from Desmond to former Irish Taoiseach Charles Haughey. The payments were defended as “loans” by Desmond, but the Tribunal disagreed.

Again, this has had NO coverage in the Scottish media at all. There have been no calls for investigations, no “neutral” bloggers tracking every move, and certainly no editors wanting to touch it with a bargepole.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0323/1224292846891.html

These public reports in to Desmond’s business affairs are not  isolated incidents either.

Two further reports cast a critical eye over Desmond’s business dealings, and they too have not featured on Scotland’s front pages

The Mahon and Flood reports also make interesting reading.

These will be covered in Part 2 of this Desmond overview

Bill