Stimpy

His footballing priorities may have put other clubs off?

I would contribute too.

You're right mate, I do need to catch up as the last five-10 years have been about career and family for me. Perhaps there's something in what you say about impressionable people being used for others agenda! I can't really comment either way on that. I have recently joined the RST (about 2 months ago). I'm not there to lead a crusade against the current board though, as I don't know them, yet! I do believe however, that I can have a positive input and maybe over time help out with any project they're running. I will not be influenced or lead up the garden path though, that's for sure. If you don't mind me asking, exactly who and why are the current problem on the board?

If everybody who cared about fan representation joined up then they could put themselves forward to the board! IMO, you have to make changes from the inside. I read alot of posts across different Gers forums about the current board - the posts come from people like yourself who care about the 'trust' but don't trust the people on it. nobody actually ever does anything about it. Not saying you haven't done anything as I don't know whether you have or not. But, would it not be better if every critic acted rather than argued with current members about the past? I'm not having a dig at you mate as I've seen similar posts across the web regarding the RST.

Ewen has a set of balls no other journalist or club representative has. Praising us in the media is a bit of a taboo subject....So a big well done to Ewen.

Hope he pulls through. Thoughts are with him and his family.

They're willing to remember one man yet they cannot pay the same respect to the tens of thousands who died for their freedom! Vermin scum, the lot of them.

taken from FF. Fans are being asked to contribute their memories of following Rangers and what it means to them. Email address to register an interest: imrangerstillidie@gmail.com Link from FF: http://forum.followfollow.com/showthread.php?t=684793 - apologies if posting forum links are not allowed!

When is it out?

