Over the past few days, I have had to take leave of this digital space to journey down the Word Mines.
It is the task of the writer to inhabit an imagined landscape and to listen to characters.
Of course, those invented people are the writer’s own creation.
It is a strange process that only other writers truly understand.
However, it is vital if the creative process is to happen.
Moreover, in order to do so, everything else has to be excluded.
There is a clear difference between the role of the novelist and the journalist.
The latter must be comfortable with the noise level of the modern world.
Whereas the former must only have the voices of characters for company.
When I do return, it always appears that Planet Fitba is “…this outer life of telegrams and anger.”
I could certainly understand the anger of Derek McInnes.
He, in turn, clearly got why the rest of Scottish football would be rather miffed with the Dons.
However, the broader issue is an appalling vista for the continuation of SPFL fixtures in season 2020-2021.
That is because it is predicated on the ongoing civic responsibility and the emotional intelligence of footballers.
The emotional intelligence of footballers…
Indeed, dear reader, indeed.
For the avoidance of doubt, further infractions of these vitally necessary protocols, from whatever club, will almost certainly see swift executive action from the Scottish authorities.
While I was on writing duty, the klan was exultant about the putative transfer spend on two players.
This is the sort of news that they want to hear and the Stenography Corp was happy to oblige.
Sadly, Mr Let’s Go did not get the memo and blurted out the truth in a presser.
As I had reported here the reported transfer fees for Cedric Itten and Kemar Roofe were very wide of the mark.
“The numbers for Kemar and Cedric that have been suggested in the media aren’t right. The figures suggested are inflated”.
This unfortunate utterance of the truth by Stevie G led to a rather tense conversation the following day between the Sevco manager, the Serious Professional and the current Director of Fantasy.
They reminded the Liverpool legend that he had to stay on message when fronting up to the media.
Stevie G pointed out that there was a member of the communications team was in the presser, and he didn’t object to what had been said on the matter of the transfer spend.
A cynic might well speculate that Mr Gerrard was getting the truth out there in order to protect his reputation apropos the amount of financial backing he was actually receiving.
I, of course, couldn’t possibly comment.
However, the two senior Sevco functionaries need not have worried about this PR faux pas as the assembled stenographers obediently ignored this open goal.
They know the rules apropos matters Ibrox even if Stevie G sometimes forgets them.
This somewhat depressed me as it is an unwelcome reminder that if I did not do this stuff, then there is no one in Scotland on a sports desk who will step up.
Off the field, if we were to belive the local media, then things are going swimmingly well for the basket of assets.
The local media gushed that 100,000 replica kits had been sold.
This, in fairness, is a significant achievement.
Especially as the chaps at Castore apparently informed the Sevco High Command that their manufacturing limit up until October was only 50,000.
The realities of the current retail deal will only be fully revealed until the year-end accounts in November or December.
This is just as it was in 2017 when Mr King won a massive victory over Big Mike.
As ever, your humble correspondent was a somewhat contrarian voice.
I said then that the devil would be in the retail and so it proved to be.
When I arrived back here from writing leave, there was a timeline of comments from courageously concealed chaps who punctuated their triumphalism with observations about paedophilia.
Sadly, European football has many instances of fascist subcultures that are attached to some clubs.
However, the Ibrox klanbase appears to be out there when it comes to weaponising child abuse.
I have noted in the past that they also use the same lexicon whether they perceive things to be going well or badly.
Consequently, in their bi-polar world, they use the identical ad hominem stock phrases no matter how they see the world.
Happy=child abuse.
Angry=child abuse.
These chaps never reveal their true identities but do seem to harbour an unhealthy lust for the British Empire and an inordinate interest in the sexual predation of children.
I can only speculate as to their identity.
Inevitably one forms a mental image of the typical offender.
Have a great week, and please stay safe.
Covid19 is real.
This is not a drill.
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Phil,
I guess your post came a bit early – It seems that it doesn’t really matter what colour football shirt you wear – some of these people’s attitude regarding COVID 19 is nothing short of criminal – Celtic should suspend its guilty player if not make it a sacking offence.
