Tannochsidebear

I got that one about 30 minutes after the ICT game finished.

I agree with you 53, and my avatar will need updated, again!!

If you send an email to all of the following then it will surely get reported, wont it? MICHELESHIELDS@SCOTPREM.COM enquiries@scotprem.com MAIL@NILBYMOUTH.ORG INFO@THEREDCARDSCOTLAND.ORG Why dont we see how they like it back at them?

That cover is the best in a long time, absolutely fantastic.

A typically warped article by an unknown author in a rag with plenty previous against us. Why on earth, in an article about a statement by Rangers fans trying to get themselves sorted out, does the author go to the celtic supporters rep for comment, or the Catholic church, or even the untrustworthy NBM, if it was not a desperate attempt to take the statement in another direction. Thank goodness I dont waste money buying such tripe.

I will try to address some of the points made in this thread so far as I was one of the organisers involved in setting up the meeting and the release of the statement. The meeting itself had a lot of discussions and covered a lot of topics. The full minutes are probably going to be released tomorrow morning to the people who attended, and who couldnt attend but wanted to be kept involved. The difficulty in getting the Police to issue a banned list is that if they put down a list of 10 songs, it then says that the other songs are allowed, when a court of law may decide otherwise, and the Police dont want to get caught in the middle, so they will only deal with the phrases/songs/add-ons that they know can be prosecuted because the courts have already done so. If you really need it spelled out for you, any songs that have F----n B------s in it has to go, as does any reference to FTP, and The Famine Song also. There is no point discussing the rights and wrongs of wether it is fair that these are banned, and no point saying what about the IRA songs, we can only deal, and advise our fellow bears, based on the law as explained to us by the Match Commander and backed up at a seperate meeting by our own legal expert, a Rangers fan through and through who is just as sick of things just now as we all are. This would therefore include songs The Billy Boys, The Famine Song, Super Rangers, to name but three and also any FTP add-ons must go. Super Rangers has not been banned itself, but the phrase F----n B------s would need to be changed to avoid this getting us into trouble. Lets not forget if we do get our act together our enemies are not going to say well done and leave us alone, they are going to get desperate, as we have seen already with their pathetic attempts to claim offence from Penny Arcade and The Bouncy, but if we are able to cut out the songs that get us into trouble from which we have no defence, you can bet that we are going to go looking for them, and also are going to stoutly defend our rights, heritage and traditions to follow our teamas we see fit, within the laws. The statement issued outlines only the beginnings, as if we dont get our own act together and eliminate the minority who continue to get our club and the support into trouble, we have no ground to stand on to fight back. BTW the statement was issued to all media contacts at the same time, and the Assembly website was first to publish it, with FF and RM very closely behind. All these forums (and Gersnet of course) have been very helpful so far and there are no forums or websites getting preferential treatment, I can assure you of that.

Im part of the organising group for this meeting and of course there will be a report up as soon as possible after it. Live feeds like twitter or even just posting on websites during the meeting wont be allowed on this occassion. There are over 160 attendees confirmed from around 90 clubs and organisations, including Gersnet, so im sure info will get onto the boards quickly enough, even if the official report from the organisers and press release may be a bit later, perhaps even Monday morning.

Seems to me that anything less than them throwing the case out will result in us appealing so that we can pursue who it was that has reported us. The Sports court in Switzerland will not allow such pathetic accusations to go without seeing the credentials of the accuser, it is a basic right in law, just not UEFA's kind of law.

Can we? Absolutely! Will we? Thats another question entirely. What is for sure is that we need 12 points from our last 4 games. Can we do that? Absolutely we can, and I think we will. Will that be enough? Perhaps, and if not then we have to concede that the small squad and all the off-field nonsense this season both at our club and elsewhere has been too big an ask for a management team that have already performed miracles in winning the last 2 titles while stripping the squad bare. I keep coming back to when the tims beat us to go 5 points clear with 4 games to go in 2005 and then blew it, and that was definately a better tim team than the current one.

I am not sure about the answer to that one Craig, but I would say for sure that there is a much bigger percentage at away games that are RSC members than at home games due to the ticket distributions set-up, and as our singing problems are much more apparant at away games, it is to be hoped that if we can carry the message to the RSC's then it can have a positive influence. I would say that between the RSC's, online forums like here, FF, RM, Gersforum, DTB, VB, and fans groups RST, Assembly and Association, we must be able to catch a very large percentage of attending fans. With media coverage and follow-up campaigns there is hope that something can be achieved, but it wont be overnight.

