SPFL and Covid ( Leagues 1 and 2 to restart )

[bigsuperslim1874]

5 minutes ago, Smithee said:

 

just wait til your dad gets home 

😂

[wavydavy]

1 hour ago, MattyK82 said:

So no one else has to click on the link, see below another well balanced and insightful piece by the likely winner of the upcoming Pulitzer Prize, Keith Jackson...

 

Not sure where to start with this one 🤦🏻‍♂️🤣

 

Hearts and Partick Thistle £10m threat to clubs lost support and they might regret it if decisions go against them - Keith Jackson 

The battle goes to the Court of Session this week and adds to the madness of Scottish football during lockdown. 

 

 

Hearts and Partick Thistle £10m threat to clubs lost support and they might regret it if decisions go against them - Keith Jackson

The battle goes to the Court of Session this week and adds to the madness of Scottish football during lockdown.

 

Years from now when historians reflect on the Great Lockdown of 2020 they will see that Scottish football led the way as the true pioneer of this pandemic.

 

Records will show that the game in this country descended into a state of complete and utter madness long before the rest of the real world eventually caved in and lost the plot too.

 

It’s a scary place out there these days and some of the events of the last few weeks have been enough to make you wonder if there’s much to be gained from ever going out the front door again.

 

Certainly, the vein-popping insanity which has throttled the SPFL since March shows no sign of loosening its grip any time soon.

 

 

In fact, it will be cranked up again over the next few days as Hearts and Partick Thistle kick the whole drama into the Court of Session, having already issued the rest of Scotland’s clubs with a £10million relegation ransom note.

 

If they get their way we’re all about to be dragged back to the very start of this crisis and the decision to call time on a season after it had been infected by the same virus which has unleashed such suffering and chaos.

 

From Dundee and their mysterious flip-flopping to Neil Doncaster and his dubious back channelling, it could all be dragged back into the public domain like a recurring nightmare.

 

The trouble is, where there was almost unanimous sympathy back then for the plight of these two clubs, and for Thistle in particular, the mood around this new normal has taken a turn for the worse.

 

There are some clubs in agreement that the M8 alliance have been left with no option but to press the big red button.

 

But there are others, and plenty of them, who have been infuriated by the manner in which they have gone about it and, in particular, by the enormity of their demands.

 

The threat to trigger an interim interdict to prevent next season from kicking off as scheduled on August 1 has also raised the temperature significantly and contributed to the feelings of ill will swirling around the 12 
top-flight clubs.

 

At 3pm on Wednesday, just hours after the preliminary hearing at the Court of Session, all 12 of them will dial into a video conference call to discuss the next step in Scottish football’s recovery

 

On the agenda is a proposed rule change which would empower SPFL chief executive Doncaster and his board with emergency powers to act as they see fit should, heaven forbid, another pandemic force our game back into lockdown at some point in the future.

 

Over the weekend, Doncaster was also locked in fruitful talks with the Scottish government to secure permission for Premiership clubs to restart full contact training from this morning. That means the top 12 can now arrange pre-season friendlies between themselves while also advancing plans to get fans safely back inside their grounds as quickly as possible and turning on the tap of matchday revenue.

All the while, Hearts and Thistle continue to hold a gun to the game’s head over the manner in which last season was shut down.

 

It’s this refusal to allow the rest to focus fully on moving forward which is causing resentment to build and tempers to fray.

This is likely to dominate the conversations on Wednesday.

 

There is every chance that this uncertainty and rancour will all still be rumbling on in three weeks’ time when the SPFL holds its AGM to decide on the make-up of Doncaster’s board for the new campaign. There’s also every chance Celtic’s chief executive Peter Lawwell will be re-appointed to the set-up at that stage, replacing Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson as has become the customary summer boardroom job swap in recent times.

 

If that happens then Lawwell, who has kept his own counsel throughout this period of
 unprecedented unrest, will be dragged into the thick of the fight.

 

He’s unlikely to join in quietly or, for that matter, to feel much in the way of empathy for the two clubs most sorely aggrieved.

 

It really is a mess of gargantuan proportions and as the bad blood continues to simmer behind the scenes Scottish football’s dirtiest laundry may now be aired in full public view, assuming Hearts and Thistle’s lawyers win the argument on Wednesday morning.

If it is decided by Lord Clark that the case should proceed to the Court of Session the two rebellious clubs will feel their own actions have been largely vindicated, no matter how much anger they have caused among the others.

 

If, however, it is batted out at the first stage and Hearts and Thistle are ordered to enter into arbitration through the SFA instead, the whole basis for their claim will have been greatly undermined.

