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http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/272-rangers-being-held-hostage-stockholm-syndrome It’s been a stressful week for those interested in the well-being of Rangers Football Club. Not only does the club admit to the Stock Exchange that if the latest share offer is under-subscribed it will be unable to pay its creditors; we have key board members who represent the interests of the vast bulk of existing shareholders conceding that his and our CEO’s intentions are different, confirming a split at board level. Meanwhile the negative detail of each onerous contract placed upon the club are drip-fed to concerned fans on a week-to-week basis: from retail deals where the money is yet to be released to our struggling accounts to stadium naming rights which appear to be the result of self-interest rather than good value. Never has it been more obvious that our club is being held hostage to the whim of chancers. Yet, bizarrely, almost in a comedic fashion, we have some fans absolving these people of blame. Wikipedia describes Stockholm syndrome, or capture-bonding, as ‘a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.’ The syndrome itself is named after the Norrmalmstorg robbery of Kreditbanken in Stockholm, Sweden, in which several bank employees were held hostage in a bank vault from August 23 to 28, 1973, while their captors negotiated with police. During this standoff, the victims became emotionally attached to their captors, rejected assistance from government officials at one point, and even defended their captors after they were freed from their six-day ordeal. Ok, I’ll admit at the outset the analogy is a bit strong but if we examine the last few years – from the excesses of Sir David Murray to the actions of Craig Whyte right through to the present day incumbents, there are examples of the above. These include the eyes-wide-shut worship of Murray onto the lauding of Whyte’s supposed net-worth despite all the evidence to the contrary at the very outset to some fans insisting the ‘current’ board are not to blame for the club’s position now. Indeed, not only do we have bloggers continue to suggest Charles Green remains interested in the well-being of the club but we have various fans eager to hold their own as culpable in Rangers’ problems. Apparently it’s Dave King, the Union of Fans or Sons of Struth’s fault that the club cannot pay its bills. Similarly, possible investors such as Dave King who has proven his good intentions to the tune of £20million previously are mocked and pushed away. Conversely, some supporters are eager to extoll the virtue of Mike Ashley’s ongoing involvement despite many Newcastle fans being desperate to rid their club of him. He’s a billionaire they cry – without acknowledging the reason for his success is the kind of questionable retail and naming deals he strikes with clubs such as ours. Let’s be clear: the future of the football club is again in serious question and the danger should not be under-estimated. There has been a shortfall of at least 12,000 season tickets and it’s this lack of working capital that is directly impacting upon the club’s ability to trade. Thus, those that suggest the fans are to ‘blame’ for the financial problems are at least partly correct but the reasons are worth examining as well as the club’s inability to address this serious problem. Never has it been clearer that our money runs the club year on year – not Sir David Murray’s, not Craig Whyte’s and certainly not the anonymous investors currently in control of it. Therefore, engaging with the support should be a priority for any regime looking to make a success of the club. For all his faults, Murray realised this and while he was by the dominant partner in that relationship, we did have a nominal seat at the table and aside from a few small issues (comparatively speaking anyway!) crowds were always high and only his cowardice led to the Whyte debacle. Yet even in the dark days of that era attendances didn’t drop and after administration we had capacity crowd after capacity crowd. The same can be said after we fell to Division Three – our support did not dissipate and our loyalty should never be questioned. Not by anyone – least of all our own. Unfortunately the last year or so has seen attitudes change: not due to fans becoming lazy or greedy but because of a combination of factors. Firstly it become clear that much of the substantial monies raised in backing the Charles Green ownership were wasted and his associates less than ideal custodians of the club. In the face of this criticism, board changes were made and supposedly extensive reviews into the business carried out but the paucity of these contributions didn’t provide much solace. A poor quality (or at best inconsistent) product on the park wasn’t helping but promised changes highlighted in the review to address this have not been forthcoming. Thus, reluctantly, and by way of protest, many fans chose to withhold their investment and, if we’re brutally honest, that’s understandable. Generally, the last year has seen fans become ever more frustrated with their club and increasingly obvious evidence that the incumbent board – or more accurately the decision-making investment groups – cannot turn things around. Not just in terms of the £30million investment talked of in their empirical reviews but the kind of credible and transparent leadership required to rebuild trust in the boardroom and entice fans back to Ibrox. With almost 250 staff members and overheads of aging stadiums, training grounds and dilapidated white elephant buildings, is it any wonder a new administration event looms large on the horizon? Consequently, where does that leave us? Well, I’d suggest we have two distinct pathways ahead. One: if as seems likely, the share offer is subscribed enough to defer our problems to another day; we’ll have the fait accompli of 75% share-holding levels for approval of AGM/EGM resolutions related to the sale and/or leaseback of club assets ¬– such as the Auchenhowie training ground which has consistently been ignored by club representatives when talking about such revenue sources. Or, two: investment groups are able by way of this issue to consolidate their holdings enough to enable a sale to other interested parties. Now, I won’t try to predict the outcome but I’m certain both the existing ownership and the likes of Dave King and/or Mike Ashley will have planned for these eventualities over the last year. The events of the last week won’t be a surprise to them. What is easier to predict is that without one of these outcomes an insolvency event is inevitable as things stand. However, misguided suggestions that this may be an agreeable solution make me uneasy. For example, will onerous contracts be removed by this process, would ownership be guaranteed to change after it and what of the club’s league position after the fact? We don’t know so, simply put, no-one should look at administration with anything other than horror. On the other hand, neither should fans be emotionally blackmailed into providing what appears to be an ever-more toxic board and ownership with a mandate to stumble on in charge. The time for making excuses for these people has long gone. There is no defence of Charles Green and, whether he’s still involved now or not, his associates on the ‘current’ board are equally tainted by their deficiencies. With that in mind, what options are available to fans? Not many is the desperate answer. Yes we have worthy share initiatives like Buy Rangers and Rangers First but with further financial uncertainty abound, can we really expect fans to invest in shares after the events of 2012? Even so, we absolutely must consider such projects with an open mind but with the greatest will in the world, they’re arguably not a short term solution. Nevertheless, possibly buyers engaging with these groups going forward would go a long way to cementing the fans’ contribution in a better future. Indeed, it’s only through that kind of undertaking that we may finally achieve the kind of bond between supporters and ownership that has been missing for so long. Unfortunately, such a positive conclusion seems difficult to attain. The coming weeks and months will define the future and it may well be beyond the fans abilities to impact upon this. Nevertheless, neither should we be held to ransom by people who will never understand the love we have for our football club. We have a choice and while I’d never begin to tell my fellow fans what to do, at some point we have to stop identifying with people who don’t share our love for our club. In that sense Stockholm syndrome is not a workable survival strategy – it just prolongs our inability to escape from the status quo and it’s that kind of clarity every fan needs for our battles ahead. Either that or be held prisoner forever.

