----------------------------------------

----------------------------------------

Friday 22 January 2016

THE NEW CLUB AND THE...ER...NEW CLUB.

Whenever I'm reading anything to do with Sevco online I always bookmark certain things that I think will be useful when I'm writing the next volume of the saga. Such an article appeared in the DR (where else) on the 18th January, penned by everyone's favourite Leveller, Keith Jackson. Twitter was all over this article, since Keef was claiming that Scottish football had gone to Hell in a handcart since 'Rangers' were...ahem...'relegated'. It wasn't this guff that interested me, though. The reason I bookmarked it was this bit:

"This week the Ibrox club expect to complete the captures of Toumani Diagouraga and Michael O'Halloran, two signings who are likely to cost the guts of £1m in transfer fees.
Again, this seems to provide solid proof Dave King and his board are not just cleansing their club but also have the wherewithal to properly fund Mark Warburton’s rebuild."

Now, that's the kind of bold statement that's guaranteed to come back and bite you on the arse. At the time I wondered if Jackson was aware that there's an obvious corollary to his triumphalist assertion; if Sevco didn't manage to get these two players then that would seem to 'provide solid proof' that Honest Dave and his board are fucking skint! Of course, today Diagouraga signed for Leeds Utd, Brentford ignoring the derisory offer put in by Sevco, which was, apparently, £100k.

The DR says that Sevco 'missed out' on signing Diagouraga, which gives the impression that they were pipped at the post. Jackson put a message on Twitter this afternoon saying that Sevco had weighed in with a bid of £500k. I didn't see any news of this bid anywhere else so I'm assuming it's more Level 5 shite to keep The Peeppul happy. If the bid was put in then, again, it was just to keep The Peeppul happy since there was no way they were going to be able to outbid Leeds. It's a bit like me going along to an art auction and bidding £20m for a Van Gough, knowing full well that I'll be outbid by some billionaire. Does that prove that I've got £20m? Does it hell. All it shows is that I'm a chancer and a liar, which is precisely what Sevco's late bid shows about Honest Dave.

Now all that's left is O'Halloran and already The Peeppul are playing the old sour-grapes card, claiming that he's not that good and they didn't want him anyway. (Of course, that would change dramatically if King were to actually stump up the readies!) There's been no more movement on that front and St. Johnstone seem determined to get the player's full value, rather than the £100k, a dozen bottles from King's wine cellar, a mint-condition 1970s 'Footballers' card featuring Derek Johnstone and a 1970s tin of Creamola Foam that's already been offered. It's already looking as if we've been right all along about Honest Dave's indigence and poor 'Warbs' is just going to have to make do with Action Man's Heids!

The judgement against Ashley and Sports Direct got me thinking about the different court judgments made recently and how they're going to affect business law in this country. I wasn't sure if precedent played as large a part in our justice system as it does in America but, apparently it does. There's a thing called Stare decisis, which means that when a court is reaching a decision it has to take account, and be consistent with, any decision already reached in an equal or higher court. The highest court in Scotland is the Court of Session, which august body decided last year that Dave King was 'fit and proper' to join the board of Sevco. This means that a precedent has been set allowing all manner of charlatans to fleece creditors by winding up a company and then immediately setting up a phoenix company with practically the same name. Essentially, our courts are helping to legalise fraud. It also means that Mike Ashley's case against the SFA will be a complete non-starter as the Court of Session very rarely overturns decisions made by its judges.

Then there was the hearing to decide if Wi-Fi company, 802 Works Ltd, could continue to have £300,000 of Sevco's money ring-fenced in case of insolvency. After perusing Sevco's books, the sheriff decided that the ring-fencing was unwarranted. This decision was wholly based on Sevco's accounts, the sheriff saying that they "did change the whole focus of the hearing". Fair enough, you might think, if the accounts showed a company in reasonable financial health. These accounts, however, were unaudited, which means they aren't worth the paper they're printed on. Again, a precedent has been set that means that any crooked businessman can present a set of Cordon Bleu books to a Sheriff Court and the sheriff will have to provide a very good reason for not accepting them.  

Time to get the tin-foil hat on again. Remember the other day I reported how Lord Menzies, who made Chateau Charlie stump up a £50k bond, is a member of the prestigious and exclusive New Club in Edinburgh? Well, Lord Woolman, who passed Honest Dave as 'fit and proper' also happens to be a member of the Princes Street club. The New Club's membership is a closely-guarded secret and the information in 'Who's Who' about these judges being members probably came from the men themselves. One member that the club boasts about is Sean Connery. (Don't get me started on him!) One wonders who proposed Mr. Connery for membership? Which leading Edinburgh businessman was Connery known for being close to?

The New Club is a by-word for class snobbery and it is well known that its members generally come from Edinburgh's fee-paying schools. There have always been dark rumours surrounding the clique around this club and it is believed that many closed-doors deals are reached within its confines. It's certainly suspicious that top members of our judiciary meet in this clandestine club along with businessmen and politicians. And, as the majority of our top judges come from and live in Edinburgh, you can be sure that they all troop along to take luncheon at 84-87 Princes Street. You can read more about our top judges here. Be warned; you'll get angry!

If you follow me on Twitter you'll be aware that I've e-mailed the web editor of the DR to complain about the constant references to child abuse by The Peeppul on the paper's comments sections. I've threatened to contact the police if they don't do something about it. I might well just be pissing in the wind but a stand has to be taken. If you try to post anything about Old Rangers being cheats or how many of their titles are tainted your comment immediately goes into 'moderation' and then disappears without ever seeing the light of day. Meanwhile all manner of filth is allowed through and is left visible even when you report it. It'll be interesting to see if they get back to me.

And another story in the Daily Record about how Celtic is dominating Scottish football due to having more money than everyone else. Derek McInnes is quoted as saying, "Celtic brought in a player during the week which shows, again, the gulf between them and the rest. The fee and the boy’s wages would equate to my full footballing budget." So there you have it; money equals success and the team that can splash out on players is going to crush all opposition. This crops up all the time in our media. Strangely, though, Rangers gained no advantage whatsoever when they were bringing in top players using tax-payers money and using hidden contracts to cheat everybody!

Finally, I see some of The Peeppul are foaming at the mouth because the DR has a story about Gerry Adams's new book. To be honest, the book looks a load of shite, bringing together all Adams's idiosyncratic ramblings on Twitter. Obviously that's not what's got The Peeppul up in arms. One banger claims that this story's result will be that "Mirror group will destroy this once proud publication!!!" Er...who's that shaking hands with Adams in one of the pictures, the guy with the big ears? Maybe they want Prince Charles destroyed as well!

Not to be outdone, Gregory Campbell also has a book out, reflecting his thoughts, political concerns and leisure activities. It's a complete look into what his whole life is about.



Mr. Justice Peter Smith relaxes away from court.

 

No comments:

Post a Comment