It’s 15 years now, on the 9th of May, since Celtic faced Saint Johnstone in the last game of season 1997/98. The maths was easy. A victory for Celtic would land them their first league title in…
Throughout the season, comment has been made on the missing thousands at Celtic Park with the media telling us it’s because thousands of us miss Rangers. I…
Recent Celtic games have heard the fans singing loudly - ‘Here we go 10 in a row!’ - after Celtic sealed their second consecutive SPL title under Neil Lennon. And the opportunity is certainly there to make…
Like many I have been greatly exorcised by the league reconstruction debate of late and the perceived lost opportunities to make the structure more exciting and move away from the current flawed split. As highlighted…
In the days and weeks following our game in Turin, I was quite surprised by the sense of despondency among some Celtic supporters. I remember reading a number of…
This week I speak with Mark Cameron of the Celtic Chairty fund. We discuss the marvelous evening at Celtic Park on Froday 1st March The Lions Roar Again, an event compared by Archie MacPherson and where all in attendnace were privilaged to meet the living legends of the 1967 team.
We discuss the fact that this evening and the work of the Celtic Charity fund, after a difficult week, restored my faith in Celtic.
we then briefly touch on Juve game.
I have audio of the night which comes and goes so be patient.
We are a wonderful club
This week Harry is joined by Mark Cameron of the Celtic Chairty fund. We discuss the marvelous evening at Celtic Park on Froday 1st March The Lions Roar Again, an event compared by Archie MacPherson and where all in attendnace were privilaged to meet the living legends of the 1967 team.
The guys discuss the fact that this evening and the work of the Celtic Charity fund, after a difficult week, restored my faith in Celtic.
Harry & Mark then briefly touch on Juve game.
Audio of the night with some of the Q&A's can be found at the end of the podcast. The sound was not professionally recorded and comes and goes so be patient.
This week, I'm Mad As Hell and I'm Not Going to Take It Anymore. I'm joined initially by Mark Cameron and we talk briefly about the Lions Roar Again as a taster for some changes which will see the celtic Charity and Celtic Foundation become one with Tony Hamilton becoming the new CEO.
I then discuss a raft of issues with Lachie Mor before the sound goes wonky and we tie matters up on Celtic, cheats and other matters.
Sometimes a comprise is suitable to no-one, reaching a middle ground solution between two extremes can often mean that neither party is happy with the solution. And so we have the outcome of the Lord Nimmo Smith enquiry. Rangers WERE guilty of registering players incorrectly, but it was an administrative point so no harm done, let’s all move on. But the problem is we can’t. As we have seen by RFC not receiving the ultimate sanction of stripping titles, Rangers, in an attempt to portray themselves as a victim, and the media, in an attempt to just move on, have portrayed this as some form of victory.
It is a decision that leaves Rangers fans angry about the way "they have been treated" (they don't seem to understand liquidation) and a decision that leaves the majority of Scottish football fans more angry than ever with unresolved issues around Rangers financial vandalism of Scottish football: To quote Stuart Cosgrove it leaves supporters wondering about fairness within the game.
There are some simple irrefutable facts;
Rangers employed an EBT scheme to minimize tax spend and therefore maximize available funds for player remuneration
These EBT’s were agreed through side letters
The Rangers Board deliberately withheld these side letters from the SPL
Rangers were held liable for other payments not made to HMRC
Rangers were liquidated
Many of us (including HMRC and the one accountant on the 3 man panel) were amazed at the decision in the Rangers appeal on the Big Tax Case. The perceived flaws in the appeal decision led to the inevitable subsequent appeal by HMRC. What was decided by HRMC was that 5 EBT’s WERE wrongly administered. i.e. 5 players were only affordable to RFC because they paid them in an illegal manner which evaded tax liabilities. In that enquiry it was made clear that the RFC board intentionally withheld these side letters from the SPL. Why?
Anyone who reads the twaddle that I occasionally write on here will know that I rarely comment on current affairs and never comment on The Rangers. However on this occasion I am willing to make an exception.
I would much rather dabble in a bit of nostalgia and chronicle the touch and vision of the young Dalglish, the dribbling and crossing of the elusive Provan or the majestic skills of the wonderful Moravcik. But some things have to be said.
Everyone I am acquainted with knew two things recently. Firstly, that Rangers would be found guilty of illicit payments, and secondly, that they would not be stripped of titles. Few of us had any faith that the authorities, whether footballing or the judiciary, would have the courage to inflict a suitable punishment on the oldco for their misdemeanours. No one has the stomach any more for this long running farce which has plumbed the depths and dragged Scottish football through the mire and the ruling from Lord Nimmo is basically an admission that Rangers can do what they like and carry on regardless.
It seems somehow appropriate on this, the first day of Lent, that sackcloth and ashes might, on the face of it, be our apparel of choice following last night's defeat at the hands of the Champions of Italy.
In every sense Celtic came crashing back to earth, and Neil Lennon himself was first to acknowledge that we need a miracle if we are to progress any further in the Champions' League. A perusal of the back pages of today's papers on my way through Lidl, seemed to indicate that at least one of our players had publicly expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of another, something which I find regretful, but such was the level of disappointment from fans and team alike, that it might be forgiven in this instance. It is to be hoped however that any rift in the camp has been repaired at training this morning and everyone is now back on the same page.
My personal view is that last night's adventure, while exciting and engaging, was in truth a step too far for our team at present. It may be entirely true that Celtic, as a club, should be in such company, but the team, I believe, outreached itself when it qualified for the last 16.