RANGERS fan George Letham has reluctantly agreed to give the Ibrox board a short extension to repay the £1million loan that was due last week. The wealthy supporter stepped in to lend his boyhood heroes the seven-figure sum earlier this year as chief executive Graham Wallace was forced to seek a quick fix to the Gers' cash crisis. As part of the agreement, Rangers were scheduled to give Letham his money back by the close of business on Friday, but after the Light Blues announced plans to raise around £4m in a share option last week, the prospect of him receiving his money appeared bleak. SportTimes understands Letham held full and frank discussions with Wallace on Saturday and agreed to a short extension to allow the under-fire board more time to come up with the money. With cash reserves running low at Ibrox, a refusal from Letham would have left Wallace and his fellow-directors with a huge financial headache. But after stepping up to the plate to help Rangers in their hour of need in March, the lifelong Light Blue was not prepared to pull the rug from under the board's feet at this time. The full extent of the Gers' financial plight was laid bare in a statement to the Stock Exchange last week when the board admitted that the future of Rangers International Football Club plc would be 'uncertain' if all 19 million of the new shares were not snapped up by existing investors in the coming weeks. Any funds that are raised will be used to pay off Letham's £1m loan and the £500,000 deal that was agreed with Sandy Easdale, both of which were secured against the Albion car park and Edmiston House. The Ibrox board originally clinched a deal with major shareholders Laxey Partners but that move came under huge criticism from supporters after it was revealed the Hedge Fund would collect £150,000 in interest payments for the short-term loan. Rangers had a cash balance of just £4.2m at June 30 this year, but with £2.7m of that unavailable as use for working capital, the board have been forced to issue more shares in a bid to repay Letham and Easdale and provide much-needed money for the coming weeks. With the financial picture once again bleak at Ibrox, boss Ally McCoist was unable to make any last-minute moves to bolster his squad before the transfer window closed last night. The Gers' two most valuable assets, Lee Wallace and Lewis Macleod, remain at the club, but seven players have gone out on loan - Barrie McKay (Raith Rovers), Calum Gallacher (Cowdenbeath), Danny Stoney (Stranraer), Luca Gasparotto (Airdrie), Robbie Crawford (Morton), Tom Walsh (Stenhousemuir) and Craig Halkett (Clyde). http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/letham-gives-rangers-extra-time-to-repay-1million-loan-178673n.25212709

After some of the news coming from Ibrox today in some of the newspapers would you the fans like to see the club owned outright by the sports direct owner Mike Ashley or would you rather we bumbled along with the present set up .

