ian1964

Iâ??m going to stick my brass neck out here and do something that appears to be highly unfashionable these days. Iâ??m going to stick up for that loud, colourful, at times controversial band of Celtic supporters known as the Green Brigade. And this is from someone, before my cyberspace friends start foaming at the mouth, who utterly deplores all IRA chanting inside football grounds. If you believe some contemporary accounts of the Green Brigade â?? in the main supplied by those who scarcely know them or see them â?? they congregate on that north stand at Celtic Park and boom out pro-IRA chants from start to finish. There is presently a fad among Rangers supporters, at times whipped up into a frenzied outrage on Twitter and elsewhere, to have the Green Brigade endlessly and continuously bawling â??Up the Raâ? at matches. The fact that these observers are rarely there to see or witness such allegations deters them not in the slightest. The latest example weâ??ve had of this fiction was at Inverness on Saturday. By general consent â?? and we were all ears â?? in the early minutes of the match a rendition of â??Up the RAâ? whimpered then petered out over a duration of ten seconds among a small section of the visiting Celtic support. But how was this being portrayed later by those who now spend their lives with agonised ears pinned to their radios? Why, it was a festival of pro-IRA chanting in Inverness. It boomed out continuously. I mean, they ask incredulously, how can anyone deny it? This whole â??offensive chanting at footballâ? debate has become a wearying charade of fiction, name-calling and points-scoring. And, right now, the group of supporters who are being most traduced by it all are the so-called Green Brigade. For what it is worth, last week I wrote that this group have certain members among them who can be crass in their chanting. I first wrote about the Celtic supportâ??s â??pro-IRA issueâ? six years ago, and I donâ??t believe Iâ??ve been alone in so doing. Moreover, I lose little sleep over whether anyone wants to call this type of chanting â??politicalâ? or â??sectarianâ?. Who cares for the hermeneutics, if most of us deem it to be offensive? Yet the Green Brigade, far from booming out the sort of chants I would detest, in my experience have done anything but. In at least four or five games I have attended at Celtic Park this season, their contribution to the atmosphere has been terrific: their loud, tribal chants being flung back and forth across the stadium. It is an utter fiction, perpetrated by some who lie awake at night obsessing over such matters, that the Green Brigade is stocked to the gunnels with pro-IRA choristers. It was fascinating, and at times comical, listening to Neil Lennon on this very subject the other day. Lennon, in the main, evidently thinks that the Green Brigade are fantastic. â??The colour, the atmosphere and the joy they bring to our games is brilliant,â? the Celtic manager told us on Friday. Hang on, Neil. You were supposed to be condemning them. Oh, right. In a fit of counter-balance Lennon also sought to condemn â??offensive chantingâ? that the Celtic supporters might produce, arguing that such chants â??dragged the club through the mudâ?, which they do. Lennonâ??s position in regard to the Green Brigade is not uncomplicated. Many of them, like him, espouse the world view of Irish Republicanism. Lennon claims that his politics are â??privateâ? but they havenâ??t always been so. He comes from a social, cultural and political strand of the Irish saga that chimes with many Celtic supporters. It was due to this and much more that, while speaking impressively on Friday on the subject of chanting and the Green Brigade, the Celtic manager could scarcely help himself in expressing his admiration for these supporters. The Green Brigade, for my part, hardly have a thing in common with me. But what I do know is that their repertoire, while not being impeccable, is not in the slightest way a catalogue of offensive songs inside Celtic Park. To believe this, you really have to have a pre-ordained and fixed view of them, which is one of contempt. On the odd occasion at Celtic Park, as in Inverness on Saturday, when this group does chime up offensively, it only serves to insult its wider expression and humour. It also allows the Green Brigade to be so grossly misrepresented, as we are presently finding.

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/11/daily-record-editor-and-brian-mcnally.html

St Johnstone beat the BHEASTS at the piggery this season remember.

