Rangers enter Administration

[Brock Manson 0]

Reading a few posts above - surely if the company you work for is liquidated then your contract is null and void because of it?

 

As such all these Rangers players who have signed for other clubs were free agents. Or am I over-simplifying this?

 

What a sorry state of affairs though, making the SFA look like a complete and utter joke.

[Howmanheyman 32713]

Maybe the Scottish clubs could put their own proposal to the SFA/SFL tending mass resignation from that body if their majority vote is over-ruled with a threat to form their own league?

Edited July 12, 2012 by Howmanheyman

[NJS 4365]

Reading a few posts above - surely if the company you work for is liquidated then your contract is null and void because of it?

 

As such all these Rangers players who have signed for other clubs were free agents. Or am I over-simplifying this?

 

What a sorry state of affairs though, making the SFA look like a complete and utter joke.

 

I've never known how football fits in with employment law tbh - how they can get away with "transfer fees" legally is beyond me.

 

I'm sure the key is the registrations rather than the contracts.

 

I'm also not sure that the old club/company is 100% gone.

[topcat 0]

Current state of play is - looks like the huns will be rightly voted down to the bottom tier tomorrow.

 

We'll then get a glimpse of how corrupt things really are up here as the blazers implement their Plan B.

 

 

Third Division Clubs Position

Annan Athletic

Status: No

Chairman Henry McLelland said:

“Why should things be treated differently because it’s one of the big two clubs in the country? The argument can’t be moulded to suit one club over another. Rangers should go into Division Three.The alternative is they go nowhere.."

 

Berwick Rangers

Status: No

Berwick Rangers Board tonight agreed unanimously that should the new Rangers FC be admitted to the SFL for the new season, that they would support a move directly into SFL Division Three. The Club has also taken on board the feelings of their Supporters Club, Supporters Trust and the countless individual fans who have contacted them directly. There will be no further statement from the club on this matter

 

Clyde

Status: No

It is worth mentioning that three years ago Clyde made huge cutbacks in order to avoid defaulting on debt, and accepted that it would make an impact on their on-field performance probably for some years to come. They have been among the strongest and most eloquent critics of the SPL / SFA proposals.

"The overwhelming reality is that we are being asked to make one of the most important decisions for Scottish Football in a vacuum devoid of factual information, that vacuum having been filled with unhelpful rhetoric and scaremongering by the chief executives of the SFA and SPL. In summary, the complete absence of information on Sevco Scotland Ltd renders it impossible to vote with any logic in favour of any of the Resolutions. The default in these circumstances would unfortunately be to vote against. We hope and trust that this unacceptable situation will be resolved swiftly and will allow Clyde Football Club to support Resolution 1 from an informed position and will see Rangers Football Club playing in SFL3. We see Resolution 2 as a matter of trust and it would take a change of personnel and attitude for us to be confident that David Longmuir would be entering discussions with a group of people committed to a collaborative process in a spirit of genuine partnership.In the current circumstances our only decision could be to vote against Resolution 2. Subject to a satisfactory outcome on Resolution 1 we would support Resolution 3."

 

East Stirlingshire

Status: Undeclared

At least one news report has suggested that the Shire are in the No camp, but the club are yet to make any official statement.

 

Elgin City

Status: Undeclared

Again, news reports have suggested that Elgin intend to vote No, but there has been no official statement.

 

Montrose

Status: Undeclared

Another club who have not commented officially thus far.

 

Peterhead

Status: No

Statement 12th July "Although football clubs from all leagues rely heavily on media revenue and sponsorship to survive, it is the fans that are the heart of the club. Our fans have made their feelings very clear over this issue and we have listened and taken on board all comments. We hope that voting to admit a Newco team into Division 3 will unite fans to vote with their feet to support their local team and help preserve our Scottish game."

 

Queen's Park

Status: No

No statement

Stirling Albion

Status: Probable No

Following a poll among their supporters, which favoured Newco going to the third division, the club announced this was the position they would take forward to the initial general meeting. It is anticipated, though not explicitly confirmed, that this will remain their position.

 

Stranraer

Status: No

Stranraer are another club who have had to make major cutbacks to avoid defaulting on debt, so it is not a surprise that they have made one of the strongest official statements criticising the proposals to allow Newco straight into a higher division.

