chilledbear

Try this....http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/apology-from-strathclyde-police.html

Sorry lads just noticed, don't know what has happened.

Hope it's ok posting this. Date: 21st January 2009 Location: Scotland, United Kingdom Organisation: Vanguard Bears INVESTIGATION OF STRATHCLYDE POLICE Strathclyde Police are currently being investigated by the Police Professional Standards Department over claims that they are discriminating against and displaying political intolerance towards British Citizens resident in Scotland. The investigation is taking place following complaints raised by Rangers fans enraged by a threatening message from Strathclyde Police being shown on media screens at Ibrox Stadium prior to the Co-operative Insurance Cup tie between Rangers and Hamilton Academicals on the 28th October 2008. The message read as follows: "The club, after consultation with Strathclyde Police, have to advise supporters that the singing of 'The Famine Song' may result in those responsible being arrested". A spokesman for Vanguard Bears (a Rangers supporter's organisation) would offer the following comments: "We believe that Strathclyde Police were reacting to ill-informed antagonists within the Scottish society and Scottish Parliament claiming the chant is both sectarian and racist in a blatant attempt at furthering their own anti-British agenda". "The chant, which contains only 4 lines, is used by Rangers fans to mock an element of Scottish society who prefer to consider themselves Irish, who openly support anti-British terrorist organisations that have been outlawed in the UK and who wish to assist in the downfall of a United Kingdom . The song has no religious undertones whatsoever and is not mocking anyone who actually died in the Irish famine. It asks questions of those who state that they wish they were back in Ireland , but fail to return despite being free to go". "Despite repeated requests, Strathclyde Police has not been able to confirm what crime would be taking place or what charge would be brought against individuals who are heard to be making this political statement, yet they seem to think they can still threaten people with arrest. Unfortunately we now seem to be living in a society where British citizens are treated as 2nd rate within their own country, whereas those who openly attempt to undermine and indeed express hate for British society and the British way of life are allowed to do so without reproach. There are supposed to be anti terrorist laws in place to deal with these people, why aren't they being used?" "Rangers fans are being labelled sectarian bigots for being pro-British and patriotic to the country in which they live. Surely logic dictates that those making anti-British statements are also sectarian bigots? We have yet to see threatening messages warning Celtic fans for singing their disgusting songs in support of the IRA. Where are the threatening messages against Scotland fans for singing 'Flower of Scotland' which contains lines that could be perceived as anti-English or for booing our national anthem 'God Save The Queen'? "In this instance, it is irrelevant whether the 'Famine Chant' is deemed sectarian, racist or not. What we are complaining about is the fact that action is being taken against one body of people because of their political beliefs whilst everyone else is free to say and indeed sing what they please without fear of retribution. Until either Strathclyde Police make a public apology to those they have discriminated against or take similar actions against other clubs and their supporters, their action to date cannot be viewed as anything else other than discrimination and a violation of the Human Rights Act 1998". "An online petition was set up on the 29th December 2009 and in 3 weeks it has generated 893 signatures of support to date. The petition can be viewed via the following link: http://www.gopetition.co.uk/petitions/apol...yde-police.html ââ?¬Å?Mr. Kenny MacAskill MSP (Cabinet Secretary for Justice) and Fergus Ewing (Minister for Community Safety) have both been asked to intervene and ensure that Strathclyde Police carry out their duties within the law and display parity at all timesââ?¬Â. VANGUARD BEARS DEFENDING OUR TRADITIONS Link to website here: http://www.vanguardbears.com/index.html

As a certain Mr McCoist knows only to well...... He said: "I can understand why Kris doesn't want to leave. Not only that, he's well within his rights''. "He signed a contract so make no mistake about that''.

I can't disagree with any of your main points Frankie, there should have been consultation before the campaign was launched. Perhaps the 'Murray Out' banner could have been kept for another time, it was too easy to link the banner and the campaign. Tho' the biggest disappointment has been the reaction from OUR club, head in the sand is not the way to move forward. Lets hope it has planted a seed, and we may see a plan/strategy for the club to improve both on and off the park in the future.

It's the defence that worries me, we just do not have a commanding centre half. Set pieces, the same as Sunday, could decide the game.

I would take David Moyes in a minute, but I think we all know who it's going to be.

They could employ Martin Bain on his wages, and still post a profit, just.