Below is a copy of an email being circulated amongst all RSC's, supporters groups and online forums. It wont solve all the problems we have but it is a start. There will also be other important information on other related subjects which, for the moment, is not for online (ie public) disclosure. Meeting of Rangers Supporters Clubs As you will know, the club is back in trouble again over alleged Sectarian singing. It is up to us as the supporters of the Club to find a way to ensure the Club does not continually come under the microscope of the authorities. The Club has allowed us to utilise the Ibrox Suite on Sunday 1st May at 12.00pm for a meeting of all fans reps to discuss all relevant topics in this regard. I understand that this date and time may not suit everyone, but I would like to invite 2 reps of every RSC registered to attend this meeting and together we can attempt to come up with a solution to our current position. A large turnout is expected, so please reply as soon as you can to secretary@nithsdaleloyal.com to ensure we have enough space for everyone to attend. Needless to say but we all need to be really careful what is sung on Sunday as all eyes will be on this game please pass this on.

It sounds to me like the board clinging on to power as long as they can, as I have heard that Whyte was going to clear out the board IN FULL post takeover.

Meeting between Supporters Club and Rangers FC and Strathclyde Police Last night, Thursday, Billy Montgomery of the Nithsdale Loyal RSC facilitated a meeting between around a dozen reps mainly from clubs in the Glasgow area. Initially the meeting had been called as a result of media reportage which caused concern about the policing of the forthcoming Old Firm match. Also present were club liaison manger Jim Hannah; Rangers FC security and safety executives David Martin and Robin Howe; and Andrew Bates the match commander at Ibrox from Strathclyde Police. We were given the outline of the complaints to UEFA but no specifics as yet as it is still being worked on by Rangers legal people. Very strong representations were made to the club and police stressing that fans want a level playing field with regards to policing, stewarding and consideration of fan behaviour. It is totally unacceptable that Rangers fans are treated as second class citizens. Fan reps also stressed that we expected the club not only to defend itself to the fullest extent possible in this instance but to instigate changes in policy which will result in the ending of attacks on the club from the media or politically/religiously-motivated mischief makers. Andrew Bates was then asked about the policing of the game in general and about changes to police/legislative policy in particular. With regard to the 35-strong undercover snatch squad mentioned in the Daily Record he said that was incorrect - he will have officers at his disposal whom he can send into the crowd should he feel the need. These will not be targeted at any one support or any one section of the ground. Whilst he would not obviously be drawn into internal police matters we made it clear to him that it was intolerable that any group of fans should be allowed with impunity to sing the praises of terrorist groups for 90 minutes every second weekend, often within the Strathclyde force area. Likewise slogans and banners which are grossly offensive are simply not tolerated amongst the home support at Ibrox and we expect this to be the case in areas reserved for visiting fans. It was likewise intimated that the imbalance in court procedure, procurator fiscal decisions and police tactics needed to be addressed to remove undue influence and that the opinions of Rangers fans in particular need to be listened to and heard in discussions from which we are presently excluded. Preparations are being made for a meeting of supporters club reps on Sunday 1st May - once details are ready details will be sent out.

The split works in rotation. Last season we had 3 away games post split and Timmy had 2. The season before it was reversed. Next season we will have 3 away games post split. The only unfair thing about the split is that sometimes, a side is asked to go to the same venue 3 times in a season, instead of playing that opponent twice at home and twice away. That has happened to us on 3 occassions I believe, and has happened to most SPL clubs at some stage or other, apart from 1 club who has never had this inconvenience. And no prizes for guessing who.