 

If the issue of a compensation claim somehow winds up going back to the vote of all 42 clubs then Hearts and Thistle would be as well standing outside and whistling for their cash. There may have been a time and place for such a conversation.

 

Even the most myopic and self-interested of chairmen and chief executives could see the blatant unfairness of what was done to these two clubs back in March when football was stopped.

 

But much has changed over these historic, life-changing last four months.

 

What was once a cruel world is in danger of losing its mind. At least our game will be there to welcome it to the madhouse.

 

 

 

 

So basically he wants all the cheating swept under the carpet and just let things get back to the normal way.

 

Sounds about right for this cretin.

[heatonjambo]

19 minutes ago, Allowayjambo1874 said:

Keith Jackson is so far up Lawell’s arse he can nearly see Doncaster’s feet.

 

what an absolute shitshow Scottish football is.

Your right

 

[soonbe110]

1 hour ago, Saughton Jambo said:

Think it’s more to do with his hatred of Levein rather than the club 

More than likely. Unfortunately he let his ghost writer pitch it as a very negative view on the club as a whole. Pity he wasn’t given the chance to proof read it first. 

[Jambo-Fox]

44 minutes ago, Homme said:

 

Go **** yourself. 

 

You should have read my clarification instead of speed reading and giving an arrogant answer. Try actually following the conversation. 

That’s a rather unnecessary instruction .....

[Skivingatwork]

Said it before but the quicker the record and sun go bust the better it will be for Scottish society as a whole.

 

We are sorely lacking some proper independent journalism in this country.

[Zico]

14 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

Good point. The ‘empathy’ - if there was any - consisted of some cheap talk. When the opportunity was available to actually display some empathy in a tangible way most clubs effectively told us to feck off.

 

It has previously been reported that we’ll be outcasts. That is a position that we should all be very comfortable with.

 

 

That’s how I’ve always viewed this point, whether raised by a hack, chairman etc. Their ‘empathy/sympathy’ when this corrupt charade was enacted did us absolutely **** all good. Those chairmen who had ‘empathy/sympathy’ for us then had the opportunity to actually act upon it and ensure no harm was done to any club, yet collectively chose not to, so them withdrawing their ‘empathy/sympathy’ makes absolutely no ****ing difference to us. 

[AllyjamboDerbyshire]

Just now, jackal said:

It really is a mess of gargantuan proportions and as the bad blood continues to simmer behind the scenes Scottish football’s dirtiest laundry may now be aired in full public view, assuming Hearts and Thistle’s lawyers win the argument on Wednesday morning.

 

You have to question why a professional body like the SPFL would have any dirty laundry and I would imagine most supporters would be very interested to see what they have been doing. Threats of liewell coming to get us if he is elected again and not giving empaty towards us or Partick shows how petty they really are. A board member has to be impartial and although we already know they are not using as a threat is just desperate.

 

Proving to the judge that referring it to the SFA is bad for our case is a big thing and doing so is effectively ending our claim.

We know he's not one, but any proper journalist or reporter, or even the lowliest of hacks, should be wetting himself at the prospect of the 'dirtiest of laundry' coming out in court for any organisation and would be building up the momentum to ensure his readers were desperate to follow his every word when he reports on the upcoming court case rather than suggesting it shouldn't be happening. And if he was choosing a side it would always be the 'little guy' against the mighty organisation, even if he couldn't care less for its plight. By siding with the powerful he has turned the art of journalism on its head (I know he's not a journalist, but he's meant to be) and, yet again,  he's gone with the 'keep myself onside with Scottish football power brokers' angle, which is bad enough, but to ever suggest that it is somehow wrong to bring about the airing of dirty laundry in a court of law is straight out of the Pravda journalist's survival manual.

 

'Scottish football has dirty laundry it fears being aired in a court of law.'

 

If ever there was a headline that should be the dream of every Scottish sports writer, that's it! That should be the angle every media outlet longs for. But no, let's kick two clubs we know have been treated badly instead.

[DETTY29]

58 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

There’s also every chance Celtic’s chief executive Peter Lawwell will be re-appointed to the set-up at that stage, replacing Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson as has become the customary summer boardroom job swap in recent times.

 

I had not realised that.

Maybe something worth mentioning to the judge to highlight the fairness that doesn't exist.

All that needs done is for lets say Burrows and Gray still stand is for someone ekse to put themselves forward lets say Cormack and not vote Lawwell as he is on SFA Board as it is.

 

Lawell still gets his SPFL board lickspittles in McLennan and Doncaster.

Edited June 29, 2020 by DETTY29

[Goodfella]

14 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

I enjoyed Keef's article. You can smell the SPFL's fear from every line. 