What can this board do to pacify the fans? Is there anyway the directors can turn both the finances and the trust of the supporters around? With the club unable to repay George Lethams loan and the stark warnings from London that the investors may not support the short sighted share issue to the level required (75% uptake or the issue will not proceed). The fact that the club couldn't convince or provide 2 potential investors to underwrite the share issue let alone see any of the controlling investors (BPH Marg and Laxey) put their hand up to do so, then what is next should the share offer fail? Mr Letham has gracefully given the club a short time to re pay his loan and I can't see this being done if as it looks, the share issue doesn't provide enough capital. Does the immediate future of our club rely on this short sighted offering? If it fails will the directors be in the unenviable position of declaring insolvency? It certainly looks like it. One thing has been missed by many board apologists since Fridays announcement, why with the finances in such a state did it take so long for the board to even attempt to seek this small investment via share sales? With the amount of accountants at our club surely one of them must have been able to see this coming sooner and not left it till the last possible minute to panic. Did they maybe want the season ticket sales to finish before setting the alarm bells as I see no reason that fans have been able to predict even with 100% st renewals that the club would not get through this calendar year without investment. I spoke to Mr Wallace as far back as February and asked him what the club would do should the season ticket sales not reach the required level and I also asked him at the same meeting why not do a share issue now if one was available. Mr Wallace at this time suggested waiting as the price would be higher later in the year. I raised an eyebrow at this claim as I would have thought the less cash in the bank would surely not increase the share price but Mr Wallace has vastly more experience than me and I wrongly took his word on this. Maybe he didn't gauge the reaction to ST renewal notices that were working their way to postboxes at this time I have no doubt that the board apologists will say " aye it's because of the low season ticket sales they need the money and it's the fans fault they can't raise the dough" REALLY? The season ticket deadline was back in April and the board have had almost four months to react to the results, my goodness that's around 120 days which seems to be the normal reaction time round our boardroom to do anything these days. My prediction and that shared by many others is, if the share option fails to reach the 75% buy in, the fans will be blamed for not buying enough ST and putting the directors in this position, then the shareholders will be blamed for not bailing them out and the outcome will be "we needed to do a deal on the training ground/ cheap deal on naming rights to get us out of trouble, we are a good shiny new board" I actually feel sympathy for a director or two at this time because not only are they struggling to keep the lights on, they have to contend with in fighting and power struggles in the boardroom which will no doubt be also hampering their efforts to do the right thing I haven't even touched the "where's the promised investment?" question which has been promised now by both sides of the boardroom split. All this drama going on while a potential investor has declared the willingness to invest £30m but can't even be giving financial information when he's been asked to underwrite a share issue. The mind boggles. Sort out your boardroom differences, cut the crap and spin and pick up the phone. It's good to talk and you did claim you're "ready to listen". Craig https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfStruth

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=12066370

If a little genie popped out of a bottle and granted your wish to ask Mr Wallace one question right now, what would it be? I'll start with: "Where do you see Rangers FC in a year's time?"

