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Our club is on a trip to extinction under this moron,when does our waring fan groups unite,and demand his firing? he is killing us,and this is an actual fact.
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Remember Dundee, Motherwell and Kilmarnock, now it was Jamboland ... Hearts Now, let#s see how the Yahoos react Numero Uno Daily Record No wonder Stokes laughs (again) and into her face. They've got the freedom of Celtland these days. -
that made Super Ally famous? Pretty sure older bears will answer this one....its slightly beyond my time Good bounce for the bears behind the goal mind you....and I see Celtic still cant sell tickets
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Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 37m 37 minutes ago #Rangers under-20's are in action against Celtic tonight at Murray Park (KO 6pm). Team news to follow then goal updates as they happen. Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 35m 35 minutes ago #Rangers U20's to face Celtic: Kelly, Sinnamon, Ross McCrorie, Pascazio, Gasparotto, Dykes, Roberts, Murdoch, Hardie, Stoney, Walsh. Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 35m 35 minutes ago #Rangers U20 Subs: Robbie McCrorie, Gibson, Finnie, Brownlie, Whiteside, Wilson, Ogen. Kick off is at 6pm. Come on the Gers! Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 6m 6 minutes ago '20 - GOAL: #Rangers take the lead through Ryan Hardie! Sensational chip from the Gers youngster from distance. 1:0 to the Gers. Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · 6m 6 minutes ago '20 - GOAL: Ball down the right channel by Roberts in behind the back four and Hardie took a touch before audaciously chipping the keeper. Rangers Youth @RFC_Youth · now 23 seconds ago '33 - GOAL: After a period of pressure, Twardzik equalises with an excellent left footed shot from the edge of the box into the top corner.
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The Blue shirt is here! From the same team that brought your the Red and Black shirt and the Fernando shirt. Due to popular demand we have taken the decision to produce a shirt in blue in time for Christmas. The shirt is produced on a Nike base with the Lion proudly emblazoned on the breast. We have 500 in stock and ready to roll in time for Christmas. Each buying option online is linked to a stock control system which means we can’t oversell a size. You can buy safe in the knowledge that every penny of profit will go to buying a shares stake for fans in the club. For overseas purchasers - click on the button where it says UK £32.74 and a drop-down menu will appear with the various delivery zone options. The shirts are available from http://www.TheLionBrand.co.uk
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The draw for the next round of the Scottish Cup is tomorrow at 2pm, live on Sky Sports News. The 5th round games will be played the weekend after our League Cup SF, so the 7th/8th of February. In alphabetical order the draw will include: Arbroath Celtic Dundee Dundee hivs Falkirk Hibs Partick Thistle QotS Raith Rovers Rangers Spartans St Johnstone plus the replays....... Annan or Brechin Berwick or Albion St Mirren or Inverness CT Stranraer or Dunfermline
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Bitterly disappointed by the crowd though. 14.412 in a Cup game at Ibrox is - no matter of boycots and poor perfomances - appaling.
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/colin-duncan-fares-not-fair-4697316 "THE widespread condemnation which followed Wigan chairman Dave Whelan’s alleged racist and anti-Semitic outburst last week was understandable. His Alf Garnett-esque comments in the wake of appointing Malky Mackay manager added to the outrage . Mackay is subject to an FA probe, investigating texts and emails of a racist, sexist and homophobic nature. The anti-discriminatory bodies didn’t miss Whelan who could now find himself in the dock alongside his manager. Football Against Racism in Europe were among the many campaign groups who, quite rightly, took the pair to task. Yet where was the outcry from bodies such as FARE when this month Aleksandar Tonev was hit with a seven-game ban by the SFA for racist conduct? The Celtic midfielder was found guilty by an independent tribunal of abusing Aberdeen’s Shay Logan, reportedly calling him a “f*****g black c***.’ What happened to showing racism the red card? There was not so much as a yellow from their executive director Piara Powar who is also on FIFA’s anti-racism task force. Surely if you are the head of an organisation which vows to fight all forms of racism you cannot pick and choose which abhorrent acts to condemn. And while not for one minute playing down the severity of Mackay and Whelan referring to Chinese people as “Chinks” surely, on a sliding scale, calling a fellow professional a “black c***” is far more offensive? When John Terry and Luis Suarez were found guilty of similar racist offences Powar and his colleagues couldn’t have been any more critical. Yet not a word when Tonev was found guilty of “excessive misconduct by the use of offensive, insulting and abusive language of a racist nature”. Regardless of the fact no hard evidence was presented – it was one Aberdeen’s word against Celtic’s – the case against Tonev was proved. Last year former Rangers chief executive Charles Green was fined by the SFA for “offensive and racist comments” in an interview that referred to former Ibrox commercial director Imran Ahmad. Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths also has a racism charge hanging over his head after being caught on camera singing inappropriate songs along with fellow Hibs supporters. Again this seems unworthy of FARE’s intervention. Powar’s name may be familiar to Rangers fans as his organisation was forced to deny claims of a “deliberate and targeted campaign” against the Ibrox club three years ago. Rangers were disciplined, and correctly so, by UEFA after it emerged supporters sang sectarian songs during the home and away Europa League clashes with PSV Eindhoven. On both occasions they were reported on the basis of submissions from FARE, rather than the UEFA match delegate. At the time Powar said: “There are explicit suggestions emanating from Rangers FC of ‘a deliberate and targeted campaign against the club’. “The FARE network is focused only on our core mission of tackling discrimination in football and encouraging social inclusion through the game. We have no axe to grind with any club.” In 1999 Rangers defender Lorenzo Amoruso racially abused Nigerian striker Victor Ipkeba during a European clash with Borussia Dortmund. Again the incident was not included in the UEFA delegate’s report but Powar, then with anti-racism group Kick it Out, demanded it be investigated. Fast forward to 2013 and former Celtic player Paul Elliot had to resign from his positions within the FA and Kick it Out after he branded ex-Charlton defender Richard Rufus a “n****r” in a text conversation. Powar was quick to Elliot’s defence insisting: “I can understand the concern over the use of the n-word, whoever uses it, in whichever context. “However, I cannot accept it is racist to use it between two friends and business colleagues in a private text. “Racism and other forms of discrimination are not simply about words. It may be difficult for some to accept the difference between those words used with discriminatory intent and those that are not.” But when the League Managers Association misguidedly dismissed Mackay’s comments, which were also sent by text and email, as friendly banter Powar’s private text argument suddenly didn’t hold water. He tweeted: “Wow! The LMA defending the indefensible. Why would you put out something so utterly ridiculous? Because you haven’t a clue.” Now this is not about Rangers and Celtic but about what is fair and what isn’t. And when it comes to removing the ugly stain of racism it would seem FARE is not always FAIR"
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RIFC plc accounts to June 30 released. AGM December 22 at Ibrox http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/staticcontent/documents/164581RangersAnnualReport.pdf -
Is this our reply when anybody asks us why we sing 'The Billy Boys' at the cup tie in January against them? http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soccer/international/solicitors-were-instructed-to-deny-video-showed-john-delaney-1.2014408 The video won't post with the article, so here is the utube link ... John Delaney ‘sorry’ if republican song caused offence FAI chief says singing recorded ‘in sly way’ and he does not ‘believe every lyric’ Video A video showing FAI chief executive John Delaney singing 'Joe McDonnell' by The Wolfe Tones. Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney (right) has said he is sorry if his rendition of the republican ballad Joe McDonnell offended anybody and that he does not support violence or believe in every lyric in the song. Steven Carroll Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 11:00 First published: Tue, Nov 25, 2014, 10:46 65 Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney has said he is sorry if his rendition of the republican ballad Joe McDonnell offended anybody and that he does not support violence or believe every lyric in the song. Mr Delaney, filmed singing the song in a Dublin pub after Ireland beat the USA 4-1 last Tuesday, said the clip had been recorded in “a sly way” and that his performance was not for the public as he was not “on X-Factor or out in the Aviva”. Speaking on RTÉ’s Tubridy programme, Mr Delaney said he was from a nationalist background and that is grandfather had fought in the Civil War and War of Independence. “Joe McDonnell is a song that has been sang in my presence and I have chipped in and sang on a number of occasions in the past,” Mr Delaney said. “I’m not somebody who supports violence at all, in fact over a large number of years I have been working very closely on cross-border initiatives in football to break down barriers.” He said that “when you sing a song like that you don’t believe in every word”. “I sing a large number of songs, maybe five or six different ones, and it is normally done in a private way when there’s a singsong… Many of us have a nationalist background but are anti-violence. We also sing songs we don’t believe in every lyric on…there are many songs we all sing that we don’t believe in every lyric on. I don’t believe in many lyrics that are in that song.” Joe McDonnell is a song written from the perspective of an IRA member convicted of firearms offences in 1977 following a bomb attack on a furniture shop the previous year. McDonnell died on hunger strike in July 1981. Mr Delaney said that when you sang in a group you expected it to be kept in the group but that “unfortunately on occasions people use camera phones in a sly way and they try and tape it” and “then they try to make it something bigger than it is”. “What I will say is if the song offended anybody, of course I am sorry. That’s not in my nature to want to offend people but it was something I have sang or have sung in my presence in private in the past.” Tubridy asked Mr Delaney if he would like to hear a clip of himself singing the song, but he replied that it would be best if he asked him about the matter instead. “I think we’ll save the Irish public that,” he said. Tubridy said “the last thing he wanted to do” was “embarrass” Mr Delaney after he had agreed to come on air. The incident occurred in The Bath pub on the same night that the England football manager Roy Hodgson apologised “if anyone was offended” by the singing of anti-IRA songs by England fans at Celtic Park. Both England and Scotland are due to play against Ireland in Dublin next June.
