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