1-0 Liverpool,Rodriguez

Exactly mate,it gets more pathetic by the day listening to the pyoor wee hard done to vitimised BHEASTS

Just realised that I never sent you the pm Craig:redface:

Just started for anyone interested,mon Charlie:thup:

HA!HA!,never ever a straight red card.

Just seen it.The ICT players' hand touched Samaras in the face,not his elbow. Was that a straight red or second yellow?.

What did he do?,I haven't seen any highlights.

Currently 2-1 for Mcinnes City,65 minutes in. He is doing well since he took over

I can see nothing wrong in trying to reach to other parts of the world selling our club merchandise?,if you don't try it you'll never know.

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/11/lawwell-problem-for-dermot-desmond.html

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/

HEARTS star Craig Thomson has been arrested and charged over claims he preyed on a girl of 12. Thomson, 20, faces "historic" allegations of grooming behaviour on social networking sites. It's been claimed he tried to lure the youngster into meeting up with him more than two years ago. The girl, now aged 15 â?? who claims to have been targeted over a two year period â?? is understood to be from the Lothian area. Cops have now reported the footballer to the Crown Office. Last night a Lothian and Borders police spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that a 20-year-old man has been arrested and charged with an historic offence. "A report has been sent to the procurator fiscal." Thomson, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, has only recently returned to Scotland after a loan deal in Lithuania. Last night the player was not available for comment. And a spokesman for the Tynecastle side declined to comment. Thomson had been playing for Jambos owner Vladimir Romanov's other club Kaunas on loan. But with the Lithuanian team's season over Thomson returned to Scotland last month. He has not been training with the rest of the squad as uncertainty hangs over his future in the game. The right-back came through the youth system at Tynecastle and is contracted to Hearts until 2013. A Crown Office spokeswoman said: "We can confirm that the procurator fiscal at Edinburgh received a report concerning a man aged 20, in relation to an alleged incident on 11 April 2009. "The case remains under consideration." Hearts were rocked this week by supremo Romanov's plans to pull -out from the cash-strapped club. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/news/3946043/Hearts-ace-preyed-on-girl-12.html#ixzz1e8cbUQ3C

The Champions 3 Jelavic 2,Lafferty 1 St Johnstone 0 :spl:

You can be assured the Dutch will be out to make up for that loss when they come to Scotland.It's going to be a very tough game for the Scots.

CELTIC fans groups today united to deliver a snub to Strathclyde Police, insisting they will not meet cop chiefs to discuss fan behaviour. Assistant Chief Constable Campbell Corrigan was keen to meet with members of the Celtic Trust, Celtic Supporters Association and Green Brigade today. But after the Green Brigade issued a stonewall refusal, the other two supporters bodies have now followed suit and pulled out of the summit. The behaviour of Celtic fans has come under intense scrutiny in recent days after Uefa and the SPL launched probes into alleged pro-IRA chanting at home matches against Rennes and Hibs. Corrigan today again pleaded with supporters not to indulge in such chants when they face Inverness tomorrow, with a team of specially- trained officers set to be on hand to monitor the behaviour of the Celtic support. The police chief had hoped the talks today would be the first step forward – but the various supporters groups have joined forces in their refusal to meet with Corrigan. A Celtic Trust statement read: “On Tuesday of this week we were advised that assistant chief constable Corrigan wished to have a meeting with all the supporters’ organisations. “With the exception of the Green Brigade, we agreed to the meeting. “On Wednesday we were extremely disturbed to find that there was inflammatory and misleading coverage of the proposed meeting. “It gave the impression that we were being summoned to discuss bad behaviour by Celtic supporters, it attacked our colleagues, the Green Brigade and it appeared to focus on singing. “This is not what the meeting was intended to be about, and it is not possible to have a constructive dialogue under these circumstances. “Therefore, we will not be attending the meeting with Mr Corrigan. “However, we are a responsible supporters’ organisation and we are always willing to enter into constructive dialogue with any organisation or individual in order to advance the interests of our members, of the Celtic supporters generally and of Celtic. “For that reason we do not rule out future meetings with Strathclyde Police, but these will have to be on the basis of mutual respect and an agreed and published agenda.” Joe O’Rourke, of the Celtic Supporters Association, added: “We, as part of the FAC (Fans Against Criminalisation) group were asked to attend a meeting on Friday with ACC Corrigan, but following his comments, the groups representing the Celtic supporters felt it was inappropriate for us to attend the meeting. “Mr Corrigan was reported to be summoning us for a slap on the wrist, well he obviously doesn’t know who he is dealing with. It was us who asked for a meeting with the Police over their heavy handed policing of the Green Brigade in the match against Hibs on October 29. “This occurred after a well-attended and well-behaved demonstration in George Square. We were then subjected to behaviour by the police which might have been more appropriate for China or North Korea. “Let us say this, we have always been happy in the past to have dialogue with the Police, but we will not be criminalised for doing nothing more than supporting our team, we will not be bullied by the government, the police, or anyone else.” Now all eyes and ears will be on Inverness tomorrow and then on Parkhead on Wednesday night when Dunfermline come for Celtic’s first home game since the problems over singing were highlighted. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/celtic-trust-ko-to-police-meeting-1.1135663

