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Written by: Admin Saturday, 29th March 2014 It is with utter disbelief that once again our Club and it's support have been dragged into a series of incidents which has resulted in Vanguard Bears deciding to release a statement to outline where we stand with this RFFF mess. The recent legal action carried out by Sandy Easdale against Craig Houston is well documented, what has enraged the vast majority of donators to the RFFF is that certain factions, for reasons only they can explain, saw fit to first release their intentions on Mark Dingwall's FollowFollow forum, a forum which any supporter of any club can join and have a say, to put to a vote for acceptance of monies being taken from said fund to shore up Craig Houston's Legal Defence against Sandy Easdale, should this have made the courts. This action went against the vast majority of donators wishes, despite certain parties assuring everyone they spoke for the majority of the support. The RFFF was set up to fight our Club's corner against our detractors out there, of which there are many, sadly there are just as many from within the ranks of our support these days who are equally as damaging. Many put their hard earned cash into this fund in good faith, sadly thanks to certain individuals with nothing more than self-promotion and mischief on their minds have sought to put this at risk. The anger among the many donators has resonated around the globe, and no one can blame them for their anger thanks to this latest stunt. The seven committee members who voted to accept this should now find their positions in the RFFF untenable. If they had any dignity and feelings for the way in which their latest stunt has left the support enraged and suitably angered, they would resign with immediate effect. Knowing the background of some of them and their past antics, this would seem highly unlikely. It will now be down to the majority of enraged supporters who donated to the RFFF to demand their resignation, and with this in mind a decision must also be taken regards the next move to protect this money falling into the direction of self-promoters, with their own not-so-hidden agendas, to use as they see fit. It should be noted that the VB representative on this committee voted totally against any funds being utilised for anyone's legal defence funds against Sandy Easdale. We also vow to ensure that this cash will never fall into the hands of any self-appointed fans group leaders or hastily nailed together 'new age' fans groups either. We note also that Mark Dingwall in a recently released post on his own forum is once again imploring the support not to renew their season tickets for next season. We find this utterly astonishing that somone who relies on handouts from other supporters to attend matches - whenever he feels like turning up - should ask of many who hold season tickets, and have done so throughout their lives, to give up theirs so he can further destabilise our club and cause further harm to pursue his own and others agendas. VB once again will urge all of its members and beyond to ignore the rants of this troublemaker and self-promoter and to get fully behind the club in its time of need. Dingwall along with Chris Graham and other self-appointed and opinionated 'fans' speak only for a handful of rabble rousers and charlatans, we are sure the decent and vast majority of the Rangers support will see through their desperation to disrupt and destabilise our club and renew their season tickets when the time comes. This group of Charlatans will NEVER speak for the vast majority of our support, make no mistake about this. The Rangers Board now must act firmly and address those that would seek to harm both our Club's finances and reputation immediately, until that large boil is lanced and removed, the uncertainty and divisions will remain. http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/statement-on-the-rfff-committee.html

Sportsters Bar in Edinburgh are holding a supporters pre party on the 6th of April for those going to the cup final. Sportsters Bar (Across the road from Waverley Station – Directly opposite the Market St exit) is also attached to City Nightclub which is opening for exclusive use for Rangers supporters if there is sufficient demand therefore would appreciate any support you can give us in spreading the word. Why come to us? -Doors open at 12 Noon -We are showing both SKY and BT Sports on over 40 screens - Beer and Burger offer only £5.99 - Under 16's Welcome (with an adult) - Football colours welcome - For those without a ticket we are also showing the game LIVE! - Bus / Coach Parking available on Market St / East Market St - Distance to Easter Road: 5 Minute Taxi / 20 Minute Walk Give us a call on 0131 2269560 or email edinburgh@clg.co.uk