Bill Leckie; Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. If they don’t heed those words as the vultures circle Ibrox once again, then hell mend them. First time their club went to the wall, they manned the barricades to protect it from a big, nasty outside world. For that, no matter what other thoughts you have on the matter, their loyalty surely deserves to be applauded. But now? Two-and-a-half years on? If, despite being given a second chance to repair the horrendous mistakes of the past, a club with this level of support goes into administration AGAIN? Sorry, but if it was me I wouldn’t give them another penny. On Saturday, once more, thousands turned up brandishing red cards to express their unhappiness at the way the love of their lives is being mismanaged. And, once more, those responsible for the mismanagement laughed up their sleeves at the pointlessness of the protest. Because to brandish those red cards, you have to pay your money to get inside the stadium. Which hands yet more cash to the people you’re protesting at so they can go ahead and waste it. Listen, what do I know? They’re not my club and the one I do follow has never been to the heights Rangers have reached to suffer such a humiliating, disorientating fall. I’m just someone looking in and wondering how the hell, in all good conscience, Bluenoses can carry on regardless if and when the accountants take over the asylum once more. Actually, don’t answer that. It’s not a can of worms that’s worth opening, this We-Are-The-People, Rangers-Till-I-Die, stick-your-fingers-in-your-ears-and-sing-Follow-Follow mindset. So, for what it’s worth, let me instead pass on my suggestion for what they should do if their club re-enters the abyss. Sod it. Turn their backs on it. Give it, as a man on the other side of Glasgow once said, not one more thin dime. And instead, invest in the future of Scottish clubs who DO run their affairs honestly and who DO have respect for those who click the turnstiles. Go and back your old skipper Barry Ferguson as he tries to make things happen at Clyde. Go and see what another ex-player in Gary Bollan’s doing with Airdrie. If you’re from Fife, go and watch East Fife or Cowdenbeath. If you’re in Angus, hand your tenner to Arbroath or Brechin, Forfar or Montrose. If you donÂ’t want to give up your wee jaunt over from Northern Ireland, get off the ferry and stroll up to Stair Park. There’s been a school of thought among some these last couple of years that Rangers being forced to do the grand tour of the colonies meant the lower divisions should have been grateful for the gate receipts and the TV handouts. For me, this always got it the wrong way round. It was those inside Ibrox should have been thankful that they were in still in business and ABLE to head for Elgin and Berwick and Stranraer. Now, as fresh financial catastrophe looms, I’d put it to Rangers fans that they could do far more good for far more people if they stopped pouring money into what has long since ceased to be “their” club and started drip-feeding it to those who genuinely are the game’s lifeblood. Why? I’ll give you three good reasons. One, those halfwits in your directors’ box shouldn’t be trusted with the remote for the telly, never mind your wages. Two, that 30,000-odd of you spread among the country’s 20-odd part-time clubs would not only create better atmospheres but also help to cement football in communities for the long term. And three? You might just get to relax and enjoy the game, rather than always being angry and stressed about it. Watching Ayr United play Stenhousemuir might just extend your life. The alternative to this is a simple one. Stand your ground and, by your very presence, condone the halfwits in the directors’ box. Two-and-a-half years on from that first administration and the liquidation that followed, these halfwits need to scramble together £4million in a matter of days to keep their heads above water. To achieve this, they may need to flog their saleable players before the transfer window closes, which will hamper your hopes of promotion back to the top flight. If they don’t raise the money, they stand to suffer a 25-point deduction as punishment for a second spell in administration, all but ending those promotion hopes. How, with the wages they pay and the crowds they attract and the sheer intimidatory force of their name that is a two-goal start against far smaller opposition, can this possibly be? How the lumping hell can the people running a club the size of Rangers be handed the chance they were to start again, to build sensibly, to tool up for their return to where they want to be, and yet fail so utterly miserably? How? The clue is in the word halfwits. So maybe I’ve got this all the wrong way round. And it’s those Ibrox directors who should be sent to the outposts of the footballing empire instead. Maybe Graham Wallace and the Easdales and whoever else is a player in this embarrassing saga are the ones who need to go out into the real world and see how real football people operate. Trust me, if a month shadowing the treasurer at Albion Rovers didn’t shame them into living within their means, liquidation’s too good for them.

I wouldn't disagree with much of this to be fair. BY GORDON WADDELL Gordon Waddell: Like Thelma and Louise, Rangers have arrived at their destination.. the edge of a cliff 31 August 2014 08:37 AM By Gordon Waddell GORDON reckons Rangers are at the edge of a precipice but the cash crisis hasn't stopped the club signing back-up keeper Lee Robinson in a move typical of the way the club has been run for the past few years. THEY sold their road back to the top of the game as ‘The Journey’. It would appear Rangers have arrived at a destination many financial experts predicted for them long ago. The edge of a cliff. As the directors sit there like Thelma and Louise, with the engine revving, you wonder if the question was not whether the club would end up being driven over the edge but more a matter of when the crash would occur. How else do you explain it? No sane person would surely run a business the way they’ve run theirs. It’s as if they have committed commercial suicide. An example? It didn’t make a headline. Barely registered a mention. But if you want even a tiny indication of exactly how dysfunctional Rangers are, then look no further than the signing of Lee Robinson last week. A 28-year-old back-up keeper to a 35-year-old back-up. When they already have the Scotland Under-19 No.1 AND the Scotland Under-17 No.1 on their books? Another wage? Aye, why not, eh? We’ve been splashing money needlessly for two and a half years on players we don’t need and can’t afford – another won’t kill us. Their share offering on Friday was like taking a tube of Savlon to a cremation. They’ve admitted to the stock exchange that if they don’t get at least £3m, they’re knackered. And even if they do, they’ve openly shifted the problem a couple of months further down the line. Yet still they sign players like autograph hunters? They act as if they don’t give a monkey’s. Other clubs coming back from the brink, the first thing they attacked was their cost base. Trimmed all the fat and started from the ground up. Live within your means. New club motto? Numquam Iterum. Never Again. Yet here we are, back at square one. Ally on the back pages, pleading: ‘Don’t sell my stars’. Why not? Truth is you should never have been allowed to sign most of them in the first place. This whole ‘We’re Rangers and until someone tells me otherwise, we’ll continue to behave like Rangers’ schtick? McCoist is a bright, articulate, likeable guy. I refuse to believe he’s so gullible. That he never sat there and thought ‘This can’t be right’. Who would you prefer to be in charge at Rangers? I’m not saying anything I haven’t said to him in a dozen different press conferences. I’ve asked him why they weren’t hunkering down, signing players for their level, saving cash. He always replied: “The fans deserve better.” Damn right they do. But they also deserve their club to survive after what they’ve put in over the years. In a football sense, I haven’t yet met a Rangers fan who didn’t think the club would have been better bleeding half a dozen youngsters into their line-up back on day one and developing them properly than going down the road they did. I haven’t yet met a fan who wouldn’t have put up with the odd defeat to see some genuine progress and fiscal responsibility rather than watching the likes of Richard Foster, Stevie Smith, Ian Black, Dean Shiels or Jon Daly. Or Lee Robinson. Nice lad, decent gloves – but what about Liam Kelly and Robby McCrorie, two of the highest-rated teenagers in their position in Scotland? Every other club in the country is giving youth a chance and reaping the rewards. Not The Rangers. Sorry lads. Can’t trust you, even on the bench. No time to have faith in you. Other diddy clubs might get away with playing teenagers. They may even excel. Hell, look at Conor McGrandles – 82 senior games by the age of 18 and a £1million move from Falkirk to Norwich. Rangers are too good for that, though. Listen, the dysfunctional management of the club’s affairs runs a million miles deeper than the team. These are just examples of how a total breakdown in management manifests itself in public. What goes on behind closed doors or up marble staircases? We may never know. But the fact they’re putting out the begging bowl in such a humiliating manner suggests none of it is good. And then we have the ever-hovering presence of Dave King . King has been criticised for his silence but don’t let anyone kid you that he hasn’t been waiting for this exact moment. The lowest ebb. The final wheezing breaths of a regime someone as long in the tooth as he is always thought would arrive. Sure, he’s a Rangers fan. Sure, his intentions for the club will be more honourable than the current incumbents. But spare me the idea his timing suggests anything other than his own benefit being served too. In the meantime, the Rangers fans are once again left with what they call Morton’s Fork – two choices, both undesirable. Take up the share option, keep a shambolic regime functioning a little longer. Or not a penny more. Flush them out and suffer the consequences. I don’t envy them their decision.

