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MARCH 25, 2014 UNION OF FANS STATEMENT 25TH MARCH 2014 by Union of Fans The Union of Fans (UoF) is delighted that Dave King has publicly stated his impressive plans for Rangers via a number of newspaper interviews. His vision for the club is extremely welcome as is the personal financial commitment he is willing to make. Like all Rangers fans, Dave King and UoF want to see the club back operating to high standards on and off the pitch and in the boardroom. We firmly believe that the involvement of Dave King is the best chance of those standards being attained in the short, medium and long term. It was clear from our discussions with him last week that the £30m+ Mr King is willing to invest is crucial to take the club back to a competitive level and improve the infrastructure and facilities. The club has been neglected, that cannot continue. Only once this investment has been made will Rangers be able to live within its means, something we all want for the longer term future. Until then Dave King has made it clear he will do what is necessary to get Rangers back to where we belong and where we can be self-sustainable. It is also important that Dave King chose to make his views public to the widest possible range of Rangers supporters by conducting interviews with four different newspapers with a combined readership of over 2M people. There can no longer be any criticism of him only speaking privately to supporters groups, though he has pledged to continue that important dialogue in order that the Union of Fans can keep people updated on events. We would now ask the board to indicate publicly, as a matter of urgency, whether they are prepared to accept Dave King’s offer of massive investment. The ball is firmly with the Rangers PLC board, in particular with Chief Executive Officer, Graham Wallace and Chairman, David Somers. Dave King has put a figure on what Rangers need and has shown his commitment to, and ambition for, the club he has supported all his life. Do Mr Wallace and Mr Somers agree with his figures and if they do, how do they propose to raise this large sum of money without Dave King? These are extremely serious corporate matters, therefore they are matters for the PLC board and not for any small, minority shareholder who is not a member of that board and who has no such high level corporate experience. The corporate reputations of Mr Wallace and Mr Somers now rest on their next move. We also note with dismay that Rangers director Sandy Easdale is continuing to pursue what we consider to be a confrontational and frivolous course of legal action against Sons of Struth. We would ask him to remember what it means to be a Rangers director and act accordingly if he wishes to enjoy the privileges of that position.
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/scottish-labour-pledge-scrap-snps-3262872 Not a surprise...
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Meanwhile, Arab Trust board member Mike Barile says that, if Rangers do make the last four, the game should not be played on the Glasgow side's ground. The former chairman of the fans' group said: "I was active in the supporters movement when United and Dundee met in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1987. "Both clubs were prepared to play the game at Tannadice or Dens Park on the toss of a coin, but the SFA insisted that the game had to be played at a neutral stadium. "Now there is the possibility of playing Rangers and it is okay for the game to be played at Ibrox. "Can you imagine the outcry if the SFA were to say the game was to be played at Tannadice? It is a ridiculous decision. "If it is to be Rangers we are to play then the game should be played at a neutral ground." When Celtic Park was chosen as the venue for the final in October, it was announced that both semi-finals would be played at Ibrox. Hampden Park is unavailable because of redevelopment work taking place to lay track for the Commonwealth Games.
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Dr Waiton on Rangers, Free Speech and Sectarianism
ThatsWhyWeirChamps posted a topic in Rangers Chat
http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/rfc-politics/310-dr-waiton-on-rangers-free-speech-and-sectarianism It's an excellent read (the Spiers part especially), very well done to John. -
.....and renew their season tickets. Supporters were alarmed to discover this week that Gers officials were in talks with two investors about a £1.5million loan. They are speaking to the Easdale brothers, James and Sandy, and Laxey Partners, the major shareholders, about the cash injection. The development immediately led to fears that the SPFL League One leaders are in danger of going back into administration. Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace, who is conducting a 120-day restructuring plan, has dismissed that. And McCoist, who attended a board meeting in London on Thursday, has stated he is confident current club hierarchy are on the right track. Fans have threatened to "disengage" with the club in the past by not buying season tickets or official merchandise. But the manager has appealed to them to keep faith in Wallace and his fellow director. McCoist said: "I can understand concerns. Who wouldn't have concerns after what has happened in the last two years? "But at the same time I definitely think that Graham Wallace in particular and the board in general deserve an opportunity to see what they can come up with. "Personally, I feel that I'm building a good relationship with a chief executive who has football experience and I firmly believe will do the best for the club. "I'm in a better place in that respect. There's no doubt about that. The relationship between the chief exec and the manager is the most important at the club. "I feel in a better place with the dialogue I have with Graham. I speak to him a couple of times a day and we meet two or three times a week. "Hopefully in the coming weeks and months a brighter picture will be painted of the long-term future of the club." McCoist added: "There hasn't been a push for season tickets yet, but I think there will be one or two things going on before then that will hopefully point the supporters in the right direction. "For the supporters to buy 70,000 season tickets in the last two years is a staggering statistic. The importance of the season tickets is absolutely vital. "In the coming weeks and months, when we do have the push for season tickets, we will be in a better place to indicate to the fans what the short, medium and long-term future will be." McCoist was told the £1.5m loan is part of an overall business plan at the board meeting and was assured there was no prospect of administration happening. He said: "It's nothing that wasn't planned. It's part of a business plan. The impression that was given to me was that too much has been made of it. It's nothing that wasn't on the agenda. "It was told to me that there certainly won't be administration No.2. That is encouraging because a lot of people are asking the question and I totally understand that." The Rangers Supporters Trust, however, does not share his ease with the current situation. In a statement sent to members last night, the Trust said: "The Rangers Supporters Association, Assembly and Trust have contacted the CEO Graham Wallace to ask for clarification on the proposed loan by directors and/or selected shareholders." Meanwhile, fixtures have been rearranged - Gers v Dunfermline on Saturday, March 15 now at 12.45pm instead of 3pm, live on Sky; Brechin v Gers on Saturday, March 22 now the following day with a 12.45pm start on BT Sport and Gers v Forfar on Tuesday, March 25 at 7.45pm moved back 24 hours to the Wednesday. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/rangers-board-backing-is-just-the-ticket-for-mccoist-153156n.23500951 -
Can anyone confirm or not the differences that exist between these two schemes. 1. BuyRangers you can get your money back after 3 years if you decide to leave the scheme, with RangersFirst you lose the money? 2. BuyRangers all monies raised go to buy shares, in RangersFirst money could be used for other things? 3. BuyRangers and RangersFirst seen it posted elsewhere that more will be used on expenses/costs etc. with RF than BR. Is this correct?
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Update on poll result Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Rangers Supporters Association, Assembly & Trust Statement The Rangers Supporters Association, Assembly and Trust have contacted the CEO Graham Wallace to ask for clarification on the proposed loan by directors and/or selected shareholders. It is of great concern that at the club's AGM in December 2013 Graham advised there was sufficient cash in the business for the club to be able to continue to trade in the short to medium term yet two months later we require a loan for working capital. We would also like assurances that the club have explored all options for attracting fresh investment and this is the best deal available to the club. On the day that the club launched a survey on listening to fans they have ignored shareholding fans overwhelming opposition to resolutions 9 & 10 at the club AGM. Resolution 9 seems to be being used to increase the influence of certain shareholders without affording the same option to others, which is an affront to shareholder democracy and rights. Friend on Facebook Follow on Twitter Forward to a Friend follow on Twitter | friend on Facebook | forward to a friend Copyright © 2014 The Rangers Supporters Trust, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at our website and you are currently a Rangers Supporters Trust Member or Follower Our mailing address is: The Rangers Supporters Trust RST / BuyRangers Administration Clydebank Glasgow, Scotland g80 United Kingdom Add us to your address book unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences
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Been googling and looking through other sites to refresh my memory. The fact that we require loans now to get through the next few months has me questioning the ability/honesty of CEO Graham Wallace. This is what he said in a Q&A article in The Herald on 17th December 2103 " In the short-to-medium term there is sufficient cash within the club in order for it to continue trading on a normal basis." Now he was the Chief Financial Office at Manchester City so I'm assuming he has some kind of accountancy/financial qualification. That being the case when he made that statement only 8 weeks ago was he fully aware of the financial position at the club? Did he check himself? Was he assured by the board that we were ok in the mid term? Was he told the truth by the incumbents on the board and if not when did he realise we did not have sufficient cash for the short term never mind the mid term? In the same Q&A article he speaks about gaining investment for the club, can we also assume he has failed in this respect?
