D'Artagnan

http://immortalrangers.wordpress.com/ Its funny (actually perhaps convenient is a much more apt description) how certain things get ignored, particularly on the subject of double standards. Let me give you an example â?? When Tommy Sheridan gave evidence at the News of the World libel case his alleged committing of perjury was the subject of a media frenzy eventually leading to an investigation and his subsequent prosecution and conviction. Fast forward with me to the Leveson enquiry and the evidence of 2 well known media celebrities â?? Jeremy Paxman and Piers Morgan. Morgan gave evidence under oath that there was no phone hacking on his watch whilst he was editor of the Daily Mirror, Paxman on the other hand gave evidence, again under oath, that the aforesaid Morgan had trained him how to hack a phone. Whilst the Leveson report was particularly damning of Morgan and his evidence there has been no media frenzy or calls for a prosecution. Whilst Iâ??m no supporter of sun tan Tommy, I would concede there are double standards at play with regard to his treatment in comparison to others. Itâ??s been a remarkable few weeks, not only at or club, but within our country as a whole, with many of the events unfolding before our eyes being characterised by a considerable display of standards which appear to be operating at the double. So much so the Double Standards Society have declared Scotland to be their new Mecca. But lets move closer to home and our former CEO Charles Green. Such was his revulsion of offensive songs or language he threatened to ban sine die not only those responsible, but also anyone unfortunate enough to be on their vicinity and who failed to become unpaid police or stewards. Yet fast forward a few Weeks and Chuck â?? the proverbial bull in the China shop â?? is scoring a spectacular own goal in terms of offensive language.* Though I wonder what kind of choice language Chuck used when he learned that Craig Whyte had released tapes and documents pertaining to their (alleged) business dealings. Which conveniently gives rise to our next double standard â?? Whyte himself. Those of us who hoped we had seen the last of this charlatan were to be disappointed. Not only has he re-surfaced, but he has done so with a vengeance.* Suddenly the press and media, once so keen to rightly discredit him, are more than happy second time around to give this proven liar a platform. Perhaps not so much a case of all is fair in love and war, but more all is fair in the hatred and destabilising of Rangers. But my real question in all of this is how Whyte is still at liberty to cause so much chaos? There are three essential elements to the crime of fraud â?? Pretend, Induce and Obtain. When Whyte presented himself before Ticketus there was considerable pretence offered by him as to his position with regard to Rangers. Such pretence induced Ticketus to loan/advance him 24 million quid based on the future sale of season tickets. Crime complete. Pretend â?? Induce â?? Obtain. Of course there is probably a further fraud pertaining to the sale and acquisition of our club but Iâ??m sure the â??dupedâ? Sir David Murray can fill the blanks in for plod. So why is Whyte not in custody awaiting trial for fraud? I know plod like to be thorough and that its a complex case but surely the acquisition of the club is a clear prima facie case. But going back to standards for a moment, and in particular the Rangers Standard which revealed exclusively this week that Greenâ??s business partner Imran Ahmed had been posting on a Rangers forum and revealing secrets of the goings on behind the scenes at Ibrox. Not professional, not appropriate and certainly not the Rangers way, but in his defence, not entirely different from certain persons inside Ibrox briefing their press pals who then reveal all via their newspapers. At least Ahmed had the foresight to cut out the middle men. But by a unanimous verdict, the SPL are to be crowned the undisputed Kings of Double Standard. Some of you might remember them from the era of â??Sporting Integrityâ?. These are the men who told us their fans wishes were of utmost importance, so much so that they deferred their decision on Rangers re-election to the SPL to those same supporters whose voice they not only listened to, but religiously adhered to. But on the subject of league re-construction suddenly those same SPL chairmen are no longer listening to their fans. Funny that eh ? So double standards are they good or bad ? Appropriately it seems to depend on 2 things :- 1. Who your friends are and 2. If such an exercise of double standards will be detrimental to Rangers FC. Yours in Rangers Dâ??Artagnan

