stuartcraig

He should be lauded for this. Scottish football needs to do everything it can to bring in the "fans of the future", including transferring controlling stakes in clubs to them. Stuart

Airdrie weren't offering contracts at the time because we weren't sure what division we'd be playing in this season. Stuart

In fairness to the Livi fans their team played the closing game of the "Gary MacKay" season at our place and they didn't give it the big "GIRUY" (with the small exception of covering our pitch with gold and black "paper"). In fact, the fat poet from fife even came and stood in front of our support and applauded us. I think that was the season before they were promoted. Stuart

Stop trying to shift attention away from the absence of logic in your indefensible position by dragging us into it. There have been very few, if any, Airdrie fans doing any revelling here. Stuart

None of them are in administration and trying to pay 5p in the pound on their debt. Stuart

That's a pretty disingenuous interpretation of his comment. A more objective interpretation would conclude that he was specifically talking about Winters who signed after the SFL demoted Livi to the 3rd and rejected their subsequent appeal, but before the Livi's appeal to the SFA had been heard. And the Livi5 and the administrator didn't think there was a reasonable risk that the SFA would uphold the SFL's original decision and Livi would remain a 3rd division club? The clue should have been in the row in the 3rd division league table which said "Livingston, Pld 3, Won 1, Drawn 0, Lost 2, Points 3". Both Airdrie and, to the best of my knowledge, Cowdenbeath held off finalising their playing budgets for the coming season until the SFA appeals committee had made its decision and they knew which league they would be playing in. Livi didn't and ended up signing a player, who was on trial at Airdrie at the time, on a full-time contract. It sounds like the original point stands - that Livi continue to spend money when there's a good chance they can't afford it. Stuart

You had me at Will Carling. Stuart

Do you guys never get bored of Livi-baiting? Has it not reached the stage where it's like kicking a drunk tramp lying on the pavement? Stuart

Aye, but who plays the Kelly McGillis role? I'd like to meet her. Apropos of nothing, I once ate in a restaurant owned by her (it was called Kelly's funnily enough). I had the Key Lime Pie for desert. It's fair to say that Kelly's pie was extremely tasty. Stuart

I'm talking about the others. According to Livi fans their club has a special "it wasn't the club it was the owner what done it" exemption. Stuart

Yes. In the future clubs won't be allowed to run up £12 million debts whilst boasting to their competitors about how progressive they are. Stuart

Maybe its because I'm not a Livi fan and therefore don't understand the need to grab at any prospect of rescue, no matter how thin, but upon reading Rankine's latest allegations my reaction was "meh". The guy is hardly shining a cleansing light into the dark and sinister workings of the High Arcane Order of The League Management Committee. If he'd said that Ballantyne had worn a white, pointy hood while chairing LMC meetings then I'd have though, "yeah, you have something there" but, as it is, it just seems like a desparate attempt at public character assasination in an attempt to influence tomorrow's session. Stuart

Absolutely! We need to clear out the dead wood and bring in a progressive administration who's focus it is to make life as easy as possible for asset strippers and property developers. For too long these paragons of virtue have had to pay lip service to "the rules" rather than being allowed to be honest about their intentions from the start. Stuart

Neil Rankine, the scourge of corruption in the scottish game. http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport...line.5621701.jp The citizens of Gotham can sleep soundly tonight thanks to the efforts of this masked avenger. Stuart

If WLC are like every other local authority in Scotland then they'll be preparing for to cut services in the next financial year. Trivial things like teaching, social work, care of the elderly etc. Vacant job posts will be left empty and temporary (and possibly permanent) staff will be made redundant. I'm sure that the council leader's magnanimous generosity lets him feel like a big man, but frame it in the context of the wider council's finances and he looks a lot less clever. Stuart

The residents of which are all closely inter-related. Stuart

Somehow I can't see the result of an execution being declared null and void, and the execution being replayed with different participants. Stuart

Hey, don't shoot me down for having an honest opionion. Stuart

Hmmm, dunno. I like the presentation, but the content is somewhat lacking. Stuart

Meanwhile, Airdrie Utd fans expressed concern at being asked to step up to the 1st division forum with only 3 days notice. A fans' spokesman said "We just don't have the personnel required to make an impact in the forum. Sure we're good at responding to constant accusations that we're Clydebank in disguise, that we think Hitler was a nice fella who's just a bit misunderstood and that Kenny Black is a bit scruffy (that last one is true actually), but we're always going to be on the back foot unless we look to add some attacking options. We need to sign a poster capable of laying down some seriously bewildering sh!t. I hear that Waffen minty fella is currently a free agent, so we may knocking on his mailbox door in the next day or so". Elsewhere, Cowdenbeath fans ruled out the possibility of picking up some of the posters let go by Clyde at the start of the close season. "We already have plenty of grumpy old men and 17 year olds with poor spelling and grammar" a Cowdenbeath fan is quoted as saying. Stuart

I'd rather have been celebrating it in June 2010 (assuming we had succeeded at the 1st attempt - which would have been fairly doubtful). Stuart

There was no club called Airdrie Utd at the time Ballantyne bought Clydebank or at any time before then (only a proposal to create one). My question regarding league membership was simply a device to highlight this fact. Jim Ballantyne bought Clydebank FC, changed the club name, strip and moved them to Airdrie. League membership stayed with the company and club which Ballantyne bought. These actions were allowed within the terms of the SFL's rules. Irrespective of the moral rights or wrongs of those actions, those are also the facts. There was no transfer of league membership from one club or company to another. That is also a fact. Your assertion, that the SFL has already allowed this rule to be broken in the case of Airdrie Utd, is not supported by the facts. Stuart

Really? What league did this Airdrie Utd play in at the time? Stuart

"The consortium says its business plan for Livingston's future hinges on it remaining in Division One. " What happens if Livi are relegated at the end of this season under normal circumstances. Do they walk away then? Stuart

Is that not like giving someone a 1000 year jail sentence. Better to give them a 25 point penalty two seasons in a row. Stuart