Lionel J. Botch Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Rangers newco: ‘Big problem for Scottish society’ if Rangers plunge to Third Division SCOTTISH Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan has issued a startling warning of “social unrest” in Scotland if newco Rangers are denied entry to the First Division of the Scottish Football League following the emphatic rejection today of their application to retain top-flight football at Ibrox. Regan’s remarkable comment came as he insisted admission to the First Division is now the only viable option if Scottish football wishes to avoid what he described as a “slow, lingering death”. The Scottish Premier League turned down Charles Green’s bid to have Rangers’ existing share in the organisation transferred to his newco for next season, with ten of the member clubs voting against the application. It is understood Green cast the only vote in favour, while Kilmarnock chairman Michael Johnston is believed to have abstained. The SPL will now await the outcome of an SFL meeting next week when that organisation’s 30 clubs will vote on a proposal to accept newco Rangers into the First Division in the new season ahead of an amalgamation of the league governing bodies from 2013-14. There is considerable opposition and resistance to the plan among SFL clubs and their supporters with many believing Rangers should have to apply for entry to the Third Division in the wake of their spectacular financial collapse. But Regan bluntly asserted that Scottish football simply cannot afford to have Rangers outwith the top two tiers of the league structure, with his argument not confined to the commercial impact their absence would have. “Without Rangers, there is social unrest and a big problem for Scottish society,” claimed Regan. “They have a huge fan base and to contemplate the situation where those fans don’t have a team to support, where those fans are effectively left without a game to follow, I just think that could lead to all sorts of issues, all sorts of problems for the game. “Tribalism in football is really important. It is part of the game. People follow their clubs with pride, it is passed down from generation to generation. There are thousands of Rangers fans whose fathers and parents and grandfathers have been Rangers fans. You can’t contemplate a situation without that and if Rangers weren’t to exist that could have real dire consequences. “There is a lot of emotion around this subject because Rangers are a huge institution in Scottish football history and they are where they are. Their fans have been hurt, they don’t know what’s happening. There hasn’t been a great deal of leadership at the club and there hasn’t been a huge amount of communication from the football authorities. “The SPL have now decided that Rangers won’t be coming back into the SPL. From our perspective it’s important we set out the landscape because there is only one solution for the game now. “The only solution for the game now is that Rangers come into the Scottish Football League and they come into it in the First Division. If Rangers were to go anywhere other than the First Division, then there would something in the region of £15.7 million worth of losses to the game. “For the bigger clubs at the top of the league, that’s half their annual distributions. For clubs at the bottom it is basically wiping out their entire distributions, for some of the smaller clubs it’s a huge proportion of their annual turnover. “The same will be true for most clubs. Perhaps clubs could survive for a short period of time but it’s not sustainable. Even if Rangers end up in the First Division, there is still going to be a £5 million loss of income to the SPL clubs. The game is not sustainable so there would be a slow lingering death for the game in Scotland. It would then trickle down to the SFL. From our perspective as the governing body and we cannot allow that to happen. “If we allowed that to happen, it would simply be a dereliction of duty. Therefore, this whole decision-making process has been one of the most challenging and complex decisions that I have ever been involved in in 27 years of business as sport. “Some clubs in the SFL are afraid of the implications of the decisions. There is the moral argument, the fear of a fans’ backlash and there are financial implications to consider. But when we look at the alternative, it is not possible to think about it without thinking of the game withering on the vine. We cannot contemplate that and the message has to be that Division One for Rangers is the only show in town as far as the future of Scottish football is concerned.” Regan admits the influence of television contracts, which are largely predicated on the presence of Celtic and Rangers in the Scottish game, are the biggest single factor in his determination to ensure the Ibrox club drop no lower than the First Division. “We have had dialogue with the broadcasters,” he added, “and we understand what the various stakeholders from Sky television, ESPN, Sport Five and a number of the SPL’s other commercial partners are likely to do in the event Rangers are not in either of the top two tiers. It’s not pretty. That’s why we cannot sit back and let that happen without trying to get all parties to accept this is the only solution which can keep the game afloat. “Without Old Firm games, the value drops, the overseas deals are almost exclusively about the Old Firm derby and that would go immediately. Then you look at the rest of the game and what it is worth. It is fair to say the broadcasters would live with a year without Rangers in the SPL, because it could be a fantastic story for them, which is why I think First Division rights will be an interest as people will want to see how this club is going to bounce back.” Regan conceded, however, that there can be no guarantee a financially weakened Rangers will climb back to the top flight at the first attempt. “If Rangers don’t get promoted, then the game has got another year to suffer with the financial consequences that brings,” he said. “I can’t predict what will happen, because Rangers at the moment are a weakened team because of everything that has gone on. “They are a newco at the moment, they have got very few players on their books. They are going to be entering the SFL in whatever division with a weakened team and I don’t think it’s by any means certain they are going to come back in the way they or their fans might like them to recover. “It’s going to be a slow recovery to get back to the football fitness they have shown in the past. So we can’t look into the future and say ‘what if they don’t operate in a certain way?’