Everyone remembers their school days. From boring lessons to nasty teachers to the dubious courtship ritual of chucking stones at a girl to let her know you fancy her (ââ?¬Å?Her headââ?¬â?¢s bleeding! Iââ?¬â?¢m so in there!ââ?¬Â) it is accurate to say your school days ââ?¬â?? and school status ââ?¬â?? shape the person you eventually become. Everybody wanted to be the cool kid but the majority will have settled into ââ?¬Ë?inbetweenerââ?¬â?¢ mode, neither cool nor geeky, it was a simple existence with the advantage of slipping under the radar of bullies, but none of the ââ?¬Ë?coolââ?¬â?¢ perks like lackeys, sh*t-hot trainers and the ability to compare fanny-wire to the real thing. Nobody wanted to be the geek. For these poor souls intervals were a barbaric gauntlet-run of assault, robbery, slander, assault, sitting in puddles and more assault. Crowds would gather as the school psycho heroically picked on the smallest guy with no pals; his victim cowering in the corner of the schoolyard screaming ââ?¬Å?Please not the face!ââ?¬Â. But then the day would come. The geek would finally snap. The bully would push him too close to the edge and with all the limp-wristed might he could muster, he would throw the first, last and only punch of his life. CRACK. He would catch the bully square on the jaw and send the tracksuited Goliath sprawling to the ground. The crowd would fall silent, too terrified to release the whooping cheer that seemed so natural. With his nemesis slain the geek would enjoy a new lease of life and maybe even promotion to ââ?¬Ë?inbetweenerââ?¬â?¢ level as he no-doubt questions why he didnââ?¬â?¢t take retaliatory action sooner. Thatââ?¬â?¢s the thing with bullies; stand up to them and youââ?¬â?¢d be surprised what can be achieved. As we look forward to another Champions League campaign I ask myself; what kind of geek are we going to be? It might just shape what we become in the years ahead. We can (and do) accept that European football is dominated by an exclusive cartel of clubs whose livelihood depends on the revenue generated by Europeââ?¬â?¢s premier competition. We can (and do) accept that by introducing seedings, UEFA pander to these clubs as they seek to plan as smooth a path as possible to the money-spinning knockout rounds. We can (and do) accept that nobody expects us to make an impact on the competition. But just as the geek will eventually grow a pair and finally decide to stand up for himself, we must now stop apologising for earning our place at the top table and concentrate on how we are going to scale the mountain and win this thing. I donââ?¬â?¢t care if we are 1000/1 to win it; we are in it, so we can win it! Thereââ?¬â?¢s only thirty-two teams in Europe in this position so that, for me, gives us a one in thirty-two chance of winning it. What were Greece to win Euro 2004? Second-longest odds behind only Latvia? Of course I realise the superhuman effort (and logic-defying luck) it would take for us to even get to the semis, but no matter how it is spun, no matter how much our detractors tell us weââ?¬â?¢re cannon-fodder, there will always remain that remote chance we could win it. We moan enough about ambition-free SPL clubs who aim for a third-place finish with a view to European participation/humiliation, yet we meekly accept such humiliation on the European stage in exchange for success on the domestic front where only one other team has designs on our trophy. I canââ?¬â?¢t accept that a club of our size that, despite recent financial strife, still pays players exorbitant amounts lacks any ambition beyond our own well-trodden doorstep. Infuriatingly, this fearful mindset has infected our management and players as our fragilities were well and truly exposed during last yearââ?¬â?¢s attempt at avoiding humiliation. ââ?¬Å?Weââ?¬â?¢re happy just to be involvedââ?¬Â was the line from Walter Smith before last yearââ?¬â?¢s draw. Oddly, nobody seemed to tell the players we were ââ?¬Ë?involvedââ?¬â?¢ as they assumed the classic ââ?¬Ë?geekââ?¬â?¢ position only to fail to deflect any of the bullyââ?¬â?¢s face-shredding blows. Once the bully got tired, his unknown chancer of a pal from Romania threw a few punches and, again, we apologised for getting in the way of his fists and shined his shoes by way of payment. We were relieved once the pummelling stopped and tried our best to put it behind us. Frankly, it is time to stop accepting the beatings and finally throw a punch of our own. Their players may get paid more and have bigger boot deals and all the rest of it, but the glory of sport is that it boils down to who performs on the night. Matches arenââ?¬â?¢t won or lost before kick-off. There are a million variables that can swing the game one way or the other and itââ?¬â?¢s that notion we have to believe in and use it to fuel our ambition (for once). We bemoan being unable to compete but that, my friends, is the worst excuse of the lot. Last season we were being pummelled in Stuttgart but eventually calmed our nerves, rallied and forced an equaliser. And it wasnââ?¬â?¢t a fluke either, it was a good, flowing move finished off superbly. We then dominated the rest of the game and nearly nicked all three points at the end when another passing move saw Davis strike the foot of the post. Onto our home tie against Sevilla and a solid, controlled performance aided by a superb one-man show from Naismith up-front saw us contain a pretty decent Spanish side. However, our undoing was all of our own making. Whilst we should have been awarded a penalty, the goal we lost was staggeringly awful. Eleven players back defending in our own box; Sevilla casually rolled it to a player on the edge of the area, who had all the time in the world to waft a cross towards his teammate who secured a free header at goal. It wasnââ?¬â?¢t a lack of money that cost us that goal, or the SPL, or the seedings, it was rank-awful play from ourselves. No excuses, that goal should never have been lost. It was the catalyst for Sevilla to go on and dominate as we had to step and force the issue and more horrendous defending saw them rip us apart with ease. Fast-forward to Unirea at home and the same mistakes apply; appalling marking at set-pieces being the obvious error, something we couldnââ?¬â?¢t even rectify after going a goal up inside one minute. Unirea away was decent until we sloppily lost possession in our own half, allowing an equaliser of wonder-strike proportions. It happens, but why not examine how we can avoid a reoccurrence, rather than shrugging and ââ?¬Ë?taking it on the chinââ?¬â?¢? Stuttgart at home was a total disaster as our formation and line-up were easily countered by an average German side. We barely mustered a chance and it was the first game Iââ?¬â?¢ve ever been at where not one Ranger earned pass-marks. The bullies won and we accepted it. Nobody questions how monumental our task is, but lets stop shooting ourselves in the foot. Defending set-pieces can be worked on and prepared for, thereââ?¬â?¢s no excuse for losing goals whilst your entire team is less than eighteen yards from goal! Our attacking set pieces are also annoyingly impotent and again, this is just laziness on our part. I expect to see obvious preparation and skill in execution, no matter who the opponents are. Indeed, against Manchester United set-pieces may be our best chance of scoring so I expect these opportunities to be exploited to the full. Watch our opponents and plan our formation accordingly. Everyone remembers Advocaat pitching Derek McInnes in against PSV. It worked beautifully and we tried it again a week later against Valencia. It didnââ?¬â?¢t work second time around, so we changed it after forty minutes. Respond to what is happening on the pitch. I want to see that our management can analyse the game and see what is going wrong. All of this is within our capability at any level of football. Of course our players will get away with more mistakes domestically than they will in Europe, but thatââ?¬â?¢s not exactly unexpected is it? Players must be aware of what is required and deployed in a role which allows them to execute that function. Tactics, approach, coaching; these are the fundamentals of football, ââ?¬Å?putting it in the mixââ?¬Â doesnââ?¬â?¢t feature and is really just code for ââ?¬Å?get rid of it asap and get back to your own halfââ?¬Â. Keeping possession is arguably the most important tactic available to us. If weââ?¬â?¢ve got the ball, they canââ?¬â?¢t score. Bottom line. I expect each and every one of our players to be able to control and pass the ball, and indeed, move to space once the ball has been released. Standing in formation because you expect to lose it any second is insane. Apart from pissing all over any creativity we might otherwise display, it gives the opposition a chance to chase us down and force us into oh so many passbacks to the keeper, where it is inevitably hoofed up the park to the opposition defence, who have forty yards of space as our lone-striker is invariably camped in the centre-circle. Pass and move. It is easy really. Thereââ?¬â?¢s no need for us to feel so inferior. Really: there isnââ?¬â?¢t. We have to believe we can perform to our best and let the opposition know they are in for a game. If our application is correct, our tactics spot on and our mentality right, then we can pick up results against anyone. I firmly believe that. Walter has a natural fear of European sides after a fair few humblings but in his last season, I expect heââ?¬â?¢ll want to finally make a mark on the arena that has largely evaded him thus far. I expect he will realise how crucial this campaign will be in establishing who we are in respect of our coefficient. I expect heââ?¬â?¢ll want us to finally throw a punch and show we ainââ?¬â?¢t taking this sh*t no more. I expect weââ?¬â?¢ll enjoy our promotion to the fanny-wire fondlers. From FF.