Some of you have commented that I have been particularly quiet of late. Truth be told I have found it hard to write anything positive or upbeat regarding our club. Perhaps some of you share both my disappointment and sense of betrayal. Once again our football club is the soap opera washing it's dirty laundry in public much to the amusement of our many detractors. Once again we are a media frenzy for all the wrong reasons. Perhaps the most unedifying aspect of it all is people inside Ibrox briefing their media pals against others inside or club. Anyone reading Keevin's latest offering could be forgiven for thinking Ally is his ghost writer. A wee bit of advice for you Ally - 4 priests may be your friend but he is certainly no friend of this club and would have had those titles stripped from you faster than you can say "sporting integrity". But whilst the Ibrox boardroom indulges in playground power games as ever it's we the fans who feel it most . The same fans who defied a nations hatred and malevolence to stand by or club. The same fans who astonished not just a nation but the footballing world with our loyalty and steadfastness. The same fans who not only set records but set tongues a wagging such was our loyalty and devotion to put club. What a shame some of those lessons and examples have not been shared and acted upon by the current incumbents of the Ibrox boardroom. Quite simply the fans of Rangers football club deserve better. Much much better in fact. I'm sure I'm not the only bear touched with a sense of irony over Charles Green's departure which has given rise to our current boardroom struggles. The man who threatened to ban some of the Ibrox faithful for not intervening or reporting offensive singing or language himself indulged in the unacceptable. Out of step, out of touch and now as a consequence, out on his arse. Green of course promised to build bridges with the Ibrox support. Is there any real evidence of that â?? have fans wishes been taken into consideration ? Some fellow Bears say to me â??Charles Green has worked tirelesslyâ? Yes he has but was that tireless work devoted to maximising his financial investment or for the good of Rangers ? Consider this - we have now had two legal rulings in our favour and yet our club, the biggest in Scotland, the greatest revenue generator, still languish in the bottom tier of Scottish football â?? and had it not been for the determination of Ross County and St Mirren we would do for yet another season. But he's not the only one within Ibrox who is out of touch with supporter's feelings. Had that been the case Chick Young would never had got to compère a certain function and Graham Spiers would certainly have not been granted an exclusive interview with Sandy Jardine. When will our club ever learn not to feed the hand which continually attempts to besmirch us ? So as the time fast approaches for season ticket renewals I'm left wondering â?? will the new regime (whoever that may be) ever take the fans wishes seriously ? Or is just another snake oiled salesman in different suit ? I found the following comment by the outgoing CEO particularly infuriating â??Charles Green's Rangersâ?. Perhaps come renewal time if there are a few more Bears who harbour the same discontent as I do with the way or club is being run, there may be a harsh lesson store for those who claim the type of ownership of our club, which should be the sole claim of the magnificent Rangers support.

They'll soon out themselves bud - they will object to being referred to as Queen's Counsel ;-))

I WRITE in response to your article "Top QC Says Response to March Like a 'Police State'" (The Herald, March 18). Strathclyde Police did have a large number of officers on duty but this was to police a number of events in the city and not specifically for this incident. Comment has been made with regard to the use of the police helicopter. The force helicopter is available daily for use as part of the comprehensive policing response communities across the Strathclyde Police area have become accustomed to. It is deployed to deal with a wide range of matters including demonstrations, parades, significant public order events, missing people, vehicle pursuits and other incidents. It is the duty of the police to facilitate peaceful protest, which we do regularly. On Saturday we had other groups protesting in the city centre and these events were peaceful. In policing on behalf of the public, we are not prepared to allow large groups of people to take over streets. This serves only to disrupt residents and endanger the safety of protesters and road users. We are not prepared to place officers at increased risk of injury while trying to keep people safe. We are reviewing a significant amount of CCTV footage captured on the day. This footage will be made available to the courts in order that they can deal appropriately with the 13 people arrested. Unfortunately, we are prevented from releasing the full footage into the public domain due to ongoing legal proceedings. However, we will, in time, make it all public. I believe our officers acted professionally and proportionately. Any complaint we receive with be thoroughly investigated. Bernard Higgins, Assistant Chief Constable, Police Headquarters, 173 Pitt Street, Glasgow.

What I was alluding to was the fact that normally the crowd noise monitors are normally turned down at naughty singing - as the same TV company did at the Dundee vs Celtic near riot a few weeks earlier. Seems the strategy changed when it was Rangers on show. So no sneaky choir allegations - just sticking with the facts.

