Bluedell

Nobody will be watching, no matter what time that's on.

There were games on BT and Sky so Premier are presumably trying to avoid them.

Of course. At least now it's starting to get traction in the Times. I don't have a clue how it's been covered elsewhere in the written press.

It allows them to respond on one and not the other. I understand your viewpoint but with a compliant press, the focus on the titles and why it's not correct will be what hogs the headlines.

I'd find it more exciting playing against a team that aren't playing so well.

I had to look back and our record against German sides was better than I thought it was. I've just been conditioned by some of our games in the 90s where we came across some physical German sides and being bullied. I remember we played against Dortmund and thinking how great it would be to get some of their players. I was excited when it was announced that we were signing one and we ended up with Nerlinger! That would be a major result for me!

I think a Spanish side would have been more attractive, and our tactics would have worked better against them but I guess it's all subjective.

I believe that bringing up talk of titles will take some of the pressure off them as it allows them to argue in other areas, such as sporting advantage, rather than concentrate on the abuse itself.

It's one of the hardest draws we could have got, and one of the least exciting. However it's a great achievement getting to where we are now, and have arguably had some good luck in previous draws so I guess we can't complain too much.

Don't want a German side or Shaktar. Don't think they're beatable and not too much glamour.

I'd prefer if we didn't start shouting about stripping titles. It's not about us. It's about the victims, and getting justice for them. Let's not cause any deflection from that and then allowing people to focus on the validity of any such stripping claims as all it will do it is take people's attention away from the hideous acts, the ongoing cover-up and compensation for the victims and their families.

Another day, another article in the Times: I was abused yards from Celtic Park, claims victim An abuse survivor has claimed that he was molested in premises used by Celtic Boys Club that were yards from Celtic FC’s stadium. Gordon Woods was 13 when Jim Torbett, the founder of Celtic’s feeder club, sexually assaulted him. He alleges that some of the abuse took place in a building used by the boys’ club in the Sixties. Mr Woods, who has waived his right to anonymity, told Channel 4 News: “Immediately outside the main Celtic ground there was a building. It was painted in the same colours as Celtic FC. It was part of Celtic FC’s grounds. That’s where we trained. That’s where some of the abuse took place.” The building has been demolished but photographs and Celtic publications confirm its existence. Torbett was jailed for two years in 1998 and for six years in November 2018 for sexually attacking boys in his care. Celtic FC has expressed sympathy but continues to insist that the boys’ club was a separate organisation with which it had “historic contacts”. Mr Woods, now in his sixties, denied this, saying: “We were very much part of Celtic FC.” He was backed by James Dornan, an SNP MSP whose son was on the books of Celtic FC and its feeder club. Martin Henry, chairman of the Independent Review into Sexual Abuse in Scottish Football, told Channel 4 that there had been an “irrefutable” historical relationship between Celtic FC and the boys’ club, which was later severed. He said that Celtic FC and other clubs had an “inescapable” moral obligation to accept responsibility for the abuse that took place at feeder clubs. Offering compensation was “the right thing to do,” he added. The Scottish Football Association, which commissioned the review, said Mr Henry was speaking in a personal capacity and that it did not endorse his views. The governing body stressed that it was not in the gift of the review to apportion any liability. The review’s interim report, published in 2018, suggested that senior teams could not distance themselves from abuse at feeder clubs. The Times understands that this will be reiterated in the final report, which is expected to be published within weeks. Celtic said: “Celtic FC is appalled by any form of historic abuse and has great sympathy for those who suffered abuse and for their families. The club is very sorry that these events took place. “Although Celtic FC is a separate organisation, we take these [claims] extremely seriously because of the historic contacts between the two organisations.” https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/i-was-abused-yards-from-celtic-park-claims-victim-6k9wkv3xg

Glasgow is blue!!!

Hearts 1 - 2 Rangers Morelos

Rumour has it that the vast majority of the transfer fee for Tierney has been put to one side.

I think he was convicted in 1998, and the process came to light in 1996. McCann resigned in 1999.

While I understand the sentiment, I'm not sure that I want to lose Derry's Walls, and there's no chance that there can be a Rangers verse added. I do share your thoughts over the high ground, and I'm not keen on the revised version of "Three Cheers For". There is a fine line and "We're coming down the road" is on the right side of it. The mindset has to be something for the future. The top priority has to be getting rid of the use of the F and P words. I'm astounded and dismayed that the warnings aren't getting through. There's a rumour that we are again not going to accept tickets for the next away leg, which is understandable. I'm not sure what else the club can do, other than remove those who attended last night from the travel club, which also has some issues.

As far as I'm aware, there was only one song sung that mentioned the UVF, and it's about the members of militia formed in 1912 enlisted with the British Army's 36th (Ulster) Division for WW1. I don't see that being a major issue, and was not one of the 2 problematic songs sung yesterday.

I really want Copenhagen in the next round....

No apology from Michael Stewart and no apology to Morelos or Rangers.

Limited mention of German football though!

Nice to see Fat Eck featuring on Gersnet. It seems like a lifetime ago when the likes of @JohnMc and myself were regulars on his blog. Excellent article too!