 

Having fully digested the article now I'm the same, quite enjoyable. He's actually tried to cover his own back like the little worm he is by stating it's unfair for us. I hope Doncaster and the rest are properly losing sleep over this. We've kept our counsel (Sat's statement aside) nicely up until now, and any attempt by the Record/SPFL to drum up pressure is clearly noise.

 

Fear is driving up the volume. Good. If we lose, we lose. We've done a hell of a lot more than any other club, and proven that you can't walk all over Hearts.

[Turkishcap]

10 minutes ago, wavydavy said:

So basically he wants all the cheating swept under the carpet and just let things get back to the normal way.

 

Sounds about right for this cretin.

I read so far down then stopped, dreadful yet laughable stuff.

[Walter Bishop]

https://twitter.com/joe_black1509/status/1277530138620637184?s=20

 

 

Joe Black

 

@joe_black1509

 

The defence to Hearts & Partick petition before court from the

@spfl

appears to be who should be the arbitrator. That appears to be it.......... They don't appear as yet to have answered anything that Hearts & Partick raised in the petition.......

10:11 AM · Jun 29, 2020·Twitter Web App

[AllyjamboDerbyshire]

Just now, doctor jambo said:

All this talk of the other clubs empathy for ourselves and partick.

How did that manifest exactly?

Support for enquiry?

Support for the steering group?

Support for recon?

Lucky we had so many friends BEFORE the court case

Support and sympathy from those who did you down, or £8m. Support and sympathy, I'm sure, is the one most people would go for.

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Nothing wrong with that Jackson piece. 

 

Whether the other clubs are right or WRONG,  Jackson simply reports the way that the majority of people see this,  the vast majority,  beyond the M8 alliance 

[Ethan Hunt]

2 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Nothing wrong with that Jackson piece. 

 

Whether the other clubs are right or WRONG,  Jackson simply reports the way that the majority of people see this,  the vast majority,  beyond the M8 alliance 

Let’s see how many bites you get 🎣 

[Beast Boy]

1 hour ago, Deevers said:

His concern for poor old Peter is oh so touching.  A complete and utter welt of the first order. 

 

Writes it like some kind of threat though. "Ooh, better watch out Hearts." " You don't want to make him mad now, because he'll be back on the board soon. "

 

****ing bring it on. Bring on Lawwell and his mhanky club.

 

HMFC don't do bullied.

[scotty2442]

3 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Nothing wrong with that Jackson piece. 

 

Whether the other clubs are right or WRONG,  Jackson simply reports the way that the majority of people see this,  the vast majority,  beyond the M8 alliance 

Totally disagree

 

Pretty much all his articles over the last few weeks have been hugely inaccurate and seems to be only interested in gas lighting the situation 

[AllyjamboDerbyshire]

Just now, JamboGraham said:

The threat to the “1st August kick off” will only, and could only, happen if the SPFL has done something wrong.

 

Right now it is not stopping any Premiership designated club from preparing for the new season in any way, the only restrictions are due to Covid-19 and Government policy.

 

Unless the SPFL or the clubs believe, or suspect, that wrongdoing has occurred then our case, along with Partick, is irrelevant to anything they wish to do at this time.

 

If the SPFL is found to have done something wrong then the SPFL and the clubs have options to right that wrong. These are the same options they have had since March.

 

Becoming angry with a cause or party that you have “sympathy” for because their actions to remedy the situation may inconvenience you in the future is illogical.

 

Sympathy is irrelevant. It’s a question of wrong doing. Yes or No. Sympathy without the willingness to resolve the issue is what has led us to court this week.

 

I would actually have more respect for club custodians who were honest and simply stated that they believe we should be playing in the Championship regardless of what rules or process may, or may not, be in place. Based on the vote results since March there would appear to be many in this category.

 

 

See what you've just written? That's pretty much what a proper journalist would have written; while welcoming the prospect of 'the dirtiest of linen' being aired in court.

[CostaJambo]

16 minutes ago, AllyjamboDerbyshire said:

We know he's not one, but any proper journalist or reporter, or even the lowliest of hacks, should be wetting himself at the prospect of the 'dirtiest of laundry' coming out in court for any organisation and would be building up the momentum to ensure his readers were desperate to follow his every word when he reports on the upcoming court case rather than suggesting it shouldn't be happening. And if he was choosing a side it would always be the 'little guy' against the mighty organisation, even if he couldn't care less for its plight. By siding with the powerful he has turned the art of journalism on its head (I know he's not a journalist, but he's meant to be) and, yet again,  he's gone with the 'keep myself onside with Scottish football power brokers' angle, which is bad enough, but to ever suggest that it is somehow wrong to bring about the airing of dirty laundry in a court of law is straight out of the Pravda journalist's survival manual.

