Frankie

1. I think that it is obvious that anyone who sings a song with the word fen!an leaves themselves open to arrest. As such, rightly or wrongly, I'd certainly suggest no-one uses that word in any new version of TBB. 2. As discussed several months ago, I too have tried to find out more about the alleged banning. I've had no reply from UEFA as I feel they are the only party worth contacting here. Rangers, the SFA and the SPL will only use doublespeak and will commit to nothing. 3. As we've seen by the singing of the 'Kaka, Kaka' and 'Edu, Edu' songs, the tune is clearly not banned. Neither the SPL not the club have highlighted these inoffensive plays on TBB. Ergo, one can only assume a new version of TBB (sans fen!an) would also be acceptable. 4. The only evident problem with any new version is that some fans WILL persist in using the offensive lyrics. How we combat that inevitability is the challenge here. I don't see Rangers helping. I don't see the fan groups helping. Only a few websites would promote it. How would the message get out? How would the new words get out? Flyer drops and RSC contacts would possibly be your best bet. As would a direct public challenge at the club AGM later this year. Or some sort of protest which would maybe garner publicity.

Great review Cammy... Later this week, all Gersnet members will have the chance to win one of five copies of this fine biography!

http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=740&Itemid=2 Regular Gersnet readers will remember we submitted a full report into the failings of the ââ?¬Ë?Sectarianism in Football Working Groupââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? established in 2006 (a). This group - consisting of the Scottish Executive, the SFA, sportscotland, ACPOS, the SPL and the SFL - along with contributions from Rangers FC, Celtic FC and Glasgow University ââ?¬â?? reported on the effect Scottish football had on the social problem of sectarianism in Scotland. A wide range of action points were agreed by all parties involved to help address the issue. Despite their obvious relevance to the subject, no fans were invited to take part other than the main office holders of fan associations which donââ?¬â?¢t always accurately represent the views all supporters. Certainly these fan associations didnââ?¬â?¢t seem to consult their members before commenting either. In addition to this immediate constitutional failing it became obvious during the presentation of the Gersnet report (b) to these various bodies that our constructive criticism of the working group was deemed not important enough to comment on. None of the above bodies have offered to discuss the content of our report other than a generic intention to examine it and forward it to the new group: ââ?¬Ë?Promoting Citizenship through Footballââ?¬â?¢ - established in October 2008 ©. The author of the Gersnet report has asked several times to be included in the new committee (or at the very least consulted with regard to its operations) but no further information has been received. The main reason for our request to be included is because, bizarrely, the exact same bodies that made up the failed initial group are included once again in the new committee. Thatââ?¬â?¢s all well and good but given their lack of communication with ââ?¬Ë?decent citizensââ?¬â?¢ and the obvious lack of imagination to include other qualified people/organisations (such as Michael Boyd of the Irish FA and the Police Service Of Northern Ireland), the credibility of the new group is immediately open to debate. Furthermore, when one examines the new expanded financial remit of the PCTF group, this is where ââ?¬Ë?decent citizensââ?¬â?¢ may start to get worried. Ã?£2.5million from the Scottish Government's Cashback (d) scheme until 2011, Ã?£0.6million to ââ?¬Ë?tackle sectarianism and racismââ?¬â?¢, and only Ã?£0.07million to promote healthy living; suggests the group havenââ?¬â?¢t taken Sir David Murrayââ?¬â?¢s quotes about sectarianism/racism being exaggerated while ignoring much more prevalent social problems such as obesity and drugs seriously (e). This is even stranger when the aims of the new group are mainly made up of addressing the more prevalent problems SDM mentions. How do they justify their allocation of funds? And that is just one question which these government officials fail to answer. After all, considering sectarianism and racism is still happening at football (but hardly a huge problem comparatively speaking) the new quota of Ã?£125,000 to the failed (and rather dubious) anti-sectarianism ââ?¬Ë?charityââ?¬â?¢ Nil by Mouth (f) is surely worthy of challenge by Scottish tax-payers. I say dubious because this ââ?¬Ë?charityââ?¬â?¢ seems to pick and choose the issues they involve themselves with and didnââ?¬â?¢t even take the time to acknowledge or comment on the balanced report I sent them. Add in an obvious imbalance in the way they approach their remit having been shown to show different attitudes depending on the background of the people who contact them, then tax-payers are quite correct to question their work. Just what do they do with their money apart from wasting it on calling back inaccurate DVDs? Another high-profile beneficiary of this money ââ?¬Ë?Kick out Bigotryââ?¬â?¢ seem equally impotent and unresponsive to debate. So where are PCTFââ?¬â?¢s money and resources going and how are they being used? Is the continual inaccurate and sensationalist coverage of the Scottish media being challenged? Are the fans not represented by member associations being surveyed? Are the police being forced to justify their actions as ââ?¬Ë?aggravated breach of peace chargesââ?¬â?¢ seem to be rising? Just when do clubs/fans break the new SPL ââ?¬Ë?Unacceptable Conductââ?¬â?¢ Rules? Why do the other action points agreed in 2006 remain incomplete? All I see are more and more questions of the same tired people/organisations that have already shown they will fail when trusted with millions of pounds of public money. And when we ask these questions, weââ?¬â?¢re either ignored completely or patronised by governmental bureaucrats. What is to be then? Are they really wanting to ââ?¬Ë?Promote Citizenshipââ?¬â?¢ or is this just another sham to further highlight the only secret shame in Scotland is that of her 'decent citizens' and 'decent football fans' continually being ignored by those they elect? References: (a) - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2006/12/11144623/0 (b) - Please contact us if you would like a copy of our report (released in mid-2008) © - http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2008/12/10145304 (d) - http://www.cashbackscotland.com/index.php?page=1.2 (e) - http://tinyurl.com/49xos4 (f) - http://news.scotsman.com/politics/SNP-throws-antisectarianism-charity-a.4934351.jp :box:

