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  1. I am hearing that both Keevins and Guidi have been rationalised, let go, elbowed, received their jotters, .................... etc from the Mirror Group. More to follow.
  2. I'm not wanting to start an 'Ally bashing' thread as such as right now I don't think there is any point. We could argue all day about decisions, tactics etc. After speaking to/texting all of my mates/family during/after the game yesterday it was clear than NONE of us wanted Ally to remain in charge. And a few of us were complete Ally defenders of late. Some may have been just a knee jerk reaction to the result I'm not sure. Which led me to this, is there anyone that actually wants Ally to stay? And if so why?
  3. http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/a-shameful-state-of-play.html
  4. by Graham Taylor | Guest Contributor I’ll be the first to admit that when the name of Sandy Easdale was first mooted as having a possible involvement at Rangers in November 2012 I didn’t know the first thing about him, as no doubt many that do not live in the central belt probably didn’t either. Handily though, the Daily Record were quick to point people in the direction of Mr Easdale’s somewhat questionable business past with an article entitled “Bus tycoon Sandy Easdale who was jailed over VAT fraud is courted as possible investor at Ibrox”. Taken at face value at a time when the club was needing to regain its credibility following the disastrous insolvency experience under the stewardship of Craig Whyte, I, like many, was aghast at the thought of an individual with an equally-dubious business background to that of Whyte being involved at the club. It was noticeable from the story that the Rangers spokesman at the time felt it necessary to give direct comment on the possible involvement of Easdale at the club. Looking back it is clear that, even from that early stage, Sandy Easdale was being lined up for a prominent role at the club. As the beginnings of a boardroom turf war started to creep its way into the spotlight Sandy and his brother James joined the embattled Charles Green in the Directors' Box for the friendly against Linfield. It was around this time that Green was feeling the heat for his links to Craig Whyte and the fallout from his racist remarks in a Sunday newspaper interview, so with the focus firmly on Green it was perhaps an ideal opportunity for the Easdale brothers to be seen with the man firmly in the public domain. Days later, Green resigned his post as Chief Executive of the club. A few days beyond that, it was announced by BBC Scotland’s Chris McLaughlin that James Easdale–and not Sandy–would be buying the seven percent shareholding held by Green. Now, given what we know now, why was it James that was announced as the man looking to buy the sizeable shareholding and not Sandy who has been largely the main figure at the club in recent times? And why was it claimed by McLaughlin that the brothers held a shareholding far in-excess of what they could possibly have held then and still do to this day? Coincidentally, it became common knowledge around this time that Jack Irvine had become the Easdale brothers’ personal PR representative. This led to the infamous interview where Sandy and, to a lesser extent, James laid out their vision for Rangers going forward to BBC Scotland’s Chief Football Correspondent whilst sitting in one of their buses. For businessmen hoping to be taken seriously in their objective of securing board representation, it was an abjectly embarrassing episode. Sure enough and even with a relatively small level of shareholding James Easdale was given a non-executive Director role on the plc board. Sandy would have to wait a few weeks later for his role on the Ltd company board, which he was later named Chairman of with the remit to run the business side of the club that the plc board did not run day-to-day. Sandy was subsequently asked in an interview with STV’s Peter Smith if he felt his conviction for VAT Fraud in 1997 contributed to him being unable to take a role on the plc board. He denied this was the case and said it was his decision to not take up a role on the plc board. It was widely discussed in October last year, none more so than by the former Scotsman journalist Tom English in an amusing parody, that Easdale did not wish for Dave King to be involved at the club and that Easdale’s PR representative had been briefing journalists that King’s potential involvement would be vetoed by the relevant authorities. King himself admitted last month that his recent discussions with a view to investing in the club were held with Easdale and not the Chief Executive Graham Wallace or the Chairman of the Investment Committee Norman Crighton. King has since said that had it not been for fan pressure then the board would not have met with him in the last few days. Now what possible problem would Sandy Easdale have with a committed fan investor such as Dave King being involved in the restoration of Rangers? If he’s as big a supporter as he claims to be then getting King involved is a no-brainer, but if the above is true then it seems Easdale is continually putting obstacles in the way of King getting in the door. Why? The question that many would pose is just what purpose does Rangers Football Club hold for Mr Alexander Easdale? Does he see the club as a passionate hobby and is involved to assist the club in its return to its rightful place? Does he see Rangers as a commercial opportunity to make a profit from, as is the case with the various institutional investors? Or does he see his involvement as a chance to create a public profile that would give him the type of status that is indicative of others with similar wealth in Scotland? And with the added bonus of providing him with a less-than-dubious prefix to his name when being discussed in media circles, unlike the “ex-con” he was described as in the above Daily Record article prior to his involvement at the club? The questions surrounding Easdale don’t end there. For instance, why has he decided that