. We can only look at building the foundations, to change the game for the better and provide an infrastructure that can bring financial certainty to the other 41 clubs.” Regan confirmed that sanctions will apply to newco Rangers in the First Division and also made it clear the formation of an SPL2 will be pursued in order to accommodate the Ibrox club if they are rejected by the SFL next week. “The SFA have to transfer Rangers’ membership from oldco to newco,” he said. “That can be done with any conditions attached to it that the SFA board deem fit. We would expect a newco to carry some of the sanctions which would have related to the club had it still been in the previous incarnation. The membership cannot be transferred on financial grounds alone. It has to have a degree of sporting integrity and that means sporting sanctions.” http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spl/rangers-newco-big-problem-for-scottish-society-if-rangers-plunge-to-third-division-1-2392610 —————————————————————————————————– Funny way to resign, but hey ho. Re-read this. So many issues it is not true. Pretty much goes to show Newco are bigger than the game in Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 There will be social unrest if Newco is parachuted into division one. I don't want them in the SFL at all. If necessary, let Newco be the only club in SPL 2. “The SFA have to transfer Rangers’ membership from oldco to newco”. Not true! "That can be done with any conditions attached to it that the SFA board deem fit." Really? If this happens, let's organise a boycott of all Scotland matches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodstock Jag Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Stewart Reagan should take note that the mere existence of Rangers, even as a latent idea, causes social unrest in Scotland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianlucatoni Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) follow, follow, we will follow the money ... shocking statement from the same Regan who was widely quoted as saying that if the SPL chairmen had voted to keep the blue filth in the SPL then he (ergo SFA) would have blocked their registration - were the same kind of social unrest communications during the tottenham riots dealt with by custodial sentences - as if the filth need the invitation to perpetrate unrest given their shenanigans in manchester/barcelona/everywhere they went ... but now it's ok for them to be dropped to the SFL1 - well you had your chance boyo and you and your ilk have effectively shat it - so hopefully the SFL chairmen should take the decisive action ... and he still talks about der h*ns in the present tense when they are infact kaput Edited July 4, 2012 by gianlucatoni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Scruff Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 That is just chilling. Not for its threats, but for how wrong it is on so many levels. All I can say is Jings! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Gilmour Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Quote - Funny way to resign, but hey ho. Re-read this. So many issues it is not true. Pretty much goes to show Newco are bigger than the game in Scotland. Unquote ...And that tv is bigger than us, the fans. Commercially, for the SFL clubs, loss of fans Is far far more important than the pittance of crumbs we receive from the old scum, sorry, spl tv deal. This Statement makes me so angry - it displays a total lack of comprehension of and empathy with, fans of any clubs outside the Spl in general and the old firm in particular. It says "Scottish football = old firm. Everything else is irrelevant, and indeed, should be bent, altered and generally *******ised to suit their needs." That the CEO of the game's Administrators should utter such ill-informed, ill-educated, scaremongering drivel is frankly, a damning indictment of both the SFA as a body and Regan as an incompetent, out of touch employee. His position is now totally untenable. Sadly, the club statement today has proved to be incorrect - the SFA SHOULD have taken responsibility for sorting this out, but are clearly utterly incapable of doing so. Regan and his team of idiots will kill Scottish Football with this approach. Good luck, presiding over 38 old firm bigot fests every season - thats what you want, go have it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fistle1876 Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Asked sfa for my membership refunded to me I they allow newco into 1st division. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lionel J. Botch Posted July 4, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Regan also stated last week that the rules would be applied without fear or favour. his statement above for the Scotsman tells a different story. I wonder what changed him mind in applying the rules? I wonder what this will do for the attendance at Scotland games. Any tartan army followers thinking for throwing in the towel? Edited July 4, 2012 by Lionel J. Botch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Stevenson Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 I haven't "posted" on this site before, but was previously a frequent poster on ptfc.net. I've been reading people's contributions for about a week and finally worked out what I was doing wrong when trying to log into the forum! Anyway, here goes for my first comment.... If you ever needed evidence as to why the SFA with this bullying, ignorant cretin at it's head should NOT "take ownership" of the task of providing a solution to the problems of Scottish football, this interview provides it. Along with Doncaster he is a HUGE part of the current problem. He is a crude scare-mongering bully and you can see his imprint in the distorted document sent to SFL clubs last week. The majority of SFL Division 1 clubs are already opposed to having Newco enter at the 1st Division. If they show