 

'Scottish football has dirty laundry it fears being aired in a court of law.'

 

If ever there was a headline that should be the dream of every Scottish sports writer, that's it! That should be the angle every media outlet longs for. But no, let's kick two clubs we know have been treated badly instead.

Good post.

[Gordon Ramsay]

19 minutes ago, AllyjamboDerbyshire said:

We know he's not one, but any proper journalist or reporter, or even the lowliest of hacks, should be wetting himself at the prospect of the 'dirtiest of laundry' coming out in court for any organisation and would be building up the momentum to ensure his readers were desperate to follow his every word when he reports on the upcoming court case rather than suggesting it shouldn't be happening. And if he was choosing a side it would always be the 'little guy' against the mighty organisation, even if he couldn't care less for its plight. By siding with the powerful he has turned the art of journalism on its head (I know he's not a journalist, but he's meant to be) and, yet again,  he's gone with the 'keep myself onside with Scottish football power brokers' angle, which is bad enough, but to ever suggest that it is somehow wrong to bring about the airing of dirty laundry in a court of law is straight out of the Pravda journalist's survival manual.

 

'Scottish football has dirty laundry it fears being aired in a court of law.'

 

If ever there was a headline that should be the dream of every Scottish sports writer, that's it! That should be the angle every media outlet longs for. But no, let's kick two clubs we know have been treated badly instead.

 

Bang on. 

 

Most journalists would be having a field day with this. Not Keith though. Fruit scone face Lawwell has him snivelling about like his wee slave shouting down Hearts and Partick as the bad boys. 

 

Celtic must be paying him directly. Either cash or a sook of pot hole face Pete's member every so often. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by Gordon Ramsay

[Hector Riva]

37 minutes ago, EIEIO said:

I enjoyed Keef's article. You can smell the SPFL's fear from every line. 

Yes. Thats how I read it too.

[Independence]

14 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Nothing wrong with that Jackson piece. 

 

Whether the other clubs are right or WRONG,  Jackson simply reports the way that the majority of people see this,  the vast majority,  beyond the M8 alliance 

Why do you other? 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

12 minutes ago, scotty2442 said:

Totally disagree

 

Pretty much all his articles over the last few weeks have been hugely inaccurate and seems to be only interested in gas lighting the situation 

Like it or not an interdict is going to be met with a tidal wave of hatred,  agendas that will be around for many a year. 

 

Good article actually,  completely inoffensive.

 

I think people need to get out of their JKB bubble and understand what this means. 

 

No happy ending here,  especially if we get our way 

[Weebroon98]

I wonder if Liewell will have time for the spfl board as he will be spending a lot of time at another court case. I wonder how the red top rags will approach that one

[WorldChampions1902]

19 minutes ago, Walter Bishop said:

https://twitter.com/joe_black1509/status/1277530138620637184?s=20

 

 

Joe Black

 

@joe_black1509

 

The defence to Hearts & Partick petition before court from the

@spfl

appears to be who should be the arbitrator. That appears to be it.......... They don't appear as yet to have answered anything that Hearts & Partick raised in the petition.......

10:11 AM · Jun 29, 2020·Twitter Web App

And when the SPFL do introduce that ‘defence’ to their case on Wednesday, our QC should simply respond with this (thanks to @Footballfirst )

 

From the SPFL's briefing notes to the Board (pre vote),  which includes extracts from the opinion of the SPFL's own QC, Gerry Moynihan, where he states:

 

"Given the serious financial consequences for clubs I fear that any course of action may result in one club or another litigating. Waiting may simply defer the inevitable. Even declaring the season void would require a decision to that effect from someone and would be controversial for some. Invoking Artcle 64.1 at least gives the comfort of a democratic mandate and if the outcome is challenged then the ultimate decision will lie with the courts"  

 

Slam Dunk !!

[AllyjamboDerbyshire]

You know, that article by Keith Jackson is quite damning, in some way. Not of Hearts nor Partick Thistle, but of Scottish football, the way its run, and of Peter Lawwell and the new Old Firm, all combined with a lapdog media and their ability to issue none too veiled threats. The word Mafia comes to mind. Now where did I hear that said before?

[hmfc_steve]

4 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Like it or not an interdict is going to be met with a tidal wave of hatred,  agendas that will be around for many a year. 

 

Good article actually,  completely inoffensive.

 

I think people need to get out of their JKB bubble and understand what this means. 