We were the target of the Scottish Press with our far fetched theories and agendas. Dismissed out of sight as little more than “internet bampots”. Of course such dismissal was often based not on the often well researched evidence which had been collated, but more on the accusations we levelled. I remember in particular one article about BBC Scotland which received particular criticism from many quarters, sadly many on Rangers forums, when I alleged Pacific Quay had a particular anti-Rangers sentiment running through it. Unthinkable for most back then. Who within the Rangers community would argue with that now ? And what of my fellow internet bampots with their conspiracy theories, agendas suggesting dark and sinister forces at work in our country brought together with a common purpose by some Opus Dei like controlling force – could be straight out of a Dan Brown novel. Unthinkable ? Well we have the aforesaid BBC Scotland receiving stolen evidence, publishing it online and making award winning documentaries. I doubt there would be many within the Rangers community who would view their coverage of our club as fair, balanced and objective. Their language in reporting, their choice of words, the manner of their presentation, leaves little to the imagination as to the motivation behind the foregoing. Nor their hatred of our club. Now in my internet bampot mode I have long campaigned that the Rangers Tax Case Leaks came from within HMRC themselves – a fact dismissed (though not denied – very clever) from HMRC themselves. We all know the drill after hundreds of letters “HMRC do not comment on speculation about breaches of confidentiality.” But in the clamour to destroy our club the SPL cabal made one of their biggest ever mistakes with their SPL Commission. And this is where it became interesting. For not only did the learned Lord Nimmo's commission review the evidence, I believe they detected a considerable rat at work. [98] Meanwhile, BBC Scotland came, by unknown means, into possession of what they described as “dozens of secret emails, letters and documents”, which we understand were the productions before the Tax Tribunal. These formed the basis of a programme entitled “Rangers – The Men Who Sold the Jerseys”, which was broadcast on 23 May 2012. BBC Scotland also published copious material on its website. The published material included a table containing the names of Rangers players, coaches and staff who were beneficiaries of the MGMRT, and how much they received through that trust. It also listed the names of people where the BBC had seen evidence that they received side-letters. This event appears to have been the trigger for more activity in response to the SPL’s request. We will discuss this further in due course but just for the moment lets look at the use of the word trigger in that statement. Its is used to describe a catalyst, a reaction to more activity. Which tends to suggest that the documentary and information presented by the good old fair, balanced and neutral BBC Scotland has been anything but fair, balanced and neutral. Particularly in light of the findings of a 1st tier tax tribunal and an SPL commission. And what of the reference to “productions”. If they are productions then they must be evidence, and there is only one organisation which seized evidence in the Rangers Tax Case – the same organisation, who funnily enough, do not comment on speculation about breaches of confidentiality. Which is likely to make my blog particularly interesting over the next few weeks for a number of reasons. You see I asked the Right Honourable David Gauke to confirm for me that HMRC had reported the theft of this evidence to the Police. But David Gauke MP declined to answer, instead he passed me to HMRC Ministerial Correspondence Unit who sent me a long winded letter which avoided answering my question. Needless to say I have requested confirmation from them as to my original question. In the meantime my enquiries with Strathclyde Police confirmed that they are currently undertaking a criminal enquiry with regard to the leaking of evidence – Rangers Tax Case. It coins a new saying – Hell hath no fury like a Rangers shareholder scorned. One wonders if HMRC will answer my latest enquiry with a refusal to comment on “speculation” about breaches of confidentiality when Strathclyde Police are busy running a major investigation into such leaks ! Oh dear – someone somewhere has a lot of answers to give the Rangers support and I'm sure I will not be the only one demanding them. But perhaps the dark and sinister forces at work made a considerable mistake last weekend when they temporarily broke cover, Amazing how many legal rights lawyers, top QC's just happened to be in the Gallowgate last weekend on the occasion of an illegal march. Amazing how many politicians were suddenly lobbying Kenny MacAskill about “heavy handed policing” so much so that the Justice Minister was forced to make a statement. In fact it reminded of another situation at Berwick a few weeks ago involving the Rangers support which I described as “almost contrived” And now today remarkably, we have the Assistant Chief Constable Bernard Higgins forced to write a letter to The Herald defending their position despite the fact it was an unlawful protest. Dark and sinister forces at work within our society ? Unthinkable ?

It was the classical works of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar that gave birth to his phrase. It has now become synonymous throughout our world with the act of ultimate betrayal. It is the type of betrayal which is least expected, from those closest to you, those you trust, and as a consequence, is the most painful to endure. I was reminded of it today when I read the following... http://www.rangers.c...et-for-take-off There are some within our support who believe that some within Celtic FC have been instrumental in our club's current plight. To date, I have no definitive evidence of that (though I will keep digging). What I do know however is that same Celtic FC have gloated, capitalised and revelled in the plight of our club over the last few months. This is the club which boasted â??125 years of unbroken historyâ? a direct reference to our plight. A club which openly boasted they did not need Rangers... http://www.telegraph...khead-club.html This is the same club who were â??surprisedâ? when Lord Nimmo's Commission cleared Rangers of the many serious allegations which were levelled against us, and which prompted broadcaster Adrian Durham to describe the aforesaid Celtic FC as a â??joke â?for both the tone and content of their statement following the SPL Commission findings with regard to Rangers. For months now of course, we in the Rangers family have largely ignored the hatred towards our club. We have instead been focussing hard on rebuilding our club, ensuring hard earned cash is devoted to season tickets, away games, and shares issues. We have done everything within our power to ensure that our club was supported vocally, financially and have done so in such a manner that we have become a talking point for the rest of the world, a benchmark in the exercise of loyalty and love for a football club. What does the support at this club have to do to convince it's owners that we are happy for Rangers FC to be a stand alone business enterprise and not paired, partnered or any way with associated with a football club who so clearly despise us, taunt us and would seek to strip us of achievements which they were not capable of winning from us on the field of fair play ? Have the last few years, and in particular the last 18 months taught us nothing ? The dignified silence of the Murray regime was bad enough, but Green's sound bites without action create little more than empty expectation. Yes we are still waiting for the fulfilment of those sound bites Mr Green. Irrespective of the circumstances, the decision to partner our club with another so openly hostile to our very existence is a severe slap in the face for every single Rangers fan who has fought tooth and nail to ensure the survival of this club. Et tu Charles ?

Spot on bigy. It only serves to highlight the lack of vision and forward thinking of those in charge of our game.

Wherever the suspect trail leads Zap I think there are quesitons to be answered at a corporate level regarding their conduct throughout this.