LOL Is there much of a difference between Scotland's and NI's national sides'? I don't think there is.

giruy ...

12 men out of over 150,000 people? Manchester, like other large UK cities, experiences worse every weekend. Happy to see the people who brought shame on our club dealt with but this has been made out to be the crime of the century and I for one am sick of it.

Exactly what I was going to say:spl:

Daily Rebel strikes again! Stopped buying this trash back in the nineties only to start reading it again when I moved across here to catch up on Rangers. I have once again stopped buying it. Awful publication.

I thought this might be the case. Outside of the club itself, what organisation could represent the fans to sort this fiasco out?

Probably, mate. The club could quite easily come out and tell the world how poorly the city prepared and give examples. :box:

One very influential football organisation will be watching events in Manchester very closely with GMP telling them how they can prepare and deal with a bunch of angry bears! The aftermath of Manchester 2008 had GMP, EFA and The Government talking up the response by GMP and that it was handled well. IMO, we're being used as an example to support the bid and the club hasn't got the foresight to to realise this.

Very good mate. Rangers Football Club supporting England's world cup bid?

Is that your account of the day, Frankie?

All good points and none of them point to you being a snob. However, and I'm not sure of the exact amount of games, but we have played more Euro games in our history than most of our rivals - mostly without incident! Villireal, Ososuna, Romania and Manchester are all relatively recent events and apart from Romania, each location never prepared sufficiently or they did not have the infrastructure to handle a large travelling support. Romania can be placed in the bracket of being incompetent arseholes who never listened to our Club's fears when they looked at the ground. Their stewards incited the trouble and the travelling bears acted in a human like way - they defended themselves! We do have morons within or support but we have no-more or less than our peers. I don't think GMP is trying to prevent trouble, they're trying embarrass us because of what went on in 2008 and because it helps deflect their own misgivings. Our fans have 40+ years of following the club across Europe and I don't recall our fans ever being treated like animals.

perhaps I am misinformed but you're the only person I've known to say otherwise! Are you able to shed light on this ?

So, would you expect the fans to stay sober drinking tea for the biggest game since 1972? I'm sure the stats for T in the Park or Glastonbury is worse for drunken behaviour. Not defending the actions of a small minority but for the most part, the fans created a carnival atmosphere!

Joining the EPL is the only way he'll get his �£12 million loan back from Celtic. Non story!

We all know what happened In Manchester and most of us were let down by it all but, why the need to go to these lengths? The continued witch hunt towards bears is really starting to piss me off. Everyone and their dog knows the trouble makers weren't the usual fans that follow the club away or even at home. So why go to all this trouble? GMP should be aware that their fans have history too. They also attacked The District bar when we played them a few years ago - should we lock them up in a place prior to kick off? FOLLOWING Friday's announcement regarding travel to Manchester, the Club have been liaising over the weekend with Greater Manchester Police, Strathclyde Police, Manchester United and the Club's supporter groups before finalising arrangements for the forthcoming fixture on September 14. Collectively an agreement has been reached and today the arrangements were finalised. All travel will be by coach under the official designation of the Club. Coaches will travel to the DW Stadium in Wigan where catering and rest facilities have been organised for fans. All fans will meet at the DW Stadium where they will then be transported by official coach to Old Trafford, there will be no exceptions. Tickets for the match will be allocated by a Club official during the coach transfer from Wigan to Old Trafford. Coaches will return directly from Old Trafford after the match, via Wigan where appropriate. Arrangements for the fixture against Manchester include:- Only registered Rangers Travel Club members with appropriate points will be allocated tickets All travel will be by coach under the official designation of the Club Regionalised official club departures will be implemented where appropriate Independent travel is being discouraged All buses will travel to the DW Stadium in Wigan where catering and rest facilities will be available Tickets will only be distributed by Rangers representatives on coaches once they have left the DW Stadium for Old Trafford Tickets will only be issued to the named recipient on the transfer from the DW Stadium to Old Trafford Tickets will not be issued to anyone under the influence of alcohol