My response to the clamour for Stewart Regan to resign in the wake of the Michael O’Neill debacle today was a wry smile
The time for the ex-cricket administrator to clear his desk at Hampden was in the summer of 2012.
Then, along with his co-conspirator at the SPL Neil Doncaster, he attempted to parachute the basket of assets into the top flight in Scotland.
Indeed, the SPL chap stated at the time that “…there is no mechanism for what we are trying to achieve…”
In other words, the people entrusted to run the national game in Scotland were making it up as they were going along.
That was a resigning issue for both of them.
However, Regan’s transgressions against sporting integrity and good governance made him the greater offender.
The SFA is the governing body for the professional game in Scotland and the SPL was merely a competition organiser.
In terms of governance and eligibility issues, the buck stopped with Regan.
Back then he proved to anyone who was paying attention that he put the Ibrox brand above the wellbeing of the national game in Scotland.
The late great Turnbull Hutton called him out publicly on the steps of Hampden.
In private the Raith Rovers man was even more scathing of the chap who used to run Yorkshire Cricket.
Therefore, failure to recruit the number one target for the job of Scotland manager is a rather minor transgression compared to what has already been done.
In 2012 Stewart Regan allowed Charles of Normandy and his shadowy backers to set up a new football club at Ibrox.
When the full story of the “onerous contracts” at Sevco is fully revealed then I believe Mr Regan will have some tough questions to answer.
Quite simply I believe that there was insufficient due diligence carried out into the people behind Sevco Scotland Limited.
It is my settled view that Mr Regan was desperate for A Rangers, any Rangers, to play in season 2012/2013.
The correct course of action would have been for a pause in the process to allow for due diligence to be carried out.
Of course, that would have shown to the world that this was a new football club at Ibrox and not the one established in 1872.
In my opinion, in his rush to maintain the continuation myth at Ibrox Mr Regan was guilty of an abdication of his responsibilities as the head of a governing body.
Now, that IS a resigning issue.
There is also the role that Regan played in the awarding of the UEFA license to Rangers (1872-2012) for their last season in existence.
That is another massive failure of sporting governance that can be laid at the door of the ex-Yorkshire Cricket chap.
Consequently, I cannot get that exercised about the Michael O’Neill saga.
Even if my national football affiliations were at Hampden my response would be the same nonplussed shrug.
I stated on Twitter yesterday that the SFA had managed to make the FAI look competent and after Saipan 2002, that’s quite an achievement!
Personally, I think the Irishman has made the correct decision to turn down the SFA.
Moreover, I think he did so for much the same reasons as Derek McInnes said no to the zombie club that Regan allowed into the game in 2012.
If the fans at every game in Scotland over the next few weeks start a Regan Out chant and repeat, the media won’t be able to ignore it.
Throw in a few banners with the same message.
The games arranged in the Americas will not to ahead because the PFA is screaming about health and safety issues affecting their members.
Perhaps Regan will cobble a team together from the Hampden payroll?
Himself leading the line, Bryson and Fleming at the heart of a staunch defence. Broadfoot and Ogilvie in on loan from Frame Ltd and UEFA respectively, plus a couple of work experience youngsters called in to make up the numbers, with Craig Levein as manager playing his favoured 6,4,0 formation.
Seriously any credibility Regan has, thats none in my book, will force him out over the next few weeks. Cancelling these matches arranged with no consideration for the well being of the players nor having consulted with the club is a sacking offence.
He’s about to find out how few friends he has in the Scottish game and no doubt as more shit hits the fan he will take the brunt of the criticism.
The irony of course is that some of those who perpetrated the Oldco fraudulent licence application will remain in the shadows safe and prospering whilst Stuey carries the can.
So strange to see Stewart Regan referred to as a cricket administrator. He was appointed to his position at Headingley in 2006 and it soon became apparent he knew nothing about the game of cricket let alone its traditions. Not only did he fail to heed the advice of staff at YCCC over the staging of an Australia Pakistan Test match which left the club more than a million pounds in debt he presided over the club’s disqualification from the T20 quarter finals in 2008 after again failing to realise the fielding of an ineligible player.
His appointment at SFA is bemusing in the extreme and the continuous stream of blunders over the border is no surprise.
At best he is a brewery salesman. Those people who have appointed him to such positions in the sporting world in the first place also need their heads examining.
