GREEN AND WHITE RIOT

Anyone reading the Sun over the past week would be forgiven for assuming that the Mayans got it right. Apparently half of Dundee was destroyed as Celtic fans ran riot, fighting with each other, peeing everywhere but, remarkably, stopping in the street to chat with Dundee chairman Jim Thomson! Everybody and his dog has had something to say about this shocking display and Rangers fans have been falling over themselves with glee at it all. Meanwhile, a major story about Sandaza being warned not to make the sign of the cross is buried away; but that's a story for another day.

More has been made of this Dundonian Armageddon than was ever said about what happened in Manchester; but then, those weren't Rangers fans, were they? Suffice it to say that the knives are out for Celtic and the agnivores are determined not to let it drop.

On the other hand, we have Green's boycott of Tannadice and the furore of Dundee United going ahead and selling tickets to Rangers supporters direct. According to Green there is going to be trouble as these ticket buyers are not 'genuine' Rangers fans. Seemingly 'genuine' Rangers fans never cause any trouble. Tell that to Manchester and Barcelona, among others!

So who is buying the tickets? According to the blue-nosed forums they are Celtic fans out to cause trouble. After all, they argue, don't Celtic fans come onto their forums in disguise? Didn't Celtic fans sign up to the Fighting Fund, using aliases? To the rest of us this might appear laughable but the Peeppil honestly believe this, just as they believe that everyone else was responsible for the death of Oldco. Unfortunately, our meeja, as per usual, do not question this line of reasoning. It seems to be tacitly accepted as fact that if anyone causes trouble at Tannadice then they must be tims in disguise. 

Now, stay with me here as I venture into the Twilight Zone. Given that this blatant paranoia is accepted as fact, not just by the hordes themselves but tacitly by our Fourth Estate, is it beyond the realms of possibility that such folk might try a vengeful, pre-emptive strike? In other words, were those trouble-makers at Den's Park 'genuine' Celtic fans? Or were they even Celtic fans at all?

Yes, I know it sounds crazy but, then, we've already seen how crazy these people are: death threats, bombs through the post etc. If they honestly believe that Celtic supporters are going to Tannadice to cause trouble, for which Rangers fans will be blamed, then it is perfectly reasonable to suggest that a certain section of this deranged mob might decide to put the boot in first!

We'll probably never know if this is what happened. Our sports 'reporters' would never, in a million years, tell us if they found out that this had been the case. Equally, Celtic would not broadcast it for fear of being branded paranoid and accused of trying to pass the buck. 

I await with interest developments at Tannadice. You can put your house on it that if there is any trouble then no blame whatsoever will be laid at the door of Rangers.

JACK'S BACK!

Hope everybody had a great Christmas. So did everybody enjoy Green's Speech, as he called it? I think the guy lives in another dimension from the rest of us. He talks about Rangers going into administration and then he bought it! No mention of liquidation or dodgy deals with Duff and Phelps. But do any of our sports 'journalists' challenge him on this? Not a chance!

Speaking of the Fourth Estate, Keith Jackson decided to come back out from hiding to tell us all that the supposed Armageddon in Scottish football hasn't happened. It's a good job he's there to let us know as we were all wondering what was happening, eh?

Apparently it was the SFA that told us that Scottish football was finished if Rangers Newco were not allowed into the SPL. Er...I don't think it was them that said it, Keef, it was your old boss that came up with that one! It was the meeja, especially Traynor, that warned us all of the impending doom and Jabba could not hide his disappointment when it didn't happen!

Jackson praises Celtic and Neil Lennon but can't hide his true feelings. According to him, Rangers are 'licking their wounds' and are looking to finance their 'quest for vengeance.' Vengeance against whom? Yes, he's following in Jabba's footsteps right enough!

So everything in the garden's rosy then? Well, no. Hearts could go under. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't Hearts been on the brink of going under for years? Suddenly, however, it's because Rangers aren't in the SPL. Aberdeen are in debt and St Johnstone are struggling. All of this has been going on for years; it didn't suddenly happen because Rangers went bust!

