Ally McCoist and the School of Bull

Ally McCoist has often been guilty of misrepresenting the facts over the demise of Rangers FC and the fallout it created in Scottish football. His  clever and I feel deliberate confusing of consequences and sanction at the time of the Newco’s entry to the SFL was a classic example of spin which would have Nazi Propaganda Minister, Dr Goebbles smiling. To claim that the footballing authorities had thrown Rangers out of the SPL, banned them from Europe, denied them a Champions League place and relegated them to Division three was bullshit of the breathtaking variety. All of these consequences befell the Newco because they were not the same club as Rangers FC which is in liquidation. This nonsense was pumped out to feed the persecution complex of Bears bewildered by the death of their club and looking for someone to blame. It also helped sell Green’s Newco to them as there is nothing which unifies more than having a common enemy to hate. We expect representatives of club’s to fight their corner but not to indulge in such transparent and easily disproved falsehoods.

This week we saw the long awaited Nimmo-Smith report into dual contracts at Oldco Rangers between 2000-2011.  The old Rangers had, according to Nimmo Smith, blocked and held up the investigation, hidden evidence, willfully held back information and signed in excess of 40 players using side letters which were not disclosed to the SFA as the rules stipulate. This was a massive abuse of the rules and there is little doubt that Nimmo Smith’s guilty verdict was fair and just. When one considers clubs like Spartans and East Stirling were thrown out of the Scottish cup by the SFA for each fielding an improperly registered player, it was astonishing that the Rangers Oldco wasn’t stripped of titles. This bizarre decision has led to Oldco followers punching the air as if they had won the case. The fact is they were guilty as sin of under the counter payments and only that travesty of justice by Nimmo-Smith stopped the right thing being done. It was a shameful decision made about a shameful episode in Scottish football.  The press today is full of quotes from McCoist who claimed (Conveniently after the decision) that he would have quit if titles were stripped. His Diploma from the School of Bull was in evidence as he stated…

“I would never have agreed to something like that.(title stripping) Why would you agree to something when you are 100 per cent certain in your own mind you have not committed any wrongdoing? There has been wrongdoing with respects to the oldco but in terms of stripping titles by effectively cheating that is what we were being accused of. Gaining a sporting advantage – or call it what you will – is cheating and that is the worst thing in the world to accuse any sportsman of.’’

Does McCoist really expect us to believe that players of the calibre of Kloss, Amoruso, Capucho, De Boer, etc would have come to play in the SPL without the inducement of  huge sums of tax free cash in the form of an EBT? It is estimated that almost £50m was paid out to over 40 players using this scheme. All of this information should have been reported to the SFA and was wilfully withheld by the Oldco. It took a raid by the City of London Police to uncover the hidden second contracts. This is no mere ‘Administrative error’ this was worse, much worse. It was a policy of concealment to ensure the footballing authorities had no idea what inducements Oldco Rangers were offering players to join the club or extend their stay in Scotland. If that isn’t seeking to gain an unfair sporting advantage then what is?

McCoist then goes on to make a statement which would be funny if it wasn’t so insulting to the intelligence of the fans of most other Scottish Clubs…

“I will not be holding my breath for an apology. Whether people will be held to account is not for me to say.’

Apology? For a decade of cheating and virtually wrecking Scottish football you feel that you and your club are due an apology? This stretches incredulity to breaking point. The very idea that anyone other than Rangers FC brought this disaster upon themselves is laughable. Only Lord Nimmo-Smith knows how he arrived at his ludicrous decision that no titles should be stripped. Everyone else in the country outside the Newco hordes are shaking their heads in disbelief. This report found Rangers FC guilty of breaching the rules of the SFA on scores of occasions and McCoist wants an apology? Do us a favour Ally, think carefully before you spout such nonsense in the press because most people out here can see through the spin. We’re not the ‘Semi literates’ your colleague Mr Traynor spoke of as he tried to backtrack and contradict opinions he gave when working for the mediocrity that is the Scottish Press. If you want to speak of apologies; how about one for 100 years of discrimination against Catholics? How about one for 100 years of disgusting bigoted songs from your support? How about one for the Deadco bringing chaos and shame to Scottish football? How about one for paying players under the counter and seeking to gain an unfair advantage? Because that’s what it was whatever Nimmo Smith said. No? Thought not.

I guess you didn’t hear the songs being sung when you were a player just as you didn’t hear them at Berwick last week.