â??We do not comment on speculation about breaches of confidentialityâ? I'm sure many of us who have written to this organisation are familiar with this statement. In fact I'm willing to bet that thousands of Bears across the world have letters with the aforesaid phrase included. My advice â?? keep them, you may find a need for them in the future. I asked HMRC a different question. Well actually I asked it of David Gauke MP at the Treasury who, interestingly, rather than answer the question, referred me to the Ministerial Unit at HMRC. The question I asked, as some of you will be remember was â??Did HMRC report report the leaks relative to the Rangers Tax Case to the Police ?â? I receive a long winded response which failed to answer the question. In other words waffle. I have sent another letter asking for confirmation. You see HMRC have a problem. A problem which increased in magnitude following the Nimmo Report, where the learned Lord Nimmo commented in [98] :- Now allow me to elaborate. The term â??productionsâ? is a legal description for evidence i.e. the murder weapon in a murder case would be a â??productionâ?. What Lord Nimmo is referring to is the various documents etc. which were seized during the HMRC investigation into Rangers and which were evidence or as Lord Nimmo refers to â?? productions - in the BTC. Now in any criminal or civil case for that matter where there are copious amounts of productions the investigative body will keep what is known as a Production Register. This carefully catalogue every single evidential item and assign it a Production Number for easy cross referencing at a later date. Therefore when the Rangers Tax Case Blog was proudly revealing yet another â??exclusiveâ? which some in the journalistic community were moved to describe as â??sourced from within HMRCâ? it would have been a simple matter for someone at HMRC to review the document on the Rangers Tax Case Blog and then compare it to their own Production Register. If any of that documentation matched then that should have set alarms bell ringing (actually booming) within HMRC. So did they ? If they haven't then they have failed to take all reasonable steps to protect confidentiality, furthermore they have failed to take all reasonable steps to protect evidence which they have seized, and I would respectfully suggest that given they are bound by the Official Secrets Act, they have failed, not only to investigate, but report a crime which is rightfully viewed as grave in this country. But let me give HMRC the benefit of the doubt for a moment. Let us suppose they did cross reference the exclusives on the Rangers Tax Case Blog with their own Productions Register and found that they matched. What action did they take ? Did they instigate an internal enquiry ? In fact were they qualified or equipped to undertake such enquiry. Given that such leaks constitute serious criminality did they report this to the Police ? It is perhaps significant that following the result of the FTTT Sir David Murray, through his legal representatives, wrote to Crown Office, asking for a criminal enquiry to be launched into the leaks. This suggests that no such enquiry was currently underway and that HMRC had not reported the leaks to the Police. Of course the Police have different powers and tools for investigation than HMRC. The Police have DNA/Fingerprinting, the power to search homes, seize computers demand ISP addresses as well as many other investigative tools and powers which are not available to HMRC. The spotlight is now firmly focussed on whether HMRC took all reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality and security of the evidence it had seized. That spotlight will not be turned off until every Rangers fan has answers to the question posed in this article. Tick Tock.

Still waiting Rab - though [98] of Nimo's report will make it very difficult for them to decline.

Hark when the night is falling Hear, Hear the pipes are calling. The problem is Scotland is not hearing. It has not been hearing for some time, and it continues to turn a deaf ear to the truth. Quite simply - Scotland can't handle the truth For several months now it has vented it's hatred on a football club and sought to justify that hatred with accusations of â??cheatingâ? â??financial dopingâ?, in fact if you believed everything which had been written in these last few months, soldiers on front line service have been deprived vital equipment, children essential textbooks, all because of a certain football club. Two very high profile commissions have ruled on these allegations. Men of considerable knowledge and expertise in their relevant fields, and have dismissed various claims from tax evasion to cheating, to gaining an unfair sporting advantage. Its there in these learned men's published findings but still Scotland cannot accept the truth. Scotland would rather form it's opinion on the commentary of a now defunct web blog, which operated a very one sided perspective, based on stolen evidence it had received. Or on the â??expertâ? opinion of a disgraced lawyer who is not allowed to practise law without some degree of supervision. The credibility or accuracy of the aforementioned doesn't matter â?? they say what Scotland wants to hear, even if the song they play is at odds with the truth. Its no longer a search for the truth, because the truth has been published. â?? its a search to justify their hatred of Rangers FC. You get an understanding of the depth of such hatred, and how deep it runs when newspaper executives comment on the result of the tax tribunal as follows : â??Its a fu**** government conspiracyâ? But there is considerable truths which the published findings do not address and allow me to highlight some of them. Scotland's football authorities usurped the fundamental principle of a presumption of innocence, both declaring and treating a football club as guilty before hearing, and tried to strip it of it's fairly won titles and trophies. If in any doubt please refer to the 5 way agreement. The men responsible remain in charge of the governance of our national sport. Those same men decided to impose a transfer embargo on Rangers FC which a court ruled as unlawful and out with the scope of punishments available. That embargo has been imposed as a result of blackmail by those charged with governance of our game. A legal firm whose neutrality was always questioned, have relentlessly pursued an investigation into Rangers FC. Rumours that one of their representatives commented to Rangers officials during the investigation â??You bastards have been cheating us for yearsâ? did little to assuage any fears regarding objectivity. It will be interesting to see what the final bill is for what was described as â??low level intelligence gatheringâ? Richard Wilson in today's Herald on Sunday touches on the subject.. But the aforementioned pale into insignificance when we consider [98] of Lord Nimmo's findings, perhaps I should remind you all what that was, as it appears to be something our press and media are reluctant to discuss it. They would rather pour over the fine print with their apparently newly acquired â?legal expertise.â? Despite this observation from Lord Nimmo, its apparently ridiculous for any Rangers fan to utter the terms â??agendaâ? or â??witch-huntâ?. Of course it's entirely possible that the stork baby's gps was defective and she flew right into the HMRC evidence cabinet, opening same in the process, collected a bundle of documentary evidence items, (which she had clearly mistaken for a new born baby), continued on her journey but alas dropped the bundle over Pacific Quay right into BBC Headquarters. Just a bad day at the office for the stork baby ? After all if there was no agenda why on earth would anyone break into an evidence cabinet, steal documentary evidence and then pass it on to a media organisation ? Why would that media organisation then make a documentary ( for it's objectivity and neutrality note Lord Nimmo's use of the word â??triggerâ?) using that stolen evidence before the relative hearing ? But let me put to rest once and for all this much muted notion that Rangers fans should forgive, forget and move on. Even if we were willing to do so it would be a pointless exercise and allow me to explain why. Because our capacity for forgiveness is easily outstripped by the depth and depravity of Scotland's hatred of Rangers.

