\n| 11.08.2014<\/td>\n | D1<\/a><\/td>\n | KR Reykjavik<\/a><\/td>\n | –<\/td>\n | Keflavik IF<\/a><\/td>\n | <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n \n <\/div>\n League table<\/div>\n \u00a0They are currently fourth in the league, after nine games, which means they will be match fit, and that will make it tricky for Celtic, but surely not any more than that ?<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \u00a0The club play their games in the Laugardasvollur stadium, which holds 15,000, 9800 of which are seated.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n ![\"Laugardalsv\u00f6llur](\"http:\/\/www.worldstadiums.com\/stadium_pictures\/europe\/iceland\/reykjavik1.jpg\") <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \u00a0I think I’ll wait until the next round. Astonishingly, and worryingly, I was looking forward to a day out in Wrexham.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n It didn’t take long for the club to start arsing about with the fixtures;<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Discussions as to the possibility of Celtic playing the first leg in Iceland are ongoing, and supporters will be updated as soon as possible.”\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u00a0The night before, presumably. But thats okay, the Evening Times reports that there are five direct flights a week to Reykjavik from Glasgow, but it doesn’t say if any of them are coming back.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n Deila went on to confirm that he is in talks with Craig Gordon about a zero hours contract, and with Fraser Forster probably going to be the only English player to come back from Brazil with his reputation intact, that might yet prove to be a wise move.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n “There’s a process going on,”<\/em> Deila said.<\/p>\n“Of course we know that Craig has been a fantastic goalkeeper. He has struggled a lot with injuries in the last two years. We will see if things can happen but there is still a process.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n \u00a0But there won’t be any new signings other than that. And he played down talks that the club have been linked with some more midfielders,<\/div>\n <\/div>\n “That’s just rumours. We don’t comment on names now. We have to see what we need and take it from there.”<\/span><\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n On potential acquisitions before the KR game,\u00a0Deila said:<\/div>\n <\/div>\n “I don’t think that will be possible.<\/em><\/div>\n\n “We have just been starting there. I’m used to people coming up with a lot of names but I haven’t read the papers so I don’t know the names.<\/em><\/p>\n“We are going to get the squad better in time. We have to be prepared and look around us and find the best players for Celtic. That will take some time.”<\/em><\/p>\nDeila added: “I haven’t seen so much on the budget yet but I think everyone at the club knows what kind of task is in front of us and what we need.<\/em><\/p>\n“The most important thing is to keep the players. We know this team has got into the Champions League before and done well in the league, so that’s a good confidence from me and for everybody. It’s a good start.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\n \u00a0What he says sounds sensible, perhaps more sensible than what we have heard from previous managers. He’s certainly different from the wisecracking Strachan, or the clueless Mowbray. His press conference yesterday showed an air of calm, a quiet air of authority, but we don’t want any of that nonsense.<\/p>\n \u00a0He needs to pick a fight with Willie Collum, chuck a shoe at Scott Brown and sing ” a nation once again ” whilst standing on the top of the team bus naked except for his socks.<\/p>\n \u00a0Just something to get us to like him , I guess. Something we can identify with. He needs a nickname!<\/p>\n “Opus ” Deila<\/p>\n Sorted. He’s a proper Tim now.<\/p>\n Perhaps its just the fact that he’s a totally committed professional, and we’re not used to that yet.<\/p>\n \u00a0Speaking of totally committed professionals, Keith Jackson, the current sports writer of the year, had a rummage around, found a phone number, and rang it. and he got an exclusive out of it;<\/p>\n \n BEIRUT lawyer Mazen Houssami has spoken exclusively to Keith Jackson about his desire to increase his holding from his current 6.14% and help ease the infighting which has blighted the club.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThings are looking up, then…<\/em><\/p>\nTHE Middle Eastern money man behind Rangers investors Blue Pitch Holdings has revealed he is actively trying to buy a controlling interest in the club.