Sunday Mail story It would be standard practice for the sp.ivs. X arrives and is pushed as the NEW and HONEST broker who wants transparency, fan engagement and an end to what has gone before (including undeserved bonus culture). Prior to making such an introductory statement, he has already signed a contract with a 100% bonus clause with unclear specification regards trigger(s). He then misleads, lies and achieves 120 days of 'not a lot', x3. He then leaves (very probably) with 100% bonus not wanting to engage with fans or be transparent on the subject. It shows up in 2015 accounts when long gone. (if there is accounts in 2015). Appoint another CEO, this one is the real deal, honest Guv !! This story has other angles regards sp.iv divisions but best for another thread or indeed for later in this one.

I would encourage anyone not already a member to join now The below will be being emailed to all members shortly. We encourage all Rangers Fans world wide to now participate in at http://www.rangersfirst.org'>http://www.rangersfirst.org We are the People and this is our time. Dear members > > As you will have gathered the Club issued an Open Offer today regarding the issue of 19,864,918 new Ordinary Shares in Rangers International Football Club PLC. > > The full details of that issue can be found here: > > http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exch ... d=12066370 > > We would ask that you have a read of it all. > > Rangers First was set up to collectively buy as many shares in the PLC as it could, with the hope of at least reaching 5% ownership which in a PLC is significant as it would allow Rangers First to hold any PLC board to account via the calling of a General meeting. > > Rangers First can confirm that it has already written to both Graham Wallace and the NOMAD (Daniel Stewart & Company PLC, who has confirmed reciept) that it is in a position to “invest beyond our pro-rated pre-emption rights” and that Rangers First would “wish to be added to any Excess Application Facility for the purchase of additional shares” > > Upon reflection on todays statement the Rangers First steering group has concluded that it is most appropriate to continue on our policy of buying shares and will as we indicated in our letter seek to take up as many as possible. > > However as is made clear in the Clubs own statement there are severe risks if this share issue is not taken up and this will not be the last share issue and so we presume these same risks will also attach as concerns to the further share offers to follow. Rangers First is set up as a democratic organisation and so the Steering Group wish to put the democratic process into action and have our members confirm by vote that they are happy for Rangers First Steering Group to continue its share purchase policy and take up as many shares as it can in this share issue. > > All members will be sent a vote in the next few hours which will be open over the weekend. > > This is another chance for Rangers Fans to take a significant stake and have significantly more influence at our Club. From the statement this will be the first of a number of equity raises so now is the time to sign up, get you family, home and abroad signed up, get those you go to and watch the game with signed…..get every Bear you have ever known to sign up to Rangers First > > http://www.rangersfirst.org Please consider taking out a Life membership of Rangers First for £500 (this can be passed to your children one day) or joining for a monthly fee of as little as £5 per month (U16 free) Selling all the 1872 life membership would raise enough for Rangers First to buy over 5% of the Club and reach our Stage 1 > > > We are the People and this is our Time!

