ian1964

Would not surprise me in the least

Maybe the RST can ask these questions

The midfielder, who was suspended and stripped of his captaincy by the Gers for making obscene gestures while on international duty with Scotland, will make a ââ??¬3.3 million switch to the Russians this summer... 6 Apr 2009 09:45:20 Barry Ferguson - Scotland Photo Gallery Zoom Barry Ferguson - Scotland According to a report in the British tabloid The Daily Mirror, Rangers midfielder Barry Ferguson is set to leave the Scottish giants to join Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg at the end of the season. The 31-year-old was recently stripped of his captaincy and suspended by the Gers for his antics while on international duty with Scotland. Along with Rangers team-mate Allan McGregor, Ferguson was dropped for Scotland's World Cup qualifier against Iceland following an extended drinking session in Amsterdam after the 3-0 defeat to Holland. The pair have subsequently been told they will not play international football again after they were pictured making 'V' signs while on the substitutes bench for the match against Iceland. Ferguson's future with the Glasgow-based outfit, for whom he has scored 54 goals in 360 appearances during two spells, has since been called into question. It now appears that Zenit manager Dick Advocaat, who knows Ferguson from his time as manager of the Scottish giants between 1998-2002, is eager to sign him in a deal worth ââ??¬3.3 million (Ã?£3m). "I am sure everyone in Scotland knows what I think of Barry Ferguson," Advocaat is quoted as saying. "He's still a top player. Maybe he needs a fresh challenge elsewhere." Ricky Brooks, Goal.com http://www.goal.com/en/news/461/scotland/2009/04/06/1194407/barry-ferguson-to-depart-rangers-for-zenit-st-petersburg-report