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http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/8144-tickets-on-sale-for-killie Tuesday, 25 November 2014 12:00 Tickets On Sale For Killie Written by Rangers Football Club RANGERS will host SPFL Premiership side Kilmarnock this Sunday in the William Hill Scottish Cup Fourth Round at Ibrox and there are still tickets remaining. The Gers are still competing in all three domestic Cup competitions this season, with Alloa and Celtic awaiting in the next rounds of the Petrofac Training Cup and League Cup respectively. However, attention turns to the Scottish Cup this weekend and once again the Light Blues take on Premiership opposition, this time in the shape of Kilmarnock. Rangers have played Premiership opposition twice this season already in the League Cup, defeating Inverness Caley Thistle and St Johnstone both by a single goal at Ibrox and the squad will be aiming to make it three in a row on Sunday. Midfield starlet Lewis Macleod was the difference scoring the Rangers goals in against Inverness and St Johnstone and he will be key for the Gers yet again this weekend as they look to shake off the disappointment of defeat to Hearts with ten men last weekend. Allan Johnston's Killie side are currently in seventh position in the SPFL Premiership and are on a run of four straight defeats, so they too will want to bounce back in the Cup. The last posting date for Kilmarnock tickets is Thursday at 4pm. After this time all tickets purchased via online or hotline will be for collection only. Ticket Information: William Hill Scottish Cup 4th Round | Rangers v Kilmarnock | Sunday 30 November – 12.45pm kick off | Season Ticket Holder price – Adult £17, Concession £12 and Juniors £4 | General sale prices – Adult £18, Concession £13 and Juniors £5 (More info here) Click here to buy tickets online
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STEVEN NAISMITH reckons Rangers fans have been treated 'appallingly' as they have been put through the wringer in recent years. The Light Blue legions have had to contend with a mixture of emotions as their club has fallen from grace, but they have backed Ally McCoist's side in huge numbers throughout their recovery from financial meltdown. Naismith joined the likes of Steven Whittaker, Allan McGregor and Kyle Lafferty in quitting Ibrox two years ago. He has never been forgiven by many supporters for his controversial Ibrox departure. But the Scotland star still has sympathy with the plight of his former club as they look to complete the last stage of their journey back to Scotland's top tier this term. Naismith said: "Looking back, I would definitely have done some things differently. None of us wanted to leave that way. It wasn't nice at all. We did all we could. "It wasn't deferred wages (we had). It was wage cuts, in the hope that we came out of administration and could move on. It didn't happen. "It got to the point where there was not much else the players could do. "People would have liked us to have stayed and transferred over, but it wasn't just as easy as doing that. "In years to come people will understand it a bit more and understand it from the players' point of view a bit more. "The fans always have their opinion and they are right to because they pay good money to come and watch. They are the backbone, especially of a club like Rangers. "Over the last two or three years they have been treated appallingly. "For everyone's sake, hopefully it gets better and they can get back in the division they deserve to be in challenging for trophies." It is almost three years since financial problems hit home at Ibrox during Craig Whyte's disastrous reign, but Rangers remain in the money mire. Cash problems continue to hold the club back and 10 members of staff were last week made redundant as huge losses look to be stemmed once again. Fans are still furious at the state the Light Blues are in and have launched a series of attacks against the under-fire board as attendances have plummeted this term. And Naismith is upset at the devastating series of events at his boyhood heroes. He said: "It is disappointing and sad because it is the club I grew up supporting. I had some of my best memories in football there, but a situation arose that was out of everybody's hands. "I think the fans and the good people at the club are still suffering. I hope they will come out of this situation they are in soon. "It was a horrible decision for everyone involved to make. The biggest thing for us, as players, was that no-one was made redundant and we did that part of it. Over time, I am sure the truth will come out." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/naismith-rangers-fans-have-been-treated-appallingly-189852n.25960234