Game will played at walking pace as both teams will be wary of injuries... Not too worried about it myself all things considered.

All good points and suggestions within the article... For me, our coaching structure has to be a bit more defined. I've no doubt our existing guys have all the badges and qualifications for the job but sometimes more is required than just that. We can all obtain licences but do we have the instinct that only the best players have? That's unlikely. Of course, conversely, just because Ally McCoist had that instinct doesn't mean he would be a good coach/manager. As such, while I certainly don't advocate making more sweeping changes at Murray Park, it would make some sense examining bringing in former players to complement the existing structure. Of course we couldn't afford to have Gough, Albertz or Laudrup coaching on a daily basis but surely they'd be interested in helping on a consultancy basis? As such a set of 'special' coaches for the spine of a team (GK, defence, midfield, attack, set-pieces etc) could be utilised on a rotation basis to ensure we get the very best out of all players - young or old.

Give me another �£20 and you can win the next one... :fish:

The 'Setting the Standard' project continues with another fine article by CammyF. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/newsite/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=739&Itemid=2 "When the routine bites hard And ambitions are low And the resentment rides high But emotions wont grow And were changing our ways, Taking different roads Then love, love will tear us apart again" Writing an article on the merits, success (or failure) and ambitions of Murray Park (and any Youth Development programme), it would probably be more apt opening with the lyrics from say Teenage Kicks rather than the poetic prose of Ian Curtis and Joy Division. However, the ââ?¬Ë?Setting The Standardââ?¬â?¢ project covers every facet of Rangers Football Club and will touch on every aspect of ensuring that The Rangers are the standard bearers, the example that is used when case-studying a football club. Rangers should be innovators, Rangers should be leaders, Rangers should be ââ?¬Ë?first classââ?¬â?¢, exemplary. The opening lines to 'Love Will Tear Us Apart' are very apt at the moment in relation to supporting The Rangers. Rangersââ?¬â?¢ routine is biting hard, and is hard to stomach as second best appears to be acceptable to the current regime. Our board or directors and our custodian have set their ambitions low and arguably, this has led to a rise in resentment for growing section of supporters. As for changing our ways, hopefully, the ââ?¬Ë?Setting The Standardââ?¬â?¢ project is a tiny step in that direction. Hopefully we wonââ?¬â?¢t take different roads, as to ensure that we set the standards and are successful (in the long-term) we require all of the fans to be united and to push for the improvement that is required. Love of Rangers tearing us apart? Well, weââ?¬â?¢re all well versed at having our emotional strings tugged and our hearts torn-apart by follow, following The Rangers! Of course the difficulty with offering criticism of the club is that you often have the present Ibrox incumbents informing anyone that willlisten, that those behind such criticism are 'faceless and clueless'. However, the twist to this accusation was that those of us who were termed 'faceless and clueless' were then offered the platform to reveal ourselves and to offer solutions for the identified problems. Firstly, Iââ?¬â?¢d like to introduce myself as I was one of those deemed as ââ?¬Ë?facelessââ?¬â?¢ (Iââ?¬â?¢ll cover clueless later - it may not be as easy to argue as faceless is!). I, like every Rangers fan requesting positive change at the club, am simply that: a Rangers fan. Therefore, I am not faceless, I am present wherever and whenever Rangers play. Rightly or wrongly there are those within our support who put supporting Rangers as their main priority ââ?¬â?? it is what they live for and it is what they spend the majority of their income on. I do not fall into that category, I spend the majority of my disposable income on supporting Rangers, I suppose I am lucky (at the moment) to be able to do this but like many others, this may change due to the current economic climate. Anyway, I am digressing. Given that the above covers the ââ?¬Ë?facelessââ?¬â?¢ part of the accusation, lets tackle the more important and less clear cut, clueless part. I will agree with Sir David Murray, I am no 'captain of industry'. I will also admit to the fact that I am not a football manager nor am I a tactical genius. However, I do have and am entitled to an opinion on any matter relating to, or directly affecting Rangers Football Club. I appreciate sometimes criticism maybe overly aggressive or pointless without solutions so I'm glad Gersnet (and RangersMedia) are tackling this via constructive suggestions for improvement. As such, I would like to offer a solution regarding youth development which would also benefit first team players due to what I believe is the failure to completely utilise the facilities at our disposal at Murray Park. Dick Advocaat encouraged Sir David Murray to invest in a training facility that was in all honesty long over due. This training facility was to serve as a state of the art venue that would supplement and improve our players skills and be used to groom the best young talent so we wouldnââ?