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Latest Staggering Ibrox Bombshell Is Not News To Celtic Fans. One Of Our Sites Broke The Story.

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There is a contemptuous saying within the Sevco fan media community; “If you want to know what’s happening at Ibrox, ask a Celtic fan.” They should save their contempt for their own club and its own fan media, and even more for the mainstream press who are too late to everything. Once again, our sites have proved that we’re miles ahead of the rest in getting the truth about what’s happening across the city, and running with it.

Earlier this week, the Celtic site Celtic365, which like this one and others keeps a close eye on what’s going across the city, ran the remarkable story that there were delays in important Ibrox renovation work and there was a lot of information in the public domain pointing to the work over-running estimates and the possibility of a stand closure for the start of the campaign.

“Behind schedule- fears grow over Copland Road Stand closure at Ibrox” was the headline.

The media has had a couple of days to run that one down, and they failed. It was Celtic365 who got the exclusive, and they were right on the money.

Today the Ibrox club confirmed the story. News for their fans, right? Well, not for some of them who will have reacted to this in shock.

But it ought not to be as great a surprise to them as it will be.

Some of the guys on their own forums have been talking about this for over a week, and there’s a lot of claimed “inside info” being tossed around openly on them.

Amazingly, it was a Celtic fan site which responded to those stories instead of the mainstream press. More amazing even than that, not one Ibrox fan media site went to the club and brought the truth to their own fans first.

There is no way that some of those outlets did not know this story.

There is no way that some of the mainstream media didn’t know it. What were they waiting on to publish it? Why was it left, again, to a Celtic fan media site to drop this bomb on them? Does the club keep such a tight leash on them?

If this was a Celtic story, we’d have been all over this and we wouldn’t have stopped hassling the club until we had proper answers.

The story itself is embarrassing to say the least, and one of the more astonishing claims from within the Ibrox forums themselves, from people who were amongst the first to confirm these rumours, is that the club had a fair idea, or should have had a fair idea, that the job they were attempting wasn’t going to be done within the designated timeframe.

According to one clearly knowledgeable individual, the contract for the job was offered to as many as four different firms, with almost all walking away from it at the initial interview stage having each told the Ibrox club that the timeframe was impossible. The media should feel free to chase that up; I’m sure they’ll be able to confirm it.

Strong rumours were being shared that there were shortages of raw materials; the club has confirmed this in its own statement blaming delays in shipping from Asia, as if Asia was the only available place to buy some of that material.

Because again, this is hardly a shock. Anyone with even a surface knowledge of the UK building trade knows that there are shortages in all sorts of key areas, including manpower, which has been heavily impacted by Brexit, and the delays to cheaper steel and concrete imports from abroad have put a number of major projects behind schedule.

It’s probably why several firms turned the job down, and when they did Ibrox should either have revised its timeframe or put the job off for another time.

They have told UEFA and the SFA that they will not be able to play critical early games. Their Champions League qualifiers will almost certainly have to be played elsewhere. Hampden is off the table because its pitch is being relayed and they won’t open for business again for their own home club until 5 September, as confirmed in their statement.

Murrayfield is an option. Scottish Rugby has its own issues to deal with, and is perfectly entitled to either rule this out or charge outrageously. They could ask Celtic – chortle – for the European qualifier nights, but one would think that will come with a price-tag too steep to contemplate soberly. I would not stop laughing.

Their club is an absolute shambles from top to bottom, and that’s arrogance as much as anything else, an arrogance that extends to thinking that because they will it that they can overcome an obstacle much bigger than their puny scrabbling “institution”, and as usual the real world has hit them like a hammer.

The most obvious solution open to them is to shut the stand, or at least whatever section of it the Health and Safety Executive deems unsafe.

The costs will be high. Far higher than if they’d sourced the material more cheaply closer to home, and it wouldn’t even be happening if they’d decided to put the job on hold until a more realistic timeframe could be established.

As I write this, Chris Jack says the club expects to have to play the first month of fixtures outside Glasgow, which means that Murrayfield is obviously the option they are exploring. This will include league games … so whatever is going on at Ibrox is bigger than just something involving one stand, and if that’s the case – if they aren’t prepared to just shut a stand, or aren’t able to get by with just shutting one stand – they might find that their current estimates are themselves wildly optimistic. Apart from blaming the contractor, of course, Chris Jack has offered this amazing claim.

“One senior member of staff will leave Ibrox as a result of the setbacks that will cost Rangers significant sums in the coming weeks and Bennett is now picking up the pieces following James Bisgrove’s decision to quit his role as chief executive officer and move to Saudi Arabia.”

One can only speculate as to whether or not this will affect Clement’s momentous transfer war chest. But there’s a reason we still call these “the Banter Years.”

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24 comments

  • Tony B says:

    Calling them The Keystone Cops would not begin to describe these shamateurish muppets.

    Or perhaps a Benny Hill style running around aimlessly with Yakkety Sax playing in the background.

    In any case it’s just sooooo fvckin’ funny.