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A sneering piece that seems to relish in denigrating us. I can't say it is wrong though. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion/sport/keith-jackson-cold-hard-cash-4683056? Keith Jackson: Cold hard cash will determine Ally McCoist's future at Rangers Nov 24, 2014 08:03 OPINION BY KEITHJACKSON KEITH says that cash has always been the answer to Rangers' woes but asks, will the club be able to fork out to the cash needed to axe Ally? IN the end it will all come down to money. That is the Rangers way after all. This is a club which through the years has gorged on a diet of hubris and largesse and which bloated itself with mantras such as, “For every fiver Celtic spend we’ll spend a tenner”. It might just be the only business in the history of insolvency events to have allowed this spend-at-all-costs mentality to survive the catastrophe of liquidation. It’s drilled down so deep into the club’s DNA that it has become the answer to almost every problem it encounters. Whenever Rangers are in trouble the default position is to spend more and buy their way out of it with another fistful of Aye Readies. Few have been so steeped in this tradition as manager Ally McCoist, who earned stripes as a homegrown hero at Ibrox in the days when money really did seem like no object. A £185,000 legacy of more austere times, McCoist not only survived the Graeme Souness revolution but went on to thrive in this new environment and whose phenomenal goalscoring exploits made him a priceless commodity throughout an era unrelenting cheque signing. Back then, McCoist was the exception to the rule. Today his fate is governed by it. Because the only bottom line that counts right now as far as the position of the Rangers manager is concerned is the huge sum it will cost to remove him and his backroom staff from the dugout. Even going by the most conservative of estimates, the costs involved in the bagging of the management team would run a long way north of £1m and right now that’s money this ravaged club simply does not have. The very notion that such vast sums could be ring-fenced for severance payments would certainly cause further distress to auditors Deloitte – who have still not signed off the club’s latest accounts and are fast running out of days in which to so do. In fact, in order for an agm to be held before the year end as Stock Market rules dictate, Deloitte really ought to publish these latest numbers by no later than Friday of this week. The under-fire regime would then have a further three working weeks before being shoved out in front of shareholders just days before Christmas. It is already a damning indictment of the state of the club’s financial affairs that Deloitte have so far failed to put their name to these accounts and the longer they dither the more reason there is for concern. The truth is, Rangers are right back on the brink even though many supporters took comfort from watching Mike Ashley muscle his way into total control of the board room earlier this month. Recent history shows that in times of Ibrox panic there is nothing like a billionaire – radar detectable or not – to settle a few nerves but now Ashley has powered his way into the box seat there are serious decisions for him to make. What Ashley’s minions, Derek Llambias and Barry Leach, have discovered since they were dispatched to Glasgow and placed on the board may well have horrified them. The Sports Direct man did not become a billionaire by funding lost causes and yet that’s what he is now being asked to do in order to satisfy Deloitte the club is able to continue trading. If Ashley is not willing to offer up guarantees for several millions of pounds Deloitte may have to “qualify” these accounts – a development that would prove disastrous for the reputation of almost any other company but which, given the state of all things Rangers, would merely add another layer to the farce. So far Ashley has agreed to drip feed Rangers with short-term loans in order to protect and strengthen his commercial contracts with the club. He has not just been saving Rangers with these handouts – he has been strangling them at the same time. Will he now be prepared to change strategy to fund them for the longer term because, if not, Rangers will be hurtling towards another insolvency. And, as major creditor, Ashley will be in complete control. But if, on the other hand, he opts to wade into this mess and bail it out for the long run what will that mean for McCoist? That’s the other question over which Ashley will have to chew this week because if he does decide to underpin this broken business he could also provide it with the cash needed to call time on McCoist. Ironically, that might buy him some goodwill among a growing group of Rangers fans who have lost patience with their manager and who, at Tynecastle on Saturday, voiced their desire for him to do walking away. Or a version thereof. That 2-0 defeat was the last straw for many and it might even be argued the majority of these fans have lost faith in McCoist now the football side of this business is finally getting serious and requiring urgent attention. They simply don’t believe McCoist can recover the nine points which separate his side from Hearts and some of them suspect he may not be capable either of gaining promotion to the top flight through the end-of-season play-offs. The single-minded McCoist, it must be said, will disagree entirely. Often over the past three years he has reacted angrily to any suggestion he is failing in his duties and I say that as someone who has felt his full wrath from the other end of a phone on many occasions. But, at the risk of another fall-out, I’ll say it all again. When Rangers first reappeared from insolvency in the lowest tier of the Scottish game, McCoist wasted an opportunity to reinvent his team and introduce it to a contemporary, passing style of football – much like the template Swansea used on their journey up through the various English leagues. Instead, in true Rangers tradition, he spent mind-boggling amounts of money on the recruitment of players who had no place operating at such a lowly level and who often looked as if they had no great wish to be there. But whether he stays or goes at this stage, with his journey not yet complete? That’s something only the money men will decide.
