Walter Smith has accused the SFA of negligence as the footballing bodies face a crucial week over the future of Sevco.
It looks like the SFA will have to revert to Plan C after the SPL turn down Sevco’s application to join the top flight with SFL clubs going public with their opposition to a plan to create a place in the First Division for Sevco.
With Rangers in the process of being liquidated Charles Green is desperately trying to establish Sevco against a background of hostility and uncertainty.
Green’s claims of transparency and open-ness are already sounding hollow with no fresh investors beyond Zeus Finance with season ticket holders concerned about attempts to take direct debit payments from unrecognisable companies.
John Brown is the latest Ibrox savior and has told supporters not to buy season tickets to starve Green out with the Rangers Supporters Trust also refusing to endorse season-ticket sales.
The SFL season starts in less than four weeks with the Ramsden’s Cup but despite the catalogue of problems facing Green Smith believes that the SFA have mishandled the entire crisis.
“There has been negligence on the part of the SFA in handling the overall situation,” the former Ibrox boss told The Scotsman. “ I don’t think Rangers want different treatment from anybody else. It’s just the whole thing has been so badly handled.
“Ten years ago Motherwell went in to administration. Four years ago Gretna went defunct. So, surely the SFA should have put sanctions in place then? That’s why I am saying they have been negligent.
“Now we’ve got a free-for-all around Rangers and everyone is having a kick at them. If there had been proper statutes in place, a lot of stuff that’s coming out now would not have occurred. After what transpired at Motherwell and Gretna, other clubs should have known exactly what would happen to them in similar circumstances.
“Any club that goes into liquidation and wishes to come out again as a newco should know exactly how they are going to be treated. Instead, everyone is posturing just now.
“But the bottom line is that if they carry out what they are supposed to be going to carry out in the next few weeks and Rangers go into the Third Division or even the First, then it’s going to affect the whole of Scottish football in a drastic way.”
Scottish football has no mechanism for providing a league place for the newco of a club that is liquidated.
Since Motherwell went into administration in 2002 the authorities have gradually imposed sanctions to punish clubs that spend beyond their means.
In 2008 Gretna were playing in the SPL but the new season will see Gretna FC 2008 start the campaign playing in East of Scotland Football League Premier Division.
In 2009 Livingston found themselves demoted to from the First Division to the Third Division after a complex brush with liquidation that saw owner Angelo Massone forced out by a consortium including former directors of Cowdenbeath and Dumbarton.
Livingston won back-to-back promotions to return to the First Division in 2011.
CLICK HERE for diddy club chairman speaks out against SPL bullies
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Why is he talking about Motherwell going into Administration when comparing against Rangers FC going into Liquidation ?
Then talks about Gretna who were liquidated now a new Gretna club are playing outwith the pro leagues…so what is his problem.
Did the initial problems emanate from the SFA, did the SFA decide not to pay HMRC / various clubs throughout Europe / Knowingly spend money they didn’t have and KNEW they wouldn’t repay ?
Is Watty Myth trying to say Calimero FC are a special case and CANNOT go to the 3rd Division ?
Does Scottish football need a club that rips off other clubs, cheats for decades, refuses to accept any blame and goes outwith the proper channels to escape punishment.
Sorry Watty – You are the weakest link – Time to step up and do the right thing which Mr. Green should have done from the outset….Admit 100% liability, accept all sanctions and hope to be admitted to the bottom tier. Dependant on the Appelate tribunal finally giving a decision which now looks like it will have to be a 12 month suspension (Who’s fault is that though)
Enough of the whining about clubs kicking your former club….apart from the statutory 10 point deduction which meant nothing, no such sanctions have yet been applied. Has Motherwell for example complained about being cheated out of £ 1m for finishing 2nd or Hearts about the loss of £ 800,000 due for a player still with the new club yet not paid for ??
Come back when you have a REAL complaint and can speak with some authority / power.
first class summary williebhoy
“Any club that goes into liquidation and wishes to come out again as a newco should know exactly how they are going to be treated” says Walter. Its really quite straight forward – the newco must start again from scratch by signing players and applying to join a league from the bottom rung.
he is right the sfa has been negligent they have turned a blind eye to there years of cheating they employed peat ogilvie gordon smith all of whom new what was going on
The Pies may not be playing anywhere next season if Bummer Broon gets his way and no season tickets are sold. It is likely that newco would then fold.
Whose fault is that Wattie and how much did you get via an EBT?
Ich bien ein Scotch Pie!
Only in scotland would the press give a demented old bigot a platform to vent bile that everyone knows is false, on the upside everyday we read more of this rubbish from them it makes them look more and more pathetic. Note to the myth fat sally and the like, you dont bite the hand that feeds you, eventually in this country you will alienate the very organisation that has cheated and pandered to you throughout history. And if you feel you are being treated unfairly, please, please go to uefa and fifa, bring your shamefull treatment to the attention of the world. See how that works out for you. Curtains down for good. Goodbye and good ridance
Still no apology
Still no regret
Still no remorse
Let’s give the cardigan some credit the SFA are probably negligent in some ways for letting Scotland’s shame away with their cheating ways.
Now if all the EBT beneficiaries would just pay their loans back problem solved, but they want to keep the money and claim the moral high ground. If only the orcs would wake up and see who caused their plight.
