Jay Silverheels

I take your point, 7-2, and you are right.

If indeed Livi are saved, then the moral of the story is that if you are going to mismanage a football team, wait until just before the season starts to go into administration, spend outwith your means, don't pay your bills, stiff your creditors, and then wait on the administrator blinking first. Then when all that is done, sit back and wait on the spineless idiots at the SFL telling you that it's okay to do all these things, that you'll escape with your league place intact with only the loss of three wins and a draw. Oh, you'll also get to keep your team intact as well. An absolute fucking farce, a massive climbdown by the administrator, who thought Massone would blink first when he gave him a deadline, and then extended it when he saw that Massone was not playing his game. The SFL have been an incompetent bunch of spineless buffoons throughout the whole escapade. They should have had their ducks in a row long before now. The SFL is a complete joke.

Southview, I posted an excerpt from Jim Ballantyne's initial Airdrie United application for membership to the SFL on this very subject a few pages back. Here's the excerpt that relates to the issue you raised: "[T]he chairmen decided that to allow Airdrie United to emerge from the blackened ashes of Airdrieonians would be setting a dangerous precedent that might see cash-strapped football clubs disappear only to reappear under a different guise. Donald said: "I think the potential precedent that may have been set may have been a major factor. "There was certainly concern about that and I think it was certainly one element that went towards it.""[/b] So the SFL were concerned about Airdrieonians transferring membership to Airdrie United way back in 2002. They can't change their position now...can they? To play Devil's Advocate for Massone for a second, I think he got fucked over when he bought the club. He didn't do due dilligence when checking the club out, and inherited a far worse position that he expected. Of course, this was his own fault, but I think that he tried to paper over the cracks for far too long, and when push came to shove, his ego kicked in and he became something of a douchebag in denial.

No, Celtic are in the green and white, silly.

Watching the video, I actually felt quite sorry for the crazy, delusional fool. He doesn't seem to comprehend what is going on, and what his actions entail. It was like watching a kid with Downs dancing at a wedding.

From The Guardian, 18 June, 2002: Gretna have been admitted to the Scottish League in place of Airdrieonians, putting an end to the hopes of Airdrie United and five other teams. Scottish Football League secretary Peter Donald has admitted that the murky recent past of Airdrieoneans was the major reason why would-be replacement Airdrie United was strangled at birth by rival chairmen. The club, set up by accountant Jim Ballantyne, existed only on paper but had been the hot favourite to be voted into the SFL's Third Division to fill the void left by Airdrieonians, who were shut down by liquidators KPMG at the end of last season. A playing staff had been recruited ready to sign on the dotted line, 1,500 fans had pledged to buy season tickets and many were sure also to travel to away games. But the 27 SFL chairmen eligible to vote turned down the obvious financial benefits to instead welcome Gretna back to Scottish football for the first time since 1947. Ballantyne had made strenuous efforts to disassociate himself from the financial mismanagement that had seen Airdrieonians disappear under a mountain of debt. The accountant even offered to pay back some of it as a gesture of goodwill if the application were to be successful. But [b]the chairmen decided that to allow Airdrie United to emerge from the blackened ashes of Airdrieonians would be setting a dangerous precedent that might see cash-strapped football clubs disappear only to reappear under a different guise[/b]. [b]Donald said: "I think the potential precedent that may have been set may have been a major factor. [/b] [b]"There was certainly concern about that and I think it was certainly one element that went towards it."[/b] Just days before the vote, Airdrie United tried to play a trump card by announcing it had secured an agreement with KPMG to use the vacant New Broomfield Stadium on matchdays. But Donald revealed that such a deal was not enough to satisfy SLF rules as a five-year agreement was necessary. He added: "Following the sad demise of Airdrieonians, there was very limited time for Jim Ballantyne and his team to prepare and they were almost victorious. "I don't know what is going to happen to Airdrie United now but there may be an opportunity for the club to make an application in the future." That depends, of course, on the willingness of the backers to continue and of securing a place in another league. But Donald offered Gretna as an example that perseverance does eventually pay off as the club had tried before to be accepted into the SFL. He said: "Their application proved they had learned from previous experience. They continued to improve facilities and had a reasonable playing record." The voting went to a second ballot, with Gretna having won the most votes first time round but not enough to secure a majority of 14. That was achieved in the second ballot, with UniBond League Gretna polling 16 ahead of Airdrie United's 11. Now Gretna will kick off their new career back in their homeland with a home match with Morton on August 3. Gretna secretary Ron MacGregor declared: "It is a great day for Gretna Football Club. We can now come back to Scotland." Airdrie United chairman Jim Ballantyne could not hide his disappointment and questioned whether the SFL chairmen had made the right decision. He said: "I am adamant that Airdrie had more to offer Scottish Football than our rivals, but the Scottish League chairmen thought otherwise - and I have to accept that." Ballantyne wished Gretna well as he pondered the future of football in the town. "I am desperately disappointed by this decision, not just for myself and my fellow directors but, most importantly, for the people of Airdrie. "They wanted to continue the town's 124-year association with senior football, and the whole community - people in the street, politicians and businesses - were 100 per cent behind us. \ "Yes, it's hurting but I do congratulate Gretna on their victory today and I genuinely wish them well in the Bell's Third Division." Gala Fairydean, Preston Athletic, Cove Rangers, Huntly and Edinburgh City were the other disappointed candidates. So, according to the SFL, a precedent may have been set in the case of Airdrieonians/Airdrie United. Let's see what happens with Livingston. Now that they have formally gone into administration, is this really the end of the line for them in the SFL? It certainly seems that way, if history is any indication.