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GORDON backs Hearts' incoming chairwoman to revive the club while lamenting the damage done by the would-be saviours at Ibrox. THE definition of altruism: When the answer to the question “What’s in it for you?” is “Nothing”. That’s Ann Budge for you. Sixty-five years old, self-made multi-millionaire, family woman, treasures her privacy and relative anonymity, sees her Saturday afternoons as sacred time with her daughter and grand-daughter in Section D of the Wheatfield. What could possibly be in it for her to commit herself to four or five years inside the washing machine of Scottish football? Nothing. Not a single thing. Which is why Hearts fans should be eternally grateful that she has. And, as I wrote back in September, Rangers fans should be peering east, mournfully lamenting what they could have had. The deal to take Hearts out of administration and forward is the result of months of good leadership, good governance, good PR, good organisation and, most of all, good intentions. And what they’ve emerged with is the perfect template for the handover from tyranny to the terraces. Make no mistake, Budge’s role will not be passive. She’s no figurehead. She’s real. Incongruously, for fan ownership to succeed in the long run, they’re going to need her to be a strong individual, making hard-headed decisions that would be impossible to arrive at if the club were being run by committee. Her job is to hand Hearts over in the best financial health she can create in as short a time as possible. And the only way that won’t happen is if Jambos fail to live up to their end of the bargain. That’s why they’re lucky to have her. She’s the anti-Craig Whyte, the anti-Charles Green. As executive chair, she’ll be working five days a week pro bono. She’ll be arriving at conclusions plenty may disagree with but the one thing no one can dispute is that she’s doing it for anyone’s benefit other than Hearts. There’s a legal agreement that she has to hand the club over to the Foundation as and when they hit their pre-agreed targets. She can’t change her mind, can’t flog them to a predator who fancies the place for himself when they’re back on an even keel. What that means is the fans have to create the bank of last resort for the club with their membership scheme, the financial cushion for the months where there’s a shortfall, where the season ticket money has run dry and the commercial income is a struggle. All they have to be able to do is prove that in the absence of support from an actual bank, they will never get back to the day when the wages won’t be in the bank. And there’s no reason they can’t. At the moment the Foundation of Hearts bring in £130,000 a month in direct debits. That’s £1.5million a year as your slush fund. The season tickets, corporate and commercial income, sponsorship, catering and anything else they can raise funds from provides their working capital. If they do all that? If they create a model that washes its face? There’s no reason why a club of their stature, with their support, can’t be golden in four years’ time. And in the meantime? What a Championship it’s going to be next year. A tale of two clubs from two cities whose stories over the past two years may as well have come from two different planets. The team who’ve done everything right to get out of administration against the team who’ve had every wrong imaginable done to them. Rangers will be looking at Hearts and thinking, “If only...” To be fair, their Supporters’ Trust still have faith they can make it happen. But when they needed the kind of altruism Budge offered Hearts, they got shafted. Twice. When they needed a Jim McColl, he ran shy. And when they needed unity of purpose, they fragmented. Even now, their intentions may be there. But neither the Easdales nor Dave King as a potential investor seems prepared to engage in the idea that the club need a move towards fan membership and ownership for the long-term good. They’re still saddled by the “What’s in it for me?” brigade and as long as the answer is “plenty”, they’re fighting a losing battle. But you know what? Despite the fact that Hearts’ total budget next year will probably be around the £1million mark, less than 20 per cent of Rangers’, if it’s spent well, they could challenge the assumption the Ibrox club will stroll through that league the way they’ve strolled through the last two. If they can get 16,000 inside Tynecastle every week, create a cause the way Hibs did when they went down in 1998, the way Rangers’ fans did when they went into the bottom tier? Keep the best of their kids, get a few course and distance guys in to help them when the embargo goes? Get a little momentum going? It’s going to be a hell of a race. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gordon-waddell-altruistic-ann-budge-3151057
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https://twitter.com/TheLoudenTavern
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It is widely known that Dave King has settled his issues with the SA tax people. There are also many, many reports that he plead guilty to approx 41 charges which resulted in a massive fine. My question is.....did these charges result in a criminal prosecution & resulting in a criminal record, or was it simply King effectively agreeing to paying the outstanding monies on 41 separate counts with the remaining charges/claims being dropped???? King has been referred to in many reports as a criminal....how accurate is this description???