Like most sane bears, I was pleased that we were able to go to the SFA and present a sensible, legal defence of our Assistant Manager and players against the most outrageous media onslaught, and come out with a not guilty and a couple of slapped wrists and small fines. It was interesting to read that we took our own 3 strong legal team with us to defend us, including our own QC that didnt feel the need to go public and blow his own trumpet. As many have said before and I say again, the main difference between us and them is, quite simply, class. We have it and they dont. Anyway, I digress. It appears that we are quite happy to splash the cash to defend any accusations against our owner, manager, and even players, but one part of the Rangers family does not quite get any defence from those running our club, and that is us, the fans. Over recent years, time and again, many media hacks and commentators have gone to town with outrageous attacks on our fanbase which, had they been defended with the same vigour as the 3 at the SFA this week, may have led to a much fairer and more impartial broadcasting nation than the one we inhabit today. It is also fair to say that this is not even restricted to media, but the agenda is driven by our enemies to other bodies also, including the Police, the PF, NBM, FARE and UEFA. What defence have we given against this orchestrated and venemous onslaught? Nothing. Well in my view, and I am sure the view of many others, it is time this was changed. But how to change it? Of course it is difficult to defend ourselves entirely when we continue to sing songs that we have lost the fight (what fight?) on. It probably took Timmy about 20 years to change things around from one where they had little say and influence to one where they now hold court everywhere that matters. For such a small percentage of the population, they certainly fight above their weight, of that there is no denying. But enough of them, it is only us I am interested in. We must start to change opinions within the corridors of power, put our side of the story across, ensure we get fair treatment. We must ensure that the Police, PF, so-called anti-sectarian organisations and footballing authorities understand that we have a proud and respected culture also, that we are proud of our heritage and traditions, where we come from as a club and a community, that we are proud of our Country and those who defend our Country. That we seek no advantage nor cry about how how they big bad folks from across the city are getting everything their own way, merely that as long as we are treated with understanding, fairness and equality, we will have no problem in sorting ourselves out. We can point to the fact that after TBB was banned in 2007, we organised a meeting amongst RSC's and agreed to self-police and ensure TBB was no longer sung at Rangers matches. This was very successful and worked well for quite some time. Recently, we have begun to slip into old ways, and it is no surprise to hear that the biggest reason you hear for this, is that we stopped singing the offensive songs, but nobody else was forced to, so why should we bother. It is this line that needs addressing now. We are more than able to ensure that as a club and a support, we are inclusive and inoffensive, whilst retaining the right to be proud of our roots, heritage and culture, but we must see a level playing field where it is not possible for only one club's support to be offensive and all the others to be laughed away as a joke, or argued away on a technicality. Throughout our history, all we have wanted is equality and fairness, for the game to be decided by skill and endevour, on and off the field, and for this to be the only thing asked of our rivals also. It is time our fans, and more importantly, our club, decided to stand up and be heard for all the right reasons, and to ensure that those with unfair agendas are argued against and not allowed to continue to paint us solely to blame for all the failings in our society, which is how we the fans I am sure believe is what the current situation is.

At long last some sense in all the madness. There was, quite simply, no wrongdoing at all in what any of the 3 Rangers guys done. I am quite sure that when considering his report, Murray knew he blundered at the Bougherra 2nd yellow, knew that Diouf had a point when he was told by Diouf that he had had a dreadful game, and obviously knew about what had went on in the tunnel at half time and failed to report that also. He clearly wanted to put in a report that did as little damage as possible to cover up for his own complete incompetance during that match, but at least fair play to him for admitting the truth at the disciplinary, despite knowing full well how scum like McBride and all the TWAT's would react. Obviously his incredibly poor performance last night was as a direct result of all the Timmy inTIMidation since the appeal, given that he was incredibly quick to punish Rangers players and yet do nothing to Considine for numerous offences and deny us a stonewall penalty. Never mind, as I shouted to Murray at FT last night, you really must try harder to stop the Rangers from winning.

Yet again it is an absolute disgrace that they get the huge beneift of a home game for the final game of the season whilst we are away, just like when we won the title at Tannadice on Operation Tango day. Surprised they didnt manage to get us to Tannadice again. The one good thing is that from now until the final day of the season, we have 4 out of 6 games at home while Timmy has 5 out of 6 games away. We must ensure a 100% record at home against St Mirren, Scum, Hearts and United to win the title.

