Blue Moon

C W story now up. GIOVANNI DI STEFANO‏@DEVILSADVOKAT THE CRAIG WHYTE SHORT STORY AND A CONVERSATION IN MONACO By Giovanni Di Stefano and Tiina Paivarinta http://eturnkeysec3340002378c9.users.site2you.com/content/sitenewsreadmore/infobox/news/template/default/active_id/1027

Great reply, Calscot.

Does anyone think that Jim McColl will come back in? I have wondered if he did a deal with Green to buy them out when everything was settled. I did not understand why they just melted away, claiming they didn't like Green's business model. It didn't sit right with me.

Don't know what say we will have in anything, but I do not believe for a minute we will be back in the SPL this season. Right now I do not want to be within a mile of any of the dishonourable SPL clubs

Thanks, I have already changed it.

Ordinarily I like getting updates on players but I am still annoyed with the people who left and I think they could have transferred then left if that was what they wanted. They had ample time left in the window to do that.

Sorry, should read aricle from FF, can't edit the title.

A Line In The Sand By LITTLE BOY BLUE Updated Sunday, 22nd July 2012 Rangers RSS Feed They Just Can't Get Enough How refreshing it was to hear Ally McCoist speak out about the endless desire to stick the boot into Rangers. Less than a week before the start of the new season, our club is being blackmailed into accepting unreasonable and unlawful sanctions, otherwise the SFA will continue to withhold our membership, effectively putting the most successful club in the country out of the game. And with the Daylate Retard having an 'exclusive' look at the SPL's and SFA's plans to strip Rangers of league titles and cups, it is disappointing that Super Ally is the lone voice in opposition. Where are Alex McLeish and Walter Smith, former Scotland managers who are now being told their successes at Ibrox were achieved by cheating by the self-same association they served so well? There appears to be no end in sight to this bloodlust to do damage to Rangers. A ten point penalty, exclusion from Europe, a fine, an unlawful signing embargo, kicked out of the SPL, relegated all the way to Division Three, the departure of our top players, the threat of being stripped of titles and now they are coming after our ability to earn some money via TV rights of our SFL games. Throughout the past few months, 'sporting integrity' has been the buzz phrase but where is the integrity in the SPL trying to muscle in on the SFL's TV rights? The top flight's corrupt cabal is in grave danger of falling apart, hard cash is in short supply, four or five clubs are staring administration in the face, the SPL can't meet their contractual obligations to the SFL, and TV cash - or the lack of it! - is at the root of the problem. Of course, they were warned time after time about the likelihood of financial meltdown but they just couldn't stop themselves. Led by the lowest common denominator among their fans, the internet guerillas (or should that be gorillas?) wanted Rangers booted out of the league, they hated our club more than they loved their own, and now their bitterness and hatred is coming back to bite their arses big-time. The SFL has acted honourably throughout this entire sorry saga and I'll be very disappointed if David Longmuir does not tell the SPL where to go with their demand for a slice of the TV dosh. That Regan and the SFA appear to be going along with Doncaster's despicible attempt at blackmail serves to underline the corruption this pair of jokers are inflicting upon Scottish football. Both the SPL and the SFL are essentially independent bodies working under the jurisdiction of the SFA. That one should conspire against the other with the full connivance of the governing body is well out of order. But of course sound business practice and fairness have long since been kicked into touch by bogus drivel called 'sporting integrity'. It has been said over and over again on this board and by any number of contributors that our enemies won't stop until they have driven our club out of existence. That is where they are going and, each time we back off and concede ground, we move one step closer to oblivion. While we keep running, they'll keep chasing and, when they see Malcolm Murray and Charles Green going cap in hand to Hampden to plead with the SFA to grant our membership, it gives them further encouragement. If the SFA continue to hold a gun to our head, there has to be a case for taking the decision out of their hands, their behaviour throughout the past few months compromises any notion of fairness, the Court of Arbitration for Sport or UEFA really should step in to protect the good name of the game. Both Regan and Doncaster have been guilty of bringing the game into disrepute but unfortunately, with nobody speaking up for Rangers for so long, things have dragged on and on and we now have less than a week to find a solution. With no games to focus the fans' attention, our club was always going to be at its most vulnerable during the close- season. In that respect Duff & Phelps played a blinder in dragging out the 'preferred bidder' process and, aided and abetted by the 'this is not the time for protest' appeal, the Rangers have been battered from pillar to post throughout the summer. Somebody somewhere has to draw a line in the sand, it ends right here and now, there can be no more concessions. Accepting the drop into the Third Division should have been enough for any fair-minded observer and we could then have started to plan for the season ahead. But Scottish football is 2012 is anything but a fair-minded environment. The delay in granting our licence, an inexplicable desire to uphold the unlawful ban on new signings, more speculation surrounding the dual contracts smokescreen, the nonsensical edict that we should accept all further sanctions without appeal, it is a witch-hunt of unacceptable proportions...yet nobody at Rangers seems to be inclined to fight the good fight. Of course, after more than a decade of bending over to be well and truly shafted by all and sundry, we've let the Rangers-haters feel fireproof. David Murray and Martin Bain only ever felt the need to respond when things got personal. The man who had the cheek to call himself the Custodian and his well-tanned lackey let our club, its traditions and its fans be vilified both at home and abroad, it has been open season on Rangers for years and putting a stop to it all will be no easy task. Radical action is required and the suggestion that we withdraw our application for SFA membership, accept a year's suspension and watch Scottish football self-destruct has some merit. How would we survive? Well, players could be loaned out, the Ibrox facilities could be utilised for rock concerts, I'd like to think our Legends could fill the place on maybe ten or twelve occasions, there would surely be a concerted move to a fan ownership model during a year in the wilderness. Would the threat be enough to bring the SFA to their senses or would they be daft enough to call our bluff? Sadly, at this late stage, time is not on our side. Once more, lack of a respected figurehead within the club has allowed things to be drawn out and Regan, Doncaster et al will feel the balance of power has drifted back in their favour. I can only hope that the SFL stand firm in the dispute over their £2,000,000 entitlement and their TV rights, going all the way to UEFA if the SFA and SPL maintain their bullyboy approach. The presence of Rangers makes their product so much more attractive and the cash generated can only be good for those clubs operating on a shoestring in the lower leagues. Any cash crisis in the SPL is not of the SFL's making. No matter what happens to Rangers, I genuinely believe the SPL is beyond redemption. Sky will pull the plug, several clubs will go to the wall and the move towards league reconstruction will gather considerable momentum. But the damage has been done, it will take years for Scottish football to recover anything resembling respectability but the days of everyone pulling in the same direction for the greater good of the game may well be gone for ever. How can anyone trust the legislators who presided over a hate-filled death wish which chased so much money out of Scottish football? Where is the integrity of the chairmen who brought their own clubs to their knees just to satisfy their fans' hatred of Rangers? Our club is far from blameless here but the dodgy dealings of Murray and Whyte are yesterday's news. It is surely time to say 'enough is enough', we have to move on. Are the small-minds of the SFA and SPL willing to move forward or will they keep coming back for another kick at the Rangers? And the biggest question of all: Will they keep getting away with it?