"We are not convinced at the emotive language currently being aired to describe the potential ramifications to our game should a NewCo not be given special case treatment and consider that the benefits that could be negotiated do not counter balance the damage that would be done to the credibility of the SFL as a governing body."

 

Second Division Clubs Position

Airdrie United

Status: Abstention

Airdrie have already announced that they intend to abstain, as one of the clubs whose own divisional status would be affected by the decision of where to place Newco. This is consistent with their previous behaviour in similar circumstances in both 2008 and 2009.

 

Albion Rovers

Status: Probable Yes

12 July "Much has been said and written about sporting integrity. In normal circumstance we would have no hesitation in voting to place Newco Rangers in SFL Division3 but as a Board, we do now need to consider all of the implications before we make that call." .

 

Alloa Athletic

Status: Undeclared

The most recent statement from Chairman Mike Mulraney says

"We would also like to assure our fans that we will not be bullied into a decision by any outside influences, but will act in the best interest of Alloa first and Scottish football second. Sporting integrity will of course weigh heavily in any decision we make."

 

Arbroath

Status: No

Statement 12th July "After considerable and careful deliberation, that had also taken place over many previous meetings, the Club reached the decision that it cannot support a proposal for Rangers Newco to be directly admitted to Division 1 of the Scottish Football League and that sporting integrity must be upheld. We are however in support of entry to the Scottish Football League in Division 3 for next season. The Club is extremely grateful to the large number of stakeholders and supporters who took time to contact the Club and express their views, which we felt very important in assisting us to make an extremely difficult judgement."

 

Ayr United

Status: Probable No

There has been no official statement from the club, but chairman Lachlan Cameron has made some strongly critical statements in the media.

"The Third Division would be the perfect place for Rangers. There is pressure for them to go into the First by the SPL and SFA but I believe they should go intothe Third."

 

Brechin City

Status: Yes

Brechin released a statement before the July 3rd meeting saying they would be making no public comment prior to it. Nothing further has been heard and they are another unknown quantity at present.

 

East Fife

Status: No

Like the other Fife clubs, East Fife have issued a fairly emphatic No.

"The board of directors of East Fife FC, however, is unanimous in its view that we shall not support any integrated plan that in our view compromises sporting integrity by involving the admission of any ‘Newco’ directly into Division One. Any "Newco" must follow the normal application route into the bottom tier."

 

Forfar

Status: Undeclared

Another club from whom there has been no official comment thus far.

 

Queen of the South

Status: Undeclared

Statement "The club are unhappy at being dropped into this position and do not, yet, feel they are in posession of the full facts to allow them to make a final decision.

The club are well aware of the strong opinion of the fans and have read all the comments, emails etc sent to the club and fans should rest assured that they are being listened to.

The Club will continue to discuss the situation and make a further announcement when a final decision is confirmed and we ask the fans, in the meantime, to trust that we will make the best decision for Queen of the South FC.

 

Stenhousemuir

Status: Yes

Stenhousemuir were the first club to put their heads above the parapet with an explicit Yes. Their reasoning seemed to be twofold:

1. That the SFL would lose the Settlement Agreement figure from the SPL;

2. That in the event of a No vote the same thing would be achieved via an SPL2 in any case.

 

 

First Division Clubs Position

Cowdenbeath

Status: No

Cowdenbeath have issued a strongly worded statement indicating their opposition to the proposals.

"The Board decided that it would support any application by "Rangers" to join the SFL but would vote against the present proposal which, amongst other matters, would admit "Rangers" directly into the First Division of the SFL."

 

Dumbarton

Status: Yes

Dumbarton have released a statement this week indicating that strongly implies they are intending to vote Yes:

"After hearing arguments on both sides, a clear majority of those voting (55 to 28) reluctantly felt that admitting the Newco into the First Division would be the better option for Scottish football and smaller clubs as a whole"

 

Dundee

Status: Abstention

Dundee have released a statement indicating that they have been instructed to abstain from the process due to a believed conflict of interest. This may be challengeable, it is not clear why Dundee fans should thus be disenfranchised from such an important vote when other potentially conflicted clubs, such as Dunfermline and Stranraer are not.