Craig Houston from the Sons of Struth or the GersNet site is more deserving of litigation proceedings than the fans of lesser clubs or frequenters of bus and coach forums who constantly label him with the same terms? Why have his solicitors Levy McRae issued legal letters for and demanded immediate cessation on Rangers fan forums only and not targeted these various other football and travel sites? One Google search will confirm that this is the case, yet he has chosen to make an example of an ordinary Rangers supporter, as Alexander also claims to be. Why? Why did he claim in the interview with Peter Smith that he had investors lined up to invest in Rangers if need be? If so, why were these investors not approached prior to him providing a loan facility that is secured against valuable tangible assets such as Edmiston House and the Albion car park? Did these investors even exist or was it just bluster for the cameras? With the voting rights of Blue Pitch Holdings and Margarita Funds Holding Trust still registered in his name does he still have a binding agreement to purchase the remainder of Charles Green’s shareholding as per the Media House press release of 30th August 2013, an acquisition which would take him over the concert party threshold of 29.9 percent? And given his good relationship with the individuals behind these trusts, why won’t he come to an agreement with them to publicly reveal their identities to allay fears that certain individuals with alleged criminal activities are involved? For all the questions there are over Sandy Easdale’s involvement at Rangers, there is one that stands out more than most: If the institution that is Rangers means as much to him as he claims, why is that everything he has done in his time in the limelight appears to be to the detriment of what the vast majority consider to be in the best interests of Rangers Football Club? And does he even care...? http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2014/03/posing-question-of-alexander-easdale.html
  5. What has happened to Celtic's support of this rhag now that they have untold millions to spend? From Quinty on RM, http://t.co/IDysjpkfvH THE Daily Record and Sunday Mail newspapers are seeking applications for voluntary redundancy – on ‘enhanced terms’. Confirmed a spokesperson at publishers, Media Scotland (a division of Trinity Mirror): “Media Scotland has the country’s biggest combined print and digital audience. “While print circulations and advertising revenues are declining, we are seeing positive growth in digital. We need to restructure our business so we can invest and take advantage of that growth. “I am keen to ensure this is done in the most open way possible so we are announcing a voluntary severance scheme which will allow those who wish to apply the opportunity to request to leave their employment on enhanced terms.” There is no official word on numbers or types of posts that the newspapers might most want to dispense with. It is understood Media Scotland manager director, Allan Rennie, is to address staff at 2pm today, and there is to be a NUJ chapel meeting tomorrow at 3pm. * * * from TrueAzure on RM, "The Father of Chapel (FoC) and Mother of Chapel (MoC) are the titles in the United Kingdom referring to a shop steward representing members of a trade union in a printing office or in journalism. The FoC or MoC is assisted by the Clerk of the Chapel or by a Deputy FoC/MoC. In the printing trade, a Chapel was the traditional name given to a meeting of compositors. The name originates in the early history of printing in Great Britain, when printing offices were controlled by churches (hence "chapel"). The name also honours the origins of British trade unionism, where non-conformist churches often acted as covers for trade union activity, which was illegal at the time." I guess we should help them out by not clicking on their online versions !!
  6. Don't have much to go on, but apparently King is predicting our financial meltdown again in another Keith Jackson article....
  7. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-football-star-ian-redford-3009308?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter FORMER Rangers and Dundee United star Ian Redford, who was once Scottish football's most expensive signing, has been found dead aged 53. Police today confirmed that they have recovered the body of the former midfielder in Irvine earlier today. Redford, whose autobiography was serialised in the Daily Record last year, signed for Rangers for a then-Scottish transfer record of £210,000 in 1980. Over the next five years at Ibrox he made over 200 appearances for the club, winning the Scottish Cup and playing his part in three League Cup victories. He then returned to his native Tayside to join Jim McLean at Dundee United in 1985 where he played in their UEFA Cup Final defeat. The talented goal-scoring midfielder, who was called up on several occasions but never played for the national team, played for Ipswich Town, St Johnstone and Brechin in his latter years before finishing his career as a League Cup winner with Raith Rovers in 1995. More news to follow at dailyrecord.co.uk and in tomorrow's paper.
  8. http://twitpic.com/dtp3jl According to the Daily Record. Bid of £900k rejected with club holding out for £1.4m. Don't grudge him a move tbh, he has earned it but the fee annoys me somewhat. A possible loss on such a good player is just typical of us. We are talking about a player in his prime, an international footballer and one who plays in a position where it is hard to find good ones. Of course we will survive and win the next two leagues without him but that doesn't mean i like it. If it was Celtic in our place, Lennon would be all over the media saying how priceless Lee is and how no one could afford him and Liewell would have his lapdogs writing the player is worth their standard £10m no matter the level he plays. As delusional as their tactics are, we need to take a leaf or two from their book. Why not tell the agents brokering the deal that the fee is £5m, we may get 3/4s of that. Who knows.