by Andrew Smith BY THE end of the current campaign, Celtic will have a record of four competitive victories in the Champions League group stages across the past seven years. They had a fifth win in 2008-9, but that came in their final game when they were already condemned to prop up the section. The club, then, are hardly heavyweights in the most glamorous European domain. They aren’t even light middleweights. The furore engendered by the 1-0 home defeat against Maribor in midweek that meant Celtic will have contested the Champions League only three times in seven years was, as the club’s chief executive Peter Lawwell said the other day, not “rational” but “reactive to a bad, bad result”. Yet, Celtic themselves are partly responsible for the fact the fans will flog them for failure in the qualifying stages of the Champions League since they continually set themselves up as “one of the best-run clubs” in the universe. A club so spectacularly well-run would not flop against (in Legia Warsaw and Maribor) not one but two clubs boasting a fraction of Celtic’s budget, it is legitimate to contend. Even with a new manager, as Celtic have in the yet-to-convince Ronny Deila. Not so, Lawwell contended. “It happened to Gordon [strachan], 5-0 [away to Artmedia Bratislava], happened to Lenny [Neil Lennon], with Utrecht, Braga and Sion, and it happened to Martin [O’Neill] , in Basel, and we never threw the towel in. We said ‘these things happen’; it is transition. It is happening to [Louis] van Gaal [at Manchester United], it happened to David Moyes. It is transition. In big clubs, it takes time. So that is wrong what you are saying.” Celtic’s strategy isn’t wrong. It doesn’t require a complete rethink. But they must do the right things correctly, and that is where questions are entitled to be asked. Overall, they have signed a bad crop of players in the past two years, and been too sluggish to replace the players they have cashed in handsomely on. It is not a matter of being done in by downsizing, however easy that line is to trot out. If Serbian striker Stefan Scepovic succeeds in filling the No.9 hole that has existed since the departure of Gary Hooper last season, then Celtic will have made £2.2 million work for them better than the near £6m they forked out in the previous two windows on Teemu Pukki, Amido Balde and Leigh Griffiths, three forwards Deila patently doesn’t trust. Celtic require to show a little more humility about the element of luck that determines whether their policies end up appearing visionary or vacuous. Lawwell at least offered up that the other day. “I hope you don’t think we are being immodest but when you are the target of the criticism [we have had], you have to defend yourself. And it’s not just us that are saying we are one of the best-run clubs in Britain and Europe… are we not that? “It is difficult. With the uncertainties, the risk. We don’t think we are God’s gift, we don’t think the strategy is flawless. Of course it is flawed, because it is football, and it is chance. Karagandy last year, they hit the bar. Callum [McGregor’s shot the other night] might have not hit the bar. In football you have to prepare for that and not think you are fallible, and prepare for being fallible. Which I think we have done. “Economically, we are far stronger than Elfsborg, Helsingborg, Karagandy, far stronger than Legia, far stronger than Reykjavik and Maribor. Far stronger. But these things happen. Far stronger than Inverness. But these things happen. If it was done on economics purely, then we should be in the Champions League every year. But there is a football element, a sporting element If we are in it three years out of five, we are doing well. We should be beating Maribor.” There is a tedious attempt to put Celtic’s recent struggles down to the absence of a Rangers in the top flight. Yet, Celtic now have a £10m reserve when, with the Ibrox club as top-flight rivals, they are in debt. Lawwell, though, doesn’t downplay the squeeze on finances caused by the disappearance of the rivalry, offset by nearly £30m player sales inside the past 15 months. “When Rangers went down, we took £100 off the season tickets. So that is £4m [down] for two years. The Rangers games bring in at least another £3m. The fact that there is a perception among our supporters that there is no competition and you are going to win anyway, and so you don’t go to the game, means you could have lost £10m a year, quite easily, on the back of Rangers going down. How we have coped is seeing that ahead and the strategy over that ten, 11-year period, has seen us successful on the park and stable off it, as Hearts and Rangers have gone bust. And yet we are still getting it [in the neck].” Deila might consider himself fortunate that he is not getting it more, with grumbles over his failure to convert a 1-1 draw away to Maribor into a home result that took his team through to the group stages. The Norwegian was willing to defend his tactics, which seemed higgelty-piggelty, for the fact he opened up in the second half when Celtic only needed to contain. “We were too passive in the first half and would have lost if we had kept going that way,” Deila said. “We need more offensive power and controlled the game and looked more of a threat with Kris [Commons]. And then they scored.” Deila has not seen new signing Scepovic in the flesh and said he has no reason to do so because of the trust he has in John Park’s scouting department, which has been “pretty successful” over four or five years. The manager is placing great store in the Serbian being the target man required, and the signing must work for him as Celtic go into a Europa League campaign against Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb and Astra. Against the Austrians, Croatians and Romanians, none of who can match Celtic’s £32m football wage bill, he must show the team is progressing. Deila admits it is not acceptable for Celtic to lose in Champions League qualifiers to far more modestly financed opponents, but appealed for judgments on him to be reserved for now. If he wants a crumb of comfort, no new Celtic manager since Billy McNeill in 1979 has made any impact in their first tilt at European competition with the club. And, not coincidentally, McNeill had been in the job for a season when his first campaign arrived, after Celtic missed out on Europe in predecessor Jock Stein’s final campaign. “If we meet those teams [Legia and Maribor] next year and we lose like we did against Legia then I have to take the criticism. But it’s very unfair right now because a lot of things have happened, it’s coming straight into something and we’ve been losing players. “It has been tough, a tough ten weeks. I can assure you of that. It has been much tougher than I thought it would be. You can’t ever know what you are going into this job – you have to experience it. But I am enjoying it. I am in pain also sometimes. But you always have to have in your mind that you have to bounce back, that you have to find a way out of it. “We need time to get the squad back into the same order that it’s been in before. Consistency – you can see Van Gaal is buying the whole of Europe and isn’t winning so many games either. It takes time. Previous managers have come in here as well and not been the best in the first year but they have been allowed time to build his ideas and structure. Next year when I sit here – judge me and harshly if I haven’t done the things. This year the most important thing is to win the league and we want to do well in the cups too. To get the triple would be fantastic. “I want to use all the matches in Europe to see how good we are and develop through that. I hope we go through. Next year I hope we can go into the Champions League group stages and go into the qualifiers thinking: We look stronger, this is going to happen.” And if it doesn’t happen next year, the name calling won’t just be against Lawwell from the small cluster of malcontents that will gather at the front door. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/andrew-smith-celtic-need-to-show-more-humility-1-3526234