True,but it's all relative. It is a fantastic record and hopefuly it continues tomorrow. It's a good start for Ally and his team.

ALLY McCOIST may have failed to keep Rangers in Europe for long this season, but his staggering record in the Scottish Premier League since taking over from Walter Smith has firmly focused the continentâ??s attention on Ibrox. Rangersâ?? remarkable unbeaten record in the league has put McCoistâ??s team out in front of just about every European rival and when the Ibrox manager puts his own record next to the work put in by Smith last season, the only club that can boast a better unbeaten record in European league football is FC Porto. The Portuguese champions have amassed a remarkable 49 games without defeat, stretching back to February when they lost 3-0 to Sporting Lisbon, but Rangers are easily the next best top-flight side on the continent with a 21-game unbeaten run. The last time Rangers lost in the SPL was on April 2 when Dundee United won 3-2 at Ibrox and, with a home game tomorrow against St Johnstone â?? who have not won a league match in Govan since the 1970s â?? McCoistâ??s men seem certain to make that 22 games unbeaten against his old team. When Rangers exited the Champions League and the Europa League at the qualifying hurdles to Malmo and Maribor respectively, McCoist was left with the domestic scene to make his mark upon. He has done that emphatically. Rangers can also boast a better record than the best unbeaten sides in the Barclays Premier League, where Newcastle United protect the longest record with just 14 games since they lost at Liverpool in May. Current leaders Manchester City may have dropped fewer points than Rangers this term, with just one draw in their 11 games, but McCoistâ??s men have racked up more wins with 12 victories out of 14 SPL games. The only time the SPL leaders have not won this season was on the opening day of the campaign in a 1-1 draw with Hearts â?? and then another 1-1 draw with St Mirren at Ibrox last month. The closest European top-flight side to Rangers are Serbian leaders FK Radnicki, who have posted a 20-game unbeaten run and, like Rangers, also lost last April. That was the same month that Champions League winners Barcelona last tasted defeat in La Liga, but Pep Guardiolaâ??s men only have a 15-game unbeaten run and have drawn four times already this season, while current Spanish league leaders, Real Madrid, have already lost once this season. In Greece and Italy, the best unbeaten runs are shared by Panathinaikos and Juventus with ten games each while Dynamo Kiev are the best in Ukraine with a 15-game unbeaten run. Even the side with the meanest defence in Europe cannot match Rangers. Bayern Munich have conceded just four goals in the Bundesliga this term, but already the German league leaders have lost twice. Rangers have lost six SPL goals in this campaign â?? better than Real Madrid and Manchester City. They have also dropped fewer points this term than Porto, who have drawn three times. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/spl/rangers/all-eyes-on-ibrox-as-mccoist-revels-in-domestic-bliss-1.1135588

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/11/sfa-chief-regan-and-green-brigade.html