Why our game is really in trouble is actually down to Rangers. They set the benchmark for spending, which other clubs had to try to live up to. Celtic signed Chris Sutton for £6m so Rangers had to sign Tore Andre Flo for double that. At one point Rangers fielded a sizeable chunk of the England team and other internationalists were snapped up at the going rate. Other teams had to do something to try to be competitive or their fans would see it as not worthwhile turning up. This spending is what has almost bankrupted Scottish football. Rangers, meanwhile, under the aegis of Charles Green, swindled all their creditors and then boast about being debt-free!

As a parting shot, Jackson tells us that the Mayans apparently did not predict Armageddon, but a 'transition period.' The implication is obviously that the Mayans were predicting league reconstruction! So to avoid Armageddon in Scottish football, which, despite all his protestations to the contrary Jackson revels in telling us is going to happen, we need to change the league set-up. I wonder why. Maybe a more honest name for league reconstruction would be 'league reformation,' if you know what I mean!

And verily the great god Jabba sayeth, 'Wur doooooomed!'

JABBA-FREE AT LAST!

Where to start? Hughie Green apparently thinks that folk are going to dress up as Rangers fans, a-la 'Chelsea' fans in Manchester, and cause trouble at Tannadice. The excuses are coming in early there, eh? Given that Rangers fans are known throughout Europe for causing trouble, it's rather a strange thing to say.

I think I'll stick to what's happening in the Daily Record. Since Jabba's gone there seems to be more freedom to speak the truth! Hugh Keevins's latest article is proof of that. 'Rangers chief Charles Green needs reminding of how his club became 'debt free,' screams the headline. It seems more like something from a blog like mine rather than a headline in the Daily Record! 

In his article Keevins lambasts Green for being 'self absorbed – and insensitive to the feelings of others at the same time.' Strong stuff. He also dispels one of the myths that Traynor tried to propound for ages: that Rangers were kicked out of the SPL. 'They were denied entry after a vote taken in a democratic fashion by the 11 surviving members of an autonomous business concern said they couldn’t accept a newco. Nobody, Lawwell included, threw anybody anywhere.' My God, what's the world coming to? Maybe the Mayans were right; this doesn't seem like the Daily Record from this reality!

So what's happened to Jabba's successor? Jackson appears to be keeping a pretty low profile at the moment. Maybe he's waiting for the new year and instructions from headquarters. In the meantime there's a healthy disregard for 'the truth according to Green.'

Mention in dispatches should go to one Tam Cowan. Anybody that can have David Leggat frothing at the mouth is okay in my book! He has Green down as an old gasbag. Hands up if you disagree - come on, don't be shy!

I wonder how long the Daily Record can keep this refreshing change going for? Not too long, I bet. No doubt it'll be like the Montrose match programme all over again, with Green doing his usual hard-done-by act!

'Ye turn yer back fur wan minute...

SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE

So Green's share issue has apparently raised £22m. The stories about his share issue changed during yesterday as Hughie no doubt realised that he'd better keep the supporters on-side.

Firstly, there was this piece in the Daily Record, which says nothing about how much the input from fans was:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-reveal-share-issue-has-raised-1496315

The implication in this article is that the shares were bought by institutional investors, rather than the rank-and-file.

Later in the day, another article appeared, which seems to have vanished, that suggested that Rangers' fans had raised 'up to £5m,' whatever that means. 

By today, Rangers fans had raised 'over £5m.'

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/rangers-chief-executive-charles-green-1497340 


Thenceforth the cheerleading started. Hughie and Sooperally praised the fans, the fans praised each other and the media fell over themselves to pat everybody on the back. 

So what's the true story of how much the supporters raised? God knows! Then again, He probably doesn't; I doubt if Green even tells Him the truth!

Anyway, it's another step in getting Green firmly ensconced and persuading everyone that his company is legitimate. I have said consistently that Green's purchase of the assets was illegal and that the liquidators should be sorting this situation out and getting the money back for the creditors. The fact that Green has been allowed to bring in investors makes it more difficult for BDO to do their job poperly; maybe that's the idea.

It must disgust any right-thinking person to hear Green boast about being debt-free when he was instrumental in swindling creditors out of legitimate recompense. Will anything be done about it? I'm not going to hold my breath.