Perhaps the downturn in ST sales would bring home to DM, the unrest among Supporters, more than protests and initiatives.

IMO the only way change will happen(apart from Murray selling)is because of events on the park, not off it. The majority of Supporters showing their disapproval, and for that to happen I reckon Rangers will have to fall a lot further than we have up to now. Let me say I want Rangers to win the league.

So some would have us believe.

A post taken from FF. I'm sure most on here already know this, but just in case..... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Graeme Souness was brought to Ibrox in April 1986, by Chairman David Holmes. The Club then set about an aggressive rebuilding policy, with Colin West, Terry Butcher, Chris Woods, Jimmy Nicholl, Graham Roberts all being added to the playing pool in 1986, that already contained Davie Cooper, Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant, Derek Ferguson, Robert Fleck amongst others. We won the League Championship in May 1987, the first since 1978. we had earlier won the League Cup in October 1986. Ibrox was a 44,500 sell out every week by 1987. In 1987/88, we failed to win the Championship, principally due to a leg break to Terry Butcher, and the failure to adequately replace the departed Robert Fleck's/injured Ally McCoist's goals. We retained the League Cup. We signed amongst others Richard Gough, Ray Wilkins, Mark Walters, John Brown and Ian Ferguson. We reached the Quarter Finals of the European Cup, disposing of the formidable Dynamo Kiev and Polish Champions Gornik Zabrze before being beaten on aggregate by Steaua Bucharest, despite an impressive 2-1 win over the eventual finalists. Prior to the beginning of season 1988/89, we signed Gary Stevens from Everton and Kevin Drinkell from Norwich City. At the beginning of our first league Championship campaign of the Nine in a row run, we could field a side that regularly was made up of the following:- Chris Woods, Richard Gough, Terry Butcher, Ray Wilkins, John Brown, Stuart Munro, Ally McCoist, Davie Cooper, Ian Ferguson, Derek Ferguson, Ian Durrant, Mark Walters, Kevin Drinkell. When David Murray took over the running of The Rangers Football Club on Friday 25th November 1988, we were sitting top of the Premier League, and had one month previously won the League Cup for the third successive year.

I think Murray is the Chairman of the 'Murray Out' campaign ....... but in the mean time!!

As someone says on another forum, this is not a 'Murray Out' statement. Surely these points are ones all Supporters would like answered.

In case anyone hasn't seen it yet. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/sport/...t_campaign.php Rangers supporters launch protest campaign by Thomas Jordan RANGERS fans groups today launched a "We Deserve Better" campaign to try and pile the pressure on the club's board. Chairman Sir David Murray's decision to sell off one of his leading players this month to balance the books has been met with a furious reaction from some Gers fans - who held a banner during last night's win over St Johnstone asking him to quit the club. The agreed sale of striker Kris Boyd to Birmingham City in a �£3.8m deal was the final straw for many and various groups such as the Rangers Supporters Trust and the Blue Order have now issued a statement urging supporters clubs and fans to unite and let the club know their feelings. advertisement Trust chief David Edgar said today: "This isn't a campaign to get the chairman out or anything like that. "We know he is in a situation where he hasn't been able to find a buyer for the club but we want to know what direction the club is moving in and we're looking for improvements." The statement lists areas in which he says supporters are concerned with and want explanations and they are as follows; - Only 2 league titles in 8 seasons - Only 2 cups won in last 3 full seasons - Losing to the worst European opponents faced since Valletta in 1983 - A state of the art training facility, yet no advancements in technique or set plays - No discernible strategic vision, either on or off the pitch - No long-term transfer or team-building plan - Only two youth players (McGregor and Hutton) of genuine quality produced in the last decade - Selling first team players to cover losses previously made on fringe players - Consistent failure to move fringe players on for reasonable transfer fees - Lucrative pay-offs for failed players - Failure to profit from our most lucrative ever season - Failure to engage with or interact with the support in any meaningful way - Treating Rangers fans with disdain as customers instead of valuing and working with them as supporters and part of the Rangers family - Inability to either attract inward investment, or to convince fans to invest in any meaningful way - Reduction in the status of our club from leading football force in the land, to almost social pariah status through a failure to challenge those seeking to link Rangers with sectarianism - A PR operation which only acts when senior club figures are personally criticised and all too often fails to defend the Rangers support - Fan morale lower than at any time in the past 24 years

What wages is he on at WH, that's all we need to know......no chance.

