Get Involved - Powerleague Nottingham!

Enjoy keeping fit? Playing football? Want a bit of fun doing so? Are you any good, or simply have two left feet!? Powerleague Nottingham is the place for all the Lionel Messi’s or Emile Heskey’s of our University to sign up to. With a student/under-23 league system at discounted prices and consisting of many leagues to cater all levels – ability doesn’t matter. 5-a-side at Powerleague is a great opportunity to gather your friends together to participate in some competitive sport against those at the same level as yourself. Pre-season grading tournaments ensure you’re entered into a league that matches your teams’ ability. With roll-on, roll-off substitutions, squads can be large enough to deal with any lack of fitness issues, so there’s no excuse to be found there! Leagues run on Wednesday and Sunday evenings. Still not convinced competitive football is for you? Pitches can be rented at student prices for a casual ‘kick-about’ with your mates. Call 0115 986 7890 or email nottingham.web@powerleague.co.uk for enquiries or further details. The pitches are located on Thane Road, next to the playing fields at Grove Farm, which cater for the University’s intra-mural, faculty and society Football and Rugby matches. Taxis’ to and from Thane Road are easy, and especially when taxi-sharing as a team, the fare is minimal. If at all interested, Powerleague is an opportunity to get involved with football, keep fit and have fun, that you really shouldn’t pass off.

Lightning Bolt Strikes Gold Again

‘Stop worrying about the start because the best part of your race is the end’ advised Bolt’s coach. He couldn’t have been more right. 30 metres in and you’d be forgiven for sensing Bolt was neck and neck with his competitors in a race that would go right down to the final metre. By the end, however, there was a clear winner. Usain had allowed his supernatural speed to prove pre-race doubters wrong as he clocked up a new Olympic record of 9.63 seconds.

With hopes of a British athlete contesting for a medal dashed in the semi-finals, albeit narrowly, the final was noticeably dominated by Jamaican and American sprinters. Three men from each of these nations were joined by Martina of the Netherlands, and Thompson of Trinidad and Tobago, who qualified ahead of Britain’s Dwain Chambers and Adam Gemili by a matter of milliseconds. Whilst most had predicted a Jamaican victory, many had suggested Yohan Blake would be the man to step up and take gold this time round – the official programme had even tipped Asafa Powell to cause an upset – though in reality, it was always Bolt’s medal for the taking. Blake secured Jamaica dominated the podium, snatching silver, with American Justin Gatlin picking up the bronze. 

Who On Earth Are 'Newco Rangers'?

Fifty-three Scottish League Championships between 1891 and 2011, thirty-three Scottish Cup triumphs, twenty-seven Scottish League Cup successes and one UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup to their name – Scottish football’s most domestically-successful club (apologies, Celtic fans) now ceases to exist.
The door of the once-mighty Ibrox club has slammed shut, leaving an array of legal, tax and contractual issues still to be resolved in its wake. Players moving elsewhere scot-free (excuse the pun), membership of the Scottish Football Association yet to be granted, Scottish League clubs voting on the acceptance of Rangers’ replacement club into the League System, and so on. How exactly did such an illustrious club fall so suddenly into oblivion? And who exactly are ‘Newco Rangers’?

The causes of the demise developed under the 23-year ownership of Scottish businessman Sir David Murray. An Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), set up by his company Murray International Holdings (MIH), allowed employees to be benefitted without incurring National Insurance Contributions. In this sense, individuals are able to receive cash advances subject to nominal tax exposure. The EBT allowed high earners across Rangers Football Club to be paid through an offshore trust by means of a long-term loan often with little or no income tax.
The Employee Benefit Trust scheme is perfectly legal. In fact, it is used regularly across the UK within several thousand firms. So where did Rangers go wrong? What formed the so-called ‘Big Tax Case’ at Rangers, rendering their scheme as a tax scam as opposed to a legal system of employee benefit payments, was the use of the EBT scheme to make payments on a contractual basis. Contractual payments constitute part of a salary and therefore are, or should be, subject to tax and national insurance.