  9. http://www.sportinglife.com/football//news/article/26854/9012286/violence-mars-hoops-clash Violence mars Hoops clash Last Updated: November 6 2013, 23:34 GMT Celtic's Champions League trip to Ajax has been marred by a clash between supporters and police in the centre of Amsterdam before kick-off, following which 15 fans have been arrested. Amsterdam Police told Press Association Sport that fans armed with bottles and sticks attacked plain-clothed police in an incident described as "coming out of nowhere". Eight police officers were injured with one knocked unconscious following the fighting in Dam Square, in the city centre. Police said the majority of those arrested were Celtic fans, although it is believed that supporters from other clubs were also involved. "At the end of the afternoon a large group of Celtic supporters attacked police officers in plain clothes," a spokesman told Press Association Sport. "Eight were injured and one was knocked unconscious. "A few of them had broken noses and needed stitches above their eyebrows and on their lips. "Bottles and sticks were used in the attack which came out of nowhere. "There were 15 arrests, mostly Celtic supporters." Celtic lost the match 1-0 and face an uphill battle to reach the knockout stages of the competition. Amsterdam Police said it expected the number of 15 arrests to rise during the night and that a final figures would be "high". It is thought that fans from other European clubs were involved, although police said they "had kept themselves covered". Celtic supporters had been urged by the club to be careful after an attack on Hoops supporters in a city-centre bar on Tuesday night. Thousands of Celtic supporters flooded into Holland for the Group H game at the Amsterdam ArenA. A statement on the Celtic website said: "Celtic Football Club is urging all supporters in Amsterdam for tonight's UEFA Champions League tie with Ajax to be extra vigilant following an unprovoked attack on Celtic fans last night "The attack in the city centre by an element of the Ajax support resulted in a number of arrests. "Celtic are urging all supporters to be extra vigilant in the city centre and at the Amsterdam ArenA, and to only stick to the advised areas for safety reasons." At the pre-match media conference on Tuesday afternoon, Ajax coach Frank De Boer expressed hope that the tiny percentage of fans he describes as "crazy" would not disrupt the game. UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against the Dutch club after some of their supporters clashed with police and stewards at Parkhead last month during a match which the home side won 2-1. The case will be dealt with by UEFA's control and disciplinary panel on November 21. De Boer admitted that some Ajax fans remain a concern when asked if he was confident of the game passing off trouble-free. "I am confident in that but you never know," said the former Rangers player. "There is always some crazy people (who) try to disturb something but hopefully it will not happen."
  10. Couple of digs at Ally. Also claims to be a lot fitter now. I feel he mentions the pressure not getting to him too much. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-fleck-starting-hit-heights-3003530'>http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-fleck-starting-hit-heights-3003530 IT’S easy to forget John Fleck is just 22. He appeared in the 2008 Scottish Cup Final for Rangers at 16 but was being hailed as Scotland’s next big thing long before then. That’s why when the Scot reflects on a rollercoaster start to his career, even he says the hype was unjustified. Fleck left Glasgow for the first time in summer 2012 – after the Ibrox club’s financial meltdown – to begin a new life in Coventry, away from the city’s goldfish bowl and Old Firm spotlight. And 18 months on the little playmaker believes the move has been the making of him. More mature, both on and off the pitch, Fleck is now a father and senior member of Steven Pressley’s Sky Blues dressing room. For the first time there are no Wayne Rooney comparisons and predictions of being Scotland’s next superstar. Instead, he’s simply enjoying the most productive spell of his career so far. Fleck told Record Sport: “I get asked all the time if I couldn’t handle the weight of expectation on my shoulders at Ibrox. But I can honestly say it didn’t affect me at all. “I’m a laidback person and tried not to take any notice of the hype. I just tried to do my best – if that was good enough, great, if not there wasn’t a lot I could do about it. “I’m now starting to show if I’m played in the right position by a manager who has faith in me I can do well. I’m getting the rewards for that at Coventry. “I can always do better. But the expectation on me at a young age was too much. People were taking it too far. “Even back then I felt people were talking me up so they could knock me back down. “In a way that’s what happened. So I’m glad I didn’t let it influence me. I feel I’m playing well now. “I’m doing what I’ve always done – trying to get on the ball, play passes and make things happen. “I’m a lot fitter than I was at Rangers too and I’m feeling really good right now.” Fleck is one of the first names on Pressley’s teamsheet at Coventry and is operating where he always wanted to at Rangers, in the heart of midfield. People questioned the switch to the Midlands, especially as City subsequently suffered similar financial problems to Gers and were forced out of their Ricoh Arena stadium. But the former Scotland Under-21 starlet has no regrets and now sees his long-term future in England. He said: “The move has been great and I’ve played in almost every game this season. “The manager has got the team doing well – we think we can really do something in this league. We’ve also done well in the FA Cup and have Arsenal at the Emirates in the next round. “Personally, it’s just good to be a regular in the team. I had to take my chance down here. It was the first time I’d moved away from Glasgow permanently so I didn’t know what to expect. “I’d like to think I’ve taken the opportunity and, looking at it now, things have worked out for the better. “I’m playing in central midfield, where I’ve always wanted to, for a manager who believes in me. So I’m really enjoying it. “It’s a physical league and I’m a wee guy but I’ve always liked a tackle. I’ve never been scared to do that side of the game. “Coventry have had their problems recently but they’re a massive club with a huge fanbase. The supporters have been brilliant with me. “I’d like to stay down here as long as I can and