the same unity of purpose in the face of Regan's threats, SPL2 is a non-starter. Who will they invite to play Newco? Cowdenbeath presumably, and then start dredging the 2nd Division for Uncle Toms? I was a bit dubious about the line the club took today. I felt they were trying to appease the fans while seeking to absolve themselves from making a decision by calling on the SFA to intervene. Well we can see what kind of intervention we can anticipate and see what a serious mistake it would be to invite it. Looks like it's back to e-mailing the club and calling for a hardline response to this. Regan and Doncaster are surplus to requirements. Doncaster went into today's SPL meeting hinting at a deferred vote which didn't happen. Aberdeen, Motherwell and St. Mirren have all denied seeing the document prior to its' dispersal to the clubs and at least the first two have dissociated themselves from the coercive elements of it. It could well be that Doncaster is toast at the earliest opportunity. Regan gets paid a vast amount of cash yet swans off on holiday in the midst of the biggest crisis in Scottish football in my lifetime and most likely beyond. I believe that if the SFL clubs stand up to this, he can be seen off too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rid Skwerr Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Is he in the pay of Newco? That statement could have come straight from the Ibrox publicity department. Pure scaremongering of the worst sort and deplorable from a mere employee of Scotland's football governors. Is this Regan acting on his own initiative, or is he speaking for his employers? Heaven help us if this represents the thinking at SFA HQ. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianlucatoni Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Any tartan army followers thinking for throwing in the towel? +1 This clown's tenure has to be ended soon - time the 41 chairmen who have active memberships exercised their right to a vote of no confidence - although I did see the previous greasy haired slick incumbent Smith on the TV and he was espousing the same p*sh too Edited July 4, 2012 by gianlucatoni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lady-isobel-barnett Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Don't want to sound an alarmist but.... All police leave cancelled indefinitely Army on standby Hospitals clearing beds Appeal for blood Salmond considering introducing curfew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Stevenson Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Just read on another thread that Cowdenbeath also say "No to Newco in SFL1". I withdraw my above suggestion that inferred that they would most likely be up for SPL2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collins Out! Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Huge Masonic conspiracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kni Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 I haven't "posted" on this site before, but was previously a frequent poster on ptfc.net. I've been reading people's contributions for about a week and finally worked out what I was doing wrong when trying to log into the forum! Anyway, here goes for my first comment.... If you ever needed evidence as to why the SFA with this bullying, ignorant cretin at it's head should NOT "take ownership" of the task of providing a solution to the problems of Scottish football, this interview provides it. Along with Doncaster he is a HUGE part of the current problem. He is a crude scare-mongering bully and you can see his imprint in the distorted document sent to SFL clubs last week. The majority of SFL Division 1 clubs are already opposed to having Newco enter at the 1st Division. If they show the same unity of purpose in the face of Regan's threats, SPL2 is a non-starter. Who will they invite to play Newco? Cowdenbeath presumably, and then start dredging the 2nd Division for Uncle Toms? I was a bit dubious about the line the club took today. I felt they were trying to appease the fans while seeking to absolve themselves from making a decision by calling on the SFA to intervene. Well we can see what kind of intervention we can anticipate and see what a serious mistake it would be to invite it. Looks like it's back to e-mailing the club and calling for a hardline response to this. Regan and Doncaster are surplus to requirements. Doncaster went into today's SPL meeting hinting at a deferred vote which didn't happen. Aberdeen, Motherwell and St. Mirren have all denied seeing the document prior to its' dispersal to the clubs and at least the first two have dissociated themselves from the coercive elements of it. It could well be that Doncaster is toast at the earliest opportunity. Regan gets paid a vast amount of cash yet swans off on holiday in the midst of the biggest crisis in Scottish football in my lifetime and most likely beyond. I believe that if the SFL clubs stand up to this, he can be seen off too. Welcome and great post! Our club, board and fans cannot trust the SFA. Today's club statement looks utterly ridiculous after Regan's reported comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven H Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Angry, dismayed, utterly f**kin gobsmacked. What are these clowns doing to our game. F**k this, I give up. Will the last to leave please switch off the lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G Jag Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 Regan's position must be untenable after that statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1971 Posted July 4, 2012 Report Share Posted July 4, 2012 I can't believe a guy in his position, and with his many years of experience, has come out with remarks as crass, hypocritical, dangerous and downright untrue as that. Absolutely astonishing. I dislike calling for people to resign, but after those remarks alone his position is untenable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaggernaut Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Regan is an idiot. Unfortunately, a dangerous one. And clearly a bully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Dastardly Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 What amazes me is how this could all have been sorted months