Graham Spiers Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor have been stupid and immature in their behaviour, and have received due public humiliation for their antics, but there is still only one word to describe Rangers’ treatment of them – draconian. I remain staggered by the ferocity of the punishment doled out to the pair by Walter Smith, the Rangers manager, and the club’s chief executive, Martin Bain. Last Friday, due to comments made both on and off the record by Smith to reporters, a degree of doubt still prevailed among supporters about Ferguson and McGregor’s future at Ibrox. But Smith, in his private comments, made it perfectly clear what Rangers’ position was. The club is finished with the two players. Neither will play for Rangers again. In the case of Ferguson it is a particularly swingeing penalty. The Rangers captain had made it repeatedly clear that, following his 18-month hiatus at Blackburn Rovers, he regretted ever having left Rangers in the first place and didn’t want to play anywhere else in the remainder of his career. In family terms, Ferguson also has a problem, in his dubious distinction of being married to someone who never wishes to stray more than 20 miles from the original family nest, to the extent that Ferguson has sacrificed aspects of his career for the sake of his loved ones. But Rangers haven’t given two figs about that. For some very unoriginal footballing crimes – getting drunk and giving V-signs to the crowd – Ferguson is being crucified by his club. It is an utterly heartless and callous reaction to the 31-year-old’s misbehaviour, and one that, while causing many in recent days to nod approvingly towards Ibrox, has still left me completely shocked. It can be invidious to simply list endless other incidents as a means of highlighting the double-standard being applied here. But in this case, football’s log of past misdemeanours shows just how ruthless Rangers are being with Ferguson and McGregor. Did Ally McCoist get flung out of Ibrox when he publicly rained blows down on Sandy Clark in a long-forgot-ten league match between Rangers and Heart of Midlothian at Ibrox in 1985? Wasn’t that an “undignified moment” for Rangers? Or what about Paul Gascoigne’s wife-beating episode at Gleneagles 11 years later? Such violence is a heinous crime – far, far worse than the mere effrontery of giving V-signs – yet was Gascoigne evicted from Ibrox as a consequence? These are rhetorical questions – of course neither player was. And so the list goes on and on, and not just at Rangers. How many public spats has Neil Lennon been involved in at Celtic – and don’t tell me he has been the innocent at every turn – yet was he ever punished like Ferguson and McGregor? There seems something almost faintly fascist in the way Rangers have turned on their captain and goalkeeper. Don’t think the irony of all this is lost on me – it isn’t. I knew the whole Paul Le Guen saga at Rangers inside out. I spoke to Le Guen at length about it for a book I wrote about the fallen Frenchman two years ago. One chapter is entitled “The Trouble With Barry Ferguson”. I met Le Guen for lunch in Paris and reprised again the whole scenario of how he believed Ferguson had been complicit in his downfall. “He [Ferguson] is the problem within,” Le Guen told me. “He causes adversity inside the club. He tries to have too much influence, he tries to undermine what you are doing. He made my job at Rangers harder and harder.” Having recognised from the outset what a fine coach Le Guen was, I was inclined to be sympathetic towards him, and distinctly unsympathetic towards Ferguson. I have no doubt Ferguson undermined Le Guen, which is why I have never been cited among the now-deposed Rangers captain’s apologists. But on this occasion Ferguson is the victim of a miscarriage of justice. He is being harshly – almost vindictively – treated. Football is littered with the sort of antics he and McGregor got up to, which have not ended in such summary punishments. Apart from the sheer severity of it, Rangers, in their action, are also ruling out any possibility of contrition or rehabilitation, which is just plain wrong. Yes, I see where Walter Smith is coming from. The incidents at Hampden Park last Wednesday night were a personal affront to the Rangers manager, who had spoken in private to Ferguson and McGregor two days earlier – ie, 24 hours after their allnight binge at the Scotland HQ – and told them to “take their medicine” from the SFA and get on with it. So when Smith then witnessed the pair offering their crude gestures from the Hampden substitutes bench, he knew they were riding roughshod not just over the SFA, but over him as well. Even so, even on such a point of principle, to end both players’ club careers at Ibrox like this is a punishment disproportionate to the crime. At 27, I have no doubt McGregor will find himself another club, but Ferguson’s situation is more complicated. At 31, and after three major operations, his future looks less certain. He is being cut down in his prime by the club he loves. I would love to see Ferguson play again in the Barclays Premier League, where he could absolutely hold his own, but his family circumstances make that scenario difficult. The actions of Ferguson and McGregor were stupid and childish, yet Rangers, in response, have been tyrannical. And another thing... So what did Smith do to deserve all this bashing? I noted the whole Ferguson and McGregor palaver was turned into yet another excuse for some Gordon Smith-bashing. Almost before the two players had downed their final drinks at Loch Lomond last week the word was: “Right... let’s somehow implicate Smudger.” Trying to shoot down the SFA chief executive, pictured right, has become one of the football clichÃ?©s of our age. For the record, last week’s saga went like this: Ferguson and McGregor had their binge on Sunday. On Monday, they were dropped by George Burley. On Tuesday, word leaked out to the press. On Wednesday, Gordon Smith said he would “review the situation” after the Iceland game. On Thursday, Smith was then part of the process that banned Ferguson and McGregor sine die from Scotland. Tell me: how in heaven’s name could any of this become a Smith-bashing exercise? What exactly was it that Smith got wrong? Last week was the final proof that, come hail or shine, regardless of circumstances, part of Smith’s remit is simply to take it in the neck. Destination unknown Will Paul Le Guen sign Barry Ferguson for Paris Saint-Germain? I have to doubt it. But Martin O’Neill might be interested in taking him to Aston Villa, and Ricky Sbragia, if he can last the course, would certainly take Ferguson to Sunderland. As for going to Dick Advocaat’s Zenit St Petersburg, Ferguson’s wife, Margaret, could hardly face uprooting herself to as far away as Armadale, let alone to the Gulf of Finland. So that, I guess, must be a long shot.

Aye..............but he plays for big bad Rangers

RANGERS' under-19s have kept the heat on title leaders Hibs by beating Falkirk 4-0 at Murray Park. Kane HemmingsBilly Kirkwood's kids are now five points behind in the title race but still have a game in-hand. Goals from Gordon Dick, Kane Hemmings (2) and Stephen Forbes gave the the Light Blues a crucial win with Hibs beating St. Mirren 3-1 the previous day. It was a confident and assured display from the club's young guns but Kirkwood would have been frustrated to see Hemmings receive a straight red card for a poor challenge in injury time. The 19s next match is against Motherwell on April 10th while Hibs have to take on Edinburgh rivals Hearts twice in the next two weeks.