KAYAL has taken an astonishing swipe at Scottish football and at Rangers skipper Lee McCulloch after admitting he is set to quit Parkhead. BERAM KAYAL was the life and soul of the title party as Celtic celebrated three in a row at Parkhead on Saturday. The Israeli midfielder’s selfies, podium pogoing and scarf waving looked the picture of jubilation from a player who has taken the club to his heart. Behind the beaming smiles, though, lay the painful truth this was his last hurrah in the Hoops. Deep down Kayal realises the relationship has run its course and he expects to be moved on in summer when his contract enters its final year. His love affair with the Scottish game has turned sour and he can trace his troubles back to the Old Firm game of December 2011. A crunching tackle from Rangers’ Lee McCulloch – who Kayal swears deliberately set out to hurt him – wiped out four months of his career and began the series of injuries that have blighted him since. The 25-year-old’s status at Celtic has diminished from midfield mainstay to fringe player and he has made just four Premiership starts this season, failing to last the 90 minutes in any of them. It is a far cry from the stunning impact Kayal made when he arrived from Maccabi Haifa in 2010 and attracted interest from Manchester United and Liverpool. There was talk of a £7million switch with the player claiming Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish were both keen to sign him. However, injuries and loss of form have dropped him well down the pecking order and as he eyes a fresh start Kayal has put the boot into the frenetic style of the Scottish game. He said: “Initially I liked this league but after all the injuries I now no longer like it. “There is a lack of technique. The football is played at breakneck pace with power and intensity and it doesn’t stop for a minute. But I’m not in love with this league.” Kayal’s contract runs until June 2015 but he reckons Celtic will cash in on him this summer rather than risk losing him for nothing next year. He said: “A friend of mine, Joe Ledley, was on the verge of his contract expiring and was sold to Crystal Palace. “Maybe this will happen to me because football is a business at the end of the day. “If someone comes up with an attractive proposition to Celtic and me then I’ll go. “In my first season at Celtic a lot of teams came to watch me and tried to find out my price tag. “Kenny Dalglish, who was manager of Liverpool, and Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United had communications with me. “When a lot of teams were interested Celtic wanted too much money – like £6m or £7m. Now because of my injuries the price is much lower. “But my dream is still alive and well, I am only 26 next month.” Kayal might be on his way out of Scotland but it’s not in his nature to go quietly. The tenacious little midfielder was keen to make sure he had a swipe at Ibrox skipper McCulloch, who he will never forgive for the full-blooded challenge that sidelined him for four months with ankle-ligament damage. He said: “The injury didn’t look that bad but I believe he did it on purpose. That player is not the cleanest in the world. “I have not forgotten that for a moment. I was out for a long time and even when I came back I was not 100 per cent. “He was very rude about it. I suppose it’s part of football but I’m happy that every time I’ve played against him since I have beaten him.” Kayal endured another long spell out after being crocked by Kaka during a Champions League clash this season, although he was more forgiving of the Brazilian. He said: “After a difficult time I came back and was enjoying football like never before and I scored in the Champions League against Ajax. I felt my injury problems were behind me. “Then we played AC Milan and in the first minute Kaka caught me. He said sorry a few minutes later and I told him, ‘You have broken my leg.’ “I actually played on for 30 minutes but I couldn’t change direction. That caused me to miss another three-and-a-half months. “After the game he asked for my forgiveness and we exchanged shirts. He didn’t do it on purpose. “I felt like I should be wearing the Mario Balotelli shirt ‘Why Always Me?’ “Every time I get injured it seems to be another four months out. Touch wood, I am fit again now.” While he is almost resigned to leaving Kayal will miss the buzz of Old Firm matches and the Celtic fans – even if he still struggles to understand them despite living in Glasgow for four years. He added: “For me the league is lacking because Rangers are not there. I miss the derby, the noise of the fans. “I went to see Manchester City v Barcelona and the noise in the stadium was nothing like Celtic Park. Even our Champions League nights are nothing compared to Celtic v Rangers. “People do not understand – it is bigger than any game against Barcelona or AC Milan. “I have a great understanding with the fans but I have been in Scotland four years and sometimes I still don’t understand them.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/celtic-midfielder-beram-kayal-slams-3338953