¬â?¢t have to rely on huge transfer fees to ensure that we remained as the top domestic club. At the same time, we wanted to use such a facility to make inroads into the European Elite (before going any further, this is where Rangers should be, end of story). Can any of us claim that Murray Park has delivered on these worthy aims? Of course it hasnââ?¬â?¢t (John Fleck, Alan Hutton and Alan McGregor arguably being the exceptions rather than the rule). Coaching wise, we are still witnessing the inability to retain possession at a throw-in. We struggle to effectively defend nor attack at a set-piece. Our ââ?¬Ë?shootingââ?¬â?¢ is nothing short of awful. Yet, we have the perfect setting for addressing all of the above, and if nothing else, Murray Park should ensure that we can get the basics right. All of the above is just systematic of our overall problems. Unable to get the basics correct, our problems snowball from there. This issue is easy to rectify and is something that shouldnââ?¬â?¢t have to be discussed. All our players should be coached in these skills and made to practice them time after time until they can deliver on a consistent basis. If this requires extra and/or longer training sessions, then so be it. Our wingers and full backs should be able to (9 times out of ten) deliver a ball into the box that doesnââ?¬â?¢t strike the first defender. All outfield players should be able to consistently hit the target from distances up to 30 yards from goal. All our players should be able to take an effective set piece. None of this is rocket science, just something that has to be coached into players and continually worked at. The issue of Youth Development is something that I have written about on websites and fanzines since the inception of Murray Park and before. If the custodians had utilised and set in place a true youth development model (say modelled on clubs like Ajax or Auxerre) we would be reaping the rewards already (both financially and player wise). However, once again, we were undone by our Board's continued short-termism. The good news is, this can be address and rectified. This will require funding (hence the reason it should have been addressed during the days the custodian was throwing money at managers and players), logistics, administration and, most of all, time to work and a determination for it to work. The fans would need to play their part by being patient as well. Such a youth redevelopment strategy is an essential part of our future. This goes beyond having the cream of Scottish youth players at Murray Park. This is about having youth teams, scouts, coaches etc entrenched in every footballing region in the world. This would require having ex-players working on our behalf in their region. These players would set-up / utilise a network of contacts to identify and sign the best talent from their region. These players could be brought to and schooled at Murray Park, or we could leave them to flourish were they are. Imagine someone like Jorg Albertz covering Germany, Arthur Numan covering the Netherlands, Craig Moore covering Australia, Claudio Canigga covering South America and Brian Laudrup covering Scandinavia. All these ex-players were internationals who served their countries with distinction, who embraced being a Ranger and whose opinion would matter to a kid deciding on where his future lay. As far as I am aware this idea has never been considered within the corridors of power at Ibrox. If tackled correctly, it would ensure that we had a steady conveyer belt of talent not only to take Rangers to the next level, but to sell on when and if required. Again, this isnââ?¬â?¢t rocket science and has been done to varying levels of success on the continent. We have close links to Dutch Football so getting an insight, report, feasibility study et al shouldnââ?¬â?¢t take that much effort or resource. The hard work would be implementing, managing and ensuring that this project was the success that it could be. Again that would take time but the benefits would surely be worth it? Another possible money-making idea relating to the Youth Development is insisting on a sell-on clause to be inserted into any Youth players we sell. As an example, Motherwell sold Ross McCormack to Cardiff and we, as developers of McCormackââ?¬â?¢s talents went unrewarded. Martin Bain should ensure that any young player leaving Ibrox for pastures new has a sell-on clause inserted into their contract allowing Rangers to benefit from any sale of these players. Any money raised from this should be ring-fenced and used and reinvested into Murray Park / Youth Development. Of course, all of these ideas and suggestions can't be successful overnight. They would take years to bear fruit and problems would occur throughout. But would we be any worse off? Challenges are not insurmountable and the risk surely smaller than our short-term high player turnover strategy? Over to you Rangers.

