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Post by Livi News on Jun 6, 2015 10:54:08 GMT 1
LIVINGSTON chairman Gordon McDougall's position was last night under threat after it emerged that he is considering his options to recover money due to him. Despite being the driving force on the board of the troubled West Lothian outfit, it is believed that McDougall's relationship with those pulling the purse strings at Livingston has completely broken down. Neil Rankine had been the Lions' principle shareholder until Wednesday when it was claimed that he handed over his 50 per cent stake to former director Robert Wilson, Neil Hogarth and Graham Leslie. Businessman Rankine had been ordered to sell either his stake in Livingston or East Fife by the Scottish FA after being found guilty of breaching dual ownership rules. News that the respected McDougall, who is believed to be due a five-figure sum, is being pushed out by the new owners is sure to concern the club's fans and the SFA. McDougall has not officially given up his title as chairman and is currently on holiday but it is believed he has told those running the club that he will not return to his day-to-day duties under the current regime unless an agreement can be reached over payment of what he is due. Livingston remain under a blanket signing ban which prohibits manager Mark Burchill from tying down existing players on fresh contracts. As it stands, the Championship outfit only have three players signed up for next season and it remains to be seen whether SFA compliance officer Tony McGlennan is satisfied by Rankine's share transfer. Livingston have endured a year of off-field woe after being fined £10,000 and docked five points by the Scottish Professional Football League last November of breaking tax rules. www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/livingston-chairman-gordon-mcdougall-being-forced-towards-exit-door.128190241? |
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Post by JonnyBeGood on Jun 6, 2015 12:55:38 GMT 1
This a real shame! Gordon was the last man down there with a scrap of integrity. God knows what will happen down there now that Rankine has hand picked his stooges for the board as well as having his own man on the ground running the club day to day.
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Post by livihound on Jun 6, 2015 14:33:06 GMT 1
Beware the inevitable smear campaign against McDougall from those at the club desperate to claim power. You and I know the good he has done for the club. Don't believe what is said by those with an agenda next.
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Post by toplion on Jun 6, 2015 16:54:00 GMT 1
This is disgusting if true.
So who is running Livi FC right now?
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Post by Benedict Le Gauche on Jun 6, 2015 17:54:46 GMT 1
So who is running Livi FC right now? And that, it would seem, is the burning question right now. |
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Post by liviman on Jun 6, 2015 17:58:12 GMT 1
So who is running Livi FC right now? And that, it would seem, is the burning question right now. It surely can't be Rankine must be be one of the new shareholders? Are these the ones trying to shaft Gordon McD? |
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Post by livijimbo on Jun 7, 2015 10:40:59 GMT 1
I am very sad to be reading this story. Mr McD is a true gent and I hope this is not true
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Post by colcal on Jun 7, 2015 11:05:11 GMT 1
Let's not dignify these rumours with responses or giving them the oxygen of publicity. We all know that Gordon McDougall works his fingers to the bone at Almondvale - I've seen him picking up litter and painting walls. He's often there at youth games and he's the type of chairman that a club like ours needs; someone prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in quietly. He never looks for plaudits or seeks attention.
I'd hoped that we'd have a controversy-free pre-season once the shares situation had been resolved. It's not much to ask for!
Hopefully the club has signed plenty of players in the background and their registrations will be processed as soon as the embargo is lifted. That will give the manager a decent start when ore-season training gets underway. Anything else is an unwanted distraction.
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Post by liviman on Jun 7, 2015 11:38:40 GMT 1
Let's not dignify these rumours with responses or giving them the oxygen of publicity. We all know that Gordon McDougall works his fingers to the bone at Almondvale - I've seen him picking up litter and painting walls. He's often there at youth games and he's the type of chairman that a club like ours needs; someone prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in quietly. He never looks for plaudits or seeks attention. I'd hoped that we'd have a controversy-free pre-season once the shares situation had been resolved. It's not much to ask for! Hopefully the club has signed plenty of players in the background and their registrations will be processed as soon as the embargo is lifted. That will give the manager a decent start when ore-season training gets underway. Anything else is an unwanted distraction. I really hope so too. I think you may be trying to dream there with your post though. The noises coming out of EAA is deafining sadly. |
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Post by Gregory's Girl on Jun 7, 2015 13:34:41 GMT 1
What a real shame for Gordon McDougall. We've met him on a few ocasions and he's a real people person - always got time for the fans.
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Post by monkeysocks on Jun 7, 2015 19:18:41 GMT 1
The man is a real gent and I would like to see him at the helm of the club for many more years. He has invested time and more money in Livi than I will ever see in my lifetime unless the lottery comes up. If this "story" is true then it is a damn shame , however, his enthusiasm may be waning given all the crap that has been going on.
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Post by Auldnick on Jun 7, 2015 23:36:40 GMT 1
Lets not forget he is allegedly on holiday according to last week's Courier; so he's hardly likely to be making any kind of announcement.
