Myths and Legends – the SPFL and the £250k Fine of “Rangers”

A couple of days ago the BBC reported, as did various other sources, that the SPFL was considering pursuing “Rangers” for the fine of £250,000 which was levied upon oldco Rangers by the Lord Nimmo Smith Independent Commission.

As the report read in part:-

The Scottish Professional Football League board is considering pursuing Rangers for £250,000.

The amount relates to a fine levied by an independent Scottish Premier League commission on Rangers Football Club PLC’s (RFC PLC) use of a tax scheme.

SPFL lawyers examined recovering the money under an agreement that led to the transfer of Rangers’ membership of the Scottish FA going ahead.

Any claim to the company’s liquidators would likely yield a smaller amount.

Liquidators BDO are in the process of examining claims of creditors of RFC PLC.

Craig Mather’s First Year with Rangers And Why He May Not Be on the “Green Team”

The battle lines are drawn. Rangers CEO Craig Mather is on one side – the investors who want to appoint Frank Blin and Paul Murray to the board on the other. Charles Green is somewhere involved in the battle, but I suspect he is not in the Mather camp.

At least one man called Craig Mather (actor and musician) gets his hands on a Cup!

The correct Craig Mather

Predictions for 2013 – All Wrong or Your Money Back! – Part 1 – Blogging, Legal and Rangers

It appears to be de rigueur for anyone who writes regularly to do either a review of the year just ended, or predictions for the coming 12 months, if not both!

Whilst I might do a review, I thought I would make some predictions first.

I put on my Nostradamus gear to write my predictions

Feel free to add your own suggestions or analyses.

Some of my predictions, or guesses, will lead to later posts explaining my reasoning (if I get round to it) but for now I have tried to keep this short and snappy.

Please feel free, on 1^st January 2014, if we are spared till then, to let me know how close to 100% inaccuracy I have managed!

Blogging Predictions

I will keep blogging.

I will continue to annoy supporters of a brand-new football club (Only joking!) playing in Glasgow who will misunderstand what I write.

When Did Rangers Get a New CEO, and Can He Make Signings Whilst in Administration?

In which I consider if Rangers, as suggested by Mr Green, can buy players whilst in administration, and also when Mr Green became CEO of Rangers.

One of my readers, David MacKenzie, posed the following question as a comment earlier.

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Can this be right?

“According to Alasdair Lamont of the BBC, Rangers could attempt to sign new players before the club is officially out of administration. Charles Green is aiming to have a Company Voluntary Arrangement approved on Thursday, after which there is a 28-day cooling-off period. In the meantime, Green has confirmed he had told a supporters’ meeting on Wednesday that he has a list of 19 target players drawn up, five of whom are involved at Euro 2012.”

Oh, Mr Green. And how do you think this will look with creditors? A tiny pot for creditors while you eye up no less than 19 players (including five internationals at the European Championships) to bring in at least some of them. I know what I would say, and it is not very polite.

If it is within the rules, even technically, I find it absolutely astonishing. And if he gets away with it, it will truly bring shame on the game in Scotland. He has spoken to the fans, to get them on his side, he has spoken to the SFA, in an attempt to get them on his side; but, has he spoken to the creditors, properly, to explain why he has so much money at his disposal for the club, but a pittance for them, or does he really think that the CVA document is enough? As with the rest involved in this, they are the last thing on his mind. And that’s the point. It seems like they are not being treated as people, they are being treated as numbers to be weighed against other numbers to get things right in a game.

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Neil Doncaster – CVA and Newco – What’s The Difference (As Long as Newco Accepts Oldco’s Punishment?)

 

In which I discuss Neil Doncaster’s views as expressed in the Scotsman today regarding a newco and a CVA for Rangers. He maintains the line, with which I disagree, that CVA and newco are basically the same. His position on that seems designed to make non-Rangers fans fear the worst about some cosy accommodation being reached.

However, for those concerned with sporting integrity, he includes a killer line, which, if followed through, will leave a newco Rangers with a very hard decision. Accept penalties for past rule breaches by oldco, or accept that newco is a new entity, without the history and titles of oldco.

It would be helpful if the SPL and SFA could disclose what they are talking to Mr Green about, in the same way as it would have been helpful to find out, in the spirit of “transparency and clarity” what Mr Miller discussed with them.

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Neil Doncaster is the Chief Executive of the SPL. Yesterday he invited a group of journalists along to Hampden to explain why he believes a “newco” Rangers should be in the SPL.

I have extracted the quotes below from the Scotsman piece which can be read here. The article itself, though not by-lined, seems to be sceptical of Mr Doncaster’s views. It is worth a read.

Mr Doncaster discussed these issues at length in a BBC Sportsound interview. I transcribed it in full, and it can be found here. However, I have still not had the chance to comment on it in full. This will operate then as a précis.

However, to deal with Mr Doncaster’s quotes, I have noted them below and commented in bold beneath.