 

Dunfermline

Status: No

Dunfermline have very clearly indicated that they will vote no to Newco in the first division. They have not commented officially on what stance they would take if invited to join an SPL2.

Contact: enquiries@dafc.co.uk

 

Falkirk

Status: Possible No

Falkirk's official statement has indicated they will vote No to the current proposals, but left it unclear as to whether they might be swayed should the league reconstruction proposals be altered or improved. Their manager Steven Pressley has been a strong and eloquent critic of the manner in which the footballing authorities have handled the situation.

Contact: post@falkirkfc.co.uk

 

Hamilton Accies

Status: Possible No

Hamilton Chairman Les Gray has indicated opposition to the plans, at least in isolation, but may have left the door open for an arrangement which included more favourable terms on reconstruction.

"If our Governing bodies ever get round to tabling any firm proposal to vote on it is unlikely in our opinion that this proposal, in isolation, would be acceptable to the members."

 

Livingston

Status: Possible No

Livingston have made no official statement of their position, but their Chairman Gordon McDougall (who is also an SFL board member) has made public comments expressing considerable scepticism, particularly in the light of the League's handling of Livingston's own case in 2009.

 

Morton

Status: No

Chairman Douglas Rae has been strongly critical of the plans and has indicated a clear intention to vote No. Again, there has been no mention of their position should they be invited to join an SPL2.

"Under the current SFL rules, any Club making an application for membership should be admitted to the 3rd Division. I personally see no reason to make any exception to that at this time and would therefore vote accordingly."

 

Partick Thistle

Status: Possible No

As with some other clubs, Partick's last statement was on the face of it a clear No, but it is not altogether clear that they might not be open to the idea if tied in to other .

"On its own this proposal is clearly unacceptable, on a number of levels, and is something the Board of PTFC are not prepared to support."

 

Raith Rovers

Status: No

Raith have been firmly against the proposals from the outset, and their director Turnbull Hutton has been one of the most outspoken critics. Most recently they released a further statement querying the process for the forthcoming vote.

[The Fish 10685]

BBC Sport ‏@BBCSport

Newco Rangers will play in Division 3 of the SFL next season #bbcsportsday

[ewerk 30221]

So it's the third division for them. A bit if justice.

[NJS 4365]

Now will come the "timely" reorganisation of the whole league that will have them back at the top in two years at the most.

[warden90 0]

Division 3 it is then. As a Rangers fan its the right thing to happen but I don't understand Rangers fans that are actually happy about it happening, all the players will be leaving, we'll struggle to attract any half decent player, we'll loose a lot of money due to sponsors etc. Its a bad day for Scottish football.

 

Also, I wouldn't be surprised if celtic had the league won by Christmas.

Edited July 13, 2012 by warden90

[Renton 21231]

At least second place will be interesting though.

 

As a Rangers fan, how do you feel about having won less trophies than NUFC btw?

 

Or Boro for that matter.

Edited July 13, 2012 by Renton

[Gemmill 44265]

It's a bad day for Rangers fans, but it's unspeakably arrogant to claim that it's a bad day for Scottish football.

[Toonpack 9170]

It's a bad day for Rangers fans, but it's unspeakably arrogant to claim that it's a bad day for Scottish football.

 

They've been punished enough man leave him alone

Edited July 13, 2012 by Toonpack

[TheMoog 0]

Just read somewhere that it could all be a moot point anyways, there could be a re-shuffle in the wings to create a new Scottish Premier League 2 as opposed to the current league set up... with certain clubs 'invited' to be a part of it.

[toon_don 0]

Aberdeen are now the second most successful club in Scotland.

[ScottishToon 0]

Justice has been done. So proud of Ayr United rejecting Rangers Newco and shows our chairman does have a bit of backbone

[PaddockLad 17067]

The BBC are reporting that the SFA told Charles Green before this mornings vote that Rangers won't be allowed SFA membership unless the Scottish League clubs vote newco into divi one, and without membership they can't take their league place in any division.

