Today's Herald Sports: Dougie Thinks A Season Of

[dunning1874]

Absolutely shameful comments on Rae's part, frankly.

 

David Longmuir has said that there is absolutely no possibility of Rangers being allowed into the First Division; if they're in the SFL next season, they'll be in the Third Division having applied for a place alongside any other sides who wish to apply. It's SPL, Third Division or nowhere. These are the options. There is no chance of league reconstruction going through before the start of the season.

 

I'd love it if we could chuck this talk of Rangers being 'relegated'. If Sevco have a club in the Third Division it's a club which has been allowed into the Third Division through a vote, not a club which has been relegated. This should be seen as the best case scenario for them, not some kind of punishment. Green's Rangers are being allowed to set the agenda here.

 

What Douglas Rae or any other First Division Chairmen should say when asked about Rangers being in the First Division next season is that there is no possibility of this happening and they should be applying to join the Third Division if they lose the SPL vote. They can quote the chief executive of the SFL on that too.

 

Rangers are dead. A company which comes along to replace them has absolutely no right to be in the SPL or the First Division. They can start from the bottom or not at all, and that's what Rae should be saying. The fact he's entertained the idea of them being First Division at all, never mind discussed positives about it, is utterly embarrassing. In the long line of things he's said over the years which have shown he's out of touch with the support, this is by far the worst.

[ton5saints1]

Nonsense, he openly discusses the prospect of an SPL in the article. That's not bigger leagues, it's not a fairer voting system, it's not a fairer distribution of money, it's certainly not disbanding the SPL (rather expanding it) and it's got hee-haw to do with a pyramid system.

 

It's about money, and how Morton can get their hands on it without giving a flying fuck about those below us in the game. A selfish, greedy attitude with no regard for the good of the game as a whole, and something that our club should rise above.

 

for once i'm in total agreement with Toby

 

[chrissiboi]

Sevco don't have a league to play in , to parachute them into the first would be hugely problematic what would stop Airdrie or any other club from suing the SFL all sorts of legal stuff could open up and be even more embarrassing for the sport.

 

We don't know the full details of what was done or have any guarantees about Green and the finances at Sevco.

Given Green's reaction to the SFA sanction before he actually owned the entity they would need to ensure that Green or any of his cohorts would not bring the game into disrepute in the future, thats if they have a future.

[Alibi]

Read the article in the Evening Times on my way home from a course in the City Centre and my first plan was to get home and post about it- Chris has beaten me to it.

 

So, Dougie has laid his cards on the table. You wonder how many Sports Editors that are looking for a quote from a First Division Chairman look down the table and tell their reporters to give him a call. Foot right in it with no consideration whatsoever for anyone else other than himself. The Rangers in this division would bring obvious short term benefits, but openly encouraging their introduction without asking the views of his own customers is commercial suicide.

 

Unfortunately, it's not the first time we've seen this sort of thing from the chairman. His support for SPL 2 a few years ago, which has again reared it's ugly head in this interview, and his money-grabbing attempts to move a cup tie that took til a full ten days after the original date to be played to Hampden or Celtic Park in order to cash in under the pretence that the best pitch in Scotland wouldn't be able to cope when the weather cleared both showed him, and more importantly Morton in a very poor light.

 

I'd like to think I've been pretty impartial on this whole affair when many have taken the "It's Rangers, fuck them" stance but the time for the footballing authorities to take sanctions is past. The only people taking any sanctions now should be the courts, on the individuals who mismanaged the former club and screwed the Revenue.

 

As dirty dingus says, the new club are exactly that, and I've no problem with them being invited to apply for a place in the Third Division should the SPL not accept them and promote a club from our division. Clearly that would be a shameful decision but outwith our club's hands. However, should they wish to apply for a place amongst the SFL there can be no starting place other than the bottom for any club.

 

By linking this with the formation of an SPL 2, the chairman clearly appears to be looking into this as a short cut for us to get a slice of TV money and sponsorship that has eluded us because we've been on the outside looking in for so long. Yup, shafting the lower reaches of the SFL and showing no regard for the good of the game as a whole so we can get our hands on the filthy lucre of that horrible organisation, whilst ignoring the need for sporting integrity purely for Morton's benefit.

 

It may well suit Morton, but it's disgusting. I'd advise he looks at the stance taken by the Aberdeen and Hibs fans' before making such stupid statements. 12 of the last 13 home matches of last season all attracted crowds of less than 2000. Can he really afford to piss off the remaining fans as much as the mere thought of voting in the Rangers into the SPL has pissed off some of those clubs' fans?

 

It's one thing complaining about the outlay he's made in the last decade, but there's a solution for that- cut your cloth accordingly and if it means part time football and relegation so be it. Others will eventually fall with us and we'll return to the First Divsion as our current standing is pretty much in line with the club's standing in the Scottish game.

 

The last thing a club with any sort of dignity should be doing though is dropping it's drawers like a cheap little wh*re to whoever's around to help line their pockets. It's what we resented the old Rangers and their pals up in the SPL for.

 

Disgraceful, absolutely disgraceful.

 

Great post, Toby. I agree with every word.