Good decision by Walter, strip Barry of the captaincy, suspend the both of them for two weeks and fine them both, for being stupid and childish

Aye,fair result in the end

Game just started

Apr 5 2009 Andy Mcdonald BOOZE shame keeper Allan McGregor was handed a sensational Ibrox lifeline yesterday. And the Sunday Mail can exclusively reveal that Kevin Thomson is to take over from axed Barry Ferguson as Ibrox skipper next season. Keeper McGregor was not expected to play for Rangers again after furious boss Walter Smith dropped him and Ferguson for their Scotland disgrace. Now Smith may be prepared to give McGregor, 27, one final chance to salvage his career - butonly if he grows up. Senior sources at Ibrox yesterday insisted Ferguson will never play for the club again. But the same sources confirmed McGregor could make a sensational return to the first team. One said: "They both deserved everything that came their way after that performance midweek. "Walter's equally furious with them both but he sees McGregor's position differently to Ferguson's. "Barry's burned his bridges but there could still be a way back for McGregor. "Whether he's got the good sense to take it is another matter. Buckle "He's definitely out for the moment. But if he buckles down the door is not locked on him coming back. "He basically has to grow up and get a grip. It's down to him." The cash-strapped club also realise benching one of their prize assets can only reduce his value on the transfer market. The source insisted the only thing that will see him return is a massive change in attitude. McGregor has a history of attracting as many headlines for his colourful private life as his onfield performances. The source added: "It's down to him. Put it this way, Barry's out in the dark but there's a chink of light for McGregor." Ferguson and McGregor saw their careers implode last week after they were benched for a booze bender at the Scotland squad's hotel. Flick They compounded that by flicking the Vs at photographersduring the Iceland game. Ferguson, 31, was stripped of the Rangers captaincy on Friday. We can reveal Smith is ready to hand the captain's armband to midfielder Kevin Thomson when he returns from injury next season. Veteran David Weir will lead Rangers against Falkirk today but Smith believes Thomson is the player to take charge next season when he returns. He has been out since suffering ligament damage in November but is expected back early next season after successful surgery. An Ibrox source said: "There's no doubt Kevin will be captain next season all being well with his knee. "To be frank, there's not a wealth of candidates but he's got the attitude and respect of his team-mates." http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/sport-news/2009/04/05/walter-smith-prepared-to-give-shamed-keeper-allan-mcgregor-ibrox-lifeline-78057-21254880/

Agree 100% mate, it's bad enough having the lynch mob from the press attacking Rangers FC, but it really pisses me off when you have Rangers fans attacking Rangers FC, by attacking Rangers players