Good article Frankie, but... Is DM really at fault? I would say he is being true to himself, it's how he is. How about the fans, who have acquiesced at every turn. Strange, the change in the Rangers Supporter over the years. Perhaps an article on us, Frankie.

Has Spiers just written a decent article?? Novo a chancer!!! Graham Spiers In the stampede to laud Celtic's heroic win at Ibrox last weekend, it appears that many have fallen over themselves in their rush to dismiss Rangers' title chances in Scotland come May. It may be a dangerous assumption, for no other reason than the evidence of last season, where Celtic were deemed to lag too far behind Walter Smith's men in early April before clinching the championship on the final, dramatic night. With five months and 18 games of the Clydesdale Bank Premier League still to go, is seven points really such a frightening gap between the Old Firm? Rangers next face Celtic at Parkhead on February 15, with one remaining Old Firm clash to follow, and anything can happen in these matches. Moreover, there appear to be wider pitfalls this season in the SPL for Rangers and Celtic which will determine their success or failure. Rangers have been to Motherwell and dropped points. Celtic recently lost to Hibernian at Easter Road. Rangers lost to St Mirren at Love Street in October. For both teams, visits to Tynecastle and Tannadice, in particular, are going to be fraught. In this haphazard excitement Celtic can certainly be caught. Walter Smith has repeatedly argued that his team is capable of going on one of their unbeaten runs, and the time appears to be ripe for such a venture. Moreover, if Kris Boyd, who looks on target to deliver 35 goals this season, can continue in his recent scoring vein, then Rangers have a weapon which cannot be dismissed. Boyd's form, in fact, will largely determine his team's fate. One thing Smith should certainly consider doing is playing Kyle Lafferty, a tall, strong, skilful player, as a partner for Boyd through the middle. Lafferty may not yet be worth the �£3.5m that Rangers paid for him, but he is a good footballer, and a far better player than many give him credit for. From Lafferty's earliest days at Ibrox, Smith has repeatedly said that his best position is "through the middle", yet too often the striker has been turned into a refugee on the left wing. It would be fascinating to see the effect it had on Rangers if a Boyd-Lafferty central partnership was struck up. The Northern Ireland striker's height would give added menace to Rangers in attack, quite apart from his poise in front of goal, which has been seen, for instance, at Tannadice on December 13 when Lafferty deftly scored against Dundee United in a 2-2 draw. It is time, surely, that Smith gave Lafferty a chance in his true position. The obvious deficiency for Rangers is in central defence, where Kirk Broadfoot can look lumbering and David Weir is in his final Ibrox season, though Smith is actively looking to address this in the coming January window. If Smith can pluck a good defender from somewhere, and finally put an end to Lafferty's on-field obscurity, Rangers will certainly still have a healthy chance of winning the 2008-09 title. Changing sides Nacho Novo pulled off a remarkable feat last Saturday. Having played for 15 minutes as a sub for Rangers in the Old Firm derby at lunchtime, he then played for his home region of Galicia on Saturday night back in Spain in a friendly againts Iran, scoring twice in Galicia's 3-2 win. That's not bad going for Novo, who is about to leave Rangers. While we're on the subject, does this wee chancer still want to play for Scotland? Or is he still hoping for a Spain call-up? in Columnists, Featured, Graham Spiers | Permalink TrackBack TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/t/trackback/297284/37620274 Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Don't write off Rangers just yet:

I think the size of the squad is a big factor why Smith doesn't play youngsters. He disagrees with the under 21 rule, so he would rather have older more experienced (earning higher wages) players on the bench,than young reserves. Having said that, IF, we can get rid of the deadwood, then we might see if I am correct.

If we had a decent replacement at centre half, I would give him a game in midfield.

What song that the Rangers Support sing has ... 'ANY POSSIBLE RACIST MEANING'... if we do, then the word racist has changed it's meaning recently.

Merry Christmas to all you Bears, have a good one.

Scottish journalist makes up story on Rangers shock.

Unless the idea is, deadwood out, deadwood in, on less wages. Could make some kind of sense!! Just about started singing 'The Deadwood Stage is coming on over the hill'.

The sad thing about all this, Rangers were going to be laughed at, yet it didn't seem to matter. The agendas seem to be more important than our club.