[topcat 0]

got what they deserved the dirty robbing thieving barsteds - lucky to be in the bottom league and getting a chance to play football at all this season - they are still banging on about it being a "punishment" the poor deluded ars*holes

 

no doubt the blazers/masons at SFA will be having a late night tonight ahead of shady "meetings" early next week when they'll try and bin the SFL and make a brand new SPL2 with Sevco and "invites" to other clubs to join ... if that happens hope the 25 clubs who voted No tell the SFA to feck off and shove the invites right up their arses

 

this shitey shambles isn't over yet

[nfrederi 0]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012/jul/13/rangers-scottish-third-division

 

SPL2 will the other nine invited clubs hold firm and remain in SFL? Four weeks before SFL kicks off can the SFA charge itself with bringing the game into disprepute its made a complete arse of things and seem to be making matters worse by the day. As topcat says this shambles aint over yet.

[Toonpack 9170]

Excellent article:

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scot...-us-again.html

[nfrederi 0]

http://hereisthecity.com/2012/07/13/glasgow-rangers-have-the-turkeys-voted-for-christmas/

 

Personally think its about time they let the SPL idea die its been a disaster for the Scottish game. Looking at the UEFA coefficients the SPL currently sits 27th (10 places behind Cyprus). Lets accept the way things are get on with the football and look at reorganising along the lines of the Dutch leagues for 2013-14.

[LeazesMag 0]

I doubt Rangers will be playing anywhere next season.

 

common sense is clearly not your strong point is it

[topcat 0]

common sense is clearly not your strong point is it

 

UM might not be far off the mark LM - with less than 2 weeks go to fulfilling their first fixture in the Ramsden's Cup, the SFA have yet to grant full membership (to upgrade them fro associate members) and have asked for the normal raft of 'new' club assurances that would normally have been covered in the formal application pack for SFL entry- including insurance, fire and safety certificates on the stadium, pay structure for the players, financial guarantees on ability to fulfil fixtures (which may include a bond upwards of £100k), entry prices, 'fit and proper person' running the club (will be investigated) as well as a whole host of other stuff including fairly anodyne stuff like conformity of advertiusement hoardings at a set distance from the pitch etc.

 

The question is - will they get all necessary documentation in on time?

 

There's also the small matter of their alleged shortage of players and the year long restriction in signing players ... they still continue to state that they only have about 13 players but they have arranged two Rangers XI friendlies on the 28th July (the same day as their Cup tie) so it would appear that they can field 3 sides with subs on the same day - perhaps putting the number of players in the region of 40+.

[CleeToonFan 1]

By the way isn't Scarborough's old stadium being made into flats/ a supermarket?

[LeazesMag 0]

UM might not be far off the mark LM - with less than 2 weeks go to fulfilling their first fixture in the Ramsden's Cup, the SFA have yet to grant full membership (to upgrade them fro associate members) and have asked for the normal raft of 'new' club assurances that would normally have been covered in the formal application pack for SFL entry- including insurance, fire and safety certificates on the stadium, pay structure for the players, financial guarantees on ability to fulfil fixtures (which may include a bond upwards of £100k), entry prices, 'fit and proper person' running the club (will be investigated) as well as a whole host of other stuff including fairly anodyne stuff like conformity of advertiusement hoardings at a set distance from the pitch etc.

 

The question is - will they get all necessary documentation in on time?

 

There's also the small matter of their alleged shortage of players and the year long restriction in signing players ... they still continue to state that they only have about 13 players but they have arranged two Rangers XI friendlies on the 28th July (the same day as their Cup tie) so it would appear that they can field 3 sides with subs on the same day - perhaps putting the number of players in the region of 40+.

 

the point is, topcat, that they will not cease to exist, will they ? This is the myth that has been peddled for a few years now ie that this is what happens to clubs who go bust. Basically, there are people who wanted Rangers to cease to exist, for various reasons, and it interferes with any common sense they may have.

 

There is absolutely no chance whatsoever of that happening. None.

[LeazesMag 0]

By the way isn't Scarborough's old stadium being made into flats/ a supermarket?

 

is that right ? So what are their 50,000 supporters going to do on a Saturday afternoon now ?

[CleeToonFan 1]

Think a bit highly of Scarborough don't you?! They have a team in the NCEL but it's hardly a poster child for overspending