Frankie

Well, they'll try and sell a few players if they can get rid of them in January.

If they are released from their contracts they can sign anytime.

Modus operandi It seems (to me and plenty of others - including the club) that BBC Scotland feature Rangers more negatively than others when it comes to certain issues - most specifically sectarianism. Given they are supposed to present a neutral picture of such issues that is surely worth highlighting?

Danny: I've already conceded every club can point to poor media items. However, I think when it comes to the BBC the questions in the article are worth asking. Perhaps, as a critic of the protest, you can explain what seems to be clear MO from the BBC?

Sorry mate - been very busy: will do a bit of C&P in a wee whole hopefully...

For those of you that are unaware, the Vanguard Bears have arranged a protest for this Saturday against alleged biased broadcasting from the BBC and, in particular, the Scottish branch of the corporation (more details below). With this protest in mind, it has been interesting to note the response from the RFC supporting community to the proposed action. Obviously many back it but there are also plenty bears who remain cynical about such a move. After all, is this merely to show solidarity with an owner who has perhaps been less than forthcoming about his past (or indeed his intentions) and do we really have credible grievances with a national broadcaster bound by a variety of guidelines? Have we become as bad as the Celtic support - basing our outlook on paranoia rather than fact? I'd like to be clear from the outset. I don't believe there is a media-wide conspiracy to negatively portray Rangers (or our fans) more than anyone else. Fans of every club can point to poor reporting and this occurs to all clubs across every platform. However, with regard to BBC Scotland the situation is less clear so it's certainly worth examining why our fans are so frustrated. First of all, we have to remember this isn't a new problem just because Craig Whyte was accused of criminality by a recent BBC investigative programme. Therefore, inferences that Whyte is attempting to create a flawed siege mentality or deflect attention from him are off the mark. In actual fact, the organisers of this protest have held similar rallies over the last two years. Moreover, they also met with the BBC Scotland hierarchy to discuss these concerns. Yet the less than balanced coverage continues. Let's have a quick look at the last 6-12months and ask just a few interesting questions of the BBC Scotland coverage: 1. Why are 'neutral' sectarianism stories presented outside Ibrox (this happened again this very morning)? 2. Why were stories about letter bombs mailed to the Celtic manager presented outside Ibrox? 3. Why was our manager made to look like a fool with regard to editing news video about sectarianism? 4. Why, in the same report, did the organisation show our fans singing alleged sectarian songs while showing Celtic fans carrying anti-racism banners? 5. Why do the organisation choose to cover some sectarianism stories and not others? 6. Why do they have 'karaoke' lyrics for offensive RFC songs but not for other clubs? 7. Why are radio/TV debates often not presented in a balanced fashion (see Graham Spiers radio documentary)? 8. Why have Rangers had three examples of editorial problems this season alone? 9. Why have certain BBC employees mocked the Ibrox Disaster on social networking sites? Once again, as I present these rather damning examples of questionable editorial/production standards; some of us will suggest others can point to their own similar problems. Fair enough, as I've already conceded, other clubs (and supports) will be able to show negative/unfair coverage in the media. But, and it's a big but, such critics of Saturday's protest (and the RFC ban) struggle to do so when we specifically talk about the BBC. Indeed, I've asked doubting journalists and Celtic supporting friends to show me some similar examples of such strange productions/editorial standards. They can't. No matter though - even if they could point to similar problems that still raises the question of why BBC Scotland are failing to fulfil their own obligations to the millions of us who pay their television licence fee? If the Rangers support really are being unreasonable or paranoid, then the above questions should be easy to answer. Nevertheless, I obviously don't expect everyone to agree with the protest or buy into some BBC conspiracy but if Stuart Cosgrove can admit to problems within the media when it comes to Rangers, his opinion is worth discussing. Yes, he may only be the presenter of a sometimes funny BBC radio programme on Scottish football but, yes he's also Head of Programmes at Channel 4 and a former director of British Telecom. I've also had some personal dealings with Cosgrove and while he's no friend of Rangers, he's an expert on a variety of relevant issues. To conclude, I'm strongly of the opinion most footballing conspiracies are exactly that - unsubstantiated and anecdotal-only rumours about a perceived bias. For the most part, the people who spread these tall-tales usually can't authenticate them with genuine evidence of malpractice. And, often the evidence that does exist, points us in the opposite direction. However, when it comes to the coverage of Rangers related matters by BBC Scotland, I think there is a case to answer and I think the questions in this article are worth exploring. To that end, I'm happy that our club have taken a strong line with the organisation and also, in principle, back any fan protest of the BBC. I'd urge you all to carefully consider the situation and make up your own mind. If you disagree with the action then that is your right and I respect that. If you agree - I'll see you on Saturday at 12.30pm outside Pacific Quay. Protest details (via link to Vanguard Bears website) available below. Please read and respect the attached protest guidelines. http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