The deadpan Welsh comedian, Milton Jones â?? you can see him regularly on Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You? â?? has a joke which goes: â??When I got back from work the other day my wife was already home. â??I called out, â??Hi, Hon!â?? â??It wasnâ??t a term of endearment â?? itâ??s just that my wifeâ??s German.â? OK, OK â?? itâ??s a joke that depends on how you hear it, not how you read it. And if Milton wants to press charges for murdering a gag, your correspondent is done bang to rights. Hereâ??s the point, though. If he had used that routine in a Scottish nightclub and changed the punchline to: â??It wasnâ??t a term of endearment â?? itâ??s just that my wife is a Rangers supporterâ?, would he fall foul of the Scottish Governmentâ??s proposed laws in respect of sectarianism in Scottish football? There are times when Alex Salmond exudes the powerful impression that he supposes he can walk on water. By now, though, you would have thought that a politician as astute and opportunist as Salmond would realise that, on this issue, he and his SNP colleagues are marching into a swamp. The Tories at Holyrood also tipped head first into the mud when their new leader, Ruth Davidson, discovered she was employing (or rather you and I were, because his pay comes out of the public purse) a researcher called Colin James Taylor, who tweeted about â??Timsâ?. Now should you be a reader who happens not to have the requisite information to divine meaning from this term, it is used among some Rangers supporters to refer to Scottish Catholics in general, Catholics of Irish extraction in particular and Celtic supporters likewise. The origin of the term is not certain. Some say it refers to a mythical generic Celtic supporter called Tim Molloy or Malloy, others that it originated from a Glasgow Irish Catholic gang of the 1930s, a rival to Billy Fullertonâ??s Protestant gang â?? the Billy Boys of the proscribed song. There was, if memory serves, a witty echo of the name by a metals firm in the east end of Glasgow which traded under the title of Tim Alloys. Be that as it may, when Taylor, a Rangers supporter, Tweeted about Tims, he was told by his new governess to withdraw and say sorry, which he duly did. That he caused offence â?? possible, actual and self-generated â?? is likely, perhaps certain, in the current climate. Would he, however, have committed an offence under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill? After all, there are Celtic supporters who refer to themselves as Tims, just as they refer to Rangers fans as Huns because of the clubâ??s traditional attachment to the Union Flag and the Royal Family, with its distant German ancestry. And, again, if a Celtic supporter replied to Taylorâ??s Tweet and referred to him as a Hun, would both of them be dragged off by the thought police? The answer, says the Scottish Government, depends on context. Badinage is one thing, malice is another. Intent to cause offence would therefore presumably play a part in determining whether or not a crime had been committed â?? yet offending one another is also the stock in trade of football supporters and the fiercer the rivalry, the more calculated the offence. You might think that Scotland is already well provided with laws that deal with anything that crosses the boundary into menacing behaviour, especially since there is now a range of crimes which can be aggravated by religious, racist, sexist or homophobic abuse. The SNP, though, insist that we need even more and are hell bent on delivering them. They do this despite the example of muddle-headedness set by Uefa. The governing body of European football is admirably dedicated to the eradication of racism within its domain, but it is notably uneven in its enforcement and haphazard in its methodology â?? especially with regard to Eastern Europe and Spain. Closer to home we have Rangersngers fans banned from away games in Europe because some were reported for singing The Billy Boys â?? with its line about being â??up to our knees in Fenian bloodâ? â?? a sanction imposed for an incidence of a song sung at a game and reported by FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) but not by the match delegate, in one of the two instances. Now Celtic have been cited â?? though not by FARE â?? for â??illicit chantingâ? at their 3-1 home victory over Rennes. Again, the match delegate was not the originator of the charge, which was instigated by the police match commander, the former Scottish Premier League referee, Eddie Smith. Celticâ??s chief executive and the Assistant Chief Constable of Strathclyde Police want to meet the Green Brigade to discuss the legality of their songs and chants. I assume there will be a lively argument, especially since, last time I looked, the Green Brigadeâ??s manifesto included a 32-county united Gaelic-speaking Irish republic, an independent Gaelic-speaking Scottish republic and a demand for boycotts of global brands whose sponsorship underwrites the game at various levels. They might well ask Peter Lawwell, the chief executive of Celtic, what he supposed they were likely to sing and chant when he invited them to act as Celticâ??s resident glee club. If he is then sucked into a debate about how one manâ??s terrorist is another manâ??s freedom fighter and how one clubâ??s support hears a hymn of hate when another believes it is singing a ballad of liberation, then he will have something in common with Mr Salmond. They both set in train a course of events without anticipating the consequences, no joke for either of them â?? or a laughing matter for Scottish football. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/scottish-premier/8897701/First-Minister-of-Scotland-Alex-Salmond-is-walking-into-swamp-over-banning-songs-on-terraces.html