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Despite being a decade long user of usually anonymous internet messageboards, I still prefer going out, having a bite to eat and a good laugh. With that in mind, I present to you: The 2014 Gersnet End of Season Boozy Do Gersnet stalwart Brahim Hemdani can provide the destination, this natty Mediterranean chophouse on the sou'side: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restaurant_Review-g186534-d1087980-Reviews-Malaga_Tapas-Glasgow_Scotland.html and if enough go, the owner is apparently willing to shut the doors to your ordinary, workaday customer in order to bow and scrape before us with the all deference due people in our position. The date is entirely flexible, so long as it is near the end of the season; whatever suits the most will win, I guess. Plainly this will be a poor night out if no-one goes, just a lonely, portly fellow (that's me, btw, not Brahim) sitting in a restaurant staring glumly out the window. Having been on a golf day out with RM and having met a good few posters from here, I can honestly say I haven't met anyone who isn't completely normal, so if you're a bit nervous about a night out with strangers I'd urge you to go for it. You can always leave!* * once you've paid
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http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/263136-ally-mccoist-id-have-bet-on-ibrox-not-being-picked-for-league-cup-final/ -
Some interesting thoughts from Alan Harris (aka Brahim Hemdani) Company democracy v Club democracy
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I wrote the above paragraph a few weeks ago in an article which was published in the inaugural launch of WATP magazine. Much of course has changed during that time with the coming and going of the AGM, and the confirmation of our board of directors. Even as a fence sitter throughout all of this, I cannot hide my inward disappointment that Brian Stockbridge remains on the board. But perhaps in that regard I am being unfair to Mr Stockbridge as I don’t have in my possession the information which allows me to make an informed choice. I don’t know for instance whether he, in his role as financial director, was merely rubber stamping the overly generous bonuses previous board members had arranged for themselves, nor for instance what part, (as has been claimed in this overloaded propaganda war) nominee Malcolm Murray had in the setting of such bonuses. That will always be the case of course so long as the Rangers support remains dis-empowered and disenfranchised from the systems and processes I alluded to several weeks ago. But the system and process which determines the make up of the Rangers board has spoken, and furthermore it has spoken in a way which is democratic. We may not all like the results it has delivered but that, I’m afraid, is life. Of course, we can attempt to usurp that democratic process. and there has already been talk of boycotts with regard to season tickets and club merchandise, and I have no doubt such action will make those who clearly wield power – institutional investors – sit up and take notice. Notwithstanding the damage such boycotts would cause to our club, perhaps we should also consider the damage such action would cause to democratic process and what kind of “notice” would be initiated within institutional investors ? If the democratic process to elect a board is usurped by way of boycotts, a refusal to accept the decisions that process has delivered, do you think this will instil confidence in any future investment in the club from others ? Ask yourself this – would you invest heavily in an institution where your majority shareholding and the decisions you make relative to that investment, through proper process, can be overturned by the militant actions of others with a lesser shareholding ? I don’t like where our club sits at present, nor do I have complete confidence in those who are charged with taking us out of our current predicament and to another place. But given the choice between giving them a chance as opposed to damaging both club and destroying confidence in that democratic process – then I know which one I will choose. Season Ticket renewed.
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........and get back to supporting the team BARRY says it's vital the re-elected board members are given time and space to fulfill their promises that can take Rangers back into a position where they can challenge Celtic at the top of the Scottish game. I HAVE no doubt a lot of Rangers fans are angry and disappointed with the outcome of yesterday’s agm which saw the entire Ibrox board survive. But you know what? I am sick to the back teeth of all the fighting, the back-stabbing and the name-calling that has dragged the club I know and love through the gutter for two-and-a-half years. I don’t expect every Rangers supporter to agree with what I have to say today but I’ll say it anyway – it is time to move on and get behind the directors who have been elected in a democratic and legal manner. Yes, we can still scrutinise them and examine everything they do but we have to give chairman David Somers and chief executive Graham Wallace the chance to lead the board and put into place their plans to make Rangers a force again. And we have to give them time to do it. There is very little trust in this board among the rank and file Bears who fill Ibrox every fortnight. I get that. But from even before I could walk and talk, I was told that Rangers fans stick together and support their club through thick and thin. There’s absolutely no doubt they have done that since Craig Whyte set the ball rolling on this awful period in the club’s history and I hope they continue to do it. I hate to hear talk of boycotts and the like. That will cause terrible harm to the team and I don’t see anybody winning out of that situation. Also, it’s not the Rangers way. Look, the directors won the vote. Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch did not convince the institutional investors that they were worthy of a place at the top of the marble staircase. That’s democracy and now the agm is over, I hope a line in the sand has been drawn. We don’t have to like the people who are running the club. But it is vital they are now given a bit of time and space to get on with fulfilling the promises they have made and to set in motion business plans that can take Rangers back into a position where they can challenge Celtic at the top of the Scottish game. They have said the current turmoil has held them back from attracting new investment but now the agm has come and gone and all of the directors got through it with comfortable majorities, they can now go out there and find the funding that is needed to make Rangers strong again. I was encouraged by what I read from Graham Wallace after the meeting. He said the board realises that there has to be greater communication with the supporters and that they have to build bridges. Damn right they do but the way to do that is by proving they have the club’s best interests at heart. Chairman Somers also said the playing budget is way too high for the level Rangers are currently operating at. I can’t disagree with that. Let’s face it, the squad Ally McCoist has assembled will skate League One and will win the Championship with something to spare. I say that with no disrespect to the guys who play in those leagues – some of them are pals of mine – but you look at the likes of Jon Daly, Nicky Law, Lee McCulloch and Lee Wallace and they are clearly top-flight players. So I can see where the chairman is coming from when he says that the budget will have to be looked at. Right now, the priority should be to strengthen the financial position by cutting costs from within the club and by attracting new investment from outside it. But here’s the thing. If the directors want Coisty to slash his team budget then they have to take a hit as well. The climate of taking huge bonuses for winning things in the lower leagues has to stop immediately. It was a disgrace that Brian Stockbridge was getting £200,000 and Charles Green more than £300,000 for winning the Third Division last year. In fact, they should announce that nobody at the club gets a golden handshake or a bonus until Rangers are back in the Premiership winning things or qualifying for Europe. That would send out a message that is in line with the fans’ way of thinking. And there is something else Somers, Wallace, Stockbridge, Norman Crighton and James Easdale have to remember as well. If things don’t change – and I firmly believe they will – and if fans and ordinary shareholders continue to feel ignored and angry at how the club is being run, they can still be called to account at extraordinary general meetings and also at next year’s agm. But I hope it doesn’t come to that. As I said earlier, I’m fed up talking to my mates about all the off-field stuff and I can’t wait for the day we are all sitting praising or moaning about the team’s performances on the pitch. Rangers is a FOOTBALL club. Our football club. And that fact seems to have been forgotten over the past couple of years. I hope yesterday’s events can begin to change all that. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barry-ferguson-its-time-forget-2945153
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail.html?announcementId=11812355 Full results on LSE link:
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BBC stating that board have won a no others will be elected.
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http://news.stv.tv/west-central/256830-rangers-supporters-trust-suspend-spokesperson-over-improper-conduct/
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Dear Mr King, This is a particularly difficult letter to write, despite it being penned from one Bear to another. It is difficult because I don’t necessarily believe the model of ownership you would bring to our club – a sole owner – has been particularly successful for Rangers, and if I’m honest I would much rather see the transparency and clarity which I would hope could be afforded by some measure of fan representation on our board. In short, in writing such a letter I am foregoing many of the dreams and aspirations I hoped would be achieved in my lifetime for our club. I mention the foregoing for one reason – to highlight how desperate and concerned I am and the circumstances which gave rise to this letter. Our support is literally ripping itself asunder in the current boardroom battle, the very heart and soul of this club are trading blows with each other and causing rifts, some of which I fear may prove irreparable. For a club such as ours, which attracts so much hatred from others, and whose strength and very survival has often relied upon our unity as a support, this presents a bleak and ominous outlook. Further more I am not convinced that either side emerging victorious from the AGM on the 19th December, will result in a cessation of hostilities, merely a lull in the fighting, which will be renewed, perhaps with greater vigour and further damage to our already fragmented support in the future. But I do not write to you as Dave King the financial saviour of our club. I write to you as the only man on this planet who can bring the much needed unity to our support, whose commitment to this club is without question, and who can capture, inspire and unite our support behind our club. As one. The English writer William Hazlitt once wrote : “No man is truly great who is great only in his lifetime. The test of greatness is the page of history.” I, and thousands like me, would implore you now to write your page in the history of our club. Yours in Rangers D’Artagnan
