Hopefully the cryptic title of this blog will lead you to a question: what is the connection between a former football club, a possible future football club and a lizard?
The answer is an obscure one: former US Vice President Elbridge Gerry.
Let me explain. Back in 1812 Gerry was Governor of Massachusetts. He signed a bill into law that redrew the map of electoral districts to suit his own party, taking no account of natural boundaries. The shape of the new Essex County was such a strange one that it was likened to a salamander. No one is quite sure who coined the term, but the Boston Gazette was first to publish a story calling it the Gerry-mander.
The term gerrymander is now in common usage for any attempt to rig a system by changing the structures or rules purely to suit yourself or your side.
And that brings us nicely to Scottish football. But first a quick recap.
We know that Craig Whyte’s Rangers FC PLC (in administration) will not be playing football ever again.
We know that Charles Green’s Sevco 5088 Ltd now owns Ibrox and may soon employ some footballers, or at least Lee McCulloch. And perhaps any other employees of the former Rangers who cannot see that their careers would surely be better served elsewhere.
And we know that Sevco would like to become a football team.
So the initial plan was that Sevco would simply inherit the former Rangers’ Scottish Premier League share and place, and hope that no one noticed any difference. But such a share transfer has to be put to a vote, and so new rules were quickly voted through to allow an entirely new team to apply for an SPL place.
Now it looks like this first attempt at gerrymandering will fail.
The new rules state that 8 clubs must vote in favour of Sevco. Already though statements have been released by the boards of Hearts and Dundee United explaining that they will vote against. They believe that preserving the sporting integrity of our game is much more important than Sevco. Celtic and Hibs have also come to the same conclusion while Motherwell, Aberdeen and St Johnstone are also thought likely to vote against.
This leaves Sevco dead in the water. So the SPL would then need to bring in a team from the Scottish Football League to become its Club 12. And the knock on effect would be a vacancy in the bottom division of the SFL, which the new club Sevco could then apply to fill. In competition with any other club that applied of course.
The rules of football simply don’t allow any other conclusion. The separate structures of the Scottish Premier League and the Scottish Football League offer no other solutions to the apparent problem of where the new club could be fitted in. This is only a problem to those who feel it merits some special attention, of course.
So now here comes the second, and much bigger, attempt at gerrymandering. Never mind playing around with the rules. Let’s just restructure the whole of Scottish football so that a higher place can be found for Sevco.
No, this isn’t another scare story. Like RFC into administration, RFC into liquidation and Sevco to lose the SPL vote this really is happening. Once more it is intended that the fix will be in.
Newspaper reports tell us that the leaders of Scottish football’s various governing bodies spent six hours debating a possible more towards a united league structure. In the interim however, this would mean starting next season with two SPL divisions and two SFL divisions. And so a new club would be required to make up the numbers in SPL2.
In other words, the game would be gerrymandered to allow Sevco to join in the second tier rather than the fourth tier of the game.
Now I actually agree that merging the two league bodies into one is the correct way to go. Henry McLeish recommended this in his far reaching report into the future of Scottish football – in December 2010. And we haven’t heard anything of the idea since, so why now?
Reconstruction should be done in a considered and careful manner over a period of time, not rushed through in some half assed attempt to have a halfway house in place as soon as possible – and all purely for the benefit of a team that doesn’t actually exist yet.
I’ve been arguing throughout the saga of Rangers’ long death that there is only one place a new club can be allowed to join the league structures, and that’s at the bottom. Precedent supports this: every other new club has come into the fourth tier. Not one has started its footballing life anywhere else. And basic fairness would indicate that a brand new club should not get any preference over the existing ones in the game.
The next big question therefore is this: if it is wrong for the new club Sevco to join the top division of Scottish football, what is the case for its joining in the second tier?
The other eleven clubs in the top flight of the game are making clear that they will take a stand. They will put sporting integrity, where the only way to advance is by winning football matches, first. They will resist attempts to buy a place or to bully others into conceding one.
So why should clubs lower down the footballing structure take a different view?
The argument, it seems, is a financial one. The game, we are told, needs Sevco and its supposed economic power. If it takes a wholesale restructuring of football to achieve this, we are all just supposed to accept that it is worth it.
It’s the same argument that was intended to compel SPL clubs to let Sevco join. And they saw straight through it – so why should SFL clubs not do exactly the same?
Bear in mind that it is now late June. The 2012/ 13 season is due to kick off in just a few weeks. Is it feasible that a new structure can be created, the relevant votes taken and won, and Sevco admitted so quickly? And that’s before we take into account any legal fallout that may still affect Sevco from the whole Rangers saga. Not to mention the outstanding disciplinary processes that have been paused. There is a great deal still to happen.
It is becoming more and more likely that the possibility of Sevco not having a league to play in come the start of next season is increasing on a daily basis.
Quite where that would leave owner Charles Green and his investors is anyone’s guess.