 

No happy ending here,  especially if we get our way 

🙂

[Nookie Bear]

1 hour ago, colinmaroon said:

I am pleased to announce that I'm being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for introducing the word "lickspittle" to  the internationally renowned Jambos Kickback. 

 

I'm pwoud!  Vewy pwoud!

 

 

 

 

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble"

 

[Nookie Bear]

44 minutes ago, Ethan Hunt said:

It’ll be very interesting to see if there is a reaction to that part of the article from Lawell. It has clearly been written as a threat, let’s see if it’s a threat that Lawell disassociates himself from. It would seem we’ve went long past the stage of Scottish footballs dirty washing being aired in public, and are now actively displaying the corruption of Scottish football by effectively taking out an advert in a national newspaper.

 

I cannot imagine Jackson wrote that without first running it by Lawell. Celtic are getting nervous about this, and extremely angry with us, and this is their warning shot across our bows.

[jack D and coke]

7 hours ago, Kiwidoug said:

Sometimes it can be hard to see the wood for the trees.  While this fiasco is unfolding, the major leagues in Europe are happily playing out their seasons.

 

We occupy the same island as England.  If I was a learned justice at the Court of Sessions, I would wonder why we're not playing.  

I obviously don’t know for certain but imo it’s all Celtic’s doing. They panicked and thought seasons might be called null and void and they couldn’t have that. Screw the collateral damage to any other club as long as they got their 9th pissing contest it was all good. They’ve been almost deadly silent right though this apart from get the fixtures out. 

[Skiba]

1 hour ago, John Findlay said:

Mr Jackson,

                        Mr Lawell has kept his counsel has he? Would this be the same Mr Lawell who made an impassioned speech( your words when reporting) for clubs not to vote for an independent enquiry as per the Sevco resolution?

So Mr Lawell is getting pissed off as the SPFL may not kick off on August 1st and Celtic will probably get papped out of the Champions league at the first hurdle and therefore possibly kiss millions of pounds goodbye? Oh didums.

He shouldn't have been in such a hurry to get his hands on a tainted title.

The bully is threatening via his mouthpiece in the press again. Tough shit. 

How dare a woman in her 70s stand upto him. Who does she think she is?

This woman who has more ethics and morals than you and Mr Lawell in her pinkie than you both have in your whole bodies.

When it comes both you and Mr Lawell can both take your medicine.

An Interdict or 'Null and Void' will give him something to worry about.

[BelgeJambo]

DR and Sun working in tandem it would seem.

 

DR today, it’ll be the Sun tomorrow

 

**** them all

 

We are Hearts

[Skiba]

Just now, jack D and coke said:

I obviously don’t know for certain but imo it’s all Celtic’s doing. They panicked and thought seasons might be called null and void and they couldn’t have that. Screw the collateral damage to any other club as long as they got their 9th pissing contest it was all good. They’ve been almost deadly silent right though this apart from get the fixtures out. 

 

Look at how Liverpool conducted themselves.

 

then in Scotland we've got Lennon and Brown holding the trophy as if anybody actually thinks they won it.

[Don Dan]

Records will show that the game in this country descended into a state of complete and utter madness long before the rest of the real worldeventually caved in and lost the plot too.

 

Who’s fault was that? Certainly not Hearts or Patrick. 

 

From Dundee and their mysterious flip-flopping to Neil Doncaster and his dubious back channelling, it could all be dragged back into the public domain like a recurring nightmare.

 

As it should. 

 

But there are others, and plenty of them, who have been infuriated by the manner in which they have gone about it and, in particular, by the enormity of their demands.

 

The enormity of the demands reflect our loses. 

 

On the agenda is a proposed rule change which would empower SPFL chief executive Doncaster and his board with emergency powers to act as they see fit should, heaven forbid, another pandemic force ourgame back into lockdown at some point in the future.

 

This should have happened before the league was called.

 

It’s this refusal to allow the rest to focus fully on moving forward which is causing resentment to build and tempers to fray.

This is likely to dominate the conversations on Wednesday.

 

Time to reflect on the injustices laid on Hearts, Patrick and Stranraer.

 

 

All the while, Hearts and Thistle continue to hold a gun to the game’s head over the manner in which last season was shut down.

 

It’s a big gun as well.

 

 

There’salso every chance Celtic’s chief executive Peter Lawwell will be re-appointed to the set-up at thatstage, replacing Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson as has become the customary summerboardroom job swap in recent times.

 

That’s a huge problem that is dragging Scottish football down.

 

 

 

If, however, it is batted out at the first stage and Hearts and Thistle are ordered to enter into arbitration through the SFA instead, the whole basis for their claim will have been greatly undermined.