  • Jim M says:

    BRILLIANT, let’s see the media attempts to sugar coat this 1 , not only are sevco skint , now ibrokes is the crumbledome right enough, they truly are an absolute shambles of a klub whoever takes the job on should make sure it’s cash up front and no ginger bottles ,(well they do have previous for non payment of debt TEE , HEE
    The gift that keeps on giving.
    BRILLIANT.

  • Robert Downey says:

    Possibly the reason why Bismark, sorry Bisgrove left in the first place, Rats , sinking ship and all that.

  • Bob (original) says:

    “One senior member of staff will leave Ibrox as a result of the setbacks that will cost Rangers significant sums…”

    If true, why would an organisation even make that known now?

    I get a mental vision that everyone working at ibrox just growls and snarls at each other

    and everybody else – and are in a permanent rage.

    Must be an awful place to work…?

  • Bigchunkylardass says:

    It’s a stadium thats almost 50 years old. And for the last 12 years has had minimal ti zero maintenance – what could possibly have gone wrong lolol

    Wait, no, av got it, they’re doin all this ti keep Celtic fans oota the Glasgow derby…

  • Roonsa says:

    Whilst it is funny (fkng hilarious,actually) you are quite right, James, to set your sights on the woeful Scottish media for not being all over this until Liebrox handed it to them. They are so afraid of upsetting the huns and always have been. Firstly with Rangers and now this shower of charlatans.

  • KirkieBhoy73 says:

    This lot are Definitely the gift that never stops giving! ?????

  • John L says:

    What was the mainstream media waiting on to publish it? I would hazard a guess ! Permission. They all run so scared of that club and fear expulsion , if they dare to make them look like fools. Our media will never grow a pair, as far ,as that club are run by scare mongers and our media are a bunch of bottle merchants.

  • Bhoy4life says:

    Maybe 4 firms walked away because of what club wanted the work done, fearing catalogue terms for payment or maybe no payment at all.
    I mean, if u have a building business, would u even contemplate that unless it was cash up front?

  • Andrew says:

    Cannot believe this. SHEIN have always delivered on time!!!

  • Nick66 says:

    Firhill it is then.

    • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

      Aye Firhill for Bills then – They won’t be paid (By Billys) either !

  • Eamonn Little says:

    Binfire FC.The ship bringing the steel from Asia will probably get sunk by the Houthis in the Red Sea.

    • SFATHENADIROFCHIFTINESS says:

      Brilliant…..

      The Sevco PR Team have issued a Statement 0’clock, stating that it is their understanding,that the attack was committed by the PROVO Wing of the Houthis under orders from the Vatican and Glasgow City Council.

  • John M says:

    First question is, where is the money coming from.

    Second, what reliable builder would under take such a task knowing their history unless they have asked for cash up front.

  • Croftcelt says:

    Why do you suggest that the materials could have been sourced more cheaply closer to home? Surely, they went to Asia because materials could be sourced more cheaply there.

  • Brattbakk says:

    What is the work that’s getting done anyway? They’re talking about increasing capacity, or is it for disabled access(which surely wouldn’t increase capacity but might need doing) or is it to fix a problem? Either way I got a good laugh. The whole thing has the familiar stink of everything they do. Their fan sites seem to want to play at Ibroke with 3 stands.

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    Tin hat on here… But I lurk in on Swallow Swallow (Follow Follow) most days as I find out their mindset there and what’s going on or in this case not going on down Liebrox way…

    I’d far rather give them the 0.00000000001p or whatever it is they get for a look than The Scummy Scottish Football Media any day of week and it goes without saying that I’ll find out more truths about events at Sevco from that any day of the week than I ever would from The aforementioned Scummy Scottish Football Media…

    They have a lot to say on this, the pics some of them on tours have put up sees the place in a bit of a work ‘guddle’ and they may very well struggle to get it ready for the start of the season (though I’m certainly no construction expert for sure)…

    They seem to be arguing one one hand it’s a step forward and on the other that it’s a waste of money for all the little capacity increase that it’s gonna end out being…

    However one thing I’ll say (despite my dislike for all things Sevco and Huns) is that if they are improving facilities for their disabled fans then credit where credit is due there and it’d be churlish not to acknowledge that little bit…

    But they’re still miles behind Celtic in capacity and therefore turnover etc…

    Aye – Fergus slayed The Blues right enough – And slayed them big time !!!

  • Brian Coutts says:

    Brilliant ? ? There’s obviously more to it than materials and yes why not just close the stand instead of the full shitehouse!!! Love it though here we go 10 !!!

  • Jim M says:

    Rumours are rife that the stands full of asbestos and the work has disturbed it , a massive costly added expenditure that will cost almost double figures in the millions to remove , sevco are already skint so this could really fk up their finances, here’s hoping ?

  • Shiltrum says:

    The need the money and a full stadium is the only way to get that . There is of course if it’s Murrayfield the possibility of picking up some of the Diet’s if they are not playing .

  • Michael Taylor says:

    Already an excuse for not winning the league next year, had to play away from our home ground for several matches

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