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Fire up the rolls & slice, pour a cuppa and enjoy/suffer the latest epistle from your local Handwringer in Chief. Liberal democracy is a good thing. It certainly has its faults, but overall a system which allows you to disagree with it without consequence is always preferable to one which imposes penalty on speech or thought. You might think, given the experience of the 20th century, that this is a lesson humanity has finally learned, but alas the lesson of history is that mistakes are seldom, if ever, absorbed. These thoughts came to mind last week as I re-read my copy of Clive James's wonderful 'Cultural Amnesia', a collection of essays on the effects of totalitarianism on humanity and the humanities in the last century. As always with Mr James, it is genius written with the lightest of touches: the best kind of teaching. You can pick up a copy for about £3 on Amazon and I'd heartily recommend it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultural-Amnesia-Necessary-Memories-History/dp/039333354X The defence of freedom of speech was quite the hot potato this week, with some idiot celtc fans feeling the need to compare a 14th century bandido with a 20th century murderer. As if the 700 years in between hadn't taught the Irish anything; no, they were fit to be subjected to medieval methods of warfare. If only they could see how insulting they are to the people they stupidly profess to defend! And in fairness, loud had been the opprobrium from on high within Parkhead. Mr Lawwell don't like it, Mr Lennon don't like it, and surely the final nail for celtc fans, even Mr Spiers, he don't like it. But what is it they don't like, exactly? Well, the timing and the place. Not the picture of a mentally unbalanced killer with a persecution complex added to a natural penchant for psychosis on banners, but the doing of it in such a way as to embarrass celtc fc. In what was probably a throwaway but nonetheless revealing comment last week, Mr Spiers was of the opinion that 'there are rights and wrongs about the IRA but the football is not the place' to discuss them. I have spend a few days trying to think what the 'rights ' of the IRA were and have drawn a blank. Perhaps some other readers can write in with their solutions to this problem. A free bus ride around Belfast town centre, loudly setting out your thesis, will be the prize. On the rare occasions I think about Ireland, I guess that in the long run of history, it will probably end up as the one country. Not exactly plan 'A' to make you popular in amongst the Vanguard Bears, but there it is. But if it happens, it will be through democracy, not violence. Terrorism is always wrong. So here's where poor Clive James is roped in to educate the wretched Mr Spiers and his pals in the east. Terrorism is always wrong. Whether it be Bobby Sands or, as we discovered last week, some madmen in the British Army running about acting like an Argentine death squad, it is always wrong. And using it to score cheap points is always wrong, and not just on the grounds of timing - on the grounds that rehabilitating terrorists in the way that celtc fans and the BBC have done this week ('IRA hunger striker' is so much less aggressive than 'terrorist murderer', isn't it?) is dangerous to democracy. As the lessons of the 20th century showed us, we need to be on our guard against those who would deny free speech. It may seem hypocritcal to ask for free speech and then deny it for the Green Brigade, but with the freedom to speak comes the need to speak with responsibility. No more throwaway remarks about 'rights and wrongs', some things are always wrong. You don't have to be a cynic to wonder where the Scottish Journalist's Book of Adjectives to Describe Current Buns went this week: no 'vile', no 'songs of hate', no 'embarrassment to Scotland in the 21st century', 'no sectarian bitterness', no quotes from Peter Kearney about how awful it all is. Just 'rights and wrongs' and 'maybe the wrong time and place'. We can only hope that such lunatics as Bobby Sands never return to our shores to demonstrate to the likes of Mr Spiers just how thin the divide between liberal democracy and terror in our society is. Hopefully he will get 'Cultural Amnesia' for his Christmas - one way or another, he, and the celtc fans, need to get the message: terrorism is always wrong. But, as always, there's a but. And while it has been lovely to bask in the reflected inglory of the other mob this week, we must be careful what we wish for. For should the amazing happen and Vincent Lunny actually dare chib celtc for once, you can bet he will be on uber-Orange alert for something to even up the score. And we will give him the ammo he needs, I fear. 'What's the handwringer moaning about now?' I hear you ask. Well... 'Super Rangers' for a start. It is going to have to go, and it would be better if we did it rather than had another war. But even that is a bit old hat, and I'm not keen to have that same argument over again. What's bugging me is maybe something that Lunny wouldn't notice, but a super sensitive handwringer such as myself does. When big Daly got us off the mark against Arbroath, about 50 Bears chose to express their happiness with a burst of The Sash. You may think that a coincidence: I don't. I think it was a classless and tasteless riposte, along the lines of 'Aye, well, you may have scored, but don't think we're going anywhere!' At least they left out the add on, which about 10 Bears didn't at kick off. Nevertheless, what a nice touch to thank a model professional. I hope they get over it, and soon. Now, I actually think that reducing the idiot rump of our fan base to about 70 or 80 away fans is something pretty amazing, and the club and most of the fans ought to be congratulated for it. But they won't, you know they won't. In a society which falls over itself to avoid offending the sensibilities of IRA supporters you know that as long as one Bluenose yells FTP we will be hauled up. We could easily lose the musical two fingers to Jon Daly, and we should lose the forbidden line in Super Rangers. It will make them look worse, and that's always good! And especially, we could lose the UVF tribute lines....terrorism is ALWAYS wrong, remember. Weirdly, in Scotland support for terrorism seems to be considered slightly less offensive than what I stubbornly believe is meaningless yells from football fans with a drink in them. You'll never persuade me that the Green Brigade were all steaming when they rattled up what must have been the least catchy slogan last week, and you'll never persuade me that the vast majority of 'sectarian' events in Scotland are little more than Rangers-Celtic tittle tattle. But that's how the chips are falling, thanks in part to liberal consciences like Mr Spiers'. We can't let distaste for the like of him push us away from defending liberal democracy, but there are one or two things we could do to make it better. It may make you feel slightly sick to actually have to tell people this is 2013: it should do. But Mr Lawwell, Mr Lennon, Mr Spiers, and our own hero-worshippers: terrorism is always wrong.