Given the complete demolition of our club by Murray and LBG over the last few years, it is a wonder we still have a competitive team at all, never mind one that is challenging for titles, winning domestic cups, and playing 10 games in Europe without disgrace. FWIW I quite enjoyed the football at the United game, although amazed we were beaten by a team playing counter attack football, and I must say the recent Cup Final of only 3 weeks ago was one where we played really well, beat our biggest rivals and won a trophy that every single other team in our country would have had major parties had they won. Yes, the two away games this week at Perth and Hamilton were dire, but we won both of them without getting out of second gear, without conceding a goal with a makeshift defence, and maintaining our title challenge with a threadbare squad. I dont accept this is what I want from a Rangers team, but having a go at the players, manager, coaches, pitches etc is howling at the moon considering our owner's complete negligence, bad management and disregard for our fortunes over the last near-decade, almost bankrupting us twice, and leaving us in our current state. IMO the manager and players, whilst not getting everything right, far from it, deserve enormous credit for keeping the smallest squad in the SPL on track to win it. I will take 8 more performances like the last 2 thank you very much and salute the greatest title victory in our history with a major party, not a disgruntled "the football should have been better" moan. Rant over, back to work now!

The fans who defend the singing of the "banned" songs state that UEFA have never issued us with a banned song list, and that it was Murray who made it up for his own purposes. Claims of a letter being waved about but never shown, it never being reproduced on the RFC website or UEFA website meaning it didnt exist, and some wanting us to defiantly sing our songs of heritage and let them come after us if they dare. I can see both POV in this, but prefer to side with caution, and singing TBB at a match is not entirely necessary to show who and what we are, and therefore I can do without it. It can still be belted out with pride on the busses, in our pubs and at our functions, and that doesnt get the club into any kind of bother. I would expect us to defend this action in the way we should have defended the first action in Osasuna, and for us to threaten to open a can of worms that UEFA do not want opened if they continue on this campaign against a club with one of the biggest travelling supports in Europe.

I heard about this on Tuesday on the way to Perth, although the exact ban and fine are mere speculation at this stage, perhaps more on precedent than anything to do with our specific case. It is certainly unique in our position that it is only at away games there is this problem, and therefore a ban on away fans would not hurt the club at all, safe for the loss of income from TC re the travel club, which is not a significant sum anyway. It is now time for our club to launch a complete defence, citing all the moronic behaviour of other clubs that pass off without punishment, including our city rivals, and be prepared to take this all the way to the Sport Court.

Credit where it is due and I thought the MOTM for us was Edu, who showed a welcome (and much overdue) return to form last night and looked more like himself, tackling hard, passing better and reading the game better. On a dreadful pitch and in blustery conditions it was never going to be one for the purists, and I couldnt help but thinking that I wish it is exactly the same next week when Saints entertain the bheasts, as those conditions were a great leveller. Only really 2 pieces of brilliance last night, McGregors save and Jelavic's dribble and shot off the underside of the bar.

It is quite possible to be fully supportive of the team, and in full voice, whilst sitting comfortably in your seat. As I will be in the family section, it is also important for adults to remember that there will be a lot of kids there that will be unable to see if there are adults standing in the row in front of them. Whilst I remember and loved being on the terracing at Ibrox and Hampden cheering on the team in the days before all seated stadia, I would say it had more to do with being able to stand in groups of mates together than standing or sitting.

I agree BD, I gave Naismith MOTM in 5 out of our 6 CL games this season, so I suppose for that and some excellant early season performances domestically he about deserves the award in a season that has failed to sparkle.

Truth is, it has not been a vintage season performance wise from our team, and with no stand-out for POTY, the usual suspects come to the top of the list by default more than anything else. My own top 6 would be McGregor, Bougherra, Naismith, eh and thats it. Other players have had a wee spell of form here and there, but many of our players have not reached their form of the last two seasons. Especially disappointing have been some of the big earners like Davis, Edu and Lafferty. I am loathed to admit that had he stayed, Miller, for his goals alone, would be a shoe in for this. Thankfully, this doesnt really make any difference to anything other than another overpriced fundraiser for the club at �£144 per ticket, it will only be the corporate guys that will attend. It makes an easy copy for that weeks Rangers News but that apart, it is rather meaningless.

I absolutely hated Neil Murray as a player. I thought he was absolutely talentless and a waste of a shirt. Couldnt pass, head, tackle, shoot, run, or read the game well. How he got so many games in a good Rangers squad at that time was, and remains, well beyond my comprehension. Taking that aside, getting Murray and Bomber in stinks of the old pals act from Ally. I seriously hope this is not going to be the way of things under his reign, as I cant appointments like this being too successful.