Report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/t...ton/8174920.stm

"Do you really imagine that any firm of liquidators gives a toss about securing monies for creditors?" "They care solely about securing sufficient monies to cover their fees. Once that's been achieved they just want to close the file as soon as possible." I think when Airdrie went bust, KPMG became their biggest creditor.

I'd rather have a branded taint than a tainted brand.

From tomorrow's Scottish Sun: SFL In Don't Know Their Arse From A Hole In The Ground Shocker! The SFL has been a complete joke throughout this whole debacle. You'd have thought they would have had contingency plans in place long before now. They're just a bunch of self-serving incompetent imbeciles.

I see if you follow the administration link on the Livi website, it takes you to Twitter. If it's Massone that's dealing with it, shouldn't it be Twatter?

Yes, and he was so well-respected after the Morton and Airdrie disasters, wasn't he? Snake-oil salesman?

A statement by the SFL is long overdue. By remaining silent on the issue, they have lost all credibility. When the magnitude of Livi's financial problems became apparent, the SFL should have held an EGM and discussed all possible scenarios. They should have released a statement detailing what would happen and when for any given situation. They should have called Massone in and asked for assurances that Livi would have a safety certificate in place, that they would have power at the stadium, that the staff would be paid in a timely manner, that they could fulfill their commitments for the season ahead. Instead, the SFL appear to have buried their heads in the sand, hoping that the whole sorry affair would resolve itself. Now, on the eve of the season starting, the SFL have realized all too late that the situation lurches from catastrophe to disaster, and if the previous post is to believed, only now are they about to take action. Of course, we have the benefit of hindsight, and can see that the situation at Livi has deteriorated over the Summer. The SFL should have been prepared, however. Shame on them.

"Sixteen quid? That's daylight robbery!"

His prophecies are hilarious. "Watch this space," "More to follow," "A statement will be made soon." They're so obvious and ambiguous that he can't fail to be right. It's not hard to make broad sweeping predictions: anyone can do it. Watch this, this is my prophecy: Stuff will happen. There. On another note, sixteen quid to stand on a grassy embankment? Really? Massone has finally lost the plot.

Hope they get the money up front. The last thing they want is to become yet another entity owed money by Livi at this stage.

Yes, the Livingston site says the power has been restored, but the wording of the statement makes it clear that the club feel that the non-issuance of a safety certificate ahead of the Plymouth game is someone else's fault. It looks like Massone is sticking to his "everyone else is to blame" strategy. Nothing to do with him waiting 'til two days before the game to pay the leccy bill. Everyone else should jump to accommodate Massone; his timelines are obviously the only ones which count.

Phantoms-livi-lass, don't believe anything that The Man posts. His prophetic Nostradamus-like predictions are usually vague and open to interpretation, or they're common sense. Obviously there is more to follow. I haven't seen him be right about anything yet. All he does is post pseudo-cryptic statements which anyone with half an ounce of common sense could do.

The statement from the club does not name the "very well-respected top firm of UK advisors." Who are they? How much money is Massone paying them, and where did this moneyt come from? Wouldn't it have been better spend on shoring up the club? It looks like WLC have had enough of talking to Massone, and he now has to go through a third party to make his case. He appears to have lost all credibility with WLC. I notice it says they will deal with WLC over repayment plans, and will "communicate with...all creditors of the club." It doesn't mention repaying the debts accrued by Livingston to said creditors. And once again, Massone is asking the Livi fans to put their hands in their pockets to bail the club out. After all the untruths this guy has spouted over the past year, can he still be trusted by the Livi fans? I think not. Why would any decent Livi fan buy a season ticket at this stage, unsure of whether or not they will have a team to follow next season? Massone has dug the hole Livi now find themselves in, and yet again he wants everyone else to haul them out. As for the SFL, they have become a complete joke. No official statement, no apparent plan of action. Clueless and useless. A paper tiger. They have lost all credibility in this debacle, and they should hang their heads in shame. Good luck to the long-suffering Livi fans - I hope you can salvage something from this debacle. Quick Edit: Well, it looks like there is at least some good news. It appears the leccy will be back on soon, and a safety certificate can be issued ahead of the Plymouth game. That's a start.