WITCH HUNT SPARKED V-SIGNS FROM SHAMED PLAYERS Image Flag By Jacqueline McGhie, 05/04/2009 CELTIC star Scott Brown was dubbed the luckiest player in Scotland last night - after escaping the Boozegate affair totally UNPUNISHED. It is understood the Hoops star stayed up drinking with shamed aces Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor and retired to bed just TWENTY MINUTES before his Old Firm rivals. But, astonishingly, he avoided being hammered by Scotland gaffer George Burley after being shielded by his contacts at the Daily Record, we can sensationally reveal. And while Brown was included in the starting line-up for the World Cup tie against Iceland, his mates were dropped to the bench because of the marathon drinking session at Cameron House. The move sparked a chain of events that ended in Ferguson and McGregor being banned from playing for Scotland for life and transfer-listed by their club. But a News of the World investigation can reveal today that other senior members of the Scotland squad believe that: BURLEY only disciplined the Gers pair after they were NAMED by the Record THE manager has FAILED to punish any other star who stayed up drinking, and FERGIE and McGregor only stuck their fingers up at Record photographers - NOT the Scotland fans or manager. Last night a source insisted: "Barry and Allan have been hung out to dry." The News of the World can reveal that senior players feel Hoops midfielder Brown dodged blame because of his close links to a Record journalist. And they believe that the newspaper DELIBERATELY stuck the knife into Gers skipper Fergie because he works for their bitter rivals, The Scottish Sun. Last night a source close to the Scotland camp, who has asked not to be named, hit out: "What is the difference between drinking for seven-and-a-half hours and drinking for seven hours and 10 minutes? All the boys are amazed at the way this issue spiralled out of control "Those 20 minutes seemed to make a world of a difference to Burley and the SFA because it resulted in McGregor and Ferguson being dropped from the team to face Iceland - yet Brown was in his usual place and being hailed as a HERO by the Tartan Army. "He clearly is a very lucky boy - or perhaps he is just fortunate to have friends in high places. "No one's condoning what the Rangers pair did at Hampden. They were IDIOTS. "But it certainly appears to have been more convenient for Burley to dump them after the Holland game than it was to drop Brown." We can reveal that the Record contacted the SFA on Monday with details of the drinking binge. But the newspaper only named Ferguson and McGregor - and, despite having ALL the info, failed to mention to officials that Brown had ALSO been up for the marathon booze session. The call went in two days after Record sports editor James Traynor was involved in an angry exchange with Ferguson during the previous week's trip to Holland for another World Cup qualifier. Ferguson confronted the columnist, who had previously vilified him and even urged Walter Smith to axe him if the Ibrox side wanted to win the title. In Friday's Record, Traynor wrote: "Only last week he (Ferguson) had turned to a sympathetic paper to moan that he's some kind of victim and that some of us have the knives out for him. "Then, late on Saturday night as we all prepared to retreat from another defeat in the Amsterdam ArenA, I had a conversation with Ferguson, who wanted to know why he is criticised and why I don't consider him captain material." Other Scotland players now feel the Record failed to mention Brown to the SFA, or in their report on Wednesday about the booze shame, because he is an important contact of the paper's senior football reporter Keith Jackson. One player, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "All the boys are amazed at the way this issue spiralled out of control. There has certainly been a lot of very selective reporting about what went on." Other Scotland stars who stayed up for the early morning drinking session were Steven Whittaker, Gary Teale and Alan Hutton - but they called it quits after a couple of hours. But the News of the World understands that Brown only made it back to his room around NOON on Sunday. Before then, he had collected a pair of hairclippers and SHAVED McGregor's head as the trio shared a laugh. One source said that the keeper was found slumped in a chair with his brown locks lying around him. But a short time after the Celtic ace left the party, Scotland coach Steven Pressley spotted Ferguson and McGregor at around 12.30pm - and ordered them back to their rooms. The pair were described as "drunk as skunks" after downing beer, expensive wine and vodka and Red Bull. It was suggested Ferguson then threw up in the hotel but our source said: "That is not true. They went off to to their beds without any fuss." It was the SFA's idea to lay on food and drink in a private room But, incredibly, it took Scotland boss Burley more than 48 hours to inform his skipper and goalkeeper that they were to be sent home in disgrace. And he only made that announcement after the Record had contacted him and made it clear they were going to go public and reveal details of the pair's boozy antics. The source added: "There has definitely been a witch-hunt for Allan and Barry." We can reveal that ALL the Scotland players were given permission to have a drink after returning to Scotland in the early hours of Sunday. Our man revealed: "It was the SFA's idea to lay on food and drink in a private room for those players who decided to go back to Cameron House. We were actually ENCOURAGED to go and relax there. "Other players went home - and could have stayed up and drank all night for all anyone knows. "But the lads who did that at Cameron House - on their DAY OFF - have been hammered for it. "Allan and Barry could have pointed the finger at certain team-mates and asked why they weren't coming in for the same punishment as them. "But they kept silent and took their punishment on the chin. Their frustration just seems to have boiled over at Hampden during the Iceland match. They were put in a high- pressure situation and handled it badly. "But a lot of the boys are suspicious about how this all started. "The hotel staff were absolutely fine with what was going on and, to my knowledge, there were no complaints from the public - or they would have been plastered all over the papers. "But the way two players have been demonised for having a drink seemed a bit over the top, considering they were far from being the only ones. "Even some of the SFA staff were having a drink in the same place." After originally ordering Ferguson and McGregor home from the Loch Lomond training camp, Burley reinstated them after being approached by senior players, including Manchester United star Darren Fletcher and Celts captain Stephen McManus. The delegation voiced their concerns over the way their team-mates were being "hung out to dry" while others who stayed up for a drink went unpunished. During heated discussions between Burley and his squad, it emerged that four others - Teale, Whittaker, Hutton and Brown - had also stayed up for some time on Sunday morning. Burley was told the players were RAGING that two of their teammates were taking the rap, while others who also failed to go straight to their beds were being let off the hook. Our source revealed: "The players told Burley he couldn't have one rule for some and another rule for others. They made it clear he should either send SIX players home or none at all. There had to be some consistency. "The message which came through loud and clear from Burley and his staff was that if the papers hadn't got hold of the story about the other boys, there wasn't an issue to deal with." It is understood Burley was persuaded to reinstate Ferguson and McGregor to his squad for the Iceland game and leave them on the bench. The pair even met with SFA officials and were encouraged to go through the post-match media zone and speak to newspapers after the game. Officials hoped the duo would reiterate their disappointment over their conduct. But that move backfired spectacularly when the players made obscene gestures from the bench during the game. And those gestures effectively ended their Rangers and Scotland careers. Yet a source close to the players revealed Ferguson and McGregor were NOT aiming their V-signs at the Tartan Army OR SFA chiefs. He said: "To suggest someone like Barry was having a go at the fans or George Burley is nonsense. They were aiming the gesture at the Daily Record photographers taking their picture. "You don't play for Scotland for 10 years and leave your wife and kids for 10 days as Barry did to take on Holland and Iceland unless playing for your country means something to you. "Anyone who says otherwise is trying to stir it. Clearly they've succeeded." http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_news/251687/Celtic-star-just-as-guilty-as-Rangers-duo-Barry-Ferguson-Allan-McGregor-Scott-Brown.html