it would be great to be part of Coventry’s revival. No one gave us a chance in the summer but we’re getting there – and I want to take the club back where it belongs.” Fleck is still the same kid who burst on to the scene at Rangers and scored an Ibrox winner aged just 17. But his outlook has now changed, largely due to the birth of son Hudson in June. However, despite settling down away from the pitch he’s as determined as he’s ever been to fulfil the potential every scout in Scotland saw in him when he was barely out of school. He said: “I wouldn’t say there’s less pressure here than playing for Rangers. I always put pressure on myself to play well. The manager also expects a lot from me at Coventry. “Maybe from the supporters there was more pressure at Ibrox. But no matter who I was playing for I’d put pressure on myself. “I’m still ambitious and want to play at the highest level. I’m only 22 so have my whole career ahead of me. “That’s the problem, people think I’m a lot older because I made my Rangers debut at 15. But I’m still young so I’m just concentrating on doing well for City. “That debut seems like a long time ago – but I’m looking forward to the future now. “I’ve matured as a person down here. I’ve had a kid, my wee boy Hudson is five months old, and I’m trying to look out for him now along with his mum Lauren. “I’m loving it but it changes your life. It’s amazing, so everything’s good right now. I’m a Glasgow boy but I’m enjoying life in England. “It’s difficult getting up the road to see family but that’s just part of football. I’d like to play in Scotland again at some point but at the moment I see my future in England.” From Daily record: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/john-fleck-starting-hit-heights-3003530
  11. I popped into the local supermarket this morning and as usual, on leaving I flipped over a few newspapers to view the fitba headlines. The Record's take on Bilel Mohsni's behaviour last evening was a standout. In two short, two sentence paragraphs, he was described as a 'hothead', 'mad', 'bonkers', and 'mental'. Demonisation? I attended the game last night and thought Mohsni unnecessarily took the bait and deserved to be cautioned. He was being escorted from the pitch by Faure and words were exchanged with both Gary Bollan and Kiegan Parker in turn. Gesticulations too, with the latter. I don't know what occurred in the tunnel, but again not surprised he was further cautioned. Thus, two yellows make a red; fair enough. Mad, bonkers, and hothead are descriptive words applicable to Gregor Stevens or Chopper Harris. I was listening to BBC Radio Scotland last Saturday and Parkers name cropped up, Bollan was being congratulated on securing his services. The usual suspects succumbed to the usual testimony, early talent, early promise, ....... not realised. Alan 'Biscuits' Preston announced he had played with him at St Johnstone in the late 90s and agreed with his undoubted talent line but decreed, "he was a fruitcake". Derek Ferguson cautioned the description, Preston replied with, "he was an absolute fruitcake". Hyperbole appears to be the name of the game, what can we expect when bonkers meets absolute fruitcake? A couple of cautions. Anyways, well done the Daily Record. On the day when the Co-op bank has demanded more security from ra Sellik on their soft loan, dust down the Gregor Stevens thesaurus.
  12. By Keith Jackson, Anthony Haggerty ........as Ally McCoist gets set for decisive meeting with Ibrox chief Graham Wallace 31 Dec 2013 07:15 WALLACE admitted at the club’s agm that Rangers can’t continue to haemorrhage cash and McCoist is bracing himself for instructions to oversee savage reductions. ALLY McCOIST is facing a crunch New Year showdown with chief executive Graham Wallace to discover the full extent of an expected Ibrox cost-cutting purge. The Rangers boss watched his side go 14 points clear in League One last night with a 4-0 win at nearest challengers Dunfermline. And Record Sport understands McCoist will meet with Wallace this weekend, as soon as the recently appointed CEO returns from a break abroad. Top of the agenda will be how badly his first-team budget will be affected if Wallace follows through on his promise to slash wages across the board in a bid to stave off another financial trauma. Wallace admitted at the club’s agm earlier this month that Rangers can’t continue to haemorrhage cash at the levels which have seen them burn through almost £22million of IPO money in 12 months. The wage bill for McCoist’s first-team squad currently accounts for only around £6m of that total but the manager is bracing himself for bad news and instructions to oversee further savage reductions. A close source said: “This is a very delicate situation and one which Wallace will have to handle carefully. “On the one hand he is absolutely correct when he talks about a need to cut costs because the levels of spending are clearly not sustainable. “But at the same time there is an argument of false economics and a genuine worry that further reducing the quality of the manager’s squad will bring about a sizeable drop in season-ticket sales. “There are obvious trust issues between the supporters and this board already and there is a very real danger that more and more fans will be turned off if the product on the park is made to suffer. “This meeting will be an early test of the chief executive’s credentials.” After last night’s win at East End Park, McCoist said: “Graham is back in the first week in January and I’ll be better qualified to comment then.” The Ibrox gaffer also played down rumours forward Dean Shiels would be the first casualty of the cuts. Twitter went into overdrive yesterday with claims the Northern Ireland international, who earns a reputed £7000 a week, has been told he is free to find another club. But McCoist said: “There’s no truth in that rumour. Dean was on the bench here and is in our plans. “It doesn’t anger me. I know not to believe everything I read and hear. Hopefully it doesn’t unsettle Dean.” Gers took a big stride towards the title last night as they moved 14 clear of the Pars with a game in hand. But McCoist said: “I can’t say the league is over. I never would say it and be disrespectful to the opposition. What I will say is that was a big three points. We were playing the team closest to us and they were making one or two noises about the game.” Pars boss Jim Jefferies said: “We did not have any experienced players and that makes a huge difference. The boys made mistakes but I don’t want to blame them as they will learn.”