I think the longer term fallout of all of this will be the rehabilitation of the Rangers support. We have taken some beating over this. It has already made us introspective and ask "why do so many people hate us and what do we need to do to change that?". For everyone else it will be dealing with our negative feelings and actions as we aim to punish those who have slighted us. Speaking for myself, I have been angry since February, and that is going to take a long time to go away. I feel disenfranchised for the first time in my life.

I understand what you mean but the football authorities are acting out with the law of the land. Bosman proved that they can't do that. Because something is in their rules does not make it acceptable. UEFA have removed transfer embargo as a legitimate sanction because it conflicts with European employment laws, yet our own association is using it. I would think that MP's etc would have plenty to say if staff lost their jobs over something that had been declared outwith their range of sanctions in a court of law. It is high time someone challenged the football authorities at the level of the European parliament. I know they have changed the sanction to apply to a condition of membership. To me that is bloody minded vindictiveness. What is so frustrating is that no-one is telling them to wise up.

I wondered about that too....future court case?

I have mixed feelings about this. There is a time to fight and that is when you are in the right. Until we see the evidence we cannot say whether this is unfair or not. What has really upset me is the illegal transfer ban. I honestly believe that is what we should be objecting to in the first instance. The SFA has used a delaying tactic to ensure these negotiations are taking place perilously close to the start of the season, which is likely to force Rangers to capitulate. I don't believe they should. They should allow it to go back to the appellate committee. The previous cttee said expulsion or suspension were too severe ( I would like to think so, we haven't murdered anyone). The implications of Rangers not playing anywhere this season are unimaginable for Scottish football. If we cowtow to them over this, the SPL will hammer us regardless of the evidence. Remember they were also demanding 75% of our income for 3 years.

Not interested in reading anything about any of them.

