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Football #29: A Time for Transfers


Stubby

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Returning to the Rangers story:

Kilmarnock, Inverness and St Mirren are also canvassing supporter opinions, apparently.

Killie are almost as short of cash as Rangers were. They have to be seen to consult fans, what with season tickets on sale, but they'll almost certainly back newRangers in the end. Inverness and St Mirren are uncertain. But Hibs, as predicted, have come out against.

Following a meeting of its Board of Directors, Hibernian FC confirmed that the Club will vote against the transfer of the Rangers share in the SPL to a newco at the General Meeting of SPL clubs on 4 July 2012.

This re-affirms the view of the Board that the sporting integrity of the SPL is of paramount importance.

Also, four Rangers players including Steven Whitaker and Steven Naismith have now confirmed that they don't want to transfer to the newco and regard themselves as free agents. Green is blustering about how he's going to sue them and anyone who tries to sign them, but he's bluffing with an empty hand here, his claims about 'clear legal advice' aside. TUPE is clear: you have the right to transfer at the same terms and conditions, but you can't be forced to do so. So the players are entitled to regard their contracts as ended. And a club can't hold on to a player's registration if there's no contract - that's been clear since Bosman.

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They're growing on me, and the fact that they're called super saiyan cyan is a bonus. They're also an improvement over the previous third kit, which was apparently head-to-toe highlighter yellow.

Threats of trademark infringement from Columbus?

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So is that four against now? Only one more needed.

Technically it's three, since despite the comments quoted above Aberdeen insist they haven't officially said they'll oppose entry for newRangers. But realistically both Motherwell and Aberdeen are likely to come out against, making five. Celtic's position is the most interesting: their fans are obviously strongly against newRangers entry to the SPL, but despite Lawwell's earlier comment, there is at least one reason why Celtic really do need Rangers.

As I've said before, currently some matters in the SPL - importantly, including changes to the division of TV cash - require an 11-1 vote to carry. To amend this rule itself requires an 11-1 vote. The non-OF clubs therefore had no practical way to vote themselves a more equitable TV deal: Rangers and Celtic had a lock.

If Rangers aren't there in any form, though, that changes the game. Now there are 11 non-OF teams. They can change the rules so that it now requires only an 8-4 vote to amend the TV deal, and indeed abolish any other 11-1 restriction. The OF's stranglehold disappears. Celtic will have a fit and predict an apocalypse, and redouble their efforts to get out of the SPL altogether, but since they have no viable way out, they'll be stuck between a rock and a hard place. They might have to do a deal to avoid the other clubs ganging up on them - and they'll be negotiating from a position of weakness, something neither of the OF ever like to do (or even admit is possible).

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And now it's official: newRangers are not getting into the SPL next year. Aberdeen finally confirm what we all knew, and Inverness join them, meaning newGers can't now win the vote.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18577192

Also, QPR sack Joey Barton for gross misconduct. No, I'm kidding, they gave him a fine that he can probably pay out of petty cash instead, because there are different rules for Premiership footballers. But they did tell him that this was definitely, finally, we really mean it this time, no kidding, honestly, cross our hearts and hope to die, conclusively and for real, his last warning. I'm sure he's terrified.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18581490

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where will the rangers play then? will it be in a lower division of scottish football?

and as a newcastle fan i cannot tell you how relieved i am to not have to deal with the shenanigans of joey barton. and to think he was well behaved while a magpie.

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where will the rangers play then? will it be in a lower division of scottish football?

Well, they'll need to get their skates on even to do that. They could conceivably wind up not playing next season at all. Assuming they now withdraw their application to the SPL, the next step is for the SPL to decide who they'll invite to take oldGers' place. That could be Dunfermline (who were relegated) or Dundee (who finished second in the First Division). Until that happens, there isn't even a space for newGers to apply for in the lower divisions (which are run by the SFL).