<\/p>\n ” trying to buy ” means he’s thought about it. “Actively trying to buy ” means he’s asked someone if he should.<\/em><\/p>\nIn his first interview since helping to fund Charles Green\u2019s \u00a35.5million Ibrox takeover two years ago, Beirut-based lawyer Mazen Houssami spoke exclusively to the Daily Record yesterday after we tracked him down to his HQ in Beirut.<\/p>\n By phone…<\/em><\/p>\nAnd he insisted that rather than cut his losses by selling his 6.14 per cent holding to a would-be saviour such as Dave King, he is preparing to snap up more shares in order to have a greater say in the way the club are run.<\/p>\n Houssami said: \u201cI am happy for Blue Pitch to invest more money in Rangers because I believe in the club. I am hoping today to buy more shares and to become the biggest majority or to get a more substantial minority to be able to control or to influence the decisions a bit more.\u201d<\/p>\n Houssami insisted he is the sole power behind the Blue Pitch group.<\/p>\n Well, if he says he is, he must be.<\/em><\/p>\nHe stressed that not only has he severed all previous ties with disgraced former executives Green and Imran Ahmad, but that HE fired them from the board.<\/p>\n Well, if he says he has, he must have<\/em><\/p>\nHe was also behind the coup to topple former chairman Malcolm Murray and director Phil Cartmell last summer in
\nthe shake-up which saw James Easdale appointed to the board.<\/p>\n So he must be the main man ?\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\nNow, 12 months on, Houssami has warned the current regime that he is on the brink of completing another power grab \u2013 a move which could erode King\u2019s hopes of getting his hands on the club.<\/p>\n The fact he would have to use his own money has eroded Kings hopes of getting his hands on the club.<\/em><\/p>\nHe said: \u201cWe haven\u2019t received any interesting offers from anyone to buy our shares. Obviously the price we paid for these shares was much higher than the price today, so I don\u2019t think anyone will come and buy our shares at this point.<\/p>\n No shit.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cBut we have made many offers to buy more shares and we have not been able to do that at this point. I think everyone is keeping their position for the time being.<\/p>\n \u201cToday, what we are offering on the table is to buy more shares, to work hand in hand with other big shareholders, to
\nfind a reasonable solution so that the club can move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n Sounds like a stalemate to me. What he appears to be saying is that he would buy some more, but no-one will sell him any, but he really, really wants to, honest…<\/em><\/p>\nThe Record understands the current Ibrox board are in a state of flux because of a serious split between James and Sandy Easdale and chief executive Graham Wallace.<\/p>\n The Easdales, who were originally courted by Green, are understood to represent more than 26 per cent of the club\u2019s shareholders, including Blue Pitch.<\/p>\n But Houssami is demanding an immediate end to the infighting.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cWhat we are trying to achieve is to put Rangers back on the right track when it comes to the management. There are a lot of politics going on inside the club as I am sure you know.<\/p>\n And outside it.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cAt this point, we are trying to reach a solution regarding these issues. We will make a statement when we can officially give the public good news.<\/p>\n Depends what you call good news. Good news for Scottish football would be liquidation, and a visit from Plod. Still, releasing a statement. Theres a novel and refreshing idea.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cThe problem is all the internal politics between the various members of the board of directors and the attitude of each of them concerning Rangers and the way to move forward. These things happen in every big company but Rangers have been through a lot of ups and downs recently and we are just trying to put everybody on the same track.<\/p>\n The Highway to Hell ?<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cBlue Pitch is one of the big shareholders. We are not here to facilitate anything \u2013 it\u2019s a matter of finding common ground for everyone to move forward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have invested a huge amount of money in this club and we don\u2019t intend to let this go. We need to find a solution.