RFC are dead and long may they stay dead.
Flatliners FC.
The wonderful Scottish press continue to give space to these clueless rabble rousers: Maybe we could argue that Sir wally was a wee bit negligent himself. Did he not even for a second wonder how ragers could afford all of the top players they were buying? Or did he never wonder how he could borrow money from ragers, possibly even when he was at Everton, and not have to pay it back?
Maybe he honestly believed that Sir Minty had a money tree in his garden. Or maybe he just chose to keep his mouth shut.
As usual when ‘Walter’ speaks, the press bow down before him.
How about asking the guy some proper questions, he seems to be untouchable as far as they’re concerned.
No-one has asked him about his knowledge of or involvement in the EBT scheme. He hasn’t even made a simple Ogilvie-style statement on the matter. No one has asked him about his konwledge of where the money was coming from to ‘buy’ all the players that won 3 in a row – they still trot out the line that he didn’t spend any money! We all know it and it’s been said many times but the press really are pathetic. What is the point of them?
Also, well said williebhoy
Can anyone tell me who is having a ‘kick at rangers’? Serious question here.
Celtic? No, we’ve said nothing.
SFA? No, they’re bending over backwards to try and accommodate them.
SFL clubs? No, they’re having a kick at the SFA for bullying them.
SPL clubs? No, they’re all doing the right thing and refusing the newco entry on the grounds of integrity.
Thyre always going on about rangers being punished enough but what punishment have they had? They were given -10 points, but thats automatic for going in to administration!!!! Thats all the punishment these daft monkeys have had. I despise the lot of that establishment…
WELL SAID MY MAN
walter and ally just as guilty of dragging rangers down into this mess as the others.both very arrogant with bullyboy tactics, even towards own playing staff seem to think there above the rules of the SPL. more truths will about this pair will come out
Wally knows exactly what he’s doing. He knows full well that “a club that goes into liquidation” doesn’t come out again as anything. It’s gone forever. However the more Ragers people peddle this Newco = Rangers pish in the compliant MSM, the more the gullible consumers of this garbage believe it.
RTC’s summary of Smiths rant is spot on.
Walter is actually dead right. the SFA have been negligent. They turned a blind eye to years of corruption allowing extra favours to rangers along the way.
They knew what was going on all along but decided that if the looked away the didn’t have to admit it was happening.
The very fact that ogilvie, and gordon smith before him held the positions of power they did shows how they closed the doors to others getting into the facts.
Walter and all others who are trying the old reverse pschology trick need to stop trying to treat the public like idiots.
The ex-rangers fans who are infuriated, are infuriated at their own ex team, but the people who all had involvement in their ebt second “contract” are the ones the ones shouting the loudest. It is smoke and mirrors and a case of treating the fans, ex fans, like idiots yet again.
This is a little like being an alcoholic to them. Until you admit there is a problem you can’t begin to fix it. They are blaming Craig Whyte and Charles Green because they have no intention of changing how things are run if they get going again.
The Green and Whyte teams did nothing to contribute to the corruption, nothing.
This corruption goes deeper that Green and Whyte, far deeper and until they admit this publicly and put plans in place to fix it all, they are only pretending to look at things. They are failing to make eye contact with the facts, they want to continue as corrupt in the future as they have in the past.
As for the SFA, Ogilvie has to be removed and Doncaster has to go too. Regan needs to have a balls transplant! We need a corruption free organization.
I am reminded of my school days. There always were some wee ‘plonkers’ that used to come out with irrelevant, idiotic remarks just to get some attention. They usually got either of two responses, sympathy for being ‘geeks’ or lambasted for being nuisances. Interestingly, when I look back, I remember that ‘plonkers’ never ever had an original thought. What they eventually spouted was a garbled version of other people’s silly comments. Teachers often misguidedly insisted they be allowed to integrate with the rest of the kids. Such encouragement only led to increased idiocy and annoyance. Personally, I always believed they should be ignored and left to wallow in their own miserable little dreamworlds. I know this is difficult to do when they deserve to be derided and pilloried for their crassness. However, their are two reasons why I am convinced that the best course of action is to ignore them. First of all, their ludicrous statements are consigned to the oblivion they deserve and secondly, being ignored is about the most hurtful response that can be inflicted on anyone, as I am very possibly about to experience! I leave any readers to deduce from this comment what they will regarding current media coverage.
H H
EBT’s anyone? The Cardigan…is he guilty? HRMC will find out soon enough and let us know…wally,
Why did you outspend Celtic every year in your 2nd tenure as r*****s manager when you knew that your beloved club was in dire financial straits?
Why did the board let you spend so carelessly..A need to beat Celtic that was greater than your clubs survival?? surely not peepil
Doesn’t Sir Watty, remember Airdrie were liquidated? By Sir Minty? Karma!! The Irony is that now the SFL ” president ” Blobby Balitine, Airdrie Chairman, is scuttling about trying to get Servco into the 1st Division!!
In between trips to NI, to support them and contributing to “funds” With Ogilvy at the SFA, the stench of cheating scum still reeks
in Scottish football!!
I love it whenever people come together and share views.
Great website, keep it up!
Selective amnesia me thinks Wally!