Ho, Ho, Ho, This only get better and better. The GFA knew fine well they had to down play the Aberdeen indiscretion, as it was 100% guaranteed an OF player would mess up. Can’t wait to hear the Celtic fans who shouted loud and clear about Aberdeen forfeiting points now that Bolingoli has done far far worse.
Seriously Phil how about you do what you criticise the Scottish msm for not doing.
A wee bit of investigave journalism.
Look at the covid PCR testing.
Look at the infection fatality rates.
Look at who has seen there wealth increase.
Death certificates, with CV 19, after testing positive for cv19 not off.
No concerns about the vaccines.
Do you really trust the Who, GAVI, DAVOS, Bilderberg.
Read all the studies on mask wearing, the evidence is far from unanimous.
One thing for sure is that the way people are wearing them is doing more harm. Remember at the start the lock down was about flattening the curve., don’t touch your face. Well anyone I’ve seen wearing a face nap are continually touching their germ infested moist rag and spreading.
I can’t believe celtic fans of all people can’t see what’s going on here.
When does mask wearing stop, when does social distancing stop. If anyone believes we should be doing this now they must acknowledge they should have been doing this all their lives and there’s no good reason to stop.
Can nobody see that the response to this is going to do far more damage than the virus ever could.
The billionaires and big pharmacy will do alright.
Do you know how central banking works and think about the consequences of all this money printing.
Do you really trust track and tracing.
Can you not see all that money being wasted.
Think about all that money being pledged to vaccines and then check out how many people die every single day because they have no food. It’s sick and we’re all guilty for going along with it
But then again I’m sure you get that nice warm superior feeling with all that virtue signalling and outrage at the people who see this for what it is and don’t follow the rules. Because obedience is a virtue right.
By the way I’ve been a big celtic fan all my life and I enjoy it that much that I even accepted the corruption of the mostest successfull club in all the world being liquidated and welcomed back as the same club by our own board. But I’m amazed that everyone is going is going along with the covid scam. I should have seen the signs.
I’m also from a republican family in the North and the people needed someone to tell them the truth about what was happening.
Sinn fein played along with the 77th brigade of the British army and their psychological attack on the people and purposely scared people into believing this pandemic was something much more than it was. More people on earth have died of suicide and car accidents. How many die of flu every year despite having a vaccine.
You and the rest have let the people down and in my opinion history will not be kind to you. Collaborators with tyranny giving away the freedom of future generations.
Hopefully they’ll be less cowardly and have the means to take it back against total surveillance, Cashless, health passports, temperature checks, forced quarantines, muzzled and the push for untested mandatory vaccination.
Every one clap along for the great global reset, prince Charles is pushing it so it must be legit. Random definitely not planned.
Excellent! The students will not like you mate! Has the student replied yet?
Aberdeen weren’t the first to break with the new COVID-19 rules,sevco were!
A bounce game @murray pk. 2x ref assistants and squad players untested yet played!
Don’t recall seeing that getting too much airtime on the tv,radio,press etc.
Yesterday Celtic weren’t on their game,the surface is dreadful and shouldn’t be in the game at this level.It was plain for me to see that yesterday was the beginning of the ‘Let’s Stop THE TEN’ agenda. That ref gave every debatable decision to Killie.This is two games into the season and it’s there for all to see.
I’m very glad you posted Andy’s MUG-shot,I read recently that his royalness’ advisors thought that
‘he had done rather well’ in that recent tv interview.They must’ve watched a different one from the one I watched,because in that interview he was not at ease at all and he looked to be lying through his teeth whilst looking looking GUILTY AS FUQ.And that’s only some bbc reporter,can you imagine Andy as a witness?? it. it’d be feqn hysterical
And Phil, there’s a ^% chance you’ll be doing this for ever,ah mean can you honestly see the print media esp. in Scotland changing? I’m speaking about the sports journalism being permanently skewed with an ibrox slant,but print media in all dept’s is dying,slowly.