ANXIOUS cops have moved to take the heat out of a potential powderkeg in the Highlands tomorrow by pleading with the Green Brigade not to cause further damage to Celtic's reputation. We revealed on Wednesday how Strathclyde assistant chief constable Campbell Corrigan had asked Parkhead chief executive Peter Lawwell to set up talks with the fans group whose song book has been blamed for dragging the club into the dock with both UEFA and the SPL. But Corrigan's attempts to negotiate were booted into touch when the Green Brigade issued a stonewall refusal to get around the table with police. Now Record Sport understands a crack team of specially trained officers will be deployed to Inverness tomorrow to monitor fans' behaviour as Neil Lennon's side take on Caley Thistle in a lunchtime showdown. And Corrigan has pleaded with Celtic's travelling support not to indulge in the pro-IRA chanting that has landed their club in trouble. He said: "I fully intend to meet fan representatives from Celtic - our intention is to impress upon people who continue to sing these songs they do nothing but damage to the club they love. "We don't solve these problems by working in isolation, we solve them by getting around the table and talking about them." Corrigan has set up talks with two other Hoops fan groups - the Celtic Supporters Trust and Celtic Supporters Association. But his main concern is over the more militant Green Brigade and it's understood, even yesterday, Lawwell was still attempting to persuade organisers of the group to listen to what the cops have to say. Lawwell fears that unless they clean up their act more arrests will follow and leave Celtic open to further national embarrassment. Manager Lennon has again made his own plea for songs celebrating paramilitaries to be ditched. He said: "We can't pre-judge any investigation but it's important we put a message out that these chants have no place around our club. "Ninety five per cent of what these fans bring to the game is positive and adds atmosphere but we need to make sure all the negative stuff is removed." And Paul McBride QC, who has represented Lennon and the club, added: "I'm a great supporter of the Green Brigade but a small minority of them sing songs about terrorism and that is not acceptable. "Soon after January it will become a criminal offence. "These individuals might not listen to me or the Celtic board. The hope is that by Neil repeating the message he made last time they will listen to him." Daily RHebel

INDIAN hotshots Jeje Lalpekhlua and Sunil Chhetri are scheduled to jet into Scotland next weekend to begin their Rangers trial. The deal had threatened to stall after the players' clubs - Pune and Mohun Bagan AC - reacted angrily to the news -their star men, left, were lined up to head abroad at a critical stage in the Indian top flight. On Wednesday Chhetri hit a double and Lalpekhlua scored the other in India's 3-2 win over Malaysia - sparking fresh speculation their trip to Glasgow would be shelved unless Rangers paid a bumper fee in advance. But yesterday an agent involved in the deal, Kenny Moyes, said: "Despite what is being said in India both clubs are aware of what is happening and Rangers' interest. All the paperwork is completed and we expect the lads to arrive next weekend." Gers' bid to tap into the Asian market saw them yesterday announce plans to offer a Hindi Twitter commentary of tomorrow's game with St Johnstone. Daily RHebel

It is quite funny though,here we are looking at bringing in a couple of signings,albeit not expensive ones,spending money on the screens,the BHEASTS will be foaming at the mouth at the thought of Rangers spending the tax mans' money,not to mention the mHedia