It was funny last night watching the mercurial Graham Spiers attempting to minimise the sins of Doncaster and Regan by suggesting the pair had â??bodgedâ? things. No actually Graham, they suppressed the fundamental right of innocence until proven guilty, resorted to bullying and intimidation of SFL Chairmen (one even accused them of corruption), indulged in a spot of blackmail, and even defied the courts of the land by imposing a transfer embargo which had been declared unlawful (even with their advantage of making up the rules as they go along) Now Graham I knew you were stupid â?? I just didn't realise you were THAT stupid. But overall, despite a stellar performance from Chris Graham, last evenings Tonight programme was a huge disappointment. You see I had tuned in hoping to see something of a â??Whodunnit ?â?, something along the lines of... Rev Green in the ballroom with the candlestick. After all, with three great journalistic sleuths in Thomson, Spiers and English we had an investigative trio capable of giving Enid Blyton's Fabulous Four a run for their money. And the source of the mystery ? This little gem appeared in Lord Nimmo's report, and what particularly delighted me about it was the thought of a considerable number of arses collapsing as they read it. Furthermore it made Spiery's hissy fit at Chris Graham for use of the a word (agenda) all the more strange, as Spiers himself had tweeted about it earlier in the evening. â??Fascinating, too, that Nimmo Smith makes clear distinction between his and Big Tax Case, and also references the BBC quite a bit. #rangers â?? Let me spell it out for Mr Spiers. Colonel Mustard or Rev Green or a Miss Scarlett, has made their way, furtively, into the the evidence store and removed productions from the evidence cabinet. They have then copied (or perhaps passed originals) to the BBC who used the stolen or copied evidence in a documentary. This documentary was then presented in such a way that it appears to have been some kind of â??triggerâ?. I have a thousand questions but let me just start off with three. (1) Who broke into the evidence cabinet ? (2) Whose evidence cabinet was it ? (3) Is it appropriate that a public broadcasting organisation not only receives stolen evidence, but actively uses it in a documentary which is presented before the relative hearing ?

Some excellent points Frankie. I think the bigger picture is what has to be looked at here. On Saturday night one of our biggest detractors in recent years, the son of the manse, conceded the Rangers support have made huge strides forwards in recent times.

â??Watershedâ? was a term coined to describe the aftermath of events at Berwick. I would have to agree completely. I never thought I would live to see the day that the son of the manse offered a more resolute defence of the Rangers support than some of our own. But I did. On Saturday night sportsound he highlighted the fact that the Rangers support have made considerable strides forward in recent times, as opposed to the Celtic support who appear, to have taken backward steps. Reading some of the comments on various forums on Saturday night, one could be forgiven for thinking our club had been hi-jacked by some ultra right wing group of right wing Protestant uber zealots determined to use our club as a platform for their political and religious beliefs. But let me put your minds at rest â?? I'm assured there are no plans for Rangers to take the field with an image of John Knox replacing our famous RFC badge. Between descriptions such as â??knuckledraggersâ? and â??sectarian bigotsâ? appeared to be an element of surprise and investigation as to why a song so long forgotten in our repertoire had suddenly reared it's somewhat ugly head. Might I offer an alternative explanation as to what transpired on Saturday. Rather than our club being held hostage by some fanatical religious group, might I suggest that perhaps a group of misguided young lads decided to sing a song that they thought would be amusingly reflective of the current vacancy in Vatican city. Of course it wasn't amusing nor particularly clever but what cannot be denied was it caused something of a watershed moment within our support. I have to say that after reading and listening to some comments on Saturday night I had some pangs of jealousy. I wish I had led such a clean, sin free life, unaffected by the stupidity or misjudgement of youth as some appear to have led. As a young marine I remember being described as a â??wild unâ?. Fortunately whenever that wild nature surfaced and resulted in some incredibly stupid actions, there was always a nurturing, guiding hand on my shoulder gently rebuking, re-directing and setting me back onto the straight and narrow, On my wall at home is a medal plaque filled with decorations and campaign medals. It serves not as boast of reckless courage, but as a testimony to those who saw through the recklessness, the stupidity and exercised a considerable degree of faith and belief in me and what I could become. Had such nurturing in the aftermath of such stupidity, been characterised instead however, by public vilification, condemnation and humiliation, I very much doubt there would have been any medal plaque. But Saturday's events gave birth to considerable myths. One of which force me to indulge in a word I detest. â??Whatabouteryâ?. It's easy to dismiss whataboutery. But what should not be forgotten is that when Rangers fans indulge in whataboutery what they are actually defining is a considerable imbalance with in our press and media which has gone on for years. Saturday's irresponsible singing undoubtedly gave the enemies of our club some ammunition for their gun. That is not the real problem however. The real problem is that they find ammunition without irresponsible behaviour by the Rangers support. From false inferences that the bouncy celebrates a sectarian killing to blatant lies recently from McNulty that the Rangers support sand the famine song. Another myth which has arisen seems to be that we can do nothing about such imbalance or tackling damaging press lies and inaccuracies until â??we get our own house in orderâ?. I have one question for the proponents of this theory. Has this stopped Celtic FC ? I'm firmly of the opinion that the singing on Saturday is little more than a blip, a deviation on a successful course we are currently chartering as a support. If this course was to show a series of continual and regular blips then perhaps there would be some kind of justification for the internal examination which took place on Saturday. It's perhaps ironic that Saturday's events became the catalyst for considerable theological debate in many Rangers online communities, with some suggesting it's time for our club and support to exorcise whatever lingering spirit of our Protestant heritage remains. I would disagree. I think events on Saturday night show there is a considerable need for some true Protestant virtues amongst our support â?? tolerance, forgiveness and nurturing.