<\/p>\n For Sale, one training ground, suitable for development…<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cWe have a clearer situation now than we had a year before so now we are hoping to move forward and to concentrate on playing football, it\u2019s as simple as that. What Blue Pitch wants is to be able to watch the team gets results, to return to the Premier League and then everything will be OK.<\/p>\n Or, For Sale, one training ground…..<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cIt should be about the football. It is a football team.<\/p>\n Has he actually ever seen them play ? Thats the one thing they certainly aren’t.<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cBut it\u2019s not easy. I think some of the shareholders are getting there but we are still working at it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe don\u2019t want to abuse anyone, we don\u2019t want to take anybody\u2019s shares. We are happy to buy more at the right price and that\u2019s it.\u201d<\/p>\n I think theres a lot in that last sentence. All the different factions are holding onto what they have in a game of poker, with the first to blink losing all the money that will come from the sale of the assets.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI am a director, I am the sole owner, the sole holder of the shares. Blue Pitch is me. To describe Blue Pitch as \u2018mysterious shareholders\u2019 is newspaper rubbish.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat can I tell you? I am Blue Pitch Holdings. I control it. I\u2019m actually behind a lot of companies around the world as an investor.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand that Rangers is an emotional investment for the fans. When I came in, the team was having a very bad time \u2013 I\u2019m sure you remember all the financial problems that Green was having.<\/p>\n \u201cI and other investors were the people who stepped forward. It\u2019s a business venture for us.<\/p>\n Oh ho-we’re getting to the crux…<\/em><\/p>\n\u201cDon\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 we like the team. Part of the advantage of buying a club like Rangers is to have all the history and the background that the team has.\u201d<\/p>\n Exactly. He bought a club like Rangers, but not actually Rangers…<\/em><\/p>\nAs usual, Keith neglects to ask any searching questions . He didn’t pounce on that last bit, he didn’t close down the statement about it being a business venture.<\/p>\n Has anyone made any money out of the new club ? Why did he, if he is indeed the main man, allow nearly \u00a370m to be blown since the last share issue ? And no mention of job security for any of the staff ?<\/p>\n All he has done is give airtime to another player in the greatest scandal in Scottish football history, to sell newspapers to a support that is almost on the point of chucking in the towel.<\/p>\n All to help ailing circulation figures.<\/p>\n Which basically means any type of investigative journalism went out the window. Ironic, because thats exactly what would push those figures up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, this Houssami character…Where have we heard his name before ?<\/p>\n Paul McConville, in October 2012 gave us his thoughts..which were a little more interesting and insightful than Jacksons.<\/p>\n What of Mr Houssami?<\/strong><\/p>\nThere is surprisingly little, at first sight, on the Internet regarding Mr Houssami, other than reports from numerous sources of Mr Green\u2019s comments in May, referred to above.<\/p>\n There is a lawyer in Lebanon by that name, listed on the Bar Association of Beirut website as \u201cMazen Husami\u201d. LinkedIn takes you back to the similarly names Mr Houssami. I assume, as someone with no knowledge of Arabic, that either can be a translation of the family name.<\/p>\n There is a \u201cMazen Nabil Houssami\u201d listed as Senior Legal Counsel to the Tameer Holding Investment LLC. That company is described as \u2013\u00a0one of the region\u2019s leading developers, with a number of prestigious projects throughout the region. In 2008, Tameer Towers project in Shams, Abu Dhabi, on Al Reem Island, was announced by International Property Awards the single most accredited development in the world. Tameer is also developing Madinat Al Majd in Amman, Jordan, in collaboration with Jordan\u2019s Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDC).<\/i><\/p>\n The helpfully vague description of Mr Houssami as a \u201cMiddle East\u201d lawyer means that it could be either the Lebanese lawyer of that name practising in Beirut, or the United Arab Emirates based Counsel with Tameer. Indeed, they could be the same man. I have emailed Tameer to ask.