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According to Liewell at their agm. "Lawwell made his assertion after contextualising the Hoops' earning potential at the club's packed annual general meeting at Celtic Park on Friday. He claimed that the 40,000 season tickets sold for this campaign was only bettered in Britain by Manchester United and Arsenal, then told shareholders that winning the Scottish Premiership title brings in £1.8million while claiming that clubs relegated from the English top flight rake in £65million. At a press conference in the Celtic Park boardroom afterwards he expanded on the theme, claiming that, if the Scottish champions had access to the sort of broadcast monies available to the top clubs in England, Celtic would be peerless. "I believe that," he said. "If you go back 25-30 years and compare us to Manchester United before the media and TV boom, there probably wasn't much in it. "I think our story is unique, it is rich - it is the best. "We have a potential fan-base of Scots/Irish diaspora around the world to support that and we have fantastic, strong fan-base in Scotland. "I don't see any barrier if you compare Celtic to Manchester United or Arsenal, the top clubs down there. "I don't see any barriers if we were getting the same media values as they are getting regularly." Asked about comparisons with Real Madrid and Barcelona, Lawwell replied: "Similarly. The media values in England will outweigh the media values or be similar to the top in Spain or Germany. "Therefore if it is a level playing field with our strong fundamentals. I don't see any reason why we couldn't be." In a more cryptic way, Lawwell suggested that moves were afoot all across Europe for clubs in a similar situation to Celtic - essentially big fish in small ponds - to increase revenue potential, having earlier mentioned regional leagues or supranational leagues. "We are not alone," he said. "Other leagues and nations are suffering the same problems and there needs to be a solution, and I think more than ever UEFA are open to a solution . "There are no concrete plans, but it is getting to become more of a discussion item." Lawwell, who hopes to convince striker John Guidetti to make his loan move from Manchester City permanent, reiterated a previous assertion that the absence of traditional rivals Rangers from the top flight costs the Parkhead club £10million per season. However, he was unimpressed when reminded that former Hoops boss Gordon Strachan, currently the Scotland national team coach, had recently spoken about the need to get Rangers, Hearts and Hibernian - all battling to get out of the Championship - back into the top flight. Strachan said: "People say you can't manipulate it, but I think you have to get them back in." However, Lawwell said: "I love Gordon dearly. He is a pal, but he is way off the mark there. We would never support that. "It is sporting integrity. It is a football competition and above all else you have to apply the rules, and to manipulate those rules would be wrong and there would be clubs who would suffer, as well as clubs who would benefit." There were relatively few nods to Ibrox during the AGM, which lasted just over two hours, but Lawwell was later asked, in his capacity as member of the main board of the Scottish Football Association, whether there was a possible conflict of interest in the shape of Rangers shareholder Mike Ashley, who appears to be increasing his power-base at the Ibrox club while still the owner of Newcastle United. Lawwell said: "I think potentially there is, but I am sure the SFA and the other authorities will scrutinise, analyse and do the right thing.""