  13. THE treble-winning manager insists Ally McCoist is building for bigger challenges in the future and cannot afford to lose his best players. ALEX McLEISH has pleaded with the re-elected Rangers board not to dismantle Ally McCoist’s squad as a quick fix to their cash problems. Light Blues chief executive Graham Wallace admitted at Thursday’s agm that a “rigorous review of our football squad” could take place as the club looks to cut costs despite a £22million share issue a year ago. The Gers money men are also trying to find finance amid fears they could run out of cash by April and McLeish knows only too well how cashing in on players is sometimes the easiest option. But the former treble-winning boss is well aware from his own time at Ibrox that there’s only one outcome when you flog your best assets on the park – and he doesn’t want to see McCoist suffer. Rangers fans fear top performer Lee Wallace could be targeted in the January window with the club’s financial position making them vulnerable to cash offers. The latest set of annual accounts showed McCoist’s playing budget of £8m was £2m less than the overall costs for non-playing staff with a string of directors and executives coining it in and some receiving bumper pay-offs as the coffers have been all but emptied. McLeish knows the current Rangers squad is a cut above their League One rivals but insists McCoist is building for bigger challenges ahead and facing Celtic again in the top flight. Eck told Record Sport: “When a club is looking to raise cash the easy option is just to sell your biggest playing assets. “I hope they don’t sell players as a quick fix because it would set back Ally’s building plans. “Lee Wallace is the one people are talking about as being of the biggest value. Now, Ally might have enough cover to get away with losing Lee Wallace now but what about in two years if they are in the Premiership? “That is what the Rangers board have to be aiming towards – backing the manager to build a team capable of challenging in the top flight. “Lee Wallace is a great player and I’m sure he would be great for Coisty in the next level. “Let the new board back Ally McCoist. There’s top businessmen in there with the Easdales and Graham Wallace so they’ve got to make sure Rangers get back to the top level. “Ally has done the job. I went to five or six games last season and it wasn’t pretty stuff but he got the guys over the line. “He’s made it more attractive this season, albeit they’ve won games late in the second half, and that’s probably due to the great coaching and training and top class people at Murray Park. “But it’s also because of the quality so they shouldn’t lose that. I saw Jon Daly in his first game against Brechin City at Ibrox and he missed four sitters and people were writing him off. “I said to myself, ‘He will score a barrowload for Rangers’ and he’s proving that already. “It’s now of huge importance that Ally gets the chance to work with his players and build a team that will be able to get to the top flight and challenge Celtic again in the long term.” McLeish lost key players during his time at Rangers when the club needed cash and his reputation suffered in a trophyless season before David Murray backed him with cash again and he paid the then owner back with the title. That’s why Eck believes it’s simple – provide a manager with quality players and you will reap the rewards. The 54-year-old said: “I know how difficult it is as a manager when you lose your best players. “I joked the other day about the agm after my first full season in charge and we’d won the treble. One shareholder said, ‘Alex, you walk on water’ and I said, ‘I hope you’re saying that next year’. “But we lost a lot of quality – Barry Ferguson, Claudio Caniggia, Arthur Numan left, we sold Lorenzo Amoruso and Neil McCann and Ronald de Boer’s knee was causing problems. “There’s only one way you’re quality is going to go when you lose your best players and that’s down the way – and to be fair the next season after we lost players David Murray backed me. “We secured two fantastic Bosmans early on in Jean-Alain Boumsong and Dado Prso and we ended up winning the League and Cup double. “I’m not saying you don’t need a manager but when I asked Arsene Wenger what made a great manager he said ‘Great players’. “That’s true and it’s true at every level. The current Rangers squad might not be Barcelona-level players but they are a cut above the level they’re playing at now and they’re the guys who will get Coisty to the next division. “It won’t be easy next season in the Championship and if he starts to lose that quality then he’ll get criticised just like I did and suddenly you think you’re hopeless but that’s not the case. “Coisty knows the game inside out but he needs players. I’d hope the likes of the Easdale brothers would back Coisty big time.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-rangers-boss-alex-mcleish-2947887