I would every Bear who was a shareholder in the old company, no matter how small your shareholding, to write a similarly worded letter to the recipient

The Chief Constable Strathclyde Police Headquarters 173 Pitt Street Glasgow G2 4JS Dear Mr Corrigan, I write to you in my capacity as a former shareholder of Rangers FC, the company of course fell into liquidation in 2012. During the lead up to the unfortunate set of events which led to liquidation the company had been offered for sale by the then owner, Sir David Murray. Ongoing at the time was an investigation by Her Majesty's Revenue & Customs (HMRC) into the use of Employment Benefit Trusts by the company. During this period a web blog named the Rangers Tax Case appeared on the internet. This website made a series of frequent and consistent revelations with regard to documents pertaining to this investigation, causing the few journalists who viewed same to claim they were â??sourced from within HMRCâ?. Furthermore in addition to the presentation of these confidential documents on the internet were a series of commentaries by the authors of that blog, which were often inaccurate and erroneous, designed to give a misrepresentation of both the integrity and standing of the company. As a consequence of this the company became almost unsaleable with confidence in it's integrity and management seriously undermined. I understand from press releases that Sir David Murray' aforesaid, following the result of a first tier tax tribunal has instructed his legal representatives, Levy McRae to write to Crown Office asking for an investigation into the leaking of such confidential information. To date, despite being an shareholder with a financial interest into such an investigation, I have not received any communication that a criminal enquiry has been launched. I would therefore be grateful if you could confirm whether such a criminal investigation, is in fact underway. If it is not then I would like to register a formal complaint into the leaking of confidential information with regard to a company in which I was a shareholder, and I would ask you to, in view of the gravity of the crimes associated with those leaks, in particular the possible leaking of documentary evidence by an investigative body, to cause officers at your disposal to undertake the necessary investigation. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely

Some of us remember when the Rangers â??Superstoreâ? was a small shop where you could barely swing a cat. Some of us remember when follow follow meant boarding the Kelvinhaugh Ferry when the subway was being modernised. Some of us remember the gauntlet of hate we had to run along the Clydeside Express in order to board that ferry in the days before Rangers and Celtic played at home on alternate weeks. Some of us remember a 16 year old kid ending a 4 year barren spell and sending us into absolute rapture. Some of us remember when a customised hard builders hat was compulsory wear. Some us remember when a Coop free kick hit the back of the Aberdeen net with such ferocity that some of us thought he had the bar. Some of us remember exactly where we were when we were told Coop had been taken to play for Heaven's Eleven. Some of us remember a rollercoaster Sunday, when a helicopter changed direction. But all of us have a duty to remember what has been done to this club over the last 12 months. Tell your children, and your children's children so that they are prepared for the future. That they don't make the mistakes we made of relying upon justice, fairness and a respect of due legal process and the judgements of courts to protect our club. Of expecting there to be moral guardians in the press to uncover and highlight truth, politicians who would sustain and uphold principles, or of football authorities to exercise their duties devoid of fear, favour malice or ill-will. Ignore out of sight those who urge us to â??forgive, forget and move onâ?. Treat them and their suggestions with the contempt they deserve, in the same way they ignored the injustices which were wrought upon our club and the utter contempt they showed towards us. If that means carrying a heart of darkness, then so be it. â??To tear treasure out of the bowels of the land was their desire, with no more moral purpose at the back of it than there is in burglars breaking into a safe.â? (Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness 1902)

The comment has been made so perhaps its appropriate I respond. As most of you know I always steer clear as much as possible of website/faction rivalry - the reason is simple - there is a club out there called Rangers which every single one of us loves, both the club & it's support requires to be defended, and I don't believe in-fighting amongst ourselves helps us in that process. I'm immensely proud that Vanguard Bears publish my work, and whilst I appreciate and understand that they may not be everyone's cup of tea, I particularly admire their no compromise default position when it comes to dealing with the enemies of our club. I have 2 articles currently on TRS - under my own name, I will leave you all to guess which ones they are.

I understand where you are coming from GS - Dignity and this club go hand in hand. But the situation is not normal, and for years a dignified silence has worked against us. I think I would rather have CG speaking out, albeit at times saying nothing may be the better course of action, than not have anyone speaking for us at all.