 

We will not get a fair hearing at the SFA for obvious reasons. 

 

 

 

Even the most myopic and self-interested of chairmen and chief executives could see the blatant unfairness of what was done to these two clubs back in March when football was stopped.

 

 

But did nothing to stop it happening. 

 

 

 

But much has changed over these historic, life-changing last four months.

 

Indeed it’s exposed what we already new. Scottish football is corrupt.

[TWF]

Keith Jackson - "Scotland's most INFLUENTIAL Sports columnist"!!!

 

and WHO might he think he can influence?  Lord Clark?

[WorldChampions1902]

We ARE having our day in court.

We ARE going to be allowed to proceed with our full case, after Wednesday.

We ARE going to win.

 

Welcome to the “3 ARE’s”.

 

 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

3 minutes ago, AllyjamboDerbyshire said:

You know, that article by Keith Jackson is quite damning, in some way. Not of Hearts nor Partick Thistle, but of Scottish football, the way its run, and of Peter Lawwell and the new Old Firm, all combined with a lapdog media and their ability to issue none too veiled threats. The word Mafia comes to mind. Now where did I hear that said before?

I absolutely agree. 

 

Self interest abounds, appeasement to Glasgow abounds. 

 

All Jackson does in that article is point out the obvious. 

 

Only criticism I see there is of others and what we know we will face should things work our way in court.

 

Had it been any other club,  we ourselves would see proceedings as a nuisance and a threat to our future. 

 

These are facts as a support we need to understand and deal with. 

 

Therefore we need to be resolute and let this stuff wash over us

 

 

[Goodfella]

12 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Like it or not an interdict is going to be met with a tidal wave of hatred,  agendas that will be around for many a year. 

 

Good article actually,  completely inoffensive.

 

I think people need to get out of their JKB bubble and understand what this means. 

 

No happy ending here,  especially if we get our way 

 

Agree the article is inoffensive.

 

Your last statement is your own opinion, calm down.

[Hungry hippo]

12 minutes ago, WorldChampions1902 said:

And when the SPFL do introduce that ‘defence’ to their case on Wednesday, our QC should simply respond with this (thanks to @Footballfirst )

 

From the SPFL's briefing notes to the Board (pre vote),  which includes extracts from the opinion of the SPFL's own QC, Gerry Moynihan, where he states:

 

"Given the serious financial consequences for clubs I fear that any course of action may result in one club or another litigating. Waiting may simply defer the inevitable. Even declaring the season void would require a decision to that effect from someone and would be controversial for some. Invoking Artcle 64.1 at least gives the comfort of a democratic mandate and if the outcome is challenged then the ultimate decision will lie with the courts"  

 

Slam Dunk !!

 

That was a beautiful piece of research by FF.

[colinmaroon]

12 minutes ago, Sir Gio said:

Like it or not an interdict is going to be met with a tidal wave of hatred,  agendas that will be around for many a year. 

 

Good article actually,  completely inoffensive.

 

I think people need to get out of their JKB bubble and understand what this means. 

 

No happy ending here,  especially if we get our way 

 

These agendas are what lie behind the action of these clubs.  All that Hearts + action has done is bring the scum (pun intended) to the surface. 

 

 

[Lord Beni of Gorgie]

Just now, Goodfella said:

 

Agree the article is inoffensive.

 

Your last statement is your own opinion, calm down.

Simply preparing for the seethe to come. 

 

Calmly 

 

[Brave Hearts]

1 hour ago, John Findlay said:

Mr Jackson,

                        Mr Lawell has kept his counsel has he? Would this be the same Mr Lawell who made an impassioned speech( your words when reporting) for clubs not to vote for an independent enquiry as per the Sevco resolution?

So Mr Lawell is getting pissed off as the SPFL may not kick off on August 1st and Celtic will probably get papped out of the Champions league at the first hurdle and therefore possibly kiss millions of pounds goodbye? Oh didums.

He shouldn't have been in such a hurry to get his hands on a tainted title.

The bully is threatening via his mouthpiece in the press again. Tough shit. 

How dare a woman in her 70s stand upto him. Who does she think she is?

This woman who has more ethics and morals than you and Mr Lawell in her pinkie than you both have in your whole bodies.

When it comes both you and Mr Lawell can both take your medicine.

spot on !!

 

 

[colinmaroon]

8 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble"

 

 

I know!  I am vewy pwoud of how I did my humility.