The scheme was set up alongside the guidance and advice of one Paul Baxendale-Walker. The tax advisor, author of two books on EBT tax strategies and now involved in directing and indeed acting in the porn industry, claims he is not a sly, mischievous character (though, the jury is well and truly out on that) and he should in no reckoning be the subject of blame for Rangers’ extensive debt. According to the ‘virtuous’ Mr Baxendale-Waker, somebody would have advised Rangers Football Club with reference to the principles in his book. Rangers however, accordingly, “went and did something else” – much like Mr Baxendale-Walker, then, after his lengthy involvement in tax…
HMRC subsequently opened up a tax evasion case against Rangers Football Club, claiming the scheme was a tax scam as it was contractual. Evidence gathered strongly suggested this to be the case. When documents, such as a letter from ex-director of Rangers, Martin Bain, to then-Chairman John McClelland in 2003 suggested “…any pay rise I got should be paid through the trust, obviously as a discretionary bonus as it cannot be contractual”, it was difficult for Rangers to uphold their innocence. During the existence of the trust, over fifty million pounds was paid into it, some of these loans over ten years old. The trust was widespread across Rangers, also being used to benefit playing and coaching staff. It is understood that not a single one of those loans has been repaid – a quite staggering debt to incur.
Liquidation prevailed for Rangers Football Club after entering administration in February 2012, paving the way for the creation of the alternative ‘Newco Rangers’. A consortium led by Englishman Charles Green – Sevco 5088 – bought the clubs assets, including the training facilities, and the renowned Ibrox Stadium. So what now for Newco?

After the remaining SPL clubs voted against allowing Newco Rangers to take the old Rangers’ place in the Scottish Football League System, the integration of Newco Rangers into the league system was left in the balance, with their fate to be decided – of all possible dates – on Friday the 13^th July. As expected, the once-giants of Scottish football will find themselves travelling to grounds such as Borough Briggs, facing the likes of Elgin City, in the Scottish Third Division. Somewhere, some crazy, probably die-hard Celtic fan is making his way to the bookies to pick up a healthy sum of money after placing an outrageous bet on Rangers’ plummeting as low as the Third division a few years back. You never know…
The death of Rangers and the failed incorporation of Newco Rangers has been greeted with great concern with many stakeholders in Scottish football. Stewart Regan, chief executive of the Scottish FA, warned ‘the beautiful game’ faces a “slow lingering death” in Scotland should Rangers be denied incorporation into the Scottish First Division for the forthcoming season. Neil Lennon, manager of major Glaswegian rivals Celtic FC, has also admitted Celtic will suffer financially as a direct consequence of Rangers’ collapse. With a league system already ridiculed with criticism for its standard of competition, it is reasonable to sense further decline of the sport in Scotland.

And what of the players previously contracted to Rangers FC? Although Charles Green and his company have vowed to “seek damages for breach of contract and for inducement to break contracts”, many of the clubs’ players refused to transfer their contracts to the Newco version of Rangers FC, making them free to join new clubs on a free transfer. Whilst Green is adamant he shall seek to take legal action to block these moves, it would appear he is powerless to repel the players’ exit from Ibrox. Kyle Lafferty and Steven Whittaker have left to join FC Sion and Norwich City respectively, whilst Steven Naismith has teamed up with ex-Rangers’ striker Nikica Jelavić at Everton. Whilst some select members of the Rangers playing staff, such as Lee Wallace and Lee McCulloch have agreed to directly transfer their contracts to Newco Rangers, the future of many at Newco, such as midfielder Maurice Edu, hangs in the balance with their league existence yet to be set. What is certain, however, is that difficult times are set to continue not just for the monumental and dedicated fan base of the old Rangers FC, but for all associated with Scottish Football.

The True Underdog Story of the European Championships

Pre-Euro 2004, knowledge of the Greek national football team was meagre. The customary high expectations of England were fuelled by the arrival of an 18-year-old Wayne Rooney. Hosts Portugal and their half superstar, half cry-baby Cristiano Ronaldo were tipped to shine and the usual suspects of Germany, Spain, Italy and France could be seen regularly on betting slips in bookies across the continent. It was Greece, however, playing in only their third ever major tournament, which surpassed all expectations to lift the trophy in a tournament that all football fans will remember well (not least for the incompetent refereeing of one Urs Meier). If you come to be asked 20-odd years down the line what the most fascinating ‘underdog’ story in football has been of your lifetime, it is likely you’ll place the Greek triumph at the top of your list (that is, of course, until Michael Johnson scores the winner in the 2016 final !). But what many don’t realise is that for those born by this date in 1992, an even greater, more fascinating, more unexpected tale was written – the Denmark story.