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Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell has accused politicians of using Celtic for their own political agenda over the living wage. At the club's AGM the club announced they are prepared to offer permanent staff £7.85 an hour, but will not implement the living wage to all. However, Lawwell feels Celtic have been unfairly targeted by others. "We've been used," he said. "Our club has been used over this campaign by politicians and by others." He added: "There's more and more evidence there's poverty in society, there is inequality, and we would urge them - the people who've got the power, who've got the opportunity to change it - to change it, and not hitch their wagon to Celtic's wagon for their own political purposes. "We're a football club. We'll do all we can in the community. We do so much, but we can't change government policy. "We have a very satisfied, highly motivated workforce who are content with their lot. Not just my words, but we're the only football club in Scotland that's got Investors in People [accreditation] and [there are] only three in the UK, so we look after our people." Hearts last month became the first club to implement the living wage , but Lawwell insists their decision has had no bearing on Celtic. "Hearts are a different business," he said. "It's a small business in comparison, they won't have as many people. "If that's what they want to do, then good on them and they've done it. But we have to look after ourselves here and do the right thing. "At the moment we're looking at our permanent employees that includes everybody apart from match-day staff, who are primarily second income. "The 180 of them are mainly in retail, which is a very competitive business. Ironically our competitor is Sports Direct, and we're getting the spotlight." Celtic chairman Ian Bankier revealed the move to increase the wage for permanent staff will cost the club £350,000. He said: "We responded to the many people who have made approaches to us since this became a live issue and we understand what they're saying, and we understand the sentiment of what they're saying. "So what we've said today is we will speak to the people that matter in all of this, who are the employees. "We will talk to our permanent workforce, and those who are in that zone of pay policy, and we will seek to get their wages up to £7.85 an hour, which happens to be the rate of the living wage." Celtic also admitted at the AGM that the loss of Rangers from the Scottish Premiership has cost the club around £10m a year. However, responding to the recent comments by Scotland manager Gordon Strachan that the leagues should be manipulated to get their Old Firm rivals in the top flight along with Hibernian and Hearts, Lawwell was adamant there has been no discussion regarding league reconstruction. He said: "I love Gordon dearly, he's a pal, but he's way off the mark there and we would never support that." http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30150594 -
...and says manager Ally McCoist is being 'hung out to dry' by the board. THE former boss gave a withering assessment of the men at the top of the marble staircase and claimed they’ve hung McCoist out to dry. WALTER Smith last night accused the Rangers board of making Ally McCoist the worst prepared manager in their history. The former boss gave a withering assessment of the men at the top of the marble staircase and claimed they’ve hung McCoist out to dry. Smith spoke out in strong support of McCoist in Glasgow in front of an audience of 750 at a question and answer session during a charity dinner. The ex-chairman accused the current regime of failing to back the boss and said boardroom instability is also hampering the team. Asked to reflect on the work of McCoist, who was at the event, Smith said: “Ally will need a little help – in the last three years he has had none whatsoever. “I was fortunate enough to be given great support by the likes of David Murray with the signings I was allowed to make. “People are casting aspersions on Ally’s ability but if I ever had doubts about him I would never have recommended him for the job. “No club can be successful until it is well run from the top, it’s the single determining factor in how well the team plays. “I wish Ally could be given that opportunity but it isn’t being afforded him. Ally is bearing up well under the worst circumstances under which any Rangers manager has had to work.” Smith also turned on former owner Craig Whyte when asked if he was still happy with his decision to step away from the club three years ago. He said sarcastically: “I was quite happy to leave Rangers in the hands of Craig Whyte – well, he was a billionaire, after all. “Where is he now? Costa Rica or somewhere? The wee b******.” Meanwhile, Dave King claims Sandy Easdale was as concerned with his seat on the board as investment in the cash-strapped club. Easdale has labelled the South African-based tycoon’s plan to invest £16million a phantom bid driven by self-promotion. The bus boss and Rangers board snubbed King’s offer and a £3m loan from Brian Kennedy, instead taking a £2m bailout from Mike Ashley. Now King has hit back and said: “When I spoke to Sandy on my recent trip to Scotland his main concern was whether, after investment by our consortium, he would still be involved with the club. “I confirmed we had no immediate intention to remove him or his brother from board involvement. This was clearly not enough to gain his support.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/craig-whyte-wee-b-walter-4665444