Once an SFL space opens up, newGers can apply for it. The SFL can actually offer them a space in any of the three lower divisions, as I understand it, but it'll be either the bottom tier (Third Division), which is where new entrants traditionally start, or the top (First Division), where the actual vacancy will exist. But there's a really tight timetable to get that application in and a decision made in time. The first league fixture is 11th August. And the Ramsden's Challenge Cup* kicks off a week before that. newGers won't want to miss that! :P

With the SPL decision on who becomes Team 12 not until 4th July at the earliest, that leaves a matter of weeks for a newGers application to the SFL to be made and accepted, which would involve organising a meeting of all the SFL teams, with due notice, to hold a vote. Tight, and if it can't be done in time, newGers simply don't play next season.

And on top of that, newGers still have an SFA tribunal to report, which might ban them from football for a year anyway. (Long story.)

*the Challenge Cup is like the league cup without the SPL teams or any European football. Seeing Rangers contest this with the likes of Arbroath would be hilarious.

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Several more Rangers players not joining the newco, including Lafferty, Davis, McGregor, and Ness.

First Division clubs starting to weigh in on whether to admit Rangers if they apply for the vacancy. Raith Rovers are a firm no.

Starting to hear rumblings that lower division clubs will challenge Rangers' probable application to the Third Division. It's my understanding that you must have several years of accounts records to show, which of course a newco doesn't.

Craig Whyte is now under criminal investigation for his takeover of Rangers.

Lastly, rumors abound that Rangers won't actually be able to pay players, among other serious remaining financial problems.

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Not surprisingly, teams currently in the first division who reckon they have a good chance of attaining promotion to the SPL this season are less than keen that newGers should walk straight in and (presumably) nick that place. The benefit of higher away gates four times a year is outweighed by the cost of losing out on promotion. So I'd expect the likes of Raith and Falkirk to be against a direct entry of newGers to the first division: it's simple self-interest. Dundee too, assuming Dunfermline are saved and they are not promoted, though Dundee, having gone down the administration route themselves - twice - will have to be diplomatic about it. That doesn't mean that any of those clubs would oppose newGers entering the SFL at all, though.

The usual requirements for SFL entry can be waived with a 75% vote of the clubs, so it seems unlikely that newGers' application is going to be ruled out on a technicality. The bigger issue is that newGers must first register with the SFA. They must get that paperwork done basically right away, as I understand it.

The financial position of newGers is surrounded by rumours, including suggestions that season ticket receipts are going to a bank account belonging to oldGers, for some reason. There's no doubt the finances of newGers are linked to the player problems: Green clearly banked on being able to sell the players on. Annoyingly for Hearts fans, one of the players who's agreed to the contract transfer (and who Green could therefore actually sell to raise cash) is Lee Wallace. For those not keeping track, this is the very same player for whom oldGers originally offered us £300,000. We told them to get stuffed, demanding £1m. The clubs compromised on £800,000 - and then, of course, we never got a goddam penny. Now newGers can sell him and any fee they get will represent pure profit. Hopefully, if this comes to pass, the SFA will step in and demand that at least some of the cash goes to Hearts.

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Wow, that does really suck. Further evidence that this sleight-of-hand is bullshit.

I'm not at all sure why the SFA would rule that way, though? I mean, I get why you'd hope that in an it's-only-fair, if-wishes-were-fishes kind of way, but if the rest of these shenanigans have been allowed I'm not sure why they'd interfere here.

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Mainly because (and this isn't fair either) football authorities have tended to insist that 'football creditors' are paid before other creditors, and there is a belief that the SFA may make the paying of oldGers' 'football creditors' - particularly Scottish ones - a condition of newGers' registration. Equally, though, they may not.

ETA - to be clear, legally the debt dies with oldGers, same as all the other debts. This would be newGers fulfilling a condition demanded by the SFA, which is slightly different.

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Shanghai Shenhua started it when they nabbed Anelka. Mostly the CSL imports Brazilians and Eastern Europeans with the odd hard-as-nails Aussie CB. But now that the precedent has been set expect a fresh arms race from other CSL clubs as they've got way too much money and it's less effort than building teams through youth development.

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@Trisk:

drogba is 34 years old.

he did have some great moments this season, but the time when he was great all season long is long gone.

shanghai offered him the amount of money he couldn't get anywhere else.

you do the math ;)

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