<\/p>\n Mr Green of course has history in the Middle East construction game. He was deputy Chairman of Panceltica Holdings. This was a Qatar-based construction company which worked on projects across the Middle East, including in the UAE.<\/p>\n It collapsed into liquidation, and Ecojon has already provided some interesting history regarding it on this site.<\/p>\n The Daily Telegraph in 2008 reported on the bright future which Panceltica had. In particular, it spoke to Mr Green, the Deputy Chairman.<\/p>\n The following are extracts\u00a0from the Telegraph piece<\/a>:-<\/p>\nPanceltica, a Qatar-based construction group, will today become the biggest company to list on Aim so far this year. The company, which will float at 100p with a market capitalisation of \u00a3236m, is hoping to benefit from the ongoing building boom in the Gulf States.<\/i><\/p>\n Panceltica is rolling out a new type of technology \u2026\u201dIt\u2019s like putting together a Meccano kit,\u201d explained Charles Green, Panceltica\u2019s deputy chairman.<\/i><\/p>\n While Panceltica is not bringing in any new money at this stage,\u00a0it raised \u00a355m several months ago via the increasingly popular route of pre-IPO financing<\/b>. This allows companies to obtain new funds without having to worry about the immediate market conditions.<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cClearly you couldn\u2019t pick a worse time to float from a market point of view<\/i><\/b>,\u201d Mr Green noted. \u201cBut we\u2019re not concerned about whether the market is good or bad having already done our financing. The amount of management time spent doing an IPO is huge,<\/b>\u00a0so getting the fundraising out of the way lets us go back to building houses as opposed to carrying out due diligence.\u201d\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n Panceltica is confident it can profit from the rapidly-expanding construction market in the Gulf States and house brokers Hichens Harrison are forecasting that pre-tax profits will rise from $27.7m (\u00a313.8m) this year to $59.1m next year and $93m in 2009.<\/i><\/p>\n Some investors may be uncomfortable with the complex relationships between the company and its shareholders and customers<\/i><\/b>. For example, Barwa is Panceltica\u2019s biggest customer as well as being a major shareholder with a seat on the board.<\/i><\/p>\n However, the directors and strategic investors have entered into a series of relationship agreements so that shareholders will not be able to exert influence over any material contracts where there is a conflict of interest. (All emphases added)<\/i><\/p>\n So we had a company coming to the AIM with a huge capitalisation \u2013 with great hopes for profits \u2013 with the company having just raised a huge sum pre-IPO \u2013 with an acknowledgement that an IPO involves a huge expenditure of management time \u2013 and with concerns for investors about the close connections of the company to its major shareholders. Hmmm.<\/p>\n It was in liquidation two years later, with the market capitalisation of \u00a3236 million reduced to dust.<\/p>\n Is this where Mr Green came into contact with Mr Houssami? Is this a connection from his building days? If so, then clearly Mr Houssami has done far better out of the construction business than Panceltica did!<\/p>\n Presumably the prospectus will give us more details about the mysterious Mr Houssami. After all, Mr Green has promised this! “<\/p>\n \n All of which sounds rather familiar….<\/p>\n As does the pattern of events over at Ibrox. Which show some similarities to the case outlined above.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On the field, to try to boost interest amongst a disillusioned support, \u00a0they are looking to sign \u00a0Kris Boyd, to join up with Jon Daly and Kenny Miller in the most fearsome forward line in football history. As long as they don’y have to run around or anything.<\/p>\n Unhappily for us good guys, the bad guys are now becoming a parody of themselves, and its going from being hilarious to a little sad.<\/p>\n But then you remember the nineties, and realise that even sad can be funny. And that they brought it all on themselves.<\/p>\n Chris Morris and Anton Rogan were the two full backs in the picture, bringing back fond memories of marauding raids down the flanks, while these two struggled to get back to help out.<\/p>\n Heres a picture puzzle. whats odd about this, from Lisbon Lion on twitter ?<\/p>\n ![\"Embedded](\"https:\/\/pbs.twimg.com\/media\/Bq185KTIQAACUkK.png:large\") <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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