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Interesting stuff....
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Rangers' biggest shareholders will back the current board at next month's annual general meeting. Laxey Partners Limited increased their shareholding to 11.64% on Wednesday. Colin Kingsnorth, founder and director of the hedge fund, said: "I want to support stability so I think that means supporting all current directors. "Shareholder worries are the use of cash, transparency and corporate governance. The recent appointments seem to address that." Laxey's stance could prove crucial as the current board attempt to retain control, with another group of shareholders, including former director Paul Murray and former chairman Malcolm Murray, keen to oust them. With voting at the AGM expected to be close, the identity of the seller or sellers of the shares is also significant, depending on who they would have backed. But Kingsnorth told BBC Scotland: "I have no idea where the shares came from. I just bought them in the market." Asked if it was conceivable that Laxey could also vote the "requisitioners" - Paul Murray, Malcolm Murray, Alex Wilson and Scott Murdoch - onto the board at the AGM, Kingsnorth added: "Of course I could support the EGM people but I won't because their job is done. "They should claim some credit for forcing the club into action, but now it has I hope they accept that. "They would have supported (the new chief executive) Graham Wallace if he had joined them and I think they should be big enough to support him if the club supports him. "I doubt they will. A spurned chairman just wants to be loved again, but the club has moved on and I hope the new board drives it forward. They have the credibility, so why not. "The fact that cash has been spent badly seems fact, but what's the best thing to do now? "We'll get behind a professional board, make sure we never go into administration again, get the on-the-pitch stuff right." Source BBC ( need you ask )
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http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/exchange-insight/trade-data.html?fourWayKey=GB00B90T9Z75GBGBXASQ1 Time/Date Price Volume Trade Value Type 12:59:00 20-Nov-2013 41.00 3,328,672 1,364,755.52 Ordinary trade Interesting...!
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Scotland's claim to be fighting the cancer of sectarianism and hatred took a severe dent at the weekend. Perhaps sadly, the decision not to hold a one minute silence prior to the Ross County vs Celtic match, came as no surprise to many of us. Its embarrassing, unedifying and sickening to hear a one minute silence being disrupted and dishonoured. But there is something worse, far worse in fact - not holding such a ceremony at all. Because in failing to do so we have acquiesced to the morons, the bigots - we have handed them victory on a plate. Let the moronic and shameful actions of bigots within the Celtic support shame all the devils in hell - rather that than our country is forced to fail to remember the fallen whose sacrifice ensured our freedom from evil and tyranny. This morning I wrote to Ross County asking for an explanation into such an omission on Saturday and in particular who made the decision to dispense with the one minute silence - was it from someone in the club or from outside the club? The Ross County support have previously made their club aware of the importance of Remembrance Day and its significance within their support. http://www.north-sta...oldiers-667.htm Furthermore this is an issue which must ascend Old Firm rivalry and the often tit for tat churlish and pedantic tribalism. It is time for the Scottish press and media to stop avoiding the issue and to speak out - ignoring it will not make it go away. It is untenable and unacceptable that men who laid down their lives in order to defeat that which is unacceptable cannot themselves be remembered and honoured due to the actions and behaviour of some in our society which is in itself – wholly unacceptable.