 

[piehutt]

It's a bit of a long shot about us winning the league.

 

Ok - so our best 11 players last season could just about hold their own - but it was clear our squad was too small to sustain anything. As soon as we lost McCaffrey, Tidser, Fred we were relegation fodder.

 

With Dougie's strategy of having such a tight squad we'd need to a - be very lucky with injuries and b - have a pretty good set of U21's to come in. Ideally both, but I'd be surprised if this develops next season, even if we do have a good starting XI.

[.:BrIDo:.]

I have to say, whilst I agree with alot of the seniments posted I do think alot of it is a bit of an over reaction to what is said in the article. Rae's quotes, below:

 

Nothing can be said for certain regarding Rangers' future, but the Morton chairman Douglas Rae says the need to see justice being done must be at the top of the agenda.

 

"I don't think there is any chance of Rangers being relegated to the third division," Rae told Herald Sport. "I think they will either remain within the SPL or be relegated to the first division, possibly the latter on balance. They could be relegated to the first division to show that they have received a punishment.

 

"Rangers have got to be punished, without a doubt. If that had been Kilmarnock, or someone of that ilk, there would be no debate about what would happen. Rangers have already had a lot of special consideration which, if it had been a lesser team, would not have happened.

 

"Rangers have to be punished. They share that view but their problem is that they feel the punishments that the SFA and SPL want to lay down are excessive. Fair is not just balance on the Rangers side, it has to be fair for football. They have to treat it the same as any other team.

 

"Charles Green said that the SFA should sit down with them and discuss their punishment and negotiate it. I think that is rubbish. You don't walk up to court and say to the judge 'I think you and I should discuss what would be a fair punishment for what I have done'. They have got to be punished. Justice must be seen to be done."

 

The financial benefits of placing newco Rangers in the lower leagues would be considerable for the 29 other member clubs and Rae admits he would have no qualms about seeing the Glasgow giants slotted into Scotland's second tier for next season.

 

"From a personal point of view, I would not be unhappy about it. I know it would diminish our chances of winning promotion to the SPL for one year but you would get the benefit of Rangers for one year. We just need to wait and see what transpires because nothing is sure or for certain at this moment.

 

Rangers' route into the first division may seem an acceptable compromise for many but significant hurdles will need to be overcome first.

 

Speculation regarding a revamp of the league structure, culminating in SPL1 and SPL2 could prove the way ahead, allowing for Rangers to be punished while keeping them within the SPL structure.

 

The SFA is reportedly keen to rubber stamp the radical overhaul before the start of the new campaign but Rae has reservations about quickfire change.

 

He said: "An SPL2 would allow Rangers to just be slipped into that league. The formation of SPL2 could not be decided retrospectively, however. You have to play for it, you can't just do it. It can't come down to teams who have the biggest attendances."

[foobs the elder]

Or the guy who loans Morton 400k a year?

 

I'm not saying the chairman hasn't been generous to Morton, assuming of course it doesn't come back to bite us in the future, but every single club in the game has a duty of care towards the Scottish game as a whole. The game's got into this mess because it reeks of self interest. Nowadays our club is becoming just as guilty as those who have cut us out in the past by not fulfilling their moral obligations.

 

If you're happy with that that's up to you, I'm ashamed that my club has taken such a stance.

 

 

PLEASE POINT ME TO THE BACK OF THE QUEUE OF OTHER PEOPLE WILLING TO PUT MONEY INTO MORTON

 

Foobs

[irnbru]

It's a bit of a long shot about us winning the league.

 

Ok - so our best 11 players last season could just about hold their own - but it was clear our squad was too small to sustain anything. As soon as we lost McCaffrey, Tidser, Fred we were relegation fodder.

 

With Dougie's strategy of having such a tight squad we'd need to a - be very lucky with injuries and b - have a pretty good set of U21's to come in. Ideally both, but I'd be surprised if this develops next season, even if we do have a good starting XI.

 

Its not Dougie's strategy - it is how Moore decides to use the budget given to him.

 

Teams like Raith have come close with smaller budgets than us and the league isn't of the quality it used to be so I wouldn't say it is a long shot on us winning it.

[Tonsilitis]

As I have said, I think there is an over reaction to DDFR's interview. He has just said what many of us think but gets canned as putting greed and self interest first.

 

For what it is worth, the SPL could agree to let Newco Rangers in provided they agree to accept any punishment which would have been imposed on Oldco Rangers. That punishment could be say a points deduction in respect of last season which would effectively relegate them, hence dropping them only one league.

 

That, of course, would require Newco to also apply for membership of the SFL and Longmuir's entirely correct stance is that they should apply to join at the bottom. As I have said in two or three threads, if agreement to a one league drop could be allied to a restructuring of Scottish football for the better, I would live with that. Its the biggest bargaining chip the SFL have had ever.

 

The reality though is that, I think a lot of this is becoming ever more academic. It is becoming ever clearer that Green does not have the funds to run Rangers, especially when season ticket sales are not happening in anything like expected volumes and sponsors have been pulling out. Rangers should be asked to put up a bond re fulfilling their fixtures in the same way as Livingston and Gretna were. If they can't meet it, they should suffer the same fate.