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/easdale-drops-fans-chief-legal-threat-158213n.23868497?utm_source=headlines&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign Mr Easdale, a member of the Rangers football board, had threatened to sue season ticket holder Craig Houston. Mr Houston is the founder and public face of the Sons of Struth protest group that has campaigned for boardroom change this season. He received a summons and a claim for £200,000 of damages for comments that were made by third parties on the Sons of Struth Facebook page. The 41-year-old, who runs his own cleaning company, had refused to sign a gagging order that would have ended the action. And the father-of-two *admitted that he could have lost his business, his home and been declared bankrupt if he had lost the case. Houston had said: "The claims relate to things posted on our Facebook page by other people. "There is nothing I can do about that. "The only way I could guarantee having no *further problem would be to close the Sons of Struth Facebook page. "But in spite of the threat I am not tempted to do that. This is about what is right and wrong. Morally and *legally I believe I have a strong case. "But I can't be certain of victory and as a *father with two children the consequences of losing are terrifying. I stand to lose everything. I'd be ruined." There was a possibility that money that remained in the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund, set up during the Glasgow club's financial difficulties two years ago, could have been used to provide financial support. But a post on the Sons of Struth Facebook page last night read: "I have this evening received written confirmation that no *further action will be taken against me by Alexander Easdale." Greenock businessman Easdale, who runs McGill's bus company along with his brother James, a non-executive *director at Rangers, *instructed his lawyers to act after "libelous" online remarks and "personal slurs". He had said: "I don't want to go to court but I can't *allow this stuff to continue. He's not being picked on. This is an action I must take. "If any libelous comments are made on any website and are brought to my attention they are acted upon by lawyers."

Rangers fans want the club to provide a facility by which they can pay extra monies to the club. That is the overwhelming message I am hearing from supporters who want to counter any shortfall from season ticket boycotts next season. Whilst the general perception is that any withholding of season ticket revenue will only actually be carried out by a small hardcore of rebels, loyal supporters are keen to make sure that there is no negative impact on club finances. I already know of bears who intend to buy extra season tickets and many more who might not go that far are still motivated to pay an extra sum on top of their season ticket money. In essence, fans want a fund set up whereby they can donate monies to the club. This would mean that when purchasing season tickets, they could donate an extra £25, £50 or £100 to the club. Another possibility is that when supporters buy merchandise at the Megastore, they are given the facility to pay change towards the fund. Similarly, collection cans could be placed in the food kiosks for bluenoses to stick their change into after buying grub. A donation button could be placed on the club website and events could be held by supporters club with the fund benefitting. I have not spoken to one Rangers fan who is not excited by the prospect of being able to chip in and help the club. This is not a begging bowl mentality by any manner of means – it is fans doing what they can to keep Rangers prosperous. The fund could, of course, be ringfenced for the playing pool or specific projects. It would be easily accounted for in the club accounts and could be monitored by an independent body. Far from it being a stopgap method to help the club through a difficult period, this fund could become an important method of non-equity financing over time. It also gives genuine supporters a chance to contribute to the club’s progress and gives them a say in the club’s destiny. If the money is used for the playing pool, it also helps fans feel good that the players they watch have been brought to the club partly by their own contributions. I think another benefit would be to help unite the divided support and give a focus to bluenoses. It also helps fans become proactive in a positive way. Many fans want to help the club at this moment in time but feel they have no outlet. At this critical point in history, the creation of a fund that fans can pay into purely for the benefit of Rangers Football Club is a great way to keep the wolf from the door and is another buffer against financial disaster. All those people who keep telling us that being the fan of a football team is far more than just being a consumer now have the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is and prove their argument. The principle is simple: If you love your team, step up and pay! Would you happily pay extra money to keep Rangers strong financially? If so, let me know in the Comments below or contact the club direct. http://www.rangers.co.uk