Excellent article, those who deny the old Rangers is dead take note! Sevco as a NEW club should start at the bottom as Annan Athletic did. Anything else is Gerrymandering.
Well written Piece which I wholeheartedly agree with. Let cut this nonsense out and let Mr Greens club start at the bottom. Provided he has a team at his disposal.
Mr Green, The Scottish Media, the SFA and SPL should take note:
The law prohibits the re-use of a name of a company previously gone into liquidation, (section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986). A prohibited name is a name by which the liquidated company was known at any time in the 12 months immediately before liquidation: whether this is a registered name at Companies House, or its trading name, or any name so similar to its registered or trading name as to suggest an association with the liquidated company. It is a criminal offence to contravene section 216 of the Insolvency Act. Anyone contravening the Act may be prosecuted by the Department of Business Innovation and Skills and could go to prison if convicted. In addition, under section 217 of the Act, you could be made personally liable for the debts incurred during the time that you were involved in managing a business using a prohibited name, even if it was a limited company. This could happen whether you are prosecuted under section 216 of the Act or not.
Ally McCoist take note:
Even if you are not contravening Section 216 of the Act, you will be personally responsible for the debts of the company if you are involved in managing a business and you act on instructions from someone you know who is contravening Section 216. This is because you are helping someone to commit a criminal offence by contravening Section 216.
Ally is the “Greyfriars Bobby” of Scottish football. His master is dead but he is still hanging around waiting on a resurrection that can never happen. What a complete fanny!
Thai tim
Why arent the authorities doing something about this ?
and who do i complain to , to stop them using the name R@tners fc
Yours
Timabhouy
These things are usually regulated by Companies House and the UK Department of Business, Innovation and Skills
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What happens if Scottish football is totally re-structured for this toxic organisation and then Sevco 5088 Ltd suffer an insolvency event? Absolute shambles from SPL, SFL and SFA…as always.
how can you class a completely brand new company with new owners as being “toxic”? Are you completely incapable of detracting yourself from bitter hatred and bigotry?
Saying all fans & staff associated with Rangers or a newco Rangers are “toxic” is bigoted and simply ridiculous. As a Celtic fan, do you bomb innocent people or molest little boys?? I very much doubt it. Grow up and get a grip of life. People like you and many people on here are the shame of Celtic F.C and you along with all other bigots in Scotland are not welcome in sport.
Everyone must be made aware of what stunt they are trying to pull here
And it must be nipped in the bud before it gains any momentum
When, or if all comes to pass, one thing will remain beyond reproach. The unabashed, blatant affrontery of the ‘Authorities’ (SFA and SPL) to shoe horn in this disgusting, cheating, shower of rats.
Take a look at yourself. Bigotry is what your football team strongly opposed in their creation in 1888, yet you are spouting things like that hate filled post above. Celtic fans are going on about integrity, when really they are using it to vent their bitter hatred of a football team. People dying of cancer, children not even seeing the age of 3 and never being able to even go to a football match before their life is cut short and you are on here ranting with a venom of hatred over a football team being liquidated and a brand new team applying for that vacant space in Scottish football?????? Put things in to perspective and get of daddy’s computer before he catches you. I can only imagine you are 12 years old based on your pathetic and typical old firm fan mentality. Don’t oppose bigotry and be guilty of it at the same time idiot.
the so called sfa , spl, should get out now before they cause any more confusion , they have been as weak as a cuppa in a transport cafe ! then again mbe that is their purpose to cause as much confusion as possible , they live off the fans and can,t make an important decision for the people they supposedly represent ? they lazy gits sit back and pass the buck , enjoy the freebies , but don,t have the guts to make a decision when called upon , cowardly leeches , a disgrace in tandem with ye olde 1872 edmunster drive club !!!
This stream is a perfect example of the low life scum that is the Scottish football supporter. Quotes such as “to shoe horn in this disgusting, cheating, shower of rats.” shows the mentality and hatred that flows through the veins of the bigoted supporter that is “an old firm fan”.
Thank god the old firm no longer exists. If Rangers start again in a division 3 then so be it. To put every supporter or member of staff in to a category just because of what football team they support is extremely sad, bigoted and simply pathetic. For every terrorist supporting yob that Sellick have, there is a Rangers one, just as there is an honest working family man that enjoys spending time with his 5 year old son at a football match on a Saturday afternoon on both sides of the fence. The irony in some of the above comments is also laughable, some of the people above are the reason scotland STILL has the age old problem of unhealthy despicable hatred in sport and the sooner there type dies without passing on their bitter hatred the better Scotland will be. If Rangers take their punishment and build up from division 3 as a newco, then the Celtic fans are simply being ignorant bigots in hating a group of people because of what sports team they support or work for……. is it just me, or weren’t Celtic founded on the complete opposite morals???
Some of you need to take a look at yourselves and get a life. People are dying of cancer and other illnesses around the world and you are on here getting all upset with a vengeful haterd over a sports team. Grow up!