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oerpvklhVdY&feature=related]YouTube - Best Of Boruc[/ame]

April 03, 2009 TWO Rangers fans have been cleared of any alleged role in the violence which marred last summer's UEFA Final in Manchester. Simon Toland, 19, from Belfast, and 35-year-old James Clark, from Glasgow, walked free after a jury took two hours 50 minutes to find them not guilty of violent disorder. Manchester Crown Court heard they were arrested during the early hours of the morning on Chorlton Street after crowds of Rangers supporters ran amok following the defeat by Russian side Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1106627_two_rangers_fans_cleared

New Rangers captain David Weir fears that the loss of Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor will be a blow for Sunday's visit to Falkirk and beyond. McGregor and deposed skipper Ferguson have been suspended by Rangers after their misbehaviour on Scotland duty. "Obviously, I'm pleased to be captain," said 38-year-old defender Weir. "But Barry and Allan missing the game on Sunday is a big loss for us. "They are two big players and everyone in the dressing-room is disappointed." Rangers trail reigning champions Celtic by three points going into this weekend's Scottish Premier League games. And there are now doubts about the future of Ferguson and McGregor at Ibrox after their hotel drinking session and subsequent V-signs made while sitting on the Scotland bench at Hampden. "There's been no impact on the squad, but obviously if Barry and Allan aren't playing, that's going to have an impact on the team," said Weir. They are lads that we work with every day, we like them, and it's not great to hear this David Weir "But it's only just happening, so it's hard to comment." Weir was concerned for his team-mates at a personal level. "They are two friends as well," he said. "That's the most disappointing thing. "They are lads that we work with every day, we like them, and it's not great to hear this." Weir said he is ready for the challenge of leading Rangers until the summer at least. "I've stepped in in the past when Barry hasn't been available," he added. "But, obviously, I would rather Barry was the captain." Ferguson was previously stripped of the Rangers captaincy in 2007 while the team was managed by Paul Le Guen, who questioned his attitude and influence on the team. However, the lifelong Rangers fan was reinstated as skipper after Smith succeeded the Frenchman. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7982111.stm

I don't even understand why the Scotland team arrived back in Scotland at that time in the morning ?, why did they not just stay over in Holland and take the 1 hour flight back home the next day ?, on arrival why did Burley sanction the players to go and have a drink ?, why were BF & Shagger the only ones to be dropped for the Iceland game when the likes of Brown only beat them to bed by 20-30min ?

Never mind, when we lose the league, we can always blame BF & Shagger

The club comes first ?................aye after you steal your massive salary ya chunt

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2360013.ece

Funny that, everybody wants rid of Weir as well, too old, too slow !!

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Martin Bain has said that tonight's punishment of wayward stars Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor should act as a warning for others. Ferguson and McGregoMartin Bainr have both been fined two weeks' wages and banned for the same period for the behaviour while on international duty this week. Speaking exclusively to Rangers World, the Rangers chief executive said: "I don't think anyone has won out of the last week. However, we now look forward and must ensure that we maintain standards. "I think it is a signal to anybody else that these actions that the club has taken shows that the actions that the players have taken will not be tolerated "This football club expects standard, the Rangers supporters expect standards and the behaviour of these two players was unacceptable. "We don't condone the behaviour, especially that of our captain, and we felt this was the best way forward. "Both players have been willing to accept that their actions are not befitting Rangers Football Club and they have offered their profuse apologies. "They are very important players in the squad but this football club is bigger than anyone and I think that we owe it to our supporters to maintain standards at the football club. "There is no doubt about that these players will be missed in the run-in to the Championship but the decisions has been taken and I believe it is the right one."

I still think these two are being made the scapegoat, why were the other players involved in the sesh let off without any punishment, why were they all not dropped for the game on Wednesday ?, as far as Rangers are concerned SDM sees an opportunity to sell and get some cash IMO

Agreed Craig,entirely

No, but me being a Rangers fan, it is not good watching a Scotland game because of the bile that is spewed towards our players

Nope, do you really think the '' Tartan Army '' would allow them back