Seems an odd time to go on holiday unless he trusts whoever is currently there to oversee goings on.
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Post by theflashingblade on Jun 8, 2015 19:10:55 GMT 1
How is this an odd time to go on holiday?
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Post by Auldnick on Jun 9, 2015 0:18:24 GMT 1
With the future of the club allegedly in the balance & him allegedly being forced out of the club...that is why is it seems odd.
If you thought your house was burning down would you go on holiday or call the fire brigade/attempt to put the fire out?
Allegedly the club is being run by a convicted drugs dealer who isn't even on the board; allegedly the other board members are forcing GMcD out; allegedly we are no further forward in getting the embargo lifted & players signed....so many fires to put out...allegedly....but the chairman is off on holiday?
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Post by durnford on Jun 9, 2015 11:02:28 GMT 1
With the future of the club allegedly in the balance & him allegedly being forced out of the club...that is why is it seems odd. If you thought your house was burning down would you go on holiday or call the fire brigade/attempt to put the fire out? Allegedly the club is being run by a convicted drugs dealer who isn't even on the board; allegedly the other board members are forcing GMcD out; allegedly we are no further forward in getting the embargo lifted & players signed....so many fires to put out...allegedly....but the chairman is off on holiday? Sorry but to conclude that the club's being run by a convicted drug dealer because he's manned reception a couple of times is completely bizarre - I appreciate it's not your conclusion and you're only quoting others but I might as well conclude that its being run by Livi4Life because it was one of their members that sorted out my season ticket renewal. However the chances of lifting the transfer embargo is more of a concern in my mind. If the reports we've seen are anywhere near correct (have to go on these because we're getting treated like mushrooms by the club again) I can't see it convincing the authorities to lift the ban particularly as Carolyn Sumner is still on the board and Rankine was allegedly previously quoted as saying she was his representative on the board. Personally I think it sounds far more dodgy that the arrangement at East Fife. Undoubtedly we'll still have a team to play our first game in the league (even if it's 80% made up of youngsters) but we'll soon start to lose all of our seasoned players who must start to look out for themselves and the longer it goes on without them having their contracts renewed the greater the chance that the season will start without them having a club. This is. of course, aside from any points deduction that the authorities dish out if we start the season without having this sorted out. |
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Post by orco on Jun 9, 2015 11:19:56 GMT 1
With the future of the club allegedly in the balance & him allegedly being forced out of the club...that is why is it seems odd. If you thought your house was burning down would you go on holiday or call the fire brigade/attempt to put the fire out? Allegedly the club is being run by a convicted drugs dealer who isn't even on the board; allegedly the other board members are forcing GMcD out; allegedly we are no further forward in getting the embargo lifted & players signed....so many fires to put out...allegedly....but the chairman is off on holiday? Sorry but to conclude that the club's being run by a convicted drug dealer because he's manned reception a couple of times is completely bizarre - I appreciate it's not your conclusion and you're only quoting others but I might as well conclude that its being run by Livi4Life because it was one of their members that sorted out my season ticket renewal. However the chances of lifting the transfer embargo is more of a concern in my mind. If the reports we've seen are anywhere near correct (have to go on these because we're getting treated like mushrooms by the club again) I can't see it convincing the authorities to lift the ban particularly as Carolyn Sumner is still on the board and Rankine was allegedly previously quoted as saying she was his representative on the board. Personally I think it sounds far more dodgy that the arrangement at East Fife.
Undoubtedly we'll still have a team to play our first game in the league (even if it's 80% made up of youngsters) but we'll soon start to lose all of our seasoned players who must start to look out for themselves and the longer it goes on without them having their contracts renewed the greater the chance that the season will start without them having a club. This is. of course, aside from any points deduction that the authorities dish out if we start the season without having this sorted out. Are we even sure we have youngsters? If this embargo is not lifted then we may not be able to fulfil our fixtures. If so then the SFA would be complicit in a punishment that could mean the death of the club. (am I being too melodramatic here?). All because a form was incorrectly filled out. If Rankine had stated he had interests in East Fife then there would have been no ban. It was because Rangers correctly stated that Ashley did have interest in Newcastle that he got the fine only. It is all really laughable since it was known in football circles for years that Rankine was connected to Lorraine Twigg and her daughter who hold the shares in East Fife. Sepp Blatter et al are not the only hypocrites in the game. |
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Post by durnford on Jun 9, 2015 11:29:01 GMT 1
Are we even sure we have youngsters? If this embargo is not lifted then we may not be able to fulfil our fixtures. If so then the SFA would be complicit in a punishment that could mean the death of the club. (am I being too melodramatic here?). All because a form was incorrectly filled out. If Rankine had stated he had interests in East Fife then there would have been no ban. It was because Rangers correctly stated that Ashley did have interest in Newcastle that he got the fine only. It is all really laughable since it was known in football circles for years that Rankine was connected to Lorraine Twigg and her daughter who hold the shares in East Fife. Sepp Blatter et al are not the only hypocrites in the game. Not sure if its melodramatic or realistic actually. It was Nixon that submitted the paperwork wasn't it? That being said we can't blame Nixon completely for this; Rankine must have known the rules and yet maintained interest in more than one club. Was he even completely honest to Nixon about the scope of his involvement? So many questions and the square root of eff-all in the way of answers. I have to remain positive, that's the way I am, but its becoming increasingly challenging at the moment. |
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Post by orco on Jun 9, 2015 13:43:02 GMT 1
No I don't think it was Nixon. I am presuming the form was filled in prior to the start of last season. He was away long before that. Rankine was pulling a fast one re his link to Lorraine Twigg. There was no influence over East Fife yet Rangers, who did not get a signing ban, benefited from the Newcastle players provided by Mike Ashley. Mad!