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NEIL Lennon has revealed how sectarian “chaos and madness” left him exhausted and influenced his decision to quit Celtic. The former Parkhead boss said he was worn down by a *series of high-profile off-field incidents during his 11 years as player and manager at the *Glasgow club. During his time in Scotland, he was attacked by a Hearts fan at a game at Tynecastle and assaulted while out in the West End of Glasgow. Lennon, 43, was also sent bullets in the post and suffered a number of death threats. He stood down in the summer and has taken up a new role as manager of English Championship side Bolton Wanderers. In an interview, he said: “I don’t want to paint a bad picture because it’s fantastic up there from a football point of view. But it does wear you down in the end. “Maybe it was the chaos and the madness catching up with me, but I just felt desperately tired. When I was younger, I was able to have the energy and courage to get through it. “When I was getting bullets through the post and all that, I had good people of intelligence in the background who were looking after me. But in the end I was exhausted emotionally. “It all caught up with me. I needed a change of scenery. Did it change me as a person? Not really, no. “Did it have an effect on me? I think at times it did. Now I’m out of it, do I miss the intensity? Sometimes, yes. We live off that. “But I am loving what I am doing now. I can concentrate on the management and the football rather than the other stuff.” Lennon replaced Tony Mowbray at Parkhead in 2010 and as well as leading the club to three successive Scottish Premiership successes, he has also helped Celtic claim two Scottish Cup wins and masterminded their run to the last 16 of last season’s Champions League. In his new role at Bolton, he has won four of his first six games and admits it’s a “whole new challenge” for him. The former midfielder accepts he was “no angel” at Celtic but insisted he didn’t deserve the vitriol and has told of his anger that people in Scotland refuse to accept the abuse he was getting was sectarian in nature. He said: “At times I didn’t do myself any favours. But did I get a fair crack of the whip? No. “Some of what was said about the difficulties I had was irresponsible. I found it personal. People wouldn’t come out and say my treatment was sectarian. “They said I brought it on myself. They hid behind that *because they didn’t want to admit it. But it was sectarian in the stadiums. “People say, ‘He brings it on himself… he is an aggressive manager’. But so are some other managers. So are some players. I was high-profile, I came for a lot of money as a player. For me, my job was being part of Martin O’Neill’s team and to break the Rangers monopoly. We did that. “Nobody else had to go through situations and circumstances like I have been through. I wouldn’t want anyone else to go through it. You would hope that all the nonsense that *happened to me would serve as a watershed. “The anticipation and the *rivalry in Glasgow will probably never tire. There is part of me that misses it but a bigger part of me that doesn’t.” http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/neil-lennon-sectarian-abuse-triggered-celtic-exit-1-3611120
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https://twitter.com/Herald_Editor/status/535213375333359618/photo/1
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A minute's applause will precede Scotland's friendly against England on Tuesday in tribute to the Scotland fan who died following their victory over the Republic of Ireland on Friday. Nathan McSeveney, 20, died when he fell in a Celtic Park stairwell. Scottish Football Association chief executive Stewart Regan said: "We have all been extremely saddened. "It is fitting that Scotland supporters have an opportunity to pay tribute to one of their own at Celtic Park." The tribute was announced after consultation with McSeveney's family, from Cumnock in Ayrshire.
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From last week: http://t.co/aNmKNADMKG (PDF file) Collyer Bristow settlement confirmed within this. Also, BDO suggest there are £168.7m of unsecured creditors (including £94m noted for the HMRC monies (including the BTC).
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A super legend as a player but why is he allowed to still be manager....1 or 2 results could be swept under the carpet but the following shows he isn't the man. Peterhead 2-2 Rangers Berwick 1-1 Rangers Annan 0-0 Rangers Stirling 1-0 Rangers Rangers 1-1 Elgin Rangers 1-1 Montrose Stirling 1-1 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Annan Rangers 0-0 Stirling Montrose 0-0 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Peterhead Rangers 1-1 Stranraer Rangers 3-3 Stenhousemuir Raith 1-0 Rangers (cup final) Forfar 2-1 Rangers Rangers 1-1 Albion Rangers 1-3 Dundee Utd Brora Rangers 1-1 Rangers Ventura Fusion County (no laughing at the back please) 3-1 Rangers Rangers 1-2 Hearts Alloa 1-1 Rangers Rangers 1-3 Hibs Rangers 1-1 Alloa
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RANGERS defender Darren McGregor admits he has been impressed with how Hearts have performed in the SPFL Championship. Robbie Neilson's team has gone undefeated in the second tier this season and currently sits four points clear at the top of the table after 12 games. But McGregor has questioned how the Tynecastle club's young players will cope when the pressure on them grows in the weeks ahead. And the stopper has vowed to turn up the heat on the capital club by helping the Gers overcome Alloa in today's league match at Ibrox. "Hearts have had a great season so far," he admitted. "I can't say they've not done well - they've done amazingly well. "The nucleus of players who were involved for them last season have now bedded in. "I played against them with St Mirren and I think they are a better team this season than last with the experience they have brought in. "In the summer they signed the big defender Alim Ozturk, who has a decent shot on him, while former