It’s 1992, and the European Championships are being prepared to take place in Sweden. The hosts are expected to excel, led by the highly-rated Parma forward Thomas Brolin. Germany played for the first time as a unified nation, and defending European champions Holland were given elevated expectations. Denmark, on the other hand, had failed to qualify. After losing out in qualifying to group-winners Yugoslavia by one point, the Danish players were free to jet off on their summer holidays and soak up the sun.

Two weeks prior to the tournament, however, Yugoslavia found themselves banished from the finals. A state of civil war had led to sanctions being placed by the UN Security Council, preventing them from appearing. Denmark were subsequently thrown into the tournament, with two weeks to put a squad together and prepare for a campaign they had already been eliminated from.

Following a fall-out with manager Richard Møller Nielsen during the qualifying campaign, brothers Micheal and Brian Laudrup – considered two of the greatest ever Danish football players – had quit the national team. Whilst Brian returned to the squad for the European Championships under that same manager, Michael turned down the opportunity. Considering the exceedingly low expectations of the Danish national side, he preferred instead to remain on his holidays.

This tournament was to become the last in which only 8 teams reached the finals. There were only two groups, with the top two from each advancing straight to the semi-finals. Denmark were handed the challenge of coming up against the hosts, England and France – a group nobody expected them to stand a chance in – including the players. One squad member acknowledged that the pressure was so low, if they were to lose all three games 5-0, they would not be considered failures, so minute were the expectations. They headed into the final game against France on the back of a hard fought draw with England and a 1-0 loss to Sweden courtesy of a Thomas Brolin strike. With a loss and a swift exit anticipated, the Danish played with no fear. An early goal from the eventual tournament’s joint top goal scorer Henrik Larsen, followed by the winner from Lars Elstrup, secured an unlikely 2-1 victory. The French crashed out alongside a (surprising) exit from the English, and Denmark sailed through to the semi-final by one point. The Danish were to come up against the Dutch for a place in the final, in what was to become one of the most fascinating games in the history of the European Championships.

Defending their European title with ‘The General’, Rinus Michels in charge once again, Holland were hot favourites. Peter Schmeichel was to prove to be the hero, keeping the mighty Dutch at bay with an outstanding display in the Danish net. Larsen twice put the Danes in the lead, only for a late Frank Rijkaard strike to even the scores out at 2-2. The phenomenal Schmeichel prevented a Holland winner in extra time following a hoard of chances, meaning only penalties could separate the two teams. Denmark converted all five of their penalties, whilst Marco Van Basten, who had failed to score all tournament, saw his strike saved by Schmeichel. Van Basten’s penalty eventually proved decisive as Denmark, against all the odds, booked their place in the final.

Surely then, when faced by the Germans in the final, Denmark’s luck would have run out. Germany had knocked the hosts out 3-2 in their semi-final, and despite a less-than impressive group stage where they were comfortably beaten by Holland; yet again Denmark found themselves with the odds stacked against them. Danish player Kim Vilfort later admitted Germany were the best team in the final, but football is a funny game, and when John Jensen put Denmark one up, the impossible was made possible. Denmark’s counter-attacking philosophy paid dividends, and the Germans were made to rue missed chances as Vilford secured the unlikeliest of successes, putting the game beyond reach with the second goal little more than ten minutes from the end. The Danes had won the European Championships they failed to qualify for – and somewhere in the world, their star player Michael Laudrup was watching on with regret as his brother lifted the trophy.

This fairytale, however, ultimately failed to produce a happy ending. Vilford, who had missed the France match to return home to care for his sick seven-year-old daughter, had to later come to terms with the loss of his child in her battle against Leukaemia. I used to agree with one Bill Shankly, that football isn’t a matter of life or death, that it’s much more important than that. In reality, Bill, I can assure you, it’s much less.