Robert Marshall and his son, Greg, have been heavily involved in the formation of Rangers First. Rangers First is a fan-led membership vehicle that aims to buy shares and achieve greater supporter involvement in the running of the Ibrox club. Matthew Lindsay of SportTimes met the lifelong Rangers fans and season ticket holders to speak about the ambitious project and their hopes for the future. How did you get involved in Rangers First? RM: I was invited up to the Supporters' Direct Scotland offices in Stirling. So I went and listened to two lads speak and I liked what they had to say. I thought: "If it can help Rangers I will give it a go." It was just about helping the club. As a fan, I was in. Then we had a meeting here (The Louden Tavern, Ibrox Stadium) to see if the body of the kirk, if you like, wanted to take the idea further. Richard Atkinson, a volunteer with Supporters' Direct who has been involved at quite a few clubs over the years, spoke to us. We had around 50 people here. And not one voice was dissenting. I think it is important to state that this is not anti-board or pro-board. It is pro-Rangers and pro- Rangers fans. At the first meeting we said: "Leave your egos at the door. Leave the politics at the door. Let's just see if we can do this." GM: We have people who attend our meetings who are at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to their attitude to the club board. If it is about individuals then it will fail. It is a vehicle that should be analysed on its own merits. What are the objectives of Rangers First? RM: The first target that Rangers First has is to obtain 5% of shares in the club. GM: That gives you powers in terms of calling a general meeting and getting answers to questions. It is all about getting what is called ACT - authoritative consultative transparency. That basically means the fans having a voice and the club having to listen to and engage with us. This is about the board engaging with the fans so that we know what the situation at the club is and we can all move forward together. It is not about getting a fan on the board. Our members would have to vote on having a representative on the board down the line. It has still to be decided. But, personally speaking, I think we would want a professional representing us. GM: The money the Community Interest Company spends must be to the benefit of the Rangers community. We can't just spend money willy-nilly. Initially, we just want to get shares until we can get the ACT. Once we get that then it will be up to the members to decide what we do with the money after that. We can fund specific projects that are and are to the benefit of the club. BuyRangers already exists. Why is Rangers First necessary? RM: By law we (BuyRangers and Rangers First) have to work together publicly because the schemes have the same principles and the same goals. We want to work together. But I think this vehicle could unite fans. GM: The key point about Rangers First is that it is not partisan. It is trying to unite the small groups into a bigger group. We are saying to them: "You are still allowed to have your differences. This is beyond that." There have been lads at the meetings we have had so far whose personal opinions I do not agree with. But their ethos is right. They genuinely want to put Rangers first. We need to engage with a wider fan base - and especially with fans abroad in countries like Australia and the United States. That is one of the advantages of Rangers First - we can accept payments from abroad. A CIC is to the benefit of the Rangers community and the Rangers community isn't defined by geography. It is what we decide the Rangers community is. And the Rangers community is global. It is basically anybody who considers themselves to be a supporter. They can contribute to it from abroad. The main strength of the CIC is its flexibility. For example, my father and I are going to donate our shares to it. We bought £1,000-worth of shares at the IPO. As well as money you can put shares in. A few of us are going to do that. RM: One of our representatives is going to Hong Kong this week to do a presentation to the Rangers Supporters' Club out there. Richard (Atkinson) also did a presentation with Orsa (Oceania Rangers Supporters Association) recently. We are really trying to engage with the ex-pat fans because it must be really hard for them looking in and not being able to do anything. What has the response to the scheme from Rangers fans been? GM: It is still in the process of being put together. But we have 1,000 members already. That is not bad after two weeks. We are due an update on that any day now. We were at a pub in Lanarkshire a couple of weeks ago at which 10 Rangers Supporters' Clubs were represented. Three of them joined up on the spot and seven took it back to their members. Nobody was against it. When people engage with it they say: "This is a good idea." It genuinely is a good idea. But we do need the support of the fans to make it work. At a small level, we could build up a small shareholding. But if we get larger numbers we will get the transparency the fans want. Has the ongoing financial uncertainty at Ibrox increased the interest in Rangers First? RM: I think it does increase enthusiasm for what we are doing. But I am keen for this not to be seen as a criticism of the board. I am not against them. I know they should not have spent the £22million that was raised at the IPO. But, as far as Rangers First is concerned, we are simply for the club. We are there to help the Rangers support. How many members do you hope to attract? RM: We would like to get to 20,000 to start with. Personally speaking, I think we can get 50,000. Now, I know people may laugh at that. But you had 200,000 at the Uefa Cup final in Manchester in 2008. You also have however many thousand abroad who are all desperate to help the club. I think we can have a worldwide membership of 50,000 within two years. How much does it cost fans to join Rangers First? RM: There are three boxes on the website - http://www.rangersfirst.org - you can join for £5 a