Ive no problem with GersNet publishing anything I write Frankie - just for future ref.

PART 1 – THE LYNCH MOB Like a hate filled lynch mob, they descended upon their quarry of Rangers Football Club. Their euphemism of “Sporting Integrity” providing some kind of false moral platform to justify their actions. Euphemisms are terrible things, contrived to disguise the true nature of both mankind's motivations and failings. “Ethnic cleansing” is a perfect example. The more observant among us saw that their true motivations ranged from bigotry jealousy and several other wrong and distasteful motivators. But if evil is to flourish good men must remain silent, and to their eternal shame they not only obliged, but at times sought to justify and glorify the actions of the hate mob. (Graham Spiers, Glasgow Herald, Saturday 30th June 2012) The lynch mob were convinced that their day had come, and on the back of threats of boycotts, should the more rational in our society not bow to their will, came the verbal assurance that they would back their clubs to the hilt, promising the coming months would be characterised by sell out Saturdays. Their motivations were not driven by a love for their own club but rather their abject hatred of Rangers evidenced by a poll (Source Daily Record) which showed that 55% would rather see their own club die than see Rangers re-elected to the SPL. Someone should have reminded them to be careful what you wish for. These champions of “Sporting Integrity” appear to struggle with the concept of integrity and honouring your promises. (Motherwell Football Club AGM 2013) But we are talking about a country which, contrary to it's claims of being “the best small country in the world”, displays all the characteristics of being the best small minded country in the world. Justice, fairness and proper legal process were trampled over, not only by the lynch mob, but shamefully, also by those whose duty it is to protect us all from lynch mob mentality. A chain of events were set in motion which saw Rangers football club, who subsequently would be exonerated of the accusations against them, consigned to the lowest tier of Scottish football. In time, and in the future many will blame the lynch mob. But what of the moral guardians of our society who had a duty to protect us from the rabid irrational thought and conduct of lynch mobs. Whose responsibility it was to remind everyone of the founding cornerstones of our society such as a presumption of innocence until proven guilty ? They were, and they continue to be, to their shame, silent. And in this silence is their indictment. An indictment which cites cowardice, neglect of duty and abdication of responsibility. Remind them of this when they come to your door in the future canvassing for your vote or they urge you to buy their newspapers. The name Alex Mooney will not be known to many. But it should be, for Alex appears to capable of seeing that which so many others chose to ignore. His article in The Rangers Standard – “The Witch-Hunt which shamed Scotland” - is written by someone outside the Rangers community, with no great love for our club. The observations he has made serve to usurp any future claim by those who have shirked their responsibility that they were ignorant or unaware of what was going on. For us as Rangers supporters it serves as a grounding and reminder that we are not viewing what has been committed against our club through blue tinted spectacles, nor as one suggested, suffering from a “persecution complex” PART 2 – THEIR SHAME KNOWS NO BOUNDS Whenever there is injustice, you can bet your bottom dollar their will be lies. The empty stadia, the fabricated official attendances, the bundle ticket offers (buy two get one free), the failure of sell out Saturdays demonstrate not only the lynch mobs lack of sincerity, but perhaps more significantly the lack of care , concern or commitment for their own football clubs. You have to ask what kind of individual it is who can motivate themselves highly to express their hatred of another football club, but appear lacking when asked to show the same level of commitment towards supporting their own. Furthermore glowing reports of the success of the SPL permeated our ears (“The SPL is booming”) until last week Keith Jackson broke ranks and declared the SPL was dead on it's feet. Not so much boom as bust. It's now the turn of the SPL, to understand what it feels like to be viewed as toxic. Small wonder as they lurch from crisis to crisis that they have failed to attract a sponsor. If they could see themselves, as others outside Scotland see them, perhaps then they would understand. Worse was to come however, as the club who so many had condemned, so many had accused, were exonerated by a panel of real tax experts. But there was no outpouring of remorse, no condemnation or examination of the failings which saw the innocent tried, convicted and punished Judge Dread style, by a lynch mob, an incompetent (or as one described them “corrupt”) Football Authority, and a cowardly media. And there are indications it may get a whole lot worse. As the criminal investigation into the Rangers takeover reaches it's conclusion there have been rumours that the club themselves appear to be the victims of a crime. This will have considerable ramifications both legal and otherwise. Particularly in the east end of Glasgow where some believe they have a monopoly on victim status. Perhaps should it be confirmed that Rangers are the victims of a crime, Celtic will feel moved to write to the Lord Advocate seeking “clarification”. But perhaps the lack of shame or contrition is best summed up by BBC Scotland and one of their reporters, Jim Spence. “Obsessive” has been a word coined in respect of the Rangers haters, but let me suggest a further addition to the dictionary – Delusional. As my fellow blogger Chris Graham recently reported Jim appeared on the BBC Sportsound Show on the anniversary of our clubs slide into administration where he declared (faster than than you could say BBC Charter) “ Rangers are a new club although Rangers fans will argue the toss on that” . No actually Jim the SFA, UEFA and the very learned Lord Nimmo would argue the toss with you about that, but don't let facts, logic or legal authority stand in the way of your delusion. Which just goes to show – Its not the size of the brain which is important – but how you use it. (A s a side note I found myself driving through Birkhill, a small village on the outskirts of Dundee recently. My attention was drawn to a poseur extraordinaire jogger performing a warm up right at the side of the road, complete in questionable and not very flattering running tights. It was none other than the delusional Jim Spence. I had to pop into the local village pub – the Birkhill Inn – for a shandy after such a shock. But I could not possibly comment on suggestions that Jim's running tights are the subject of considerable mirth in the village and have earned him the nickname “Tiny”) PART 3 - LOVE CONQUERS ALL Sammy rises from the sofa, an improvised bed he has been accustomed to on the eve of match nights. No point in waking up the whole family. A check of the clock reveals its 4.30 am. Two cups of coffee later and with the brain kick started he leaves the house, shutting the front door quietly, for the drive to Larne; where, after meeting up with fellow Bears, he boards the ferry for the 2/3 hour journey to Cairnryan. Then the drive up to Glasgow, perhaps time for a very swift refreshment, and Sammy then heads for his beloved Ibrox. 2 hours later Sammy starts the intrepid journey once more, and if lucky, arrives home round about midnight. Home, tired but deeply satisfied. He has seen the Rangers. On another weekend, on another continent, a Japanese reporter boards a jet to fly 6000 miles to report on a phenomenon. His destination is Elgin in Scotland. Guys like Sammy are the source of that phenomenon. For Sammy and thousands of others like him are part of a support who will not let their club die. The Japanese reporter never got to see the match of course, it being cancelled as the demand of the blue legions for tickets led to an excess of tickets being printed and sold. Of course for a Japanese reporter spared the mindset of Scottish media, this was a sensational climax to his journey. The ultimate scoop. The Rangers support are defiant, but it's not defiance which motivates us. It's love and loyalty for a football club. Some, even in our native Scotland appear to be incapable of grasping that fact, or perhaps they just don't want to. You have to wonder if a Japanese reporter can grasp that fact why can't others closer to home ? The lynch mob operated on a manifesto of hatred, lies and accusation in order to shame Rangers. The Rangers support continues to shame Scottish football by operating on a manifesto of love, loyalty and truth. “We will follow in the footsteps of our team” And we did and will continue to do so. The broken records are no longer the oft repeated euphemism of “Sporting Integrity but are in respect of attendances for a club in SFL 3. That club is Rangers, our club, and the support which is earning world wide recognition and respect is us. But something else has happened. The Rangers support has become awakened to the hatred vented and generated against our club. Some of us bloggers have been alerting our support to this for years, often without success, but that time has well and truly passed. And long may it be so. Perhaps the spirit and soul of this club, “Ready” was not quite as it should have been when this crisis hit us, and when some seized the opportunity to vilify us, we were not quite as prepared as we should have been. That will not happen again. Their hatred has been exposed, the depths they are prepared to sink to have been revealed. The Rangers support is mobilising, awakening, both spirit and soul have been renewed. It will be 12 months which will be remembered as the year hatred was allowed to triumph over reason, when the unjustifiable was excused, and a country called Scotland shamed itself. But it will also be remembered for the phenomenon which is the Rangers support. Rangers are coming, and this time we are “Ready”

