der Berliner

The Record understands ... ... another exclusive by Keith Jackson. Who, of course, has an insight into the value of the various bids received by the admins. Yes, I would think so. Neat headline by forlanssister though.

That's impressive.

Can't tell, since I never met any of them.

Nope, they work for those mentioned (and guessed?) 654 pounds per hour. As has been said though, I would be pretty surprised if they had calculated their own costs into the "money required to finish the season" when they hardly had a clue how good or bad the bids for the clubs would be. And while we are at it, how many people from D&P work a) on behalf of the clubs right now and b) do they all get that top-notch money per hour, even if they do nothing but minor work? While I do see a point in making such a remark about their work, right now the press (and not least the Record) look at every negative angle possible and milk them to the core. I wonder when the next article about the possible SPL investigation penalties hits the headlines ...

Maybe so. Yet, that only holds true for this current bunch though. We had years were we produced more than half of Scotlands u19s or u21s though, so who's to say that in 3 or 5 years time the table has turned and half of the u15s or u17s are Rangers players?

Looks like the resident doom-singers' numbers have just doubled.

STV gives us this article today, yet kindly omits who actually lost the game. Hence, all OF fans take the blame, not - as you would expect - the support of the losing team. *saracasm on* Then again, there's a good chance that the support of the winning team does a fair amount of DV too, is there? *sarcasm off*

The discredited journalist's heir at the Times, Phil Gordon, whipped up a pretty strange article about poor Neil Lennon. In response, an article on FF looked at the claims by Gordon (and some press cohorts) ... IMHO, Lennon was kept from the director's box solely because everyone with an ounce of brain would know that TLB would have gone bonkers in the director's box too - something that could easily have lead to an arrest. Given that the ref was clearly giving the wrong decisions time and again, while Rangers dared to play his beloved Hoops off the park. We all can imagine the antics and behaviour of TLB going along with that and we all would not want to envisage him amongst our more distinguished guests, officials, and directors, would we?

On a sidenote, while MP seems to be regarded as our club's academy, to me it was and is more or less our club's training facility.

Well, I'm somewhat split over this. Sure a club of our stature should have youth academies and developing Scottish talent and whatnot, but over decades we have hardly seen many of those youth players being reared into first team material for us. And that is not because of them being not "good enough" or our coaches being insufficient, but because of the managers as well as the demand by the support for constant and instant success. You'd have to be a special talent to make it from youth to first team level or to supplant a SPL veteran that could be bought for reasonable sums in days gone by. Don't get me wrong here. I'm all in favour of a decently run and USED youth system. But if the latter (i.e. the "used" bit) is essentially non-existing, wouldn't it be reasonable to let others (who have the experience) do that and look for talent through e.g. a foster club system et al? Tying certain low-key clubs to us with regards to talent rearing, in exchange for coaching, loanies, fees, compensation, use of training ground, keeping them in existence, and whatnot? On a sidenote, we have also established a women's and girls team in recent seasons and despite other teams having a far longer pedigree here, this is actually something that could be developed further. Women's football sure is on a very low key, even here in Germany, but it steadily grows in momentum and with regards to us becoming more of a family and community club, that is a way that should be explored. (On a sidenote, unless I am mistaken, the ladies and girls actually pay to play for us ... )

Oh, let's start the week with some new horror news ... just ahead of the real bids for the club being examined and taken foward. They do have some brass neck to suggest that the admins will rake in the player's wages, don't they? Unless I am mistaken, the club had to cut their running costs (sic!) by 1m per months to survive this season, not to pay the admins. But never let facts get into the way of investigative journalism ...

Anyone complaint so far? Haven't found an address thus far though.

Well, as we already knew ...

We'll probably never learn the truth, by I still have that gut feeling that Whyte was or let himself been utilized to get the club out of the HMRC stuff. A no-name getting all the blame (it works, as you can see) and some "knight" character can step forward and "really safe" us. As for the youngsters ... IMHO it is a shame that it needed such dire straits to show what talent there is at "lower" levels. You'd hope that any new owner does not induge in a spending spree before we utilize what we have already.

Well, what about charging his team 10 points for repeated misbehaviour by their manager and players. Then, since they can't help themselves, charge them again for 5 points (to make an example), as their support will not keep themselves from singing offensive and discriminatory chants at the Scumhut during the last OF game. Stuff like "Go home you Huns" or "You're a sad Orange bastard". That will coincident with Rangers getting a last gasp penalty to actually draw or win the tie and clinch League Title No. 55 after all. After that, the Hooped Horrors will call for a(-nother) diaspora and the Native Aliens will finally leave these shores, by-pass the Emerald Isle (ports locked, for some reason) and re-settle in Greenland.

BTW, methinks the law and the police who is its arm allowed vile banter. Sorry, but people who make these laws and speak about it either have never been at a football ground or no close contact to those who enforce the law "according to what they see fit" under these guidelines. As it looks, it is very much in the hand of the respective officer or steward to bend the new rule as s/he like it, which is pretty much unacceptable. Not least when you see that the word "hun" is suddenly no longer deemed a "religious comment", while you hardly utter the word "Fenian" without someone grasping your shoulder and dragging you away for "insulting" a terrorist-minded.

And what has Ally to say about the ref ... About a light-year and a half away in stature and dignity.

So our people and a ref show more guts than the SFA and SPL and much of the media put together. Here's to you, folks!

Why would someone "claim" that H*n is a religious comment? Oh wait, the Police Service of Northern Ireland ("still" part of Great Britain, right?) does on page 02 here. (Opens PDF file). Such a shame that some lawyers can't do their investigative duties as "good" as a reporter like Daly. So that essentially makes a precedent for the Scum to label us H*ns to their hearts' content?

... apparently only if someone complains. Would we do that? Nay! Then again, every little pain they suffer this season will be welcomed.

How about this for a pic? Oh heck, the admins hopefully can resize it somehow ...

... only if someone shows the guts.

... no, he won't be gloating, nor will his team, nor will his fans. Never! You really wonder how strict the police and the stewards will check the people entering their end of the ground. WE should make sure that enough digicams and the likes are aimed at their lot and tape any misbehaviour. On every day, we should be above that - probably - but they need to be kept in place and this day is as good as any other to start it.

If people behave for 90 to 120 minutes on a match day inside a football stadium, so be it. That was what UEFA called for. That the SFA, SPL and consequently Scottish lawmakers decided to go one step further is indeed picking at the freedom of speech. But ... as we have been saying all along, if you do not get to the root of the problem - albeit with sluggish steps - the problem will remain. It is in fact quite amusing to note that they still cling to the naughty Billy Boys (the first song on that list, hear hear) when we are actually talking about ... And of course the Hooped Horrors' lady is most upset about it, while probably never understood that the Terrorist Act 2006 has been in force for years now and it actually beggars belief that her beloved Hoops have not already been punished for regularly violating it, even and especially under SFA and SPL guidelines. Yes, at long last it is aimed at you! And if your cohorts at the SPL and SFA had acted according to the law, none such new law would have to be needed. So in that respect, I really hope that you and yours get FUBAR.

And there the bad-mouthing starts anew ...