CaleyD

It's a secret, but I might be persuaded by a large dram....meet in the Heathmount?

Not sure if it was a knock or a twist but Doran did his ankle. He did come back on after treatment, but was struggling a bit.

Not too bad a first half, not much happening at either end with most of the football being played on the deck. Nok much between the teams, but fancy there could be goals in the second half. More importantly, fans are in good voice and enjoying themselves.

ESPN have (finally) spoken... http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/football/spl/2012/05/05/rangers-in-crisis-backlash-fear-forces-11-club-vote-on-ibrox-club-s-spl-future-86908-23848533/

If we could keep the bulk of the current squad, add a more proficient goalscorer and strengthen things a bit at the back then I would be quite happy.

Very interesting point and not an angle I have ever really thought about. I've kinda always thought of discounts for kids being due to them not having income and relying on others to pay....and the theory that getting kids in early is good for securing greater income in future. Discounts for Seniors I've always viewed as being societies way of giving back to those who have been providers. Standard Prices effectively subsidise the reductions for kids and seniors. The above "model" fits with how society has operated to one extent or other for long enough....but it probably has to be appreciated that just as society is struggling to meet the cost of child benefits and pensions, football likely faces the same trials. I don't think people are honest to allow us to work on a "Pay what you can afford" basis....so the question becomes, what is a workable alternative to the current model?

Marks, I have had e.mails in the last couple of days asking why we have not done as the Dons have in issuing a letter to the club, and also why we are not pushing the club for a statement on their view on the situation. I can assure you that the matter is on the agenda, but we have not met, nor had a chance to meet to discuss what, if any, action may be needed on our part at the moment. I am, however, willing to give my own personal thoughts on the matter..... In regards to a letter from the Supporters Trust to the club. We already have regular contact with Club Chairman, Kenny Cameron and he is fully aware of what the fans are saying on the matter. The "Open Letter" issued by Dons Trust would suggest to me that they perhaps don't have that kind of relationship/dialogue with Aberdeen FC and the letter was necessary in order for them to get their point across. In regards a statement from the club on their position on things. With the situation changing daily...even hourly...then any statement would likely be out of date/context before it was read....certainly up to this point. I would love for the club to come out and say "We will not support any move by Rangers to re-enter the SPL as a NewCo under any circumstances", but I'm realistic enough to know that for the people who have to balance the books then it can't be as cut and dry as that. I don't think any statement at this stage would tell us anything more than we know already....and that is that it's a very delicate situation and, as evident from last weeks postponement on rule changes, they are not ready or in a position to make a decision. So, IMO, better no statement than a non-statement which would only serve to frustrate. Once again, to make it absolutely clear, that is my thoughts (at this moment in time) and not a representation of the Supporters Trust or anyone else.

I really am surprised at how many people have responded to your survey CaleyD as I think the result is obvious. I obviously have a greater faith in our fans than you then. We might only have about 35% who would support such a scheme, but if you assume a core support and apply the poll results as a guide to the wider fanbase then we have 1000 fans who would be interested in making a contribution. Even if we only averaged £10/month from each then that's £120k a year. Not earth shattering sum of money, but I believe if/when faced with the very real possibility of financial armageddon then it would increase....and of course there's also a high chance of corporate backing as well. Time will tell whether my faith is misplaced or not.

ICT, as would every other club, will have a need to adjust spending regardless of whether a Rangers NewCo was submitted to the SPL or not. The problem we have is that if Rangers were booted at this point in time then TV could rip up the current deal. I'm sure they would want to deal with us, but it would be at a reduced price. If a Rangers NewCo were re-submitted to the SPL then the current deal would continue, but we face the cost of losing even more fans. This was an idea raised by me and not the club, so they are not attempting to do anything (with folly or not). I just hoped that there might be enough support for such an idea to justify spending more time on developing it and taking it to the club and saying "We (fans) aren't all mouth, you are caught between a rock and a hard place and we are willing to back up our demands with tangible financial assistance." I'm one step ahead of you on the idea of doing something regardless...but that's a conversation for another time. Fans have historically rallied best when faced with pending disaster. I guess I'm just putting out feelers to see if we are prepared for such a thing, and if there's enough goodwill left in the game for us to be able to rally the support needed if/when that day comes.

Thank you, I was beginning to think I might be speaking in a foreign language.

They've solved the naming of the newco issue

Still some spaces on the Official Travel Club Bus. £10 for Adults £5 for Kids 07951 309 504 - [email protected] or in person at the club shop to book.

Except, quite bizarrely, they were officially formed in 1873.