http://sport.stv.tv/football/video/3755311980001/? I have to say, i may not be his biggest fan but i support him here completely. The press in this country are an absolute disgrace. Ally gives them all the sound bites they want, all the time and interviews and when he asks for a little bit back they can't afford him it. Well played Ally, well played.

Yet another Sinky got wrong Just got a move to Norwich City that could net Falkirk £1 million. I watched him play in the same youth team as Darren Ramsay and Charlie Telfer for a couple of years, where as he may not have been the standout he wouldn't have been a candidate for release in my opinion. Gary Oliver who recently scored for Hearts, Lewis Spence and Lewis Martin who are now regulars at Dunfermline also played in the same team on occasions although they are a year younger.

missed 2 penalties, otherwise it would have been 6-1 and the return game beyond doubt.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22037966 Hopefully this will herald a bigger sportlight on the shady goings on in the east of the city by CFC, GCC et all...

THE Ibrox side face Inverness in round two and have been told the winner will go straight into the hat for round three as one of the eight seeded sides. THE SPFL are braced for a backlash after it emerged Rangers could end up being seeded after today’s League Cup last 16 draw – despite the club being ranked 23rd. The Ibrox side face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in round two and have been told the winner will go straight into the hat for round three of the competition as one of the eight seeded sides. Aug 27, 2014 10:08 By Gavin Berry, Michael Gannon 3 Comments THE Ibrox side face Inverness in round two and have been told the winner will go straight into the hat for round three as one of the eight seeded sides. 19 Shares Share Tweet +1 Email SNS Group Rangers will be seeded if they beat ICT THE SPFL are braced for a backlash after it emerged Rangers could end up being seeded after today’s League Cup last 16 draw – despite the club being ranked 23rd. The Ibrox side face Inverness Caledonian Thistle in round two and have been told the winner will go straight into the hat for round three of the competition as one of the eight seeded sides. Do Rangers deserve to be seeded in the Third Round of the League Cup? YES NO The SPFL say they had to make the move as Gers are a round behind other clubs due to Ibrox being out of use during the Commonwealth Games. If they see off Caley, Rangers would avoid the big guns while the eighth-ranked side would get a tougher tie. But the SPFL insist their hands are tied ahead of today’s draw. Operations chief Anton Fagan said: “This was done to ensure the smooth running of the tournament.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/spfl-risk-fan-backlash-rangers-4114100

http://davidfarrellfaz.wordpress.com/2014/08/27/louis-reaches-high-with-diamonds/ I realise that the Rangers link is tenuous, so apologies to admin if it is in the wrong section of the board. Never the less, it is an interesting take on how a player views the different methods of training. The highlighted part certainly gave me a chuckle, although I'm sure that a few of our more enlightened posters will be shaking their heads in dismay.