I am not happy at all reading that celtic & Sevco have made a “joint bid” to host Scotland games.
I don’t want any links with those fcukers
WOW !!
The wording of “joint bid” has been removed from the BBC Scottish Football website.
That is a story right there but don’t expect to read about it in the MSM.
Could you possibly pursue this Phil?
A boycott of the Scottish cup would be great but I doubt that’s going to happen (too many fans enjoy their football regardless of how corrupt the SFA are).
I trust the green brigade will be working on a statement to address the issue.
Isn`t it about time that fans of all football clubs got together outside Hampdump to protest against the remaining in office of this buffoon Regan , Doncaster and the rest of the blazers. Fans need to unite and mobilise after the shambles over the continuity lie about Sevco and also his performance in showing how not to appoint your new manager .Time for these twats to go.
Spot on Phil. Regan and the blazers at Hampden continue to shield sevco.
The SFA organises the Scottish Cup draw.
The SFA organises travel arrangements for the national team. Burger King anyone?
The SFA run a disciplinary appeals panel primarily to rescind Ryan Jack’s red cards.
What else does the SFA do?
Scottish football administrators mmm
Someone told me yesterday that Alan McCrae was part of the SFA sub committee charged with finding a new manager for the Scotland team.
Surely not. This is a guy who isn’t allowed to leave Hampden without a minder at his side in case he goes off message……again.
A suggestion for the Daily Record. Instead of calling for Regan’s head for all the wrong reasons why don’t you send a posse of reporters and photographers to Glasgow Airport as the squad board the plane to the Americas and identify how many non coaching SFA personnel are on the flight.
Given the ever shortening holiday break for some of the players and with the support of the PFA I hope that no Celtic players will be on the plane, nor those of any other club involved in early July UEFA qualifiers with their clubs.
This jaunt half way across the world to play meaningless friendlies just about sums up the incompetence of the SFA. The holiday trip should be cancelled immediately even if there is a financial hit to the SFA. Suggest it’s deducted from Regan’s bonus.
There’s another point. Who actually sits on the SFA renumeration and benefits committee?
Months have passed and still the SFA Compliance Officer has, as far as we know,not concluded his findings into the SFA’s procedures around the UEFA licence granted to Oldco in 2012.
Why the delay? Everyone, except Regan apparently, knows the licence application was fraudulent.
The CO should be handing over his findings to Police Scotland not to his Line Manager.
Ah, perhaps I’ve stumbled on the answer. It’s now a police matter and the fraud squad is on the job. Better late than never.
To quote a shareholder at the Celtic A.G.M.” Regan is the biggest liar he’d ever heard. If Regan was to admit he was a liar, he widnay believe him.
Some folk obviously don’t do irony. Just watched Stewart Regan be interviewed on Sky Sports and asked to comment upon Gary Neville’s social media mishap. He reckons it highlights how important it is to do due diligence before appointing someone. Honestly, you couldn’t make it up.
btw – how much do you think Carillion’s liquidators (PwC) would ask for their history. I’m thinking of continuing the legacy as an over-extended, universally-dispised, under-bidding, project-management-is-for-pussies, profit-warnings-mean-nothing, preferred-despite-inconvenient-facts HM Government contractor. Do you think a tenner would swing it?
I see Aberdeen directors will be expected to share Irn Bru (times are hard) and saliva with the Sevco directors tonight during the Loving Cup ceremony. The Sevco homepage spiel includes this wee poser, “The story of how it came into Rangers’ possession is part of the club’s folklore.”
Now, was that folklore part of the history that Charles of Normandy bought from a bloke down the pub – no record of such a transaction in Duff & Duffer docs. Or, did someone else buy the folklore in a different mystery transaction?
So regan refuses to resign ,what a shock. You resign because you have been made an offer you cant refuse ,nobody there to make such an offer.
Or because your competitors hold something over you ,in this case their all singing of the same hymn sheet.
Or you resign because its the honourable thing to do…aye right.
He,s rode out worse than this , in any case did anyone really think Mr Michael O’Neill would actually work for those bastards ,way too intelligent a gent for that methinks. be lucky , cheers John
And Peter Lawwell stood idly by and let Regan and his cohorts do what they wanted
Hi Phil. Love your work but If it’s a myth then why does UEFA and FIFA class them as the same club.. are they in on this aswel . When you go onto the official website of UEFA or any website in fact it classes sevco as the same club . I agree there a new club but the rest of the world doesn’t agree .