"As a club we are not just ready to move on - we have moved on â?? Its not even a week since Charles Green declared these words to a watching world. On the back of a hugely successful shares issue, resting clear at the top of our current league and with a tax tribunal exonerating this club from the shameful, barbed and misguided accusations of many, there was every reason for us to look forward from an annus horribilis. Central to that upbeat feeling was a spirit of togetherness as well as considerable pride, as the Rangers support became the epitome of loyalty to a football club, the jaw of the world dropped as it witnessed the heroic efforts of the Rangers support, from the purchase of season tickets and exercise of faith in an unknown chief executive, standing shoulder to shoulder in a determination to follow this club to a selection of grounds which tend to be more narrow than broad. This is the same support whose fervour, faith and desire to see their club resulted in the cancellation of an SFL match due to the over sale of tickets. With the financial outlook looking secure, a Chief Executive who appears willing to fight for this club and it's support, pledges of prospective security and stability for the future, you could be forgiven for thinking everything is rosy. But quite clearly it's not. Today Rangers supporters will be awakening to a press story carried by the Daily Record, of a power struggle within Ibrox. A fairly detailed report with the ubiquitous â??source close to the clubâ? claiming that Charles Green has threatened to quit amid an unresolvable rift with Malcolm Murray. Once again we as a support are plunged into confusion and not undue concern about events at our club. Are we to return to those dark days of that annus horribilis of trying to ascertain the truth between club statements and contradictory media reports ? Is there any validity to this story or is it merely the latest in a series of attempts to de-stabilise our club ? If its the latter then might I respectfully suggest our Head of Communications follows through on the implications of â??Word of advice gentlemen. From now on be very careful when talking or writing about this clubâ? REMINDER TO THOSE WITHIN IBROX â?? this support have been here got the T-Shirt and we have absolutely no intention of donning it again.

Absolutely spot on 26th, probably in a file marked "D" at Pacific Quay... Duplicitous Rangers Haters.

Would anyone else endorse a book when they knew the author's motivation was one of abject hatred of the subject he was writing about ?