  14. .............of how crucial Rangers' agm vote will be KEITH reckons the scenario which led to Rangers' League One clash with Stenhousemuir at Ochilview being postponed came at the perfect time for supporters to re-examine what has gone on at their club. AS reminders go, this one was perfectly timed. A league game called off because of an incident involving a burger van. A moment for Rangers fans to pause and reflect on the scale of the damage done to their club by a seemingly endless cast of pantomime villains over the past two-and-a-half years. Of how far these “custodians” have allowed this once mighty institution to fall. It’s not their fault, of course. How could they be expected to notice what was going on around them in their unrelenting rush to scoop up every last blue pound? These people have their priorities you know. As a result, at a time when Celtic were licking wounds inflicted upon them at the Nou Camp, Rangers suffered an altogether different kind of indignity at the weekend. Sidelined, for the first time in history, because a deep fat fryer on wheels crashed into a temporary stand. Such is life in the Wacky Races of Scotland’s lower leagues. But now – with the club’s long- awaited agm just days away – would seem like the ideal time for Rangers supporters to re-examine how on earth they got here in the first place. Perhaps to ensure history is not allowed to repeat itself. Paul Murray couldn’t have planned it any better had he pranged the van himself and made off into the streets of Stenhousemuir under the cover of darkness. If ever there was an episode that sums up the depth of this club’s current plight then this was surely it. In the grand scheme of things, Rangers have become little more than a farce. The Whytes, the Greens, the Ahmads, connections with men on Interpol’s most wanted list, the financial director’s home videos, the bonus culture and large pay-offs, the never-ending investigations and probes, the court cases, the missing millions, the endless spin and counter spin. This is what Rangers of today have become. Meanwhile, in a sporting context, they have reduced themselves to the kind of semi-irrelevance that can have a fixture knocked out by a cheeseburger and chips. Yet no matter how surreal or ridiculous this whole saga has become, in the boardroom battle all sides demand to be taken seriously. And with the shareholders about to shape the future of this club on Thursday, never has the situation required a more studied analysis. The latest offering from inside Ibrox came on Friday of last week when Sandy Easdale invited the BBC and STV round. “I’m no one’s puppet,” was the thrust of his message. But the truth is – with so many proxy votes to protect – he is actually representing the interests of others. In fact, it would seem absurd to expect anything else. Easdale has a duty to do what he is told by those who have entrusted him with their votes. With so much at stake, this is hardly the time or place for him to act like some kind of free spirit. The Easdales swear Charles Green is not involved in their decision making. But Green is in many ways the reason they are slap bang in the middle of this thing. Without him and his old allies at Margarita and Blue Pitch Holdings, the Easdales would hardly have enough votes to merit a say at all. There is another question which might trouble these voters as they prepare to go to the polls. How on earth can the Easdales, chairman David Somers and chief executive Graham Wallace support a financial director, Brian Stockbridge, whose own credibility has been shot to bits among the fans at least? And yet Somers would have these same supporters believe they owe Stockbridge a debt for helping to hold the club together? That they ought to look up to this man as some sort of saviour? That appraisal may come back to haunt him. He claimed also he would not know Green or Craig Whyte if he bumped into them in the street, which displays an alarming lack of knowledge about the main characters in this club’s decline. It may interest Somers to know his predecessor in the big chair, Walter Smith, will have been astonished by attempts to rewrite history. The truth is Stockbridge’s continued presence is one of the reasons Smith – a man who has given most of his adult life to Rangers – cannot bring himself to return to Ibrox, even as a spectator. Come to think of it, John Greig – the man voted the club’s greatest ever servant – has not been back either since being equally sickened by the behaviour of Whyte. Men such as Smith and Greig have been around this club for too long, they care about it too deeply, to accept it in its current form. They struggle to recognise this Rangers. Which is why both will hope their club changes for the better this Thursday. God knows, they can never have seen it any worse.
  15. Saturday, 30 November 2013 13:55 Club Statement Written by Rangers Football Club THE Club is extremely disappointed that a flare was set off from the North Stand at today's game against Falkirk. These devices are inherently dangerous and represent a real risk to fans. players and match officials. Today's incident has resulted in the playing surface being damaged and the Club are now investigating this matter and will be supporting the Police with their inquiries. http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5693-club-statement