Congratulations to Shroomz and Beattie who are this month's winners. Next competition will be up this week....

I'd be interested to know why SZ wants to frequent a forum that is both proud of being Scottish and British before I do that....

It's actually one of the best posts I've read lately. I don't think the guy is being overly positive and it's refreshing to read something that isn't tinged with negativity. Of course we must add realism and that's fine but we'd be in a much stronger position to invoke change if we win the title.

That really is a laughable piece of writing...

No doubt this chap will be arrested in a dawn raid tomorrow morning...

Healy the only one not mentioned today mate...

Time is ticking on - I'd have thought we'd have heard something by now either way...

What BD said...

I think he said �£3million. While we may not get that figure for him, the saving on his weekly wage may mean a further sale might not be necessary if we do realise �£2million (which I think is unlikely)...

I'd take the risk to get the money, save on his wage and avoid selling others...

Can only see this going ahead if we sell Bougherra.

If we absolutely have to sell a player, I'd take �£2million for Ferguson.

Even if poor Graham doesn't get a full mouth, I'm sure he'll get a violent S&M text to slaver over his M&S cord jacket..

Alan Smith rumour was always going to happen... I doubt we'll sign anyone - on loan or otherwise. Only sales.

A good weekend for us... Can we finally take some confidence from this and go and beat Celtic at Parkhead in two weeks time? Come on the bears!

Would rather Mendes stayed even if he's not been as influential as I'd like for much of many games...

Certainly seems surplus to requirements. Can only assume his injuries have affected his overall quality.... Perhaps we can put a first option/buy back clause into any contract?

I've got my salt ready but it's going to be a long day...