In regards the Big Tax Case, what is going on just now is the "First Tier Tribunal". My understanding is that there are two things being argued in the case. First, whether or not Rangers actually breached the rules of Tax Avoidance and entered the realms of Tax Evasion. Second, Rangers appear to be pleading a parallel position which says that if rules were broken then they were done so with the board being ignorant of that fact. It seems to be fairly well accepted (unless you are Rangers fan) that Rangers used EBT's in a manner for which they were not intended as a Tax Avoidance measure. It's the second part which is causing the delays as HMRC need to prove Rangers knowingly did what they did. It's this part of the argument that spurned the stories of document shredding, and it is this part of the argument which hinges on the existence of these Back Letters (Second Contracts). If these Back Letters can be proven to exist then Rangers entire defence falls apart. If they can't be proven to exist then HMRC will need to show by some other means that Rangers knew exactly what they were doing...and there's plenty of other ways to do that. Rangers Guilty or Not on the Big Tax Case? Technically they have been found guilty once, but as it has gone to appeal then that decisions is set aside while the appeal is heard. Small Tax Case...I'm not that familiar with the details of it, insignificant in the grand scheme of things. PAYE & NI from May (onwards) last year. To be Tax Evasion then Rangers would have had to do something to try and avoid a liability for tax having appeared in the first case. They have simply not paid it, so it's an unpaid bill.

Gnakpa is already gone.

You are correct, I have had my answer...but the poll is to see what answer others give

I totally agree, Clubs should be self sufficient. However, if we as fans are asking (demanding) the club make decisions that would impact that in the short term, then should we not also be willing to assist with the transition? You can't answer no to that question and then threaten to boycott (as others have done elsewhere) if the club choose to try and protect the income by making a decision we do not like. All that does is create the ultimate No Win situation and we'd be as well closing the doors and giving up now.

Wow...talk about being lead by the nose and jumping on the bandwagon. I was not suggesting any "Cash for Integrity" type deal. What I am asking is if the decision was made to go with the wishes of the fans and boot a Rangers NewCo out of the league, would the fans be willing to assist in getting the club through the financial hardship that would likely follow?

Just to add to the point OCG has made. The decision on any application to join the SPL...be that a Pheonix Company from a liquidated club or any team being promoted...is taken by the SPL Board and NOT the individual clubs. This has been the case since the season following our initial promotion to the SPL when it was agreed that individual clubs (especially those involved in relegation) had far too much of a vested interest in order for them to make an unbiased decision. Where the clubs DO have some say is in the setting/changing of the rules....and that is an ongoing situation. If Rangers agree a CVA or liquidate before 13th May then there are no rules to apply additional sanctions and it would be a straight choice between allowing a NewCo Rangers in to the SPL or not. If they fail to meet the 13th May deadline then it's liquidation...and my money is on Miller spinning it out till then as I think the whole incubator company thing is smoke and mirrors and has more holes in it that the ICT defence. That is when/where the clubs will have to show their hand, and only if/when that happens will we, as fans, be able to judge our clubs on the decisions they make.

So how would you answer the poll then?

IMO, I think we've had periods where there's been a lot of "Phantom" Season Tickets. I know that we've had people in the past who were ripping the pysh with some of the Family Section/Free Kids ticket offers because it was cheaper to buy there and pretend they were taking a couple of kids than it was for them to be honest and pay the due price. Changing ticket structures and initiatives also need to be taken into consideration, and you would also need to know how the figures split in terms of season tickets and walk-up to get a true picture of the where and whys of the declines. In short, it's not an exact science, although it doesn't need to be in order to realise we've taken a not insignificant dip this season. You also don't need to be a seer to know we'll likely take another dip next season.

I was asked the other day if "Managing Expectations" would be on my headstone as it's something I go on about a lot....and as I have said elsewhere, I think that was something that was handled poorly this season, both by the Manager and by us as fans.

I can only assume the shirt in question was not a C*unty Football one!!!

My question is..... Are we as fans willing to put a bit of money where our mouth is? Would we be willing to put our hands in our pocket (more than we do already) in order to maintain the sporting integrity of the league? One of the things that has been playing around in my head with the whole Rangers NewCo thing is that one way or the other it is going to cost ICT (as it will every other club). A lot of fans (myself included) think that any Club that goes through insolvency should be sent packing. I'm a fairly idealistic person when it comes to such things, but not so idealistic that I don't appreciate that when the club involved is someone like Rangers then the financial hit of getting rid is, arguably, greater than the financial hit of keeping them....certainly in the short term. Please try and answer as honestly as possible. I know giving more cash isn't an option for everyone and have included a choice to try and cover that scenario. Please don't say you will give more than you could because that's how much you would like to give on strength of feelings about the situation. Think it also best to assume nothing in return....although if such a thing became reality I'm sure there would be room to negotiate for something in return (shares or whatever). Please feel free to discuss below, but try and keep it as specific as possible to the topic. There's another thread running elsewhere for discussion on other aspects of the situation -

To be honest, most of the game passed me by with my attention only being grabbed whenever the ball got near one goal or other....everything else in between was zonkfest. We were late to get to our seats due to doing other things and arrived to discover that Dunfermline seemed to have more media people there than they did fans and they'd occupied our seats...meaning I had no means of plugging up the laptop to do the twitter updates (so apologies for that). We decided to take the game in from a different angle by sitting behind the away dugout and most of the entertainment for the evening was provided by Jeffries & McCabe who were making plenty of noise but offering very little direction to a Dunfermline side who looked like they'd turned up for a bounce game (with us proving to be little better). My MotM was the mascot who did more to entertain the fans at half time than the team managed to do for 90 minutes....we need to work on some props for them for next season.