Newco’s offer for Docherty doubled according to the DR, deal should be concluded today, just awaiting King to sign off on the ‘structure’ of the payments.
Ah, the structure of the payments. Does this doubling of the transfer fee include realistic add ons and a significant downpayment now?
Are Accies in a situation because of the recent fraud that they will have to accept whatever offer is on the table?
A sub committee was formed to identify candidates for the managers vacancy.
There’s his get out clause.
Why would he walk away from a well paid post where he does the square root of fuck all ?
Who was on the committee ?
We should be told ?
What a well written piece.
I suspect the SMSM on behalf of Sevco want rid of Regan because Sevco pulled two away games in the Scottish cup. No money there.
Regan is of no use to Sevco any more.
Regan is also a smoking gun. Not good at all to keep hanging around.
Woeful incompetence for an organisation supposed to be running a sport. It apparent they are RUINING the sport of football.
Utter shysters with no appetite to do the right thing. Hopefully this pair of useless entities will go, and take their stench with them.
Ah, the standard of Fleming’s offspring was there for all to see tonight at Firhill.
We had a linesman who obviously doesn’t know the rules of the game as he raised his flag for offside against Griffiths who was receiving the ball direct from a throw in.
If anyone was in any doubt about the standards of our officials this sums it up.
Fleming must be over the moon that his employers are not going down the VAR route, no money apparently but a trip to the Americas, nae problemo.
Regan / Doncaster need to hang on for dear life as when they do go all the shit they covered up will be revealed.
What’s forgotten in all that, Phil, is the reason that they did not succeed with “Plan A” in 2012. If it wasn’t for ordinary football fans up and down the country, the Newco would have started life in the SPL.
Of course, the narrative that they were punished by being demoted to the bottom leage is a blatant pack of self-serving lies, as we all know.
But take heart from the truth and facts. They died. They started life at the bottom, where new clubs ought to start. We know it. They know it. And the whole of Scotland knows it.
For all those reasons, there is zero trust in the officials of our game today. If it wasn’t for fans mobilising against their underhand crap, the game itself would probably have withered and died with zero credibility.
That’s where we are.
The media is getting hot and bothered about Regan for all the wrong reasons.
They should have been leading the charge to out him in 2012 as indeed he and his fellow conspirators drove a horse and coach through their own rule book.
Why Police Scotland has not questioned him and others behind the 2012 fraudulent licence application is beyond me.
Of course there will be those within that organisation who would also prefer that we all move on for the sake of Scottish football.
Michael O’Neill simply lacked the ambition to take on such a huge role. But the solution is simple. The SFA have an excellent U21 coach called Scot Gemmill who could be given the role until the end of the season.
Rarely do I comment on Sevco/SFA stuff. However You have summed this up brilliantly.Chapeau.
For what its worth, there’s probably nobody out there that is more suited to the national job, than the previous manager. Give the wee man his Job back. Save us all from the nauseating unwanted Mcleish.
Reagan’s stewardship of the Scottish game has been a series of biased decisions and a plethora of other fuq ups.
They must clear their offices and be replaced by a democratically elected body and run properly without favour or exception.
Imho the sevco debacle will play out time and time again until we have the above in place.
A new governing body is of way more importance than commenting on their pathetic attempts in the transfer market;although it has been comedy gold.
Thanks for the update Phil☮️??✅??
Like yourself Phil, I also believe it’s too late to rid Scottish football of the poison inflicted upon it by Regan, Doncaster etc. Scottish football now stinks to high Heaven because of the exposure of the cheating years of Rangers FC. and what has followed their death by way of fictional “conditional licence” and “improperly registered” contracts an so on. The mere fact that they continue to try their damndest to avoid any proper investigation into the whole situation speaks volumes far more than Regan could ever mumble.
Thankfully, since Rangers died, no one in their right mind has swallowed the nonsense of Sevco being the same club despite the pathetic efforts of SFA, SPFL, and all the media outlets who try to pedal the myth. Rangers are dead and gone forever and Sevco remain utterly irrelevant. This will never change no matter what the aforementioned try to tell us.
I heard some of the statement from Regan regarding the O’Neill farce and, true to form, it was all down to the “sub-commitee” and who they put forward blah, blah, blah. Everyone else’s fault but this incompetent ‘ s.