No Compromise In Fight For Justice Details Published on Sunday, 22 July 2012 05:25 Written by JCS Willie Vass © After suffering several days of the wildest possible speculation about our future, and being in a state of constant anxiety, I was almost relieved when I learned that a statement announcing we had been granted a licence had been posted on the SFA web site â?? that was, of course, until I actually read it! Whilst I was almost resigned to the fact that we would be bullied and threatened into accepting a transfer ban, I was nonetheless shocked to learn that we seemed to have capitulated entirely. It appears that, in addition to accepting a sanction that the SFA does not have in its articles and rules and, therefore, does not have at its disposal â?? the registration ban â?? we have conceded the infinitely more dangerous principle that any sanctions relating to the Oldco will be accepted by Sevco Scotland Ltd â?? the Newco. Yes, I fully appreciate that the statement apparently relates only to the Oldco charges of bringing the game into disrepute, but the wider import of such an agreement should not be lost on any Rangers fan that cares about the history and the future well being of the Club. The significance of the SFA statement is not in its apparent acceptance by Rangers of the specific sanctions related to the disrepute charge (i.e. the £160,000 fine etc.) but, rather, for the inescapable fact that we have now accepted the principle that the Newco may be sanctioned for the malfeasance of the Oldco. How can we credibly argue with the SPL that the Newco is not responsible for the malfeasance of the Oldco when we have already conceded the principle to the SFA? How can we realistically hope to resist the sanctions that will inevitably arise as a consequence of the SPLâ??s EBT inquiry, when we have effectively accepted that the Newco may be held liable for the malfeasance of the Oldco? Not content with accepting an illegal transfer ban, we have now surrendered the ground upon which we would have founded our arguments against the sanctions that the SPL will undoubtedly bring against us through the so called Independent Commission it will set up to hear the EBT â??caseâ?? established by Celticâ??s lawyers, Harper MacLeod. On 18th June last, in response to the findings of the EBT inquiry conducted by Celticâ??s lawyers, Neil Doncaster made it clear that there is a â??prima facieâ?? case, and that formal charges would follow. Whilst he admitted that, â??it is not yet clear exactly who will be facing the chargesâ?, he added,â??The board will have to make a decision on who to prosecute. There are two companies in play at the moment. The board have said that the proceedings will be undertaken by an Independent Commission. That will take place when the future status of Rangers has been determined and prior to the start of the season. They are charges at the moment. They are not proven. The charges will be levied.â? If Neil Doncaster was in any doubt in June about who to prosecute, then the statement of the SFA has clarified the position and removed any doubt about who will face the charges â?? it will be Newco Rangers unless, of course, Reganâ??s statement is hastily repudiated by Charles Green and Rangers. But is the SFA â??statementâ?? an agreement? Is the acceptance of the illegal transfer embargo a â??done dealâ??; is the principle of the Newco accepting punishments on behalf of the Oldco now an irreversible fact? Iâ??m not so sure that it is, and I believe there is still time for Charles Green, Malcolm Murray et al, to repudiate Reganâ??s statement, and make it unequivocally clear that Rangers will NOT accept an illegal transfer ban, and will NOT tolerate the imposition of sanctions against the Newco Rangers for the malfeasance of those who misused and abused their positions whilst in charge of the Oldco Rangers. Last night Rangers chairman Malcolm Murray insisted that an agreement with the SFA has not yet been signed, although he warned that the reality facing Rangers is to suffer sanctions or risk not playing at all. He said, "For clarity, we have not signed any agreement yet and therefore believe the SFA's statement to be premature. We have had days of discussions with the SFA and it is important for everyone, but most importantly our fans, to understand that the SFA said it would only transfer the membership to play football if we accepted some form of additional sanctions for the sins of previous regimes.â? Well Malcolm, tell us if you have â??accepted some form of additional sanctions for the sins of previous regimesâ? and, if so, what precisely does â??some form of additional sanctionsâ?? mean? Do you and Charles Green understand, and accept, the import of your decision, and the obvious message it sends to the SPL? But, perhaps, the most worrying part of the statement from Malcolm Murray is, "We also regret that any agreement with the SFA appears not to have the support of the SPL and, as such, it still wishes to impose further sanctions on the Club for the actions of previous regimes despite already voting us out of its league.â? It is, therefore, reasonably certain to assume that the SFL, through its so called Independent Commission, will seek to impose further punishment on a beleaguered Rangers newco and that this is now deemed inevitable, and unavoidable, by Charles Green and Malcolm Murray, despite the fact that it is the SPL who are primarily responsible for banishing us to the lowest tier of Scottish football. Speculation has been rife in recent weeks that we will be stripped of titles; that many of our famous Scottish Cup triumphs will be wiped out and, indeed, that the hatred for our club is such that Regan and Doncaster will not hesitate to consign us to the football dustbin if we donâ??t comply with their increasingly draconian sanctions. I donâ??t, for one moment, dispute that view â?? their hatred and vindictiveness knows no bounds â?? but do we simply roll over and continue to take the kicking we have endured thus far, or do we stand up for ourselves and FIGHT! I want Charles Green, Malcolm Murray et al to immediately repudiate the â??agreementâ?? enshrined in Reganâ??s statement, and I want our case to be referred back to the Appellate Tribunal as Lord Glennie originally ordered. Letâ??s have the considered decision of the Appellate tribunal, who are on record as stating that, "The sanctions available included expulsion from participation in the game and termination or suspension of membership of the Scottish FA, which would have had a similar effect. The appellate tribunal observes that serious consideration was given by the disciplinary tribunal to imposing one of these sanctions, which would have had obvious consequences for the survival of the club. The disciplinary tribunal rejected these as too severe and this appellate tribunal agrees with that conclusion.â? In light of that statement, letâ??s have their decision, then the Club can determine the magnitude of the problem it faces, decide how to proceed and how it might best redress its grievances, even if that means returning to the Scottish courts or the Court of Arbitration for Sport to challenge the unfair and unreasonable decisions of the SFA and the SPL. I know that what I propose is a high risk strategy and, perhaps, anathema to many Rangers fans, but I would much rather take that risk than stand idly by as the SFA and the SPL continue to exploit our commercial value whilst they continue to penalise us financially and emasculate our team for years to come. Perhaps the unknown author of the undernoted quote was a Rangers fan because it just about sums up how most of us feel. â??I think God puts some people in your life to test you, until you stand up and say enough is enough. I am worth more than you offer me.â?