Like BD has said, it seems clear that some of the info the author gets is correct and to that end some of the speculation is understandable. However, as someone who supposedly has no axe to grind, the cracked RFC crest on his Twitter page and other comments on the blog show this is done from the Rangers hating point of view. As such, while some of the inside info and analysis may be indeed be valid, it is often exaggerated to the point where his claims can be doubted. What is clear is that Rangers have serious financial problems and it would be remiss of us to ignore that. On the other hand, it is my belief that there is a huge game going on here in the background - one in which some of our very own are playing both sides of. I know for a fact some of those involved read this forum. Perhaps they could show us their hand?

Ahead of the planned protest this weekend Vanguard Bears would like to inform fans attending of the following; *The demonstration will be in the form of a static protest; which means we do not require permission from GCC or the Police to stage this event. The Police have been informed of our intentions as per our previous BBC Protests so we can expect them to be in attendance. *Whilst the Police will be there the protest itself will be marshalled by VB Admin & members. We ask that those attending follow any instructions issued as we will be taking our lead from the Police as to what is and isn’t permitted. *We would encourage fans attending to bring along banners/placards or even flags to make the event as colourful as possible. Whilst we encourage hard hitting slogans to get our message across, please be mindful the Police will be there and any offensive banners/placards could result in their removal or arrest and the protest halted. *Although it’s a static protest it doesn’t stop us voicing our displeasure at the BBC or in support of our club. *The protest will confined to an area outside BBC HQ yet to be determined, this is so we do not stop people going about their business, and we request that anyone in attendance adheres to this. *No chants should be aimed at people entering/leaving the BBC building nor should we hinder them doing so either. *Please do not try to enter the BBC building - as part of the protest we will be handing in a signed letter from all the groups/RSC taking part and this should be the only time anyone from the protest will be entering the building. *We appreciate fans enjoy a drink or two before games but please be mindful of alcohol intake prior to attending; we would also ask that anyone refrains from having alcohol on their person whilst in attendance. *We would ask that people refrain from taking photographs of anyone attending the protest. VB will be taking pictures as will the Union Bears to be posted once we’re sure no one in attendance can be identified. *On the above we’ve received several threats that rival fans are planning to come along to try and get pictures for the very reason mentioned above or disrupt the protest. *If any of the above happens please do not react to the provocation as this plays into their hands. The Police are there to ensure it passes off peacefully and we in turn will ensure they do on your behalf. *With it being bonfire night, please resist the urge to bring along any fireworks to add to the colour and noise, this is one way of giving someone an excuse to call a halt to proceedings. Finally, we remind you that this is our 3rd protest at the BBC and the previous two passed without incident. We were commended on our handling of those events, and we ask that as many bears as possible be in attendance for approx 1:15pm when a statement will be read out before the signed letter is handed into BBC HQ.

Official site confirm he's out for 9 months...

Surely a main site article in that post mate.

Please do mate - am very bust at work today!

A big loss as Naismith has been one of the outstanding players in the country over the last year or so. However, we've coped without him before and we have player to replace him again now. Guys like Bedoya, McKay and Fleck should all be bursting a gut to show they're the man to step in.

I'll see what I can do Craig.... It was very enjoyable and it was very easy to make Spiers look foolhardy.

http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=454:-the-rapture-according-to-philip-&catid=1:articles&Itemid=67

Going live in a few minutes so moving this into the RFC chat...

I find it quite amazing that the ongoing the behaviour of the Celtic support is not being criticised much more strongly than it is. There was serious crowd trouble there on Saturday and it's hardly been mentioned.

A great article mate - I'll publish it on our main site later today...

Just made a small donation myself... Brilliant stuff so far guys - very generous of you to donate time and money!

You're never going to believe us, you're never going to believe us, you're never going to believe us; we're going to win the league! That's the tune.

A fantastic project that I'm eager to back. Will fire over a donation at the start of next week mate!

Jelavic is a great player - no doubt about it. However, I'd like to see a few more goals and successes before we label him amongst the club's greats!

I'll tell you what the the point is: Rangers are away to Aberdeen tomorrow and some are desperate for us to take the eye off the ball. So far our players haven't. Let's hope it stays that way!

No idea mate - make sure your cursor is at the place you want the smilie to appear though before you select it.

Good to see that Leggo is back blogging. Don't agree with everything he writes but he's always interesting to read! http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/10/as-i-was-saying.html

Next month we'll be interviewing Gazza_8...