Victim claims football abusers worked together Compelling evidence for the existence of a cross-border paedophile network will feature in an official report commissioned by the Scottish Football Association, it has emerged. An independent review into sexual abuse within Scottish football is expected to deliver its final report within weeks. However, Martin Henry, chairman of the review panel, has told Channel 4 News that “substantive” new evidence has emerged which suggested that some notorious predators worked together to traffick young players. Last month The Times published allegations that Barry Bennell, a former scout with Manchester City and Crewe Alexandra, and Jim McCafferty, a former Celtic kitman and boy’s club coach, were part of an organised abuse ring. Bennell, 66, is serving a 30-year sentence for abusing boys on an “industrial scale”. McCafferty, 74, was jailed last year for molesting youngsters over a 24-year period. One survivor, Malcolm Rodger — who has waived his right to anonymity — has presented new evidence, claiming that he was abused separately by McCafferty and Bennell after being introduced to them by Bill Kelly, a former coach with the now defunct West Lothian team Uphall Saints. Kelly, 84, was jailed in 1987 for sexually assaulting at least 12 players, including Mr Rodger, at the club over a 22-year period. He served one year in prison. Mr Henry confirmed that his inquiry had received information which suggested that prominent abusers in Scotland and England had been working together. “We do have substantive information to suggest that has been the case,” he said. “If you’d asked me that question a month ago I would have said no. “There was no substantive information that we had at that time that suggested any kind of organised abuse between Scotland and England under the auspices of football. “We have had recent accounts that suggests that was very much the case. These have been passed to the English FA inquiry. “I’m fully confident that the English FA inquiry will come up with recommendations every bit as detailed and robust as my own.” Mr Rodger, 49, from Glasgow, was subjected to two years of abuse in the mid-1980s after attending games, trials and tournaments in Scotland, England and Spain. He said that Kelly and McCafferty, whom he recognised as the trainer of the neighbouring Fauldhouse United, abused him together many times. A year later Mr Rodger accompanied Kelly on a trip to Blackpool, where he was introduced to Bennell. Mr Rodger told Channel 4 News that the abuse he received at the hands at Bennell made him physically sick. “The following day Bill Kelly told me, if anybody was to ask anything, just to say that I’d eaten something that hadn’t agreed with me at dinner,” he said. Mr Rodger, a decorated former serviceman who served in Bosnia, Northern Ireland and in the first Gulf War, said that he hoped his decision to speak out would convince others to come forward. “Everybody in Scotland knows that abuse has taken place but it’s different when there’s a face, there’s a name that’s telling them that I was abused.” he said. Kelly, a former secretary of the West Lothian Association of Youth Football Clubs, denies having any connection with Bennell or McCafferty. The SFA said that it was awaiting the findings of the independent review. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/victim-claims-football-abusers-worked-together-w8q05dg2n

Dear Member, Club 1872 has been in dialogue with Rangers for several weeks regarding Michael Stewart’s offensive and defamatory comments on Sportsound regarding Alfredo Morelos and Jim Traynor. Rangers were in agreement with us that Michael Stewart’s comments were completely unacceptable, and made strong representations to the BBC on that basis. It was correct that the club engaged directly with BBC Scotland to make their position clear and attempt to resolve this issue. Rangers fans deserve to receive value for the licence fee which funds BBC Scotland’s activities. The decision to reinstate Mr Stewart, and the attempted justification for that reinstatement, makes it clear that under its current leadership BBC Scotland has no intention of ever properly discharging its duty to a significant section of licence fee payers in Scotland. In an eight minute rant, Mr Stewart did his best to cast doubt on racist abuse of Alfredo Morelos. He then went on to describe the placement of PR stories, an issue he had completely fabricated, as being “more concerning” than racist abuse and “the main story”. This clear and disgraceful attempt to minimise racism should have been condemned by BBC Scotland but instead they have completely ignored it. His defamatory comments about Jim Traynor were not only false and inflammatory but in our opinion were a factor in the physical assault on him just days later. Quite simply, Michael Stewart should have been sacked on the spot. The contrast between how BBC Scotland dealt with this and how the BBC in England have dealt with similar issues is stark. The assertion by BBC Scotland that they have now adequately resolved this issue by simply explaining Mr Stewart’s responsibilities to him is an insult to the intelligence. Mr Stewart was already well aware of his responsibilities having had several complaints lodged against him for similar behaviour - most notably when he denied that Rangers supporters were placed in a dangerous crushing situation at Rugby Park earlier this season despite clear evidence to the contrary. There is a pattern of behaviour with Michael Stewart on any Rangers related topic and his motivation is abundantly clear to anyone who pays attention. BBC Scotland’s reputation, already damaged by their refusal to deal properly with their ongoing biased coverage of Rangers, now lies in tatters over this matter. It is decisions like this that have led to more and more questions being asked about the future of the licence fee. Rangers supporters are correct to mistrust BBC Scotland and it is clear that the organisation is deeply flawed at an institutional level. There is no accountability, no integrity and no responsibility - from senior management all the way down to Mr Stewart’s level. Rangers are correct to withdraw from all dialogue and we believe that those discussions should not resume until the BBC is able to demonstrate with action, not words, that they have regained some control over BBC Sport Scotland.

You're over-exaggerating his loss in form, in my opinion, and I really don' see what his salary has anything to do with it. Would it change anything if he was getting paid, say a third of what he's currently on? You say that you'd take a player with 20% less talent than Morelos? We wouldn't have a game on Wednesday and we'd be further off the top of the league if we had. There seems to be a mass hysteria going on with many Rangers fans on-line at the moment, trying to lash out and everyone's got their own bogeyman of who to blame.