Ally shows off his first trophy.

ERRZI BIG ISSUE!

As usual in the Daily Record a headline belies the content of the column. 'Charles Green on the backfoot for first time as fans are slow on uptake of Gers shares,' says the headline, preparing you for a story of how things are going pear-shaped for old Hughie. A superficial reading of the subsequent report might lead you to think that Jackson is actually being negative about Rangers. A more careful study, however, reveals the same old cheerleading dross.

Predictably Jackson starts off with the usual buttering-up of Green. 'Green has won over the hearts and minds of a support,' 'His straight-talking charm offensive has been a thing of beauty' and other vomit-inducing phrases let us know that Jackson has not come to bury Green, but to praise him. It also shows that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Describing Green's blame game and sucking up to the bigots as a 'thing of beauty' says a lot about Jackson!

Then we come to the issue at hand, if you'll pardon the pun: Green's flogging of shares in his illegal enterprise. Apparently he's got '£17m worth of reasonably blue chip institutional investment' in his flotation. I wonder if that's in the same dimension as the signing of world-class players and the deal with Adidas? Would any respectable investors throw their money away into a venture that might end up being dragged through the courts by liquidators? Somehow I doubt it.

Just like the last time there was a share issue at Ibrox the Peeppell have decided to keep their hands away from their pockets. This time, however, you can hardly blame them. For all the bravado of '140 years of history' etc there is still an air of uncertainty over Green's club; will it still be in existence this time next year? There is also the little matter of those that did buy shares last time round: they are now worthless. Is anyone going to take the chance of the same thing happening again? Buying bricks, seat debentures; Rangers fans have been fleeced more than anyone else so they have every right to be careful with their cash, no matter how vocal they might be in their support of Green.

So how does Jabba II view this impasse? Easy. He puts a spin on it straight from Traynor's book:

'When 10,000 Celtic supporters raised £9m between them in 1995, they were doing it to save their club. That was the message from Fergus McCann and the response was quite staggering.

If Rangers supporters fall way short of that kind of sum, they can expect to be told about it by their neighbours. Over and over.'

In other words: you'd better buy some shares or the Taigs'll laugh at you! Nothing is more calculated to appeal to the Rangers fans than this assault on their pride. Will it work? God knows. Such an appeal is nothing short of desperate!

A last word about one or two phrases in Jackson's column. Apparently Green had a block of shares 'ring-fenced' for supporters. That's an unfortunate turn of phrase, redolent of Craig Whyte. I wonder if we'll get anything 'front-loaded' now! Speaking of Whyte, Jackson sums up this year as Rangers' annus horribilis. 'That’s Latin for Craig Whyte,' he says. It's just a pity that Green didn't have more of an anus horribilis, then the likes of Jackson might see fit to remove their tongues!

Green lets his new media director know that dinner's ready.

CAECUS CAECUM

My granny used to be fond of quoting, or rather misquoting, a phrase from the Bible: 'There's none so blind as theym that cannae see!' Now I'm beginning to think that maybe she had a point. All the agnivores are so deluded that they've blinded themselves to things that are blatantly obvious. They are so caught up in seeing Rangers as the victim that  they are willing to drag down anyone they see as an 'enemy.'

Mark Hateley decides today in the Daily Record to have a go at Kyle Lafferty, the man they were all praising last year as a fantastic player. Now, don't get me wrong, I've never had any time for Lafferty, an average player, who had to resort to thuggery, cheating and sleekitness to help his team win. But the things that Hateley is accusing him of are entirely untrue.

According to Hateley, Lafferty is a traitor of Benedict Arnold proportions for suing Rangers for Constructive Dismissal. On the face of it, he's right; how could Lafferty do such a thing? The reality is, however, is that Lafferty is merely reacting to Green's treatment of him and others. Green is suing Lafferty et al for breach of contract. The normal approach to this sort of thing, if you have a half-decent lawyer, is a counter-suit. Such a procedure is designed to be a threat so the original suit will be dropped. Hateley, and others, seem not to see this.

As to Green's suit itself; you've got to admire the guy's brass neck! When it was announced that Rangers would be going into liquidation nobody knew what was going to happen next. Yes, Green had snapped up the assets in an immoral and illegal manner but who was to know that everyone would look the other way and pretend that his purchase was legit? Even more, everyone in the media went along with the lie that this Rangers and the old Rangers were one and the same team. Anyway, Green had no licence, no chance of getting into the SPL and possibly no chance of even getting into the SFL; so what were these players to do to safeguard their livelihood?

There is also the fact that Green did not do a Victor Kayam and buy the company; all he did was buy the assets (illegally, as I keep insisting). This means that TUPE regulations do not apply. Green had no legal right to insist that contracts be passed over to his company so his suit for breach of contract holds no water. In this context Lafferty's actions are perfectly understandable and forgivable.

On a side note, Hateley is raging because Lafferty is saying that he made up his mind to leave five months before the end of last season. According to Lafferty this was because of abuse suffered by himself and his wife. I remember the incident well. Some morons had a go at him in a car park and Rangers supporters and agnivores were up in arms at this. They were 100% behind Lafferty and wouldn't blame him if he left! Changed days now! My side note? Neil Lennon and his family had their lives threatened and had bombs and bullets through the post. Our media's response? 'He brings a lot of it on himself.' Nothing of the sort, however, was said about Lafferty!

Anyway, digression over, back to the point. Hateley decides to have a real go at the end of his column:

'Lafferty has shown himself to be a selfish man and a stupid one. God knows, he wasn’t even a good Rangers player.
He certainly didn’t come remotely close to providing value for the money – more than £3million – he cost them before heading to Swiss side Sion.
He was a self-centred liability then and remains so today.'

 Strangely, you would have heard all this last year from many a Celtic supporter, while Rangers fans, and their friends in the press, including Hateley, put Lafferty on a pedestal and kept banging on about how he had 'grown up' and was one of Sooperally's main assets. Dear, oh, dear. When they take a dislike to you...

Stay away from that letterbox, Kyle!

Just to put the tin hat on this ridiculous tirade is the punchline right at the very end: 'As told to Keith Jackson!'
I knew Jabba II had to be involved somewhere. It also confirms my suspicions that Hateley can't read or write!

Yir man, the Pantomime Villain.  Boooooooo! Hissssssss!   

         P.S. Here's what Hateley was saying about Lafferty last year!

 COURT IN THE ACT

Keith Jackson continues his Traynor-esque rants in the Daily Record. Is this guy looking for a job at Ibrox too? This time he is having a go at the PFA for threatening to take Green to court on behalf of 67 players. Of course, he totally ignores the fact that the PFA is already on record as stating that this is retalliation for Green's trying to recoup money he thinks he's owed from the players that left Ibrox in the summer. 

Jackson tries to belittle the PFA but only makes himself look foolish. I, a mere internet bampot, know what the PFA is doing (simply because they told us all!), while he, a supposed journalist, has obviously not even researched what was printed in his own newspaper! Yes, they live in a wee world of their own these agnivores!

Now that the rabble-rousers, like Jackson, have twisted the story to make it look like the usual 'kicking Rangers when they're down' by ex-players, the said ex-players are falling over themselves to deny that they are in any way involved. No doubt they don't relish the postman putting something untoward through the letter-box!

So what of Green's claims? TUPE regulations are there to protect the rights of employees, not those of greedy 'owners' like Green. When a company is in administration and someone buys it, the TUPE regulations are there so that employees will still have a job to go to. The employees can, of course, choose not to go or can come to some arrangement with their new employer, eg redundancy payouts etc. Note that the TUPE regulations only cover a company in administration being bought over, not some chancer snapping up the assets at the back door.

This is a point that all our 'journalists' seem to have overlooked or, more likely, chosen to ignore. Administrators are there to find a buyer for the whole company; it is not in their remit to flog off any assets. Furthermore, when a company is going into liquidation all assets are supposed to be retained in order for the liquidators to dispose of them for the best return for creditors. It is illegal to sell off any assets whatsoever at this point. Nobody appears to want to mention this point, however.

Green has pulled off a massive confidence trick and probably can hardly believe his luck. He has everybody believing that his new club is simply the same club with a different owner. This would have been the case if his CVA had been accepted; but it was not. The question has to be asked: if, as Green seemed to expect and all the agnivores argue, all he had to do was liquidate, buy up the assets cheaply, start up a new company whilst maintaining the same club and take said club straight into the SPL, then what was the point of his CVA? In fact, what was the point of administration at all? 

The truth is that it was a new club; Naismith, McGregor, Lafferty et al knew that and, in the uncertain future, were perfectly entitled to see themselves as free agents. The club was liquidated, a new club was set up, for which a new licence was needed. No matter what Green, the Jabbas and the other agnivores say, Rangers ended and the players could do what they wanted.

Rather than worry about TUPE regulations, Rangers fans should worry about getting regulation TOUPÉES for when Green fleeces them all!

Anybody want to buy a wig? A genuine Rangers wig!

JABBA II - SON OF JABBA

Today, in the Daily Record, it was Jabba: The Next Generation. Keith Jackson has taken over the mantle and seems to be continuing where his predecessor left off. '...this country’s pool of journalistic talent has become a great deal more shallow than it was just a week ago.' Aye, right!

In true Jabba style, the headline has nothing to do with what he is actually talking about. The piece is meant to be about Green's boycott of Dundee United, but degenerates into recycling Traynor's tired ramblings about how Rangers have been hard-done by. Oh, and there's a nice hagiography of Traynor himself thrown in for good measure!

Apparently Traynor was a giant among men, an intrepid searcher for the truth and the epitome of journalistic integrity. Now, I only know Traynor from his Daily Record and 'Your Call' days; for all I know he might have been a wonderful journalist when he was with the Express and the Herald. In my experience, however, he was an almighty blowhard, who sold his soul to David Murray and basically became the mouthpiece of Ibrox. 

So, as a sop to those that might accuse him of the same bias, Jackson accuses Green of giving in to the 'internet bampots.' But, really, according to Jackson's tirade, you can't blame him. After all, it was the 'internet bampots' that forced Rangers into Division 3!

This re-writing of hitory is worthy of any Stalin or Hitler enthusiast. Rangers went into liquidation, Green started a new club after illegally buying the assets and then applied for, nay demanded, admission to the SPL. The SFA and SPL were too cowardly to enforce the rules and passed the buck to the clubs. The sporting integrity that the agnivores love to put in inverted commas, was simply applying the rules. Letting Rangers jump the queue into Division 3 was against the rules, but we're all supposed to ignore that.

'A succession of cowardly chairmen trotted out the line they were “listening to their fans” when the truth was they were terrified that if they did not follow the orders of the keyboard clatterers then they might be next to get it. Traynor grew weary of operating in such a climate.' What a disgusting thing to write. What does 'get it' mean? Surely he doesn't mean death threats, bullets in the post, parcel bombs? We all know which team's supporters resort to those kinds of tactics, internet bampots or not!

So it looks as if Traynor's spirit lives on. I'd swear that he wrote this column himself and stuck somebody else's name on it. But sycophancy runs deep at the Daily Record and, sickening as it seems, this was written by somebody other than Jabba. 

I remember when Alex Cameron, the man police horses loved to hate, shuffled off this mortal coil, they had some eulogies in the Daily Record. The stories given were offered as evidence of what a character he was but merely served to show what a horrible individual he was. Similarly, nobody has jumped forward with stories of Traynor taking cub reporters under his wing or doing favours for colleagues. No. Instead, we are told that he was 'Machiavellian' and 'brutal.' Yep, he sounds like a fine work colleague. 

Anyway, I can keep my page going. Traynor is gone but not forgotten.

Jabba is dead. Long live Jabba!

'Where's ma lamb dinner?'

JABBA TILL I DIE

So again the internet bampots got it right! It's offi-shell now - Traynor's going to work at Ibrox! Big news, even though it's about as surprising as the Pope going to mass!

Hilariously, he's going to be their Director of Communications. It sounds like something from 1984's Ministry of Truth but, basically, he's going to be in charge of all Rangers' 'media platforms.' Maybe he's going to finally get the busted screen fixed!

'Media platforms' suggests TV, newspapers, radio and - gasp! - the internet! Is Rangers TV still going? Is the Rangers News going to be resurrected? Does Traynor know how to get on the internet? It'll be interesting to see what his role is actually going to be.

He certainly can't be Rangers' PR man; he's burnt his bridges as far as that's concerned. His parting shots in the Daily Record pretty much alienated everyone he would rely on to get his message out there. Probably he'll just conduct sycophantic interviews on Rangers TV; that'll be a challenge!

As far as the internet goes he seemed to have it in for anyone that so much as turns on a computer. More likely, however, he will protest that he was only talking about bloggers that are 'anti-Rangers.' Bill McMurdo, David Leggat and Follow Follow will suddenly be exempt from his hatred of social media. 

The blurb from Ibrox says, 'James joins Rangers following a distinguished journalistic career' Really? I don't know about his days with the Herald or Express but certainly in his days at the Daily Record he has failed miserably in any criteria of journalism you care to name. At best he was a cheerleader for David Murray, at worst he could be downright offensive; remember his asking of Celtic, 'Who the hell do you think you are?'

Traynor should, however, fit right in with the new regime at Ibrox. Like Green, he is a blustering bully that refuses point-blank to acknowledge any opinion other than his own. He cannot debate any issue without resorting to personal abuse, as anyone that has listened to his radio programme can verify. And he was most likely instrumental in banning comments on the Daily Record website, where he was continually being challenged.

I doubt we've heard the last of old Jabba. Not for him working behind the scenes; he would go crazy if he couldn't give us all the benefit of his omniscience and would end up in the same padded cell as Leggat. January is his inauguration date and we should find out then what his new job is all about. If nothing else, it'll give me something to keep writing about!

Traynor receives his first week's salary

KEEP THE ASPIDISTRA FLYING

If internet rumours are to be believed, Traynor is going to continue to do the job he has been doing for years. This time, however, he is going to be paid in cash rather than in lamb dinners. Apparently he is going to work for Rangers as a PR MAN! 

This is extremely bad news for all us decent folk, who thought we had got rid of him for good. I thought he would just fade away into some rabble-rousing blog like David Leggat's; but no. Now we'll have his face in the papers and on TV even more, giving all the poor weans nightmares!

There have been no rumours as yet about his radio programme, so I assume that it's still going ahead. This could create problems as the programme he presents is supposed to be impartial. Yes, we've all known for years how partisan he is but he at least kept up the pretence that he supported...ahem!...Airdrie. This is going to put the BBC into one hell of a position.

If the BBC keep Jabba on air with his programme, while he is at the same time working for Rangers then the BBC will be flooded with complaints. Anyone that can't get through, or whose opinions are lambasted by Traynor will complain that they are being discriminated against. It would be hard for the BBC to argue that they are wrong.

Equally, however, if Traynor is asked to step down then this will be grist to the mill of the likes of Leggat, who already see the BBC as full of Celtic-loving, Irish Republican-supporting, Catholic haters of Rangers. It will be one more 'grievance' for them to articulate in their new role as the downtrodden.

But, then again, maybe that's all the rumours are: rumours. Maybe he's not going to work for Rangers and we'll just see him popping up now and again as a guest blogger on Leggoland!

THE LAST FAREWELL

So that's it. Jabba is throwing in the towel. Why? Apparently journalism is now a disgrace because everyone doesn't agree with him! He has a look back at some of the 'highlights' of his career but can't seem to admit that these are heavily outnumbered by the lowlights. 

Who can forget his disgusting tirade against Celtic because Gordon Strachan had asked for some help from our footballing authorities while competing in Europe. 'Who the hell do you think your are?' he ranted. Now, I'm personally of the opinion that it is not our footballing authorities' place to help teams in Europe. Traynor, however, does not feel the same way. When it came to Walter Smith asking for the same help Traynor backed his calls 100%.

Then there's the Jim Farry situation. Traynor still feels that Farry was hard-done-by, spouting nonsense about him being 'got at.' For years he has dismissed the complaints of Celtic and its fans as paranoia; now, however, he is leading the way for those that argue that Rangers was undermined by a massive conspiracy involving the SPL, the SFA, HMRC, other Scottish clubs and those creditors that had the temerity to ask for their money!

Remember when Celtic almost went bust? Was Traynor shedding any tears, or pleading the case that Scottish football needed the 'Old Firm?' No. The Daily Record hired a hearse to park outside Celtic Park in order to print a photo to rub things in. Fast forward 18 years and suddenly Scottish football can't thrive without both halves of the 'Old Firm.' In other words, rules and laws were to be torn up to keep Rangers in the SPL no matter what. I wonder what he would have said if anyone had suggested the same thing for Celtic in '94!

He cannot seem to get it into his head that Rangers have not 'won' the tax case. He, and others, were constantly telling us that this was merely the First Tier Tribunal and that Rangers would be able to appeal the expected outcome. Now, however, it seems that we've to accept this as the last word on the matter! No matter what these judges have said, the majority of us are sick to death of rich people and businesses getting away without paying tax. If these 'loans' were, in fact, loans, then it is reasonable to ask when they are going to be paid back. But, as far as Traynor is concerned, everyone should be falling over themselves to apologise and just accept this ridiculous verdict!

'Just when did they become consumed by such eye-popping rage? Was it always there, a dormant fury against Rangers and their fans, who deserve enormous credit for having saved their club, just waiting for the catalyst?' he fumes. Perhaps it might have something to do with the sheer arrogance on display all through the crisis - 'We are The People and nobody has any right to demand anything from us. Why should we pay taxes or play by the rules?' Or maybe decent people are sickened by small businesses and individuals being shafted while Green boasts about being 'debt-free.'

'And the result? Some of the most shallow and infantile drivel ever written. These egotists are so into
themselves they’ve no regard for the safety or wellbeing of those about whom they have written some awful and completely inaccurate pieces.
Despicable, pathetic little creatures craving some kind of recognition but lacking in conscience and morality.'

The only despicable creature is you, Jabba. For years you have been Murrays poodle and nothing else. You have not been a journalist; far from it. All you have been is a cheerleader for Murray, then for Whyte and now for Green; all the while trying to whip up some kind of frenzy among 'The Peepil.' If anyone does get hurt we'll all know who is to blame for stirring up all this conspiracy nonsense. 

I remember you had not one word to say about what Neil Lennon went through. His children had to have police protection when they were going to school, for God's sake! But, to you, that was nothing. What we should really be concerned about is HMRC doing what it is supposed to do: chasing up people that have avoided paying taxes! How dare they!

And so it's goodbye. Do you honestly think you'll be missed? You are not a journalist; you are a disgrace. A two-faced rabble-rouser that has no shame whatsoever. Murray overspent, Whyte was a crook, Green has illegally run off with the assets, to the detriment of the creditors but none of that matters. Not once in this whole sorry mess have you shown any evidence of investigative journalism and recently you seem to just regurgitate the things that David Leggat writes on his blog. All that matters to you is that Rangers survive, no matter what, and are fast-tracked into the top tier. It does not matter who loses money, or if proper taxes are paid, rules and laws properly observed - none of this matters to you. Rather than lambast others it is about time you took a good look at yourself.

ave et vale.

THE NAME GAME

I've banged on here quite a bit about the Insolvency Act 1986, especially Sections 207 and 216. I am pleased to admit that I was wrong about Section 216. That is the section that deals with phoenix companies. Having re-read the relevant section I have changed my mind about Green's new club.

According to my interpretation of Section 216 a phoenix company is barred from using the name, or a similar one, ONLY if the new company is set up by someone involved in the old company. As far as I can tell Green was not involved; he was only a potential buyer. This effectively means that he can call his new company, team, whatever, anything he likes. From my reading of the legislation he did not need to call it THE RANGERS; he could simply have called it RANGERS with impunity.

So it turns out I was wrong. Green's new team is RANGERS!

I could possibly be wrong about his transgressing Section 207 as well but I don't think I am. We'll see what BDO make of it!