Born Under a Union Flag: Rangers, Britain and Scottish Independence (Luath Press) will be an interesting read for those yet to open its cover, and I would strongly suggest you do. It allows the reader access at times, to the mindset of the authors of the various chapters, some of which will challenge you, some may even alarm you, but having drawn me in, it was one of those books I had to read from start to finish without interruption. It may seem strange for an avid Unionist to highlight a chapter written by a pro-independence author, Gail Richardson, but I do so for 2 reasons : (1) Gail asks questions relating to the motto of a group of which I am a member – Vanguard Bears (2) Of all the pro-independence chapters within the book, Gail’s was unique in that it offered a cohesive, rational and positive argument for independence which was free from negative subjective experience often cited by her peers, nor did it seek to demonise Britain as a justification for exercising a yes vote, in short it offered vision rather than vilification. I use the word “demonise” deliberately. When Alan Bissett argues that Britain is responsible for, amongst other things, “the mass slaughter of World War 1” you can perhaps begin to understand why I suggested in the opening paragraph that you may be challenged, even alarmed by its contents. Gail opens her chapter with a question : Do the Loving Cup ceremony or the portraits of Her Majesty the Queen hanging in the home dressing room at Ibrox not qualify as traditions ? Both are long standing practices at our club, with club historian David Mason, opening this year’s Loving Cup toast describing it as “A very important tradition in the history of Rangers Football Club since 1937”. Furthermore are they merely traditions or, additionally, a powerful statement of identity i.e. this is a club which values the traditions of monarchy ? The foregoing example serves as welcome introduction for another area of such debate which is often overlooked by many. Gail asserts : It is madness. But what about the flip side of that coin ? What about the instances where the beliefs and values come from within the club itself ? Are they in themselves not statements of identity ? If the historical commentators such as Graham Walker and Bill Murray are to be believed, and there is no good reason not to, then Protestant identity evolved due to a number of factors, primarily though that the Protestant indigenous Scot sought a football club which reflected their faith and culture in the same way that the newly formed club, Celtic, reflected the faith and culture of the Irish immigrant population. If Gail is guilty of overlooking symbolisms and traditions which emanate from within the club, perhaps because they don’t quite fit with her assertions and beliefs, I confess, I could be equally as guilty of reading something into symbolisms from within the club because they do happen to fit with my particular assertions and beliefs. I have difficulty accepting however that Church and Boys Brigade Parades, the holding of the Orange Order Annual Divine Service at Ibrox, our refusal to play football on the Sabbath, the welcoming of Kings at Ibrox, Armed Forces Days, amongst other things, are not statements of identity. Furthermore these take no account of the erroneous, which again have their formation from within the club itself. Gail makes reference to Rangers signing policy, I would add to that the comments of Rangers vice chairman Matt Taylor in 1967 when he stated in interview relating to it, “part of our tradition....we were formed in 1873 as a Protestant boys club. To change now would lose us considerable support.” However mis-guided, however ham-fisted, however opposed to true Protestant ideals and values the foregoing examples are, I would suggest they are a clear attempt to attach a Protestant identity to our club from within the club itself. I cite these examples not to usurp Gail’s questioning of their relevance today in an increasingly secular Scotland, but to demonstrate that the club itself over the years has actively encouraged an identity with which it is often associated, therefore to suggest that it’s our supporters who have projected their beliefs onto the club and asked them to uphold them is incorrect. When Gail states : “I’ve said that I don’t believe Rangers Football Club is a Protestant club or a Unionist club.” how does such a statement equate to a football club who have just released their 3rd strip which has as its centrepiece, the flag of the Union itself ? Particularly in view of the current political climate in Scotland. Strangely, the answer to Gail’s original question comes from an unlikely source, in chapter 3 of the book. Harry Reid, an Aberdeen supporter speaking of the demise of Rangers identity under Sir David Murray: And later in the chapter : Harry continues: Later in the chapter Harry emphasises the importance of any football club seeking to expand its aspirations, remaining true to its core fan base. There is really not a lot I can add to Harry’s quotes. The values, traditions and people Harry alludes to are very much at the core of what we at Vanguard Bears, seek to defend. I hope this article not only answers Gail’s questions, but also challenges her to examine her own vision of our club, as much as her chapter from the book caused me to examine my own.

ET Says a few truths in there and a bit more dignity from some quarters is very much missing. Maybe we should one day also consider him for a scouting role in Scotland, as he does the reasonable thing and scans the Junior football folk.

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7532-lee-signs-season-long-deal

RANGERS have moved to re-sign keeper Lee Robinson – five years after he quit the club. Manager Ally McCoist is in talks to land the 28-year-old, who is a free agent after leaving Raith Rovers at the end of last season. Robinson, who has also had spells at Kilmarnock, Queen of the South and Swedish outfit FK Ostersunds since departing Ibrox in 2009, is mulling over a one-year contract offer to provide cover for first-choice keeper Cammy Bell. Bell will be out for two weeks after fears that he had dislocated his shoulder and needed surgery were allayed. Veteran Steve Simonsen has been deputising but McCoist believes Robinson can eventually push Bell for the No 1 spot. McCoist’s hopes of doing further business this month could hinge on fringe players Sebastien Faure and Arnold Peralta being moved on. http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/501685/EXCLUSIVE-Lee-Robinson-offered-Rangers-return