month, £10 a month or £18.72 a month. There is also a life membership, Club 1872. That entails a £500 one-off payment. You get nothing out of it other than the satisfaction you have helped Rangers. Plus, as a member you get a vote. GM: If we can get 1,872 signing up for a life membership it will give us enough money to buy circa 5% of the club. Dave King has stated he is prepared to put money into Rangers "along with the fans". Could that funding come from Rangers First? GM: It could. Buying shares as individuals has not given us any dividend so far. Individual fans have roughly 12% of the shares. But we don't have anything to show for that. Buying as a collective, through Rangers First, would. RM: There is also a vehicle you can use. Say, for example, Laxey Partners were prepared to sell their 12% stake in the club, but Rangers First did not, at that time, have the money to buy it. We could say to them: "We will pay you for 4% a year." GM: We could provide them with a dividend and take the proxy for their shares and subsequently buy them a few years down the line. That is not something that necessarily is going to happen. But the CIC is flexible and you can do that. The other thing is we can approach the Rangers fans who currently own 12% of the club and ask them to proxy their votes to us. We would need to collect the signatures of the 4,500 fans who have shares before a general meeting. One of our committees is looking at shareholder engagement. Community ownership failed at St Mirren. How can it work at Rangers? GM: Amongst the clubs where this has been tried it has never been exactly the same. There are technical elements which are similar. St Mirren was a wholly-owned club. They had, for some reason, to buy 52% to make it work. They put in a legitimate bid and Stewart Gilmour, as was his perogative, decided not to accept it. There are successes. Dunfermline got over 1,000 members after they had already been saved. Hearts got over 8,000 fans paying in £15.50 a month. We want to achieve ACT at Rangers. The members will decide where we go from there. How optimistic are you about the future? GM: If this kind of vehicle had been about prior to administration I think it could have had a significant influence on the club. Maybe we wouldn't be in the position we are in now. Having said that, I think it will take off now. It may be a slow burner, but I think it will take off. Whoever puts money in can be assured that it will go towards the betterment of Rangers. I think we are getting there as a result of the meetings. We are starting to unite. Very few people want actual fan ownership. They want fan participation. What we are saying to the club is: "Be accountable to us." That is all we want, accountability. RM: We get nothing other than the satisfaction of helping Rangers and the Rangers community. I am not negative at all. I think Rangers are a sleeping giant. A good analogy would be they are a bear in hibernation. It is time the bear woke up. Get Rangers News Alerts by Email http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/it-is-time-to-unite-the-small-groups-and-waken-the-sleeping-giant-157872n.23841953

MICHAEL MOLS has challenged the Rangers board to prove they regard the club as more than just a cash cow to be milked dry and insists a number of former players are waiting in the wings to provide an international scouting network on the cheap. The 43-year-old Dutchman - who played up front for the Ibrox side in a more prosperous era between 1999 and 2004 - travelled to Gayfield to watch the weekend's 2-1 SPFL League 1 victory over Arbroath and revealed that an ex-players' collective is ready to help reconstruct a now nonexistent element of the infrastructure at their former employers. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/rangers-can-call-on-international-rescue-mols.23828999 I don't have access to the full article.

by Gerry Braiden AN appeal by Rangers supporters to the BBC Trust over comments made by one of the corporation's sports pundits Jim Spence has been thrown out. The BBC Scotland presenter was cleared of a number of complaints made against him after he had provoked the ire of hundreds of fans by making references to Rangers as "the old club that died". Mr Spence, who made the comment while discussing attempts to end a boardroom civil war at Ibrox on the Sportsound programme last September, was provisionally cleared of breaching accuracy guidelines by the BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU). Many Rangers fans contested the initial ruling by appealing to the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee (ESC). But it has now issued its decision, clearing Mr Spence of any wrongdoing. The ruling states: "The committee did not believe that evidence had been presented that would lead it to conclude that the output had breached the editorial guidelines. "The committee therefore decided that this appeal did not qualify to proceed for consideration." The BBC received over 400 complaints when Mr Spence, while discussing the possible appointment of the ex-Ibrox chairman John McClelland, had declared: "John McClelland who was the chairman of the old club, some people will tell you the club, well, the club that died, possibly coming back in terms of the new chairman." Upholding the previous decