Steve1872

yes done his usual column

RANGERS, once again, appear to be under attack from the vindictive and downright malicious. This isnâ??t paranoia and nor is it an attempt to play the victim card. There is no need for Rangers to do that because this club are no longer victims. Rangers are in an extremely healthy financial position despite the best efforts of the media and others to suggest otherwise. Their desperation to see Rangers fail appears to be blinding them to a reality they donâ??t wish to view. And Iâ??m afraid their bile towards Rangers has poisoned their systems. Once again, however, Rangers fans feel they have to react. Some are fretting, others are simmering, unsure what to do or say while a fair few arenâ??t holding anything in reserve. They are venting their spleens. Sadly for Rangers fans this is not a new phenomenon. It is a fact that Rangersâ?? business cannot be reported in a fair or balanced manner. Stories are written to fit headlines which often bear little or no resemblance to the truth. Rangers fans have every right to be angry and are entitled to expect the club to deal with those in the media, who wilfully distort, and also that close-knit gang of internet bloggers and posters. They will never have any connection with reality. Of course, Rangers fans want to know what the club intend doing about this almost constant barrage of abuse. A great deal is the simple answer but the club cannot leap up on to the Ibrox roof and start screaming about the injustice of it. The club must act in a responsible manner and our supporters have to understand that Rangers cannot react to every single internet bampot or each journalist or paper displaying a clear anti-Rangers agenda. But while it would be undignified to bawl and shout it would also be wrong to say and do nothing. Over the last couple of days Rangers have tried to make it clear to media outlets that stories claiming a Singapore-based company are owed £400,000 are not accurate. Yet papers, TV and radio ran with their versions anyway. They continue to report that Rangers face a Winding Up Petition but donâ??t point out this is a routine way of forcing payment and that there is no realistic threat of closure. They have chosen not to highlight the fact that Rangers believe agreement has been reached on a settlement sum which has actually been lodged with lawyers. Wording of the agreement is all that stops this matter from being concluded. But this issue is dealt with elsewhere on this site and I refer to it here only to show how difficult it is for some people to display basic decency and honesty. Despite what they and many in the media wish to believe Rangers are alive and well and there is a plan of action to try to deal with them, and also to curb the more deranged and spiteful critics. But please, be patient. As soon as the changes agreed for Rangers PR and media kick in the approach will be very different. Details of those changes will be revealed soon enough but let me share something with you right now. I worked in papers for years and I know that managements, editors and hacks donâ??t even miss a beat when they hear that a particular clubâ??s fans say they arenâ??t going to buy the paper anymore. It means nothing because so far these threats have been empty. Some fans do withdraw patronage but the fact nothing changes in terms of the balance of reporting suggests too few are exercising their right to switch. If every fan who said he or she would never buy a particular paper again actually didnâ??t then those publications would be out of business. The bottom line is everything to the managements and shareholders of these companies and a sharp decline in sales would register like a thunder clap at boardroom level. Too few fans realise just how much power they actually can command, especially if theyâ??d step outwith their different groups and unite in one cause. Believe me, you could make media managements snap to attention and pay closer attention to the agendas of their editors, producers and journalists. Just imagine the strength to be wielded if, instead of arguing among yourselves on forums, Twitter and Facebook, you all came together and acted as one massive and potent force for change. Just by refusing to acknowledge stories and broadcasts which you believe to be malicious youâ??d change the entire agenda. Many are calling on the club to fire out banning orders and writs to various media outlets but an immediate and effective answer lies with the fans themselves. While a supporter cannot change his or her club because of the emotional investment, reading and listening habits can be altered very easily. If fans can no longer trust a particular journalist or paper to be impartial they can stop reading. If they donâ??t like the agendas of a particular TV or radio station they donâ??t have to watch or listen. Now, before we have the usual suspects out there in media land foaming at the mouth let me make it clear that I am not telling Rangers fans that every journo is working against this club. That level of paranoia might exist somewhere else but certainly not within Ibrox. But why is it that so many continue to write or broadcast that this club is a new club when it is the owners who are new? Is it a lack of basic intelligence or is it something more sinister? Why is there this obsession with Rangers and titles? Why is it always written that Rangers went down owing £130 plus million? Why would a reporter write that Rangers had lost their Tupe case after it had been explained to him that last weekâ??s ruling by the arbitration panel was nothing more than a procedural one and not a final decision on the actual case? A lack of smarts again, or something darker? There are many examples of this level of reporting with regard to Rangers but I want to point out that I believe there are still a lot of good, honest hacks out there. Maybe they, too, should stand up for themselves and their profession. But this clubâ??s fans can make their play by realising it is your interest, your angst and rage which encourage the repeat offenders. Believe me, they get a real kick out of becoming the subjects of on-line threads and discussions and by paying attention, even if it is to hurl insults or use unacceptable language to describe them, you give them exactly what they want. You are just about the only audience they have. Do not indulge them. Ignore their malice, pay no attention to their agendas, and do not let them into your heads. I know there are various factions among Rangers supporters but why not stand united in this cause? Your attention is their oxygen. It can be so easily switched off. http://rangers.co.uk/news/opinion/item/3316-time-for-fans-to-unite

ONCE again, Rangers are the subject of media reports and speculation which are at best misleading and at worst malicious. In an ideal world, for instance, one in which journalism wasnâ??t at such a damning low it has to be investigated by the highest authorities with culprits facing jail sentences, there would be no need for this Club to respond. However, because it has become clear Rangers cannot rely on basic honesty, decency or integrity from enough of the countryâ??s media outlets we must speak for ourselves. We have a duty to our supporters to put the record straight. Rangers have been disputing a payment to a foreign company, Orlit, although it should be stressed we have never said there is no bill to be met. What we have said and what we are telling our supporters is that not all of the invoices submitted with regard to this bill are legitimate. Clearly there has been a lack of understanding within the media about this when all we have done is refuse to be forced into paying sums we do not owe. It is as simple as that. Who on earth would pay out when faced with a spurious request for money? No matter what anyone else says, Rangers have agreed a figure to settle this issue and it is a figure which, as we have already tried to explain, is significantly less than the initial demand. Only the wording, which would put this matter to rest once and for all, has still to be signed off. And despite what some over-excited but desperately ill-informed bloggers claim, there is no threat of this Club being closed. That is downright malicious and ludicrous. But letâ??s make one thing clear: If Orlit wish to instruct their lawyers to go to court then we will defend our position vigorously. We are absolutely convinced weâ??d win but we did think it would be better to avoid giving our many detractors another bar with which to beat us over the head. Thatâ??s why we made an offer to settle but we now find we are still being harassed. The thought process seems to be that if we have £22m from the recent IPO we should just pay up. Bizarre. Why should we? Of course we can pay the amount demanded â?? it is, as weâ??ve already stated, a small amount - but it is ridiculous to hand over more than is due. The money belongs to Rangers and we will not give it out to anyone who comes along with invented invoices. That would be reckless in the extreme and suggest that nothing has been understood from the past when Rangers were in effect mugged by money grabbers. We are here to make sure that does not happen again. We do pay our bills on time and we have always been prepared to pay this one. There are many people and journalists who will choose to disbelieve this truth but that is up to them. They will continue to attack Rangers no matter what we say but this statement is not for them. It is for our supporters. They deserve to know and understand the exact and precise state of play, Rangers will not be closed. This Club will never run up crippling debts and we will not pay over-inflated salaries to players. However, we will have a sensible pay structure which wonâ??t threaten the clubâ??s existence. That is what we believe the fans want. Having said that, Rangers are rising and we will return to the top flight where we will be competitive again. We are still very much at the beginning of a long road back and although there will be potholes to be negotiated, nothing will stop us. Rangers are no longer soft touches. We will not bow to or run from bullies and we will not be pressured into handing out even £1 if it is not merited. We are sorry if this, or the fact that Rangers are financially healthy, isnâ??t what people want to hear but this is the new reality. It is for others to come to terms with that and also our continued revival. It would, however, be a pleasant change if we could be left alone to get on with our business. http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/3317-club-statement

some more from FF 11. The winding up order was mentioned as well.Green stated that the mob agreed on a figure, but when it all went better than expected they asked for more money, he told them to ram it. He has said that there is nothing written down, he had a gentlemens agreement and he will not be blackmailed. If they want to try a winding up order then they can come ahead 12. He also mentioned that the rules kind of feck us up a bit. Something along the SFL rules meaning you cant have 7 players over the age of 22?? And that the signing ban fecks us up a bit, Andy Little was out of contract last year and we cant sign him up again, if that makes sense? Even if we had a load of cash, we would be struggling to spend it basically. 13. Green stated that the performances have been shit, he knows it and McCoist knows it. He said that McCoist played with Rangers for 20 years, Green does not need to tell him the standard that is expected. He said remember what Ally has went through. 1. No sooner had he taken over but the club ended up in turmoil 2. This was compounded by signing ban and age laws of League 3. Ally went without wages to remain as manager 4. His players had to accept wage cuts of 50% 5. His top players walked out 6. The chairman, financial director etc etc all fecked off 7. We are still likely to win league After all that, the very least McCoist deserves is loyalty 14. He also done the figures and it worked out like this.........Take away TV money and Rangers are bigger than Everton, Southampton and Aston Villa COMBINED!!!! 15. Green also stated that he was sitting at a table with Lazio, Juventus and Ac Milan last week. Celtic were in the same room but never gave so much as a nod. He has now offered Murray Park to Juventus to train for nowt!! 16. Regarding kits and sponsors, he said that he has had some difficulty in getting the right deal, mainly as we dont want to sign up for a 5 year deal for instance, at 4th division prices only to have cut ourselves short when we end up in the top league or another league in 1,2,3 years time. which to me makes perfect business sense, both in rangers view and the sponsors view 17. The club is running at a loss this year due to exceptional costs incurred and the fact that we have kept on some staff who we don’t really need, he made a joke about Jim Hannah saying ‘does a 4th division club really need a fans liason officer? Perhaps not now but in 1,2 years yes we will, so we have absorbed the costs for future benefit 18. Viewing figures from SKY/ESPN (?) for Rangers v Peterhead were 120,000. Viewing figures for Celtic v St Mirren were 60,000. He also added that we have around 38,500 season ticket holders, more than the past 3 years, and all the more impressive as 9,000 from last year did not renew, so we have over 9,000 new people My overall opinion? The majority of things he said all made sense and if nothing else, it is in Greens interest to have us as successful as we can be, particularly as a successful Rangers will make him more money, its a win win. Who knows what is round the corner, but at least we seem to be heading in the right direction.

Met CG at Montrose game very likeable

I was at the meeting tonight as well, and everything El Diablo has said in his posts is pretty much spot on. All I can really think of to add at the moment is: The letter to the Prime Minister is regarding cross border participation by clubs in other leagues. Traynor will be let off the lead pretty soon. His actual words on this were, "There are a lot of people hiding in toilets at the moment!" He said that Traynor 'knows everyone' and that consequently, he probably has something on all of them. The Arsenal thing is a done deal. All signed and sealed. He spoke very impressively. There was a break before questions from the floor, and at that point everyone I spoke to were very happy with what he had said. He then took questions, and he answered every one of them well. The mood at the end was very positive. There was no feeling that we had been listening to bullshit. Quite the opposite in fact.

Green also stated that he was sitting at a table with Lazio, Juventus and Ac Milan last week. Celtic were in the same room but never gave so much as a nod. He has now offered Murray Park to Juventus to train for nowt!!

He also done the figures and it worked out like this.......... Take away TV money and Rangers are bigger than Everton, Southampton and Aston Villa COMBINED!!!!

The winding up order was mentioned as well. Green stated that the mob agreed on a figure, but when it all went better than expected they asked for more money, he told them to ram it. He has said that there is nothing written down, he had a gentlemens agreement and he will not be blackmailed. If they want to try a winding up order then they can come ahead

from FF Re: Charles Green Perth Q&A For the record, the attendants tonight were as follows:- Jim Hannah Charles Green Ian Ferguson Stuart Munro Alan McKenzie (who helped with the travel arrangements) The Perth RSC Committee Around 200 Perth RSC members Right, as far as I can remember it went like this.... 1. Sponsorship deal and new kit maker pretty much signed up TODAY, holding off for announcement as the sponsors and kit makers obviously want a big impact statement and not some leaked pish 2. Rangers BUYING back the Arsenal shares and also going to play Arsenal in a pre-season friendly (which will probably cover the costs anyway) 3. Rangers to play Linfield in a friendly soon (Linfield can cancel a league game) as a thank you for when they helped us out 4. Stadium will be renamed, 2 potential sponsors, once the winner is confirmed the fans will have a chance to get involved in the renaming, which will obviously have to include the name Ibrox. The sponsors do not want to be involved in a scheme that may ALIENATE the fans/customers so they have agreed to work with the fans. 5. Green is still taking players like Allan McGregor etc to court to sue for breach of contract 6. Naismith actually signed for West Ham before switching to Everton 7. McCoist still has his backing, he said that any man who has endured what McCoist has over the past year deserves loyalty, what the future plans involve is perhaps getting some better people around McCoist, I read it as meaning some better backroom staff 8. Rangers media is going to go full throttle, new APPS for phones allowing you to watch games for £1 etc and the radio phone in to talk direct with Green and McCoist etc 9. We bought back the Albion Car Park for £1.4m after Murray sold it to Lloyds for £400,000. Apparently we can make around £400,000 per year on it (or was it £150k?), we had a lease with Lloys which would have meant giving them around £4m until the end of the lease, but Green persuaded them as he threatened to ask the fans to boycott 10. The cross league thing was discussed in depth, with the legal precendent of the Dutch and Belgium womans league setting the example. The club are actively persuing this to try and get to England.

thommo live Rangers debate https://plus.google.com/+Channel4News/posts#+Channel4News/posts

In response to concerns from fellow fans, assembly vice president ross blyth would like to take this opportunity to respond. "i had intended to comply with the tannadice boycott even though not fully comfortable with it. Following comments from the club manager on friday that he couldn't personally criticise the fans who did go, i then decided to attend the game. Naturally i regret the reaction this has caused but hope people realise this was not driven by anything other than a desire to watch the team play. I have tonight offered my resignation to the assembly"

Rangers Supporters‏@rangersfctrustAsian firm allegedly asked for double & apparently 'someone' at sherif court leaked the info to we all know who.

Rangers Supporters‏@rangersfctrustAppears the Asian investment company are looking a fast return: Orlit were the firm that introduced Arif Navqi of Abraaj Capitail

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_OfficialWith regard to stories circulating about Rangers and Orlit, the sums sought are insignificant and agreement has been reached... (1/3) subject to the necessary paperwork. Rangers Football Club is capable of meeting any debts presented legitimately... (2/3) and we would like to stress to our supporters there is no threat to the Club whatsoever. The matter is unworthy of further comment.

Charles Green â?? RangersCEO met with around 70 members of Dubai Loyal at Ramada Chelsea Hotel, AlBarsha, Dubai Sunday 3rdFebruary 2013 Private members only meeting with Charles,on his way to Qatar then to Australia During his introduction Charles mentionedthat he had lived in Dubai for 4 years running the largest Diagnostic Lab inthe Middle East. He then went on to talk about how he became involved withRangers · He said when he was first askedto get involved, he said â??noâ?? but then again the rest is history. · £4m of the investment cash camefrom the Middle East region from Blue Pitch investments. · Much of the press coverage ofCharles Greenâ??s involvement has just been rubbish, in particular the coverage ofhis relationship with Ally McCoist in the early days. · He talked about the biddingprocess for the club and although many people spoke about an interest, no oneother than him and his team were prepared to sign the cheque. · He then went on to talk aboutthe restructuring with many of the current plans being proposed being madness.It seems that in Scotland â??we enjoyed it so much he want to do it againâ??something has to change. · He believes the title strippingis a sham. When he first met with the SPL he was offered a deal which involvedremoval of 5 Scottish Cups 6 Leagues cups and 5 titles which he of courserefused. · He said the world is looking atthe club and canâ??t believe what is going on in the way the club is beingtreated. Heâ??s continued to try to tell the truth from day 1 and to be honestwith the supporters. · Of the 12 IPOs in the UK lastyear Rangers was the most successful · Heâ??s trying to look at thebigger picture looking at opportunities for Academies in Far East and Australia · He then went on to talk aboutthe finances of the club and says that Rangers, under his tenure, will neverhave any debt. · He is looking at opportunitiesto build a communications platform that will â??blow your mindâ?? · Other revenue gaining opportunitiesinclude new sponsors and stadium naming · He believes the Rangersturnover could get to £100m without TV, second only to Man United and Arsenalproviding we can get into the top tier. He sees the current situation as a realopportunity to change the model. · The discussed £10m transfer potis real but it wonâ??t be used for the types of transfers done in the past but hebelieves there are class players to be bought. · Rangers are looking at ways toremove the 3 Year Euro ban and are very interested in looking cross borderleagues. Q&A Q: Expatswere unable to get involved in the IPO A: They are trying tobottom out a mechanism for this around disapplication rules. The question willbe the price of the stock Q: Discussionof selling the stadium name A: Naming rights willbe sold, but Ibrox will remain part of the stadium name.There are 3 potential bidders but heâ??s unable to put a value on it as hedoesnâ??t know what league we will be playing in. We had a vote in the club thatshowed the majority of the Dubai Loyal members had no issue with stadiumrenaming so long as Ibrox remained in the title Q: MurrayPark Name A: Name will change ifwe can add to a sponsorship deal. Mr Green confirmed that RFC owns all assetsincluding Ibrox ,Murray Park and the Albion Car Park Q: Onthe question of debt A: Mr Green reconfirmedthat we will never run with debt as long as he is in charge. It is his philosophy that he believes his roleis to build up the coffers of the club He said that it was a tough decision tomaintain all the staff and â??a goodâ?? Chief Executive would have fired 30% of thework force last year but he continued to look at the growing of the club ratherthan cutting back. The decisions to buy the Albion Car Park andEdminston Club were no brainers in his opinion and the EC will be redeveloped. Q: There was adiscussion as to whether the club will have another Director of Football A: Mr Green confirmedhis full support of Ally McCoist at this time and doesnâ??t see any change takingplace He doesnâ??t believe in people returning tothe club and says what we need now is freshness on and off the park The lease has been signed for a new Rangersshop in Glasgow airport It will remain open as long as it continuesto make money Q: Communications A: talking aboutbuilding our own studio phone-ins with the Jim Traynor where nothing will beoff limits. He wants to open the doorsto the fans The meeting closed with the club thankingMr Green for taking the time to visit us in Dubai and posing for photographswith the fans.

UEFA on FARE allegations: "No case was opened, as nothing was mentioned in the match officials’ reports."

Gennaro Gattuso has revealed that Paul Gascoigne soiled his underwear after his first training session with Rangers. The 34-year old, currently playing for FC Sion, spent the 1997-1998 season with the Glasgow giants and recalled the unusual welcome he received from the former England international. After my first training session with Rangers I went to shower, came back into the dressing room, and there was a foul smell in the room which was coming from my belongings," he told SF. “I took my boxer shorts out of my bag and saw that there was something heavy in them. Paul Gascoigne had c*****d in my underpants. "Gazza is a madman who loves to make jokes. He is crazy and that is the only reason for it. This is just the way he is, but I was not happy that I had to drive home without pants on!” Gattuso joined Italian side Salernitana after just one season in Scotland, before establishing himself as one of Europe's top midfielders during a 13-year spell with AC Milan.

brilliant goals happy days

2min 38 sec [video=youtube;xseNWYK-lsg]

LONDON (Reuters) - Former England midfielder Paul Gascoigne, who has lapsed in his battle with alcoholism, will receive treatment in the United States after "willingly" travelling there, his management company said on Monday. "Paul has been extremely touched and overwhelmed by the generous offers of help and support over the past few days," GamePlan Solutions said in a statement, adding that Gascoigne was an alcoholic with "complex issues." Go See Do Orlando: New iPad Entertainment Magazine "He is motivated to fully understand and control his addiction problem under guidance." No details about the location of the clinic were given. Players' union chief Gordon Taylor said earlier on Monday that Gascoigne needed 24-hour attention. The 45-year-old's agent Terry Baker said at the weekend that Gascoigne needed "immediate help" and called on the English Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) to intervene. "He sounds as if he needs almost a 24-hour watching brief at the moment," PFA boss Taylor told BBC Radio 5 live. "It seems as if he needs somebody with him all the time just to make sure that he's looked after and is not going to do anything silly." Taylor said he had spoken to Gascoigne after the PFA paid for the former Tottenham Hotspur, Lazio and Rangers player to attend a detox program at a well-known clinic for sportsmen suffering from addictions. "I've spoken to Paul over the weekend and he's said it's just a blip. But it really is down to him. We just don't want this to be another George Best tragedy," he said. "He does need a big support system and he's got it from lots of friends. But there is a frustration that when things look to be improving, it all goes off wire." Taylor refuted suggestions by former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel on Twitter that the PFA had not done enough to help Gascoigne. "There isn't a player we've done more for over my time at the PFA," he said. "In fact, we've been criticized for doing as much as we have, because he has not made the improvements that some of our other members have." Former Manchester United great Best died after a long struggle with alcoholism in 2005.

RANGERS Chief Executive Charles Green commented: “All Rangers fans welcomed the First Tier Tax Tribunal verdict last November and will be disappointed that HMRC have now launched an appeal against their judgment. “The ruling of the First Tier Tax Tribunal does not affect the operations and the financial position of the Club as it stands today and the appeal will have no affect on us as this is an historic case for The Rangers Football Club plc ('oldco'). “As HMRC stated last June when they decided to vote against the proposed ‘oldco’ CVA, no tax liabilities relating to 'oldco' would transfer across to the new company. HMRC have also reaffirmed this position to the Club's tax advisers, Deloitte. “What the appeal does do, however, is cast a cloud of uncertainty and confusion over a situation that has already been ruled on and has taken a number of years to investigate. “There is no money to be gained by HMRC as the old company has been liquidated so you have to ask why they are pursuing the matter further when the original EBT enquiry took years to reach a conclusion? “I have written in the strongest possible terms to HMRC pointing out the futility of such an appeal.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/3300-hmrc-appeal-statement

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official FANS: In the coming days Charles will also be attending the ECA annual conference in Qatar & meeting supporters in Perth, Melbourne & Sydney Dubai Loyal RSC‏@thedesertbearsVote shows vast majority of DL members happy to rename Ibrox if its a good commercial deal and Ibrox remains in new name Dubai Loyal RSC‏@thedesertbears CG says that no matter which league we are in, we need performances worthy of Rangers Dubai Loyal RSC‏@thedesertbears Hats off to Charles Green - great conversation with open answers. Very enjoyable evening From FF He was very open and honest , performances not good enough. I like Charlie more and more . He is meeting with very affluent People tomorrow and revealed that the main guy in Blue pitch holding lives here. Lease for Glasgow airport and Belfast both signed .