Agreed. Similarly with Traynor and Jackson's statement that they warned the SFA and SPL last year about CW and they did nothing. Not a peep in the papers. Scandalous journalism. We really are on our own here.

I have a feeling this is going to turn very nasty. The SFA have not budged an inch on sanctions, in fact the transfer ban is worse than the original one we fought in the courts. A compromise would have been to say we had in effect been in a transfer ban since May and it would end next May. I cannot see the SPL compromising on anything either. They will get their way on TV deals and will shaft us for titles to boot. We can either fight or accept it and I don't know what the club will do. I don't think anyone does.

It will be interesting to see what the SFL clubs do about this. They actually hold the power here with a vote of no confidence if they choose to use it. If the SPL refuse to drop stripping titles then we should refuse to deal. It is time to fight dirty, after all they've all been at it. I cannot understand how the SPL can refuse to transfer our membership in the first place.

GIOVANNI DI STEFANO‏@DEVILSADVOKAT Seems that mr Craig Whyte may well now tell his side of the story even though by doing so may well prejudice his position GIOVANNI DI STEFANO‏@DEVILSADVOKAT And he has made the classic mistake of most once upon a time rich men... Under estimated his wife... As all will see in due course If there were any truth in this, how good would that be?

Looking forward to seeing your comments later on then

I like The Rangers too. It implies we are the one and only. Have often used the term.

I do care. In actual fact until we see the evidence I don't think we can say one way or the other about stripping titles. My concern is that we won't see anything. We will be presented with a fait accomplit just the same as the illegal transfer ban and we will accept. We are being subjected to conditions that completely go against my sense of natural justice. We are being bullied in the same way as the SFL were bullied. I would like to see us saying "no".

I think they will!

If you read the clubs statement tonight we have come to an agreement with the SFA to accept the transfer ban but there are still "outstanding issues" with the SPL before we are allowed back in.

Ok it is now obvious that the SPL are going to block our acceptance into the league by insisting on stripping titles. I say, enough is enough, we do not sign and say we are being blackmailed and take our chamces.

I am gutted by this. I thought we could have taken advantage of Regan's precarious situation, He should have been facing a vote of no confidence but he's not so we just have to get on with it. I just hope we haven't signed away legal rights. He has conceded nothing and we have conceded everything. We have already had a transfer ban since the decision of the first appelate tribunal. We haven't been able to do any business. I think that is the worst of it, we have actually got a longer ban than we would have had if we had accepted the ban in the first place.