ago if the authorities had taken prompt action. If back in March or April, Rangers had been relegated and Dunfermline kept in the SPL, I'm sure there would have been a few grumbles from supporters, but it would have probably been accepted. By procrastinating, they have allowed the argument against to build up a head of steam and with the internet able to carry that message quicker than the traditional media, lines hardend and the authorities appear to have lost the case, atleast with the fan base. I can't see how Doncaster, Regan or Ogylvie can keep their jobs now and Longmuir's jacket must be hanging on a shoogly peg unless he starts supporting his memebers interests. I think that this will become a textbook case for all students of sports administration on how not to do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Scimmia Rossa Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Regan is just another in a long line of people out of their depth. Him, Doncaster, Gold, Smith, Mitchell etc. To think Jim Farry used to take pelters! The Partick Thistle chairman's position must soon be untenable too. He refuses to make the correct decision, despite the overwhleming evidence of what the fans want. In fact he prefers to abdicate the decision to someone like Regan. It's the weakest type of leadership at a time when the club needs the exact opposite. Partick Thistle are staring at oblivion. It has nothing to do with Rangers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandy Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Regan should resign after such a ridiculous statement about 'social unrest'. Has he not heard the Gers fans who are happy to start again in Division 3? Tube. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jagfox Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 He's back tracking already. On radio Scotland he was saying the social unrest comments were in a context of Sevco dieing. Still a lot of pish. Due to the jaundiced view of our game south of the border, its just struck me as strange that two of our football organisations have English chief executives. Another example of cash over sporting integrity? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Bunny Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 (edited) Don't want to sound an alarmist but.... All police leave cancelled indefinitely Army on standby Hospitals clearing beds Appeal for blood Salmond considering introducing curfew I'm shocked ... a couple of days ago I posted something (copied from another site) which I thought was a clever bit of satire and now it turns out it was just a preliminary draft of Regan's actual statement: 2.0 Prior to the vote being taken, SR made a short presentation. 2.1 SR advised all chairmen that if they vote against the proposal, the following chain of events is certain to occur prior to the start of the 2012/13 season: 2.1.1 All clocks will stop. 2,1.2 A giant meteor will fall to earth, break up in the earth’s atmosphere, with one piece landing on every SFL stadium. 2.1.3 Football will come to an end, Spain will be asked to return their European championship, and all traces of the sport will be obliterated from the face of the earth, other than… 2.1.4 zombies will arise from their graves, and will have special dispensation to play football, if they accept Sevco into the top division of their league, with every other club accepts a 30 point penalty. 2.1.5 Sky Sports and ESPN will withdraw from their present contract and take their ball home. ND further advised that Sky are in the process of negotiating a new deal to cover Scottish football for the sum of an infinite number of pounds (spread over 5 years). This offer will be immediately withdrawn. 2.1.6 Forfar bridies will be banned in all EU countries. 2.1.7 HMRC will demand repayment of Rangers’ debts from every SPL chairman and their family members, their children, and their children’s children. 2.1.8 A plague of locusts will devour any living thing that grows in the meteor crater where once Raith Rovers played. 2.1.8 Stars will be put out, the moon packed up and the sun dismantled. Edited July 5, 2012 by Mr Bunny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Scruff Posted July 5, 2012 Report Share Posted July 5, 2012 Regan is just another in a long line of people out of their depth. Him, Doncaster, Gold, Smith, Mitchell etc. To think Jim Farry used to take pelters! The Partick Thistle chairman's position must soon be untenable too. He refuses to make the correct decision, despite the overwhleming evidence of what the fans want. In fact he prefers to abdicate the decision to someone like Regan. It's the weakest type of leadership at a time when the club needs the exact opposite. Partick Thistle are staring at oblivion. It has nothing to do with Rangers, I don't see how DB falling on his sword solves anything, even if you do believe that the club's statements are wrong (I don't - though I do believe his original newspaper interviews were misguided). And surely it's an entirely reasonable stance to suggest that the governing body in our game should show the leadership here rather than the 'problem' being abdicated to member clubs? The fact that the chief executive of that body has come out with highly questionable remarks can hardly be laid at the door of our chairman. To my mind there should be two separate processes. Securing sufficient clubs to fulfil season 2012/13 and I'd be in favour of Sevco's application to join the football league at the appropriate level. As a result of that we're hearing (and I think this will be right) that this will lead to considerable financial restructuring within the game. And given the nature of football clubs costs and overheads this is not an easy goal to achieve this quickly. I'd also like to exploit this for our club's benefit, but that's a side matter. This is exactly where we need leadership from our national governing body. Drive through the structural change our game has needed for years (and highlighted by report after report). There are no more sacred cows to preserve. But while the current structures remain in place we will always tend towards individuals and clubs fighting to preserve their wee bit of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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