Guaranteed however, had O’Neill been silly enough to take the job, we’d have had to suffer Regan screaming out from every media outlet available how he alone had pulled off the biggest coup ever in the history of the game and how they now planned to travel the globe playing endless meaningless friendlies, often against countries who have probably never heard of Scotland, but would make a lovely stamp on his passport.
He and his cohorts certainly have pulled off one of the biggest scandals in world football with the Rangers-are-Sevco-are-Rangers lies, beginning with the European licence of 11/12 at least, but they must have known the Rangers situation long before they died.
We can only hope justice catches up with everyone concerned and Karma pays a visit.
As a governing body they are as embarrassing as Sevco are a club. Scottish football would be a better place without both.
By association to Rangers and the “cold shoulder” which may ensue. Would the SPFL have any negative implications from this… By association?
I can’t help feeling that the SFA and TRFC are in the same boat. The handling of o’Neill farce has all the hall marks of an organisation trying desperately to make ends meet. Delay the interviews so that no salary needs to be paid for a few months, grab at any sponsorship/TV deal in case they lose it by negotiating for a better payment. No football association should be choosing saving money over giving a manager bedding in time. Perhaps “armageddon” was being faced, but not by the clubs, by the SFA. Are they living from UEFA hand out to Bookmakers’ payments?
Like TRFC though they are spending what money they have on the wrong things. Huge salary increases and first class flights and hotel rooms on “official”(???) junkets.
Maybe they cannot afford to carry out investigations into their own devious actions. I would help them out for that one.
And we wonder why English Fitba thinks we’re a joke…..No small thanks to the basket of assets at Ibrokes and the basket of arseholes at Hampden….
What about his backroom deal with Ballantyne and Longmuir regards the titles of a dead club .
I am amazed that has been allowed to go unchallenged
Then again maybe not
Sacking Regan for Mr. O’Neill’s refusal of the Scotland Manager’s post….would be a shocking cop-out.
He needs to be outed for his blatant bending of the Rules regarding the Govan Club…
and then removed from Office…in disgrace.
Oh and BTW…Can I remind the Powers that be at Celtic FC….
Fergus McCann managed it….
Over to you then !!
Totally in agreement with your excellent blog Phil. I too shrugged my shoulders and thought “ So.”
Reagan has presided over nothing but failure. Any C.E.O , not in the secretive world of Scottish football governance,( North Korea), with such a record of “achievement “ would have been terminated many years ago.
Methinks Michael O’Neill has had a very fortuitous escape.
Who would grab theSFA stick with the jobby on the end.
I wonder? Lol,lol,lol
Regan has to go
Sporting integrity, is that what you call an oxymoron?
Hi Phil,
Good points. My one point of difference is that Regan’s behaviour/decisions were not only a matter for resignation, but, in fact, were reasons for termination. That is what should have happened.
I suspect that Regan’s performance in the job is well understood by others out there who would be looking for a CEO. He will have difficulty getting a similar position.
Rebus
excellent point – so Regan (and Doncaster) will hang on as long as possible to the best salary – package they will ever earn. Anyone expecting them to move on with dignity and honour for the good of the game is going to wait a going to waiit until the twelfth of never after hell has frozen over.
btw – let’s not forget that Regan and Doncaster were chosen by and remain in position at the pleasure of the club chairmen. They are simply the personification of the aggregated values and attitudes of the SPL and SPFL big yins. Now – tell me that this game in not in trouble – big trouble.
Don’t like sectarian singing – well the chairmen aren’t too fussed about it
Don’t like “imperfectly registered but eligible” and tax evasion – the chairmen are cool with that
Don’t like fraudulent UEFA licences – the chairmen see no problem.
Don’t like the continuation myth and all that follows from it – well, the chairmen like it
Yes, Regan and Doncaster are the expendable, hired help – the real problem with the sport is the chairmen – and they cannot continue without your money – worth a thought next time you get an ST reminder.
p.s. We thought, well I did, that having a chairwomen would change things for the better, but so far she’s done as much to help integrity as Thatcher did to help feminism.
How True !
The denizens of Hampden have gotten so used to the stench of incompetence and corruption that it no longer exists for them. What’s more, they have convinced themselves that others can also not detect it. But when professionals attend interview, the atmosphere is unmistakably eggie – heavy and sulphurous – and the response to job offers from those with more conventional moral standards is a polite “thanks, but not a feckin chance”
Replacing Regan (and Doncaster) with anyone straight and competent will be harder than recruiting a cardinal to the top of the Marble Stairs. Rather like Rangers, criminality is easy to introduce into an organisation but exceptionally difficult to expunge.