[Byyy The Light]

43 minutes ago, AllyjamboDerbyshire said:

We know he's not one, but any proper journalist or reporter, or even the lowliest of hacks, should be wetting himself at the prospect of the 'dirtiest of laundry' coming out in court for any organisation and would be building up the momentum to ensure his readers were desperate to follow his every word when he reports on the upcoming court case rather than suggesting it shouldn't be happening. And if he was choosing a side it would always be the 'little guy' against the mighty organisation, even if he couldn't care less for its plight. By siding with the powerful he has turned the art of journalism on its head (I know he's not a journalist, but he's meant to be) and, yet again,  he's gone with the 'keep myself onside with Scottish football power brokers' angle, which is bad enough, but to ever suggest that it is somehow wrong to bring about the airing of dirty laundry in a court of law is straight out of the Pravda journalist's survival manual.

 

'Scottish football has dirty laundry it fears being aired in a court of law.'

 

If ever there was a headline that should be the dream of every Scottish sports writer, that's it! That should be the angle every media outlet longs for. But no, let's kick two clubs we know have been treated badly instead.

Im currently reading a book called Red Card that covers all the FIFA corruption scandal in great detail.

 

There’s definitely an opportunity for someone with some talent to do similar with the SFA/SPFL these last 20 years 

[Ex member of the SaS]

Jackson makes a lot of assumptions. First off Lawwell is not a shoe in ,it takes a vote. Then even if he is appointed Jackass doesn't have a clue how he will react. No matter how dislikes Lawwell is I doubt very much he phones up Jackass to let him know what he will do or hos opinion on the case.

Then we get to the part where he says the 12 Premiership clubs will vote, Surely for any SPFL rule change ALL 42 clubs should be voting.

Should Lawwell be appointed it makes an even stronger case for ONE ruling body as the majority of board member will be on both boards so why have two?

[Byyy The Light]

6 minutes ago, Skiba said:

 

Look at how Liverpool conducted themselves.

 

then in Scotland we've got Lennon and Brown holding the trophy as if anybody actually thinks they won it.

These photos were also taken in the week before the official announcement/vote was made. 

[Ethan Hunt]

9 minutes ago, Nookie Bear said:

 

I cannot imagine Jackson wrote that without first running it by Lawell. Celtic are getting nervous about this, and extremely angry with us, and this is their warning shot across our bows.

Well if that is the case we have moved into uncharted waters. In my time following football I’ve never seen such an open threat made through the media. All would do well to turn it in, it’s going beyond something that would be dealt with by footballing authorities.

[Ex member of the SaS]

6 minutes ago, WorldChampions1902 said:

We ARE having our day in court.

We ARE going to be allowed to proceed with our full case, after Wednesday.

We ARE going to win.

 

Welcome to the “3 ARE’s”.

 

 

Surely must be 4 are's

 

The four arses :

Lawwell

Doncaster

Jackass

Scott Brown.

 

😲😲

[wavydavy]

2 hours ago, MattyK82 said:

So no one else has to click on the link, see below another well balanced and insightful piece by the likely winner of the upcoming Pulitzer Prize, Keith Jackson...

 

Not sure where to start with this one 🤦🏻‍♂️🤣

 

Hearts and Partick Thistle £10m threat to clubs lost support and they might regret it if decisions go against them - Keith Jackson 

The battle goes to the Court of Session this week and adds to the madness of Scottish football during lockdown. 

 

 

Hearts and Partick Thistle £10m threat to clubs lost support and they might regret it if decisions go against them - Keith Jackson

The battle goes to the Court of Session this week and adds to the madness of Scottish football during lockdown.

 

Years from now when historians reflect on the Great Lockdown of 2020 they will see that Scottish football led the way as the true pioneer of this pandemic.

 

Records will show that the game in this country descended into a state of complete and utter madness long before the rest of the real world eventually caved in and lost the plot too.

 

It’s a scary place out there these days and some of the events of the last few weeks have been enough to make you wonder if there’s much to be gained from ever going out the front door again.

 

Certainly, the vein-popping insanity which has throttled the SPFL since March shows no sign of loosening its grip any time soon.

 

 

In fact, it will be cranked up again over the next few days as Hearts and Partick Thistle kick the whole drama into the Court of Session, having already issued the rest of Scotland’s clubs with a £10million relegation ransom note.

 

If they get their way we’re all about to be dragged back to the very start of this crisis and the decision to call time on a season after it had been infected by the same virus which has unleashed such suffering and chaos.

 

From Dundee and their mysterious flip-flopping to Neil Doncaster and his dubious back channelling, it could all be dragged back into the public domain like a recurring nightmare.

 

The trouble is, where there was almost unanimous sympathy back then for the plight of these two clubs, and for Thistle in particular, the mood around this new normal has taken a turn for the worse.