  16. Good to see this - apparently the booked suite holds 500 people!
  17. New Rangers chairman David Somers has turned his fire on the ‘Gang of Four’ trying to shake up the Ibrox boardroom — and urged shareholders to vote down their attempted rebellion. Somers directly questioned the credentials of former chairman Malcolm Murray, ex-director Paul Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch, the four ‘requisitioners’ seeking a place on the board. In an attack immediately described as a ‘smokescreen’ by the Murray-led group, the chairman — promoted from interim to permanent just last week — expressed doubt over whether they had even filed the necessary paperwork needed for the AGM on December 19. Arguing that they hadn’t obtained consent from the Stock Market or from the SFA, and that their nominations have not been properly proposed under the club’s own Articles of Association, Somers said: ‘There can be no guarantee that each of these individuals will be found to be suitable to act as a director of the company or that the board would be able to function properly.’ Under the plan being fronted by Paul Murray, with help from Jim McColl, the current five-man board will have to stand for re-election at the AGM. If they are swept from power, the new men would take control. A source close to Murray and McColl attacked Somers’ statement as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘a smokescreen using technicalities’, while confirming that all the nominations would be properly filed at least seven days before the AGM, as the rules dictate. The decision by Somers to seek popular support ahead of the meeting is interesting, partly because many had assumed that the board already had more than enough votes to quash Murray and McColl. Isle of Man-based hedge fund managers Laxey Partners, who increased their shareholding to over 11.5 per cent recently, pledged their support last week. That was considered to be enough to tip the balance against the requisitioners. If Somers is chasing votes, though, it may suggest a recalculation of exactly what is needed in order to stave off a popular vote for wholesale change at the top. Rangers manager Ally McCoist, meanwhile, has offered a positive assessment of new chief executive Graham Wallace, who saw the team win 3-0 at Arbroath on Monday night. ‘I’ve met Graham a couple of times now and things have gone very well,’ said McCoist. ‘We had our first meeting last Friday at Ibrox. I then got a phone call from him saying he had changed his diary and he was coming up to the Arbroath game. ‘That was great. He came along to the hotel, we had a cup of tea and I introduced him to the players. ‘It was very positive and the meetings we’ve had so far have been encouraging. He seems to be a football man, which I have to tell you I’m thrilled about. ‘Graham’s CV is as good as anybody’s. He’s Scottish, so he certainly knows Rangers, and I don’t have any doubt he knows what is required here to take the club back to the top. ‘The most important thing is the club. Our relationship is very important and, from speaking to Graham, all the indications are he’s very aware of the problems we’ve had in the past.’ Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2514148/Rangers-chairman-David-Somers-hits-Ibrox-Gang-Four.html#ixzz2lpwVTcpS Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
  18. CAMPBELL OGILVIE was spot on when he criticised both sides of the Old Firm for their petulant behaviour. But the SFA chairman’s comments about the sniping between the clubs wasting time and money will no doubt fall on deaf ears once more. Why? The petty point scoring we’ve seen from the hierarchy at both Celtic and Rangers recently is not dignified or appropriate. It’s like they are trying to fuel the masses already at boiling point. Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell’s jibe about Rangers was a throwaway comment meant to rouse supporters at the AGM but nothing more sinister. The SFA compliance officer found he had no case to answer for his attempt at stand-up comedy. And as for Rangers being upset enough to file a complaint to the SFA? They have stumbled from one crisis to another in recent months but still find it necessary to get involved in childish debate. Those at the SFA bunker must have thought it was a joke when Gers’ complaint about Lawwell dropped through the letterbox What purpose did it serve other than waste the time of an association already bogged down with more pressing concerns. It makes you sick to the pit of your stomach when you see these two squabble like the biggest kids in the playground. How on earth can you expect punters from both sides of the city to keep the head when the bosses are throwing petrol on the fire. Celtic, for their part, should rise above such petty squabbles. They are financially secure thanks to a sound business structure and money pouring in from UEFA. Why get involved? With a huge Champions League game this week, and the fallout from the trouble in Amsterdam still rumbling on, Celtic need to be focused. Meanwhile Rangers, with another chairman entering through the revolving door, should look in the mirror before anyone pens another letter to the SFA. Somebody should tip this club upside down and give it a good shake. Hopefully then the imposters will fall by the wayside and some sort of normality can be found. Why worry about what goes on across the city when the clubs are poles apart? The teams are leagues apart – both in football and financial terms. I’ve always believed that without these two Scottish football would die a slow death. But if they can’t work together the game certainly won’t thrive. Those who man the Daily Record Hotline should be knighted for listening to this drivel Go on any football forum on the internet and the childish chatter between their fans is pathetic. Should we be surprised when the top brass are at it as well?
  19. RANGERS’ new chief exec is a former bigwig at English Premier League giants Manchester City, The Scottish Sun can reveal. Graham Wallace was chief operating officer at the 2012 champions until March. City sources said the 52-year-old Scot, will be unveiled by Gers next week after shaking hands on the deal with chairman David Somers last Wednesday. A source said: “There was a huge response to the advert for a chief executive but Wallace’s credentials blew away all the competition.” Chartered accountant Wallace, from Dumfries, saw off rivals including Dundee chief exec Scot Gardiner, who was also interviewed. He held top finance posts at a string of entertainment giants including MTV Networks Europe, Viacom, Nickelodeon, and IMG Media. Wallace, who lives in Buckinghamshire, was chief financial officer at Man City from 2009 to November 2010, then chief operating officer. He stepped down after the arrival of new chief executive Ferran Soriano, and has been doing consultancy work in the City of London since. The City source said: “He was waiting for the next top job and this is it. His skills and experience will help build Rangers’ global reach.” Wallace’s appointment is part of the current Ibrox regime’s attempt to shore up the board before a shareholders vote on who runs the club at Rangers’ AGM next month. Investment banker Norman Crighton, 47, was announced as a director yesterday.