We can hope with reasonable expectations that Rangers will cease to be – but we are stuck with the SFA gravy train ad nauseum.
Phil, I am not in the slightest bit bothered by the failure to get O’Neil.
I for one have and always will believe that the leader/manager in any sport should be born in that country, yes once in a lifetime someone comes along and does the business (jack charlton). But how can you hope to connect with the fan if you have no idea what’s going on in the average mans mind and yes it’s no guarantee of success either (levein) but born and bred is the way to go for me.
As for all the bending over backwards,forwards,sideways they did for sevco, it will forever stain our great game, they see fit to hammer players for breaching betting rules,failed drug tests ( quite rightly so) yet they do the hell as they want,as you stated above. In the ideal world would their not be a higher authority to hold them to account……… oh wait that’s the job of UEFA who are supposed to answer to fifa. Is it any wonder that Regan and the rest of the chumps ruining our game see themselves as bulletproof.
Absolutely spot on. Regan should be long gone. It’s a damning indictment of the game (and the clubs as a whole…) that he hasn’t already been forced out. I laughed out loud this morning when I saw some papers suddenly affecting a backbone and saying Regan should go. On which note… (if I may…) https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2018/01/23/stewart-regan-its-time-to-go/
Well said!
You are right to say that this is but nothing compared to the misdemeanours of 2012 and he should have gone then . No doubt!
The bigger issue for me at Hampden is the poisonous TRFC supporting crew below Regan who are probably behind every crime and cover up much of which we probably don’t even know about yet. They are the real SFA
Unless and until that place has the flame throwers blasted at it the corruption will continue unabated only with a new well manipulated nodding dog ostensibly at the helm
Farry Dallas Regan Doncaster and many many more.
If carlsberg did corrupt football officials……
Sorry pal. The SFA can leave Carlsberg standing on that one!!
You missed McCurry and his exceptional performance for Oldco v Dundee United back in the day when on camera after the game the United manager said that his team wasted their time getting on the bus to travel down given the number of honest mistakes made by McCurry.
Not one single official has been produced by Fleming in all his years on the job, not one.
He will be thankful that his bosses can’t afford goal line technology or VAR to save his blushes.
I wonder what treatment will be handed out to the linesman who flagged Griffiths offside the other night as he received the ball direct from a throw in?
A basic rule of the game which all football fans are familiar with but apparently not all of Fleming’s recruits, yet Fleming is bomb proof no matter how many wrong decisions his proteges make.
Any organization that fills its senior ranks on the basis of time served rather than merit is doomed to failure. It’s these non accountable feckwits who hire feckwits like Regan. Unfortunately, there’s no way of undoing the SFA set-up, so we’re up the Swanee
The SFA has become the Sevco Football Association , no one with any integrity will have anything to do with either of them …..
The SFA can readily handle disrepute issues when it comes to players and clubs but if the governing body and its CEO were to bring the game into disrepute, they are answerable to no-one. There’s no mechanism? Entire setup lacks procedure and transparency.
There’s Judicial Review.
The Bunnet did it and won.
Charles Green did it and won.
Club Owners 2 – 0 SFA
let’s make it 3 – 0, 4 – 0, 5 – 0,……
Hi Phil
While I would like to see regan gone. I would rather see him charged and brought to justice over his transgressions.
Although In my opinion I feel he may have engineered this situation so it gives him a excuse to walk away and therefore escape prosecution. I see some in the smsm are calling for his head when not so long ago they were lickspittles for him a few months back when Celtic were calling for an enquiry and telling us to move on and that there’s nothing to see here.
HH
What charges?
Lickspittles, now that’s a grand word.
Charged for what ? he is accountable to nobody in reality, he isnt regulated by an external body that can do those types of things.
He questions will continue to remain unanswered and they will stay that way
The media is getting hot and bothered about Regan for all the wrong reasons.
They should have been leading the charge to out him in 2012 as indeed he and his fellow conspirators drove a horse and coach through their own rule book.
Why Police Scotland has not questioned him and others behind the 2012 fraudulent licence application is beyond me.
Of course there will be those within that organisation who would also prefer that we all move on for the sake of Scottish football.