 

There are some clubs in agreement that the M8 alliance have been left with no option but to press the big red button.

 

But there are others, and plenty of them, who have been infuriated by the manner in which they have gone about it and, in particular, by the enormity of their demands.

 

The threat to trigger an interim interdict to prevent next season from kicking off as scheduled on August 1 has also raised the temperature significantly and contributed to the feelings of ill will swirling around the 12 
top-flight clubs.

 

At 3pm on Wednesday, just hours after the preliminary hearing at the Court of Session, all 12 of them will dial into a video conference call to discuss the next step in Scottish football’s recovery

 

On the agenda is a proposed rule change which would empower SPFL chief executive Doncaster and his board with emergency powers to act as they see fit should, heaven forbid, another pandemic force our game back into lockdown at some point in the future.

 

Over the weekend, Doncaster was also locked in fruitful talks with the Scottish government to secure permission for Premiership clubs to restart full contact training from this morning. That means the top 12 can now arrange pre-season friendlies between themselves while also advancing plans to get fans safely back inside their grounds as quickly as possible and turning on the tap of matchday revenue.

All the while, Hearts and Thistle continue to hold a gun to the game’s head over the manner in which last season was shut down.

 

It’s this refusal to allow the rest to focus fully on moving forward which is causing resentment to build and tempers to fray.

This is likely to dominate the conversations on Wednesday.

 

There is every chance that this uncertainty and rancour will all still be rumbling on in three weeks’ time when the SPFL holds its AGM to decide on the make-up of Doncaster’s board for the new campaign. There’s also every chance Celtic’s chief executive Peter Lawwell will be re-appointed to the set-up at that stage, replacing Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson as has become the customary summer boardroom job swap in recent times.

 

If that happens then Lawwell, who has kept his own counsel throughout this period of
 unprecedented unrest, will be dragged into the thick of the fight.

 

He’s unlikely to join in quietly or, for that matter, to feel much in the way of empathy for the two clubs most sorely aggrieved.

 

It really is a mess of gargantuan proportions and as the bad blood continues to simmer behind the scenes Scottish football’s dirtiest laundry may now be aired in full public view, assuming Hearts and Thistle’s lawyers win the argument on Wednesday morning.

If it is decided by Lord Clark that the case should proceed to the Court of Session the two rebellious clubs will feel their own actions have been largely vindicated, no matter how much anger they have caused among the others.

 

If, however, it is batted out at the first stage and Hearts and Thistle are ordered to enter into arbitration through the SFA instead, the whole basis for their claim will have been greatly undermined.

 

If the issue of a compensation claim somehow winds up going back to the vote of all 42 clubs then Hearts and Thistle would be as well standing outside and whistling for their cash. There may have been a time and place for such a conversation.

 

Even the most myopic and self-interested of chairmen and chief executives could see the blatant unfairness of what was done to these two clubs back in March when football was stopped.

 

But much has changed over these historic, life-changing last four months.

 

What was once a cruel world is in danger of losing its mind. At least our game will be there to welcome it to the madhouse.

 

 

 

 

 

Now is anyone surprised by the highlighted part in the above?

[true-jambo]

I have been encouraged over the weekend by the SPFL and their go to media man acting in concert to try and make this dispute out to be a majority of clubs versus us and Partick. Doncaster's letter to the clubs which amounted to canvassing other clubs, not named as respondents, to join and support them by in effect also becoming respondents to the petition. This is now followed up by Jackson claiming that we have now lost the warm and fuzzy sympathy, but no practical support, of a majority of clubs who are now angry that in defending our self we are damaging them. Indeed he/they roll out the howitzer in their arsenal that if we continue, Peter Lawwell, once he is rubber stamped onto the SPFL board at the AGM will not be a happy man and will move to sort us out.

 

Clearly the board and the manipulators of the SPFL are worried they have a very weak defence and are resting their hopes on firstly having the CoS refer this back to the SFA and secondly a further threat of even more bullying to come, in the event that they lose the case.

 

If they truly believe they have acted legally and responsibly, showing a duty of care to all member clubs, what have they really got to fear, and why on earth adopt under hand tactics and bullying (we all know this is their default stance) rather than just defend their position in court.

 

When the office bearers at the SPFL look back on this they must be reflecting that had they brought a slightly different motion for the Good Friday vote that had simply acknowledged awarding of championships/promotions and no relegation. Then this would have all been put to bed long before now and we could all be working on a plan to get back to playing football for season 20/21   

 

As others have said, never forget Hearts, Partick Thistle are not the bad guys in this, we have right on our side, morally and legally.