Thanks Phil🇮🇪
Sevco need other football clubs to allow SEVCO to rip them off.
Dear mark fc, please buy our shite footballers for the ridiculous funds printed in the daily ranger by Keith Jackass and the other hacks. This is our business plan.
Just let us get away with it because we are the people. Forget about your shareholders and stakeholders, forget about looking stupid in the football world. We are the people.
I re-read Downfall last week and the one thing I really noticed was the story of Celtic in the 90s. When the proposed ground move was in the news the media did seem to do some digging and dispute the club’s version of events. Was this a different era or a different club?
The threat to Scottish football is real enough, and it is remarkable that only Aberdeen players have fallen foul of the public health restrictions accompanying the Covid alert, is it not.
Meanwhile, Celtic faltered at Kilmarnock, where social distancing was in full reverse in what looked like the narrowest piece of astroturf since green mohicans went out of fashion in the 1970s. The Killie putting corridor (think pro-shot golf) combined with a clear instruction to boot the ball out the park at every opportunity (squeezing at least ten minutes out of the action) and you have to wonder whether or not the men in black were in on this blatant skulduggery.
Yes, Celtic could have been more inventive. Yes, Barkas could have nicked out for a pie, so little action did he see in goals. But wake up Celtic.! This type of systematic cheating will be ever present this season, and early action to defeat it is crucial (get someone to pace the width and length of the pitch for a start and keep a stop watch on timewasting which is not reflected in extra time, please).
Remember, if Sevco edge ahead at any point, there will be a real and present danger of a sudden end to the Decimo season… surely, that couldn’t happen, could it?
Aberdeen players testing positive should have resulted in them forfeiting the game,along with the rest of their fixtures until they were all clear. Aberdeen city was in lock down, so they should not have been allowed to leave the town, so either way their games should have been cancelled.
Looking at pictures of the pub online shows stupid people crammed into a small space, so these players should have known right away this was a bad idea.
Once again the SFA and SPFL have shown they couldn’t run a good night out in a brewery ( see how polite I am ).
Rules should have been in place for just such an event, including what would happen should there be a local outbreak.
Doncaster and co are swimming in cash for doing the sum total of hehaw.
They should have either forfeited the three points or been made to fulfill the fixture with a weakened squad. The precedent has been set. Neither sanction can now be applied to ANY other club for a similar offence. The complete LACK of action/leadership, by the governing bodies defies belief.
AFC were willing to play the fixture with available players but the SG stepped in and had a word with the SFA/SFPL.
Forfeiting fixtures would give an unwarranted benefit to the opponents they were due to meet. It would be fairer to reschedule the fixtures but impose a points penalty on Aberdeen.
“Shareholders/Stakeholders can provide liquidity but they can’t provide solvency.“
“In other words, they can’t make a zombie company a money maker.“
– Billionaire Investor Howard Marks. (Paraphrased).
Sevco has been insolvent since it’s Dec 2012 IPO money ran out.
It has required Director liquidity since then.
It’s a six or seven years annual insolvent company. The SFA appears to be happy with that.
Dear phil, when do you expect newco alliance fc to enter administration?
Sevco are a loss-making business without a credit line from a bank.
That is a statement of fact.
Since February 2014 they have been kept afloat by emergency loans-usually from directors.
For as long as that continues they will avoid insolvency.
At last count that was 26 million converted to shares, 5 million owed to King assuming his full facility was used and 3 million to Close. The unknown quantum is how much was required to plug the shortfall of 10m forecast – we can assume 5 million of that was cleared by the 5 King Facility. So how much did Park and whoever put in. Accounts are due by the end of September although in last few years they have been a week or two late
Do you think there’s maybe a wee bit of, “We’ve put in so much now, we CAN’T pull out.”
Park is a seriously wealthy man, ON PAPER. He is NOT a billionaire with wealth off the radar. His resources ARE finite.
It’s an unsustainable business model. These guys could end up costing themselves an awful lot of money.
This season IS what it’s all about. Win the title this season and they can’t go on.