  20. AS the row over Peter Lawwell's Celtic AGM comments rumbles on, KEITH JACKSON reckons its time both sides of the Old Firm stopped the grandstanding and concentrated on their own priorities. LIKE Alan Partridge, Scottish football is bouncing back. In just 10 months Gordon Strachan has taken this team of ours and stopped it from being a laughing stock. As a result of all his hard work, Scotland are no longer driving from Norwich to Dundee in their bare feet, gorging on assorted Toblerones. Friday’s 0-0 draw with the USA at Hampden may hardly have been inspirational but even so it was yet more proof that Strachan has us on the road to recovery. His players are not losing games against supposedly vastly superior opponents, even when performing well below their own best standards. That’s progress and it comes at a time when things are looking up. All over the country, talented young players are emerging at club level and thriving with the responsibility of first-team football. Stuart Armstrong has just earned his first call-up to Strachan’s full squad while Ryan Gauld and Stevie May will soon be knocking on the door. At last, after years of internal vandalism, we’re getting our own house back in some sort of order. It’s not immaculate but no longer does it make us cringe with embarrassment. Until, that is, someone goes and mentions the Old Firm. I did it once but I think I got away with it. Oh no wait, that will be the sound of a thousand emails cascading into my inbox. A deluge of dementedness. “Don’t call us the Old Firm. We don’t want anything to do with that other mob.” They may hate the living daylights out of one another but what they do share – in fact what binds them together – is the capacity for ferocious bampottery. Every comment passed in public about one side or the other is picked apart forensically by supporters of both. Often the throwing of these titbits results in an online feeding frenzy, where all reason and logic are the first to be devoured. It has been this way since the invention of the internet. But, just lately, the landscape around Glasgow’s uneasy neighbours has become noticeably darker and poisonous. Which is why Peter Lawwell, of all people, should have displayed better judgment than to poke a big stick into this hornet’s nest at Celtic’s agm on Friday. By gratuitously branding Rangers Rory Bremner FC, Lawwell sent this bitter little world into meltdown. Lawwell’s words were a nod and a wink to the most extremist element of his club’s support and, in a way, a green light for them to pursue their own dubious agendas. Sound familiar? It should do. Because it was not that long ago that a certain big-handed Yorkshireman was doing precisely the same thing to win over the masses at the other side of this never so deeply divided city. It’s called grandstanding and, at a time when emotions are so volatile and feelings so raw, it’s a dangerous road for either of these two clubs to be going down, never mind both of them at once. In opposite directions. The sooner this pair remember that their purpose in life is to play the game, not the galleries, then perhaps the rest of us might be able to get on with the business of helping Scottish football back towards a state of good health rather than constantly being forced to rubberneck by these ceaseless attention seekers. And yet no sooner had Lawwell pressed the button on Friday (successfully diverting attention away from an awkward internal debate about paying his employees a living wage in the process) than Rangers responded with a blast of their own. You could almost hear them inside their Ibrox bunker working out the strategy, above the clicking of a PR guru’s Cuban heels. “Right, where’s that statement slaughtering Celtic and Lawwell. That’s genius. Punters will love it.” Talk about stage-managed rabble rousing? It’s almost as if the current remnants of this Rangers board are being given PR advice from the very same strategical experts who presented Craig Whyte to the world as a billionaire and told him how to go about winning friends and influencing people. Oh, wait a minute. They are. Yes, the very same people who said the Daily Record was lying when it first revealed what Whyte was up to with the club’s season tickets – a full seven months before his ruinous business plan tipped the club into administration. Whoever said motivation doesn’t grow on trees clearly hasn’t gone for a stroll down Edmiston Drive since Whyte stuffed the taxman for £15million under the cover of dark arts. That’s the truth of the matter. Whyte plunged Rangers under and his scandalous behaviour has left a black mark on the very soul of this football club which continues to operate at Ibrox, in blue shirts with the same badges and crests. Whyte was a near-death experience all right but Rangers live on. The real nature of the problem facing Rangers today is not that they have ceased to exist (they are still here after all) but rather they have become unrecognisable from their former selves. And to that end, Lawwell had a point. Like Bremner’s Tony Blair, today’s Rangers are a flimsy impersonation of the real thing. But none of that is the business of Celtic’s chief executive, who would surely be better off concentrating on his own club’s continued dominance, especially now that BT Sport are doubling the value of a ticket into the Champions League. Lawwell was right when he said Celtic are now a stand-alone club. They have proved they do not need Rangers in order to survive and to prosper. The less of UEFA’s loot they have to share, the stronger they will become. Rangers, for their part, face a struggle just to keep HMS Ibrox from sinking for a second time. Let them both get on with it, preferably as far apart from one another as is possible in this twisted little world. In the meantime, just don’t mention the Old Firm.
  21. by Graham Taylor | Guest Contributor Another Friday and yet another example of how Jack Irvine continues to bring more shame to the good name of Rangers Football Club. His rebuttal to a piece in this morning’s Daily Record concerning Dundee CEO Scot Gardiner’s reasons for turning down a seemingly identical role at Ibrox was tantamount to nothing more than a personal attack on a journalist who has made it quite clear he won’t be peddling the ‘Irvine line’ anymore. Keith Jackson can speak for himself, and will do so on tomorrow’s edition of Sportsound Extra regarding the veracity of his article, however this episode is just the latest in a long list of shambolic behaviour attributable to the man charged with the task of handling Rangers’ public relations. http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2013/11/for-good-of-rangers-irvine-must-go.html
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