 

Rangers in the first division would not be much good if they go belly up again half way through the season, which is increasingly a strong possibility. I think Walter Smith & Co might then ride to the rescue, picking up the pieces when Green has no option but to sell but who knows.

[TaunTon]

It's a bit disappointing that Dougie has pronounced before giving too much thought to what the support thinks, however that's hardly surprising. No doubt that what Toby says re the wider responsibility to the game is correct, but the sad reality is that the majority of chairman will act first and foremost on what they consider is best for them or their club and bugger daft stuff like integrity.

 

The only guarantee that we would get two home games against Resurrected FC is if they drop to Div1 now and I'm sure that Dougie wouldn't want to pass up a sure thing to make some extra cash. Wiser heads will be saying nothing at the moment no matter what their intentions, but Dougie doesn't do wise.

[vikingTON]

PLEASE POINT ME TO THE BACK OF THE QUEUE OF OTHER PEOPLE WILLING TO PUT MONEY INTO MORTON

 

Foobs

 

Why should a football club require outside investment? Perhaps had Mr Rae spent the last decade building a sustainable business, as Geoff Brown did at Saint Johnstone and Stuart Gilmour at the great unwashed, then we wouldn't need a white knight.

 

I for one can't see the reason why Dougie keeps us dependent on a rich guy's chequebook...

 

As for his comments in the paper, they betray a complete lack of integrity, and even basic consistency. I applauded his vocal calls for Dundee to be severely punished last season, but it's now clear why he chose that stance. Dundee offer nothing to Morton in terms of revenue. Had they brought a thousand fans instead of a one hundred though, he'd have been an apologist for their cheating.

 

'The Rangers' shouldn't even be let into the SFL if it comes down to a vote, never mind parachuted in at a high level.

[SramTon]

Why should a football club require outside investment? Perhaps had Mr Rae spent the last decade building a sustainable business, as Geoff Brown did at Saint Johnstone and Stuart Gilmour at the great unwashed, then we wouldn't need a white knight.

 

It's not really a fair comparison though. Both those chairmen/clubs landed on their feet with Tesco buying their grounds.

 

St Mirren/Gilmore were in dire straights prior to Tesco arriving on the scene (figuratively and literally).

 

 

[vikingTON]

It's not really a fair comparison though. Both those chairmen/clubs landed on their feet with Tesco buying their grounds.

 

St Johnstone have had McDiarmid Park for years now and were registering a profit during their last stay in the First Division. Some chairman would have overspent and accrued debt to mount a title challenge, such as our esteemed chairman.

[dunning1874]

He explicitly says that he would not be unhappy about it; this isn't an over-reaction at all. Our Chairman is perfectly fine with sporting integrity being ignored and Sevco being allowed to skip ahead of 20 clubs as it'll make the club a wee bit more money. It's disgraceful.

[chrissiboi]

Given the amount of money we are losing each season due to whose business model ? Would the hypothetical two home games against any proposed arrival of the former Tax evaders known as Rangers in the 1st Division actually do anything significant in the grand scheme of things.

 

What happens if it does not bring these proposed financial rewards ?

 

As a new club they should apply for league membership with every other non league club. We need change in the game but not for the convenience of a defunct club who we don't know how many skeletons are in the closet.

Change needs to be for the benefit of the game as a whole not for the individual.

 

I think all reference to Sevco 5088 or whatever they are at the moment being in any league should be muted by all chairman until each organisation makes that vote. On any SFA ruling how can Campbell Ogilvie still remain in his position as even if we take his version of not knowing or being misinformed does that not then highlight an air of incompetence / bad judgement and is therefore compromised.

[Flyerton]

It's a bit of a long shot about us winning the league.

 

Agree with you there, we avoided the play offs by a whisker and is he saying The Rangers being in the league would cost 'Ton promotion?

[cornbeef]

Agree with you there, we avoided the play offs by a whisker and is he saying The Rangers being in the league would cost 'Ton promotion?

 

That was one of the oddest bits in the article for me. As for the rest, we can bump our gums about integrity etc but I'll wager he's not the only 1st Division Chairman to be thinking this way. Unfortunately Dougie said it out loud in public.

 

If there's to be a Rangers in any form I agree that they should be starting with an application for the Third Division.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[theton1]

Agree with you there, we avoided the play offs by a whisker and is he saying The Rangers being in the league would cost 'Ton promotion?

 

If rangers end up in the 1st division or spl 2, without a play off spot, every other team will be playing for nothing, except the possibility of relegation.

[Flyerton]

If they are parachuted into Div 1, what would their fans be allocated at Scappa?

 

Half the stand, WDE and half the shed with marshalls / police where the fence used to be?

[SramTon]

St Johnstone have had McDiarmid Park for years now and were registering a profit during their last stay in the First Division. Some chairman would have overspent and accrued debt to mount a title challenge, such as our esteemed chairman.

 

McDiarmid Park give St Johnstone a major competitive advantage and they have more or less maintained that since. Contrast the position St Johnstone/Geoff Brown were in when Rae took over at Cappielow and tell me it's a fair comparison.