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Post by Auldnick on Jun 10, 2015 0:14:17 GMT 1
With the future of the club allegedly in the balance & him allegedly being forced out of the club...that is why is it seems odd. If you thought your house was burning down would you go on holiday or call the fire brigade/attempt to put the fire out? Allegedly the club is being run by a convicted drugs dealer who isn't even on the board; allegedly the other board members are forcing GMcD out; allegedly we are no further forward in getting the embargo lifted & players signed....so many fires to put out...allegedly....but the chairman is off on holiday? but I might as well conclude that its being run by Livi4Life because it was one of their members that sorted out my season ticket renewal. However the chances of lifting the transfer embargo is more of a concern in my mind. If the reports we've seen are anywhere near correct (have to go on these because we're getting treated like mushrooms by the club again) I can't see it convincing the authorities to lift the ban particularly as Carolyn Sumner is still on the board and Rankine was allegedly previously quoted as saying she was his representative on the board. Personally I think it sounds far more dodgy that the arrangement at East Fife. Undoubtedly we'll still have a team to play our first game in the league (even if it's 80% made up of youngsters) but we'll soon start to lose all of our seasoned players who must start to look out for themselves and the longer it goes on without them having their contracts renewed the greater the chance that the season will start without them having a club. This is. of course, aside from any points deduction that the authorities dish out if we start the season without having this sorted out. Correct, it is not my conclusion, in fact I am trying to suggest it is an illogical conclusion....either that or GMcD is in full support of the alleged situation (hence going on holiday mid-crisis), in which case by the same logic that tars Martindale then GMcD is not the squeaky clean guy that is being suggested. For the hard of understanding...I am NOT suggesting GMcD is a rogue, I am pointing out that IF Martindale is running the show, then GMcD is either in full support of it (which then tars him with the same brush as Martindale) or GMcD is unable to run the club (in which case his position as chairman is untenable) - either way IF Martindale is running the club then what is GMcD doing? Of course if Martindale is NOT running the club then GMcD's integrity remains untainted....and presumably he is on holiday mid-crisis because he trusts whoever remains to run the club in his absence. |
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Post by durnford on Jun 10, 2015 9:53:09 GMT 1
I think most people agree that McDougall is a genuinely nice guy and extremely hard working on behalf of the club but I can't help feeling he's a trifle nieve financially (and I include the rest of the board in that as well).
How many commercial own goals have we scored, not just last year but also before, poor marketing; poor communication; needless fines and penalties; p155ing off the long term season ticket holders etc. Pretty much all of this could have been avoided or handled better; some can be placed squarely on the shoulders of Nixon but not everything. Properly managed we should be getting a regular home support of at least 2000 and maybe 2500 but loads of decisions made over the past few years seemed to have been destined to reduce that figure.
Much though I recognise that Gordon is a nice guy and really puts himself out for the club, virtually bankrupted himself if reports are correct, I have to wonder if it is indeed time for a change. Hopefully McDougall will remain on the board but we are really desperate for aggressive commercial management and marketing. Over these two seasons (last and this) we should have been taking full advantage of the "big clubs" joining our league; last season I believe we made a profit but nowhere near what we should have done - this season looks to be worse.
Surely it can't go on?
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Post by livimoaner on Jun 12, 2015 13:00:57 GMT 1
Let's not dignify these rumours with responses or giving them the oxygen of publicity. We all know that Gordon McDougall works his fingers to the bone at Almondvale - I've seen him picking up litter and painting walls. He's often there at youth games and he's the type of chairman that a club like ours needs; someone prepared to roll up their sleeves and get stuck in quietly. He never looks for plaudits or seeks attention. I'd hoped that we'd have a controversy-free pre-season once the shares situation had been resolved. It's not much to ask for! Hopefully the club has signed plenty of players in the background and their registrations will be processed as soon as the embargo is lifted. That will give the manager a decent start when ore-season training gets underway. Anything else is an unwanted distraction. Fully agree. He manned the digger to clear snow of the pitch out the back so the players could train. Further to what you said he put in the hours. |
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