Dundee United player Morgaro Gomis has settled it down for them in the middle of the park. I really do think they've done superbly. "But my question would be about when the pressure starts increasing and their points advantage gets smaller - can they handle it?" McGregor added: "The lead Hearts had at the top of the league was up to nine points at one stage and now it's four. "And if we beat Alloa it will be down to one point before they kick-off their match away to Falkirk at 5.30pm. "All we can do is win games and apply the pressure. We know that we want to be at the top of the table and we will do everything to get there. "People will tell you that they don't look at papers or their closest contenders but the first thing you do after a game is look to see how your opposition have done. Hearts will be no different. "This will be the first time since the start of the season that they will really feel the pressure if we get their lead down to a single point. "It's a totally different ball game when the pressure is on. "It will be interesting to see how they deal with it." McGregor came on as a late substitute for Rangers in their 2-1 loss to Hearts at Ibrox on the first weekend of the league season back in August. However, he insists that Ally McCoist's team has improved massively since that game and has a good chance of avenging that disappointing result when they take on Neilson's side at Tynescastle next Saturday. THE 29-year-old Light Blues ace said: "The momentum we have gathered over the last eight games means that confidence is high. Any player will tell you that's massive. "We're training well, scoring and keeping clean sheets. That just builds confidence. It will be a great occasion next week. "I think some people have just found their feet here. We have built up this momentum of scoring goals and also not conceding them and now it's about keeping that going." McGregor, though, is focusing fully on today's match with part-time Alloa that Rangers need to win to stay in touch with the league leaders. He said: "For me, this game against Alloa is just as big as the Hearts one. We need to take the three points and apply the pressure. With Hearts kicking off after we've finished, it gives us a chance to do that. "But Alloa proved in the last game we played against them at their place that they are a good team. Whether that's also the case away from home we will have to wait and see. "We're looking forward to it. We have applied ourselves in training this week and we're on a good run just now." McGregor has established himself as first-choice centre- half during Gers' eight-game winning run and has helped them keep out the opposition's forwards for the last six games. He said: "Half a dozen clean sheets in a row is good. I have built up a good partnership with Lee McCulloch. "The manager has told us that we set the tone and lead from the front. "We know that if we keep a clean sheet in games we'll win them because we have guys up front who will put the ball in the back of the net." ALTHOUGH he is delighted to be playing now in his preferred position in the heart of the defence, McGregor does not resent having to begin his Rangers career at full-back. He said: "Centre-half is my position but I played right-back at the start of the season when Richard Foster was injured. "I enjoyed it even though I felt that I wouldn't fulfil my potential there. Playing right back gave me the grounding I probably needed in a Rangers shirt as it was a position where there maybe wasn't as much expected of me. "It settled me down so it was a blessing in disguise." Meanwhile, McGregor has praised the role Kenny Miller has had in Rangers' winning run since returning to the side. He said: "Kenny is a great leader in the dressing room and on the field. You can see a lot of younger guys looking up to him. He inspires them. He's a great asset. "I've seen him doing a bit of analysis on TV and he's great at that too. He demands the boys do everything the right way and I've no problem with that. "It's not as if he moans for no reason, he does it because he wants the best. That includes giving me a hard time for not dropping back and taking the ball off the keeper. "I have to put my hand up and say, 'Okay, Kenny, I'll do it next time.' "He has the experience of playing at the highest level. "You need to absorb all the information he has. You'd be stupid not to. I love all of that." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/darren-wonders-how-hearts-will-cope-when-rangers-turn-up-title-188735n.25877703
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The 22-year-old man was fatally injured during the 2016 European Championship qualifier at Celtic Park in Glasgow, police say. A man has died after suffering a fall at Celtic Park in Glasgow during a Euro 2016 qualifier between Scotland and Ireland. The 22-year-old fan appeared to fall in a stairwell at exit 33 within the stadium at the end of the match around 9.30pm on Friday, police said. He was taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary where he died of his injuries. A police spokesman said: "Relatives have been informed and the Health and Safety Executive have been made aware. "There are no suspicious circumstances and a report will be prepared for the procurator fiscal." Scotland made their first home victory over Ireland in 53 years as they beat their neighbours 1-0 in their Group D qualifier. They go level on seven points with Ireland and Germany, with Poland Group D leaders with 10. The stadium was almost at its 60,000 capacity during the match. http://news.sky.com/story/1373720/fan-dies-after-stairwell-fall-at-celtic-park Tragic, R.I.P.
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Found this on twitter this morning - apparently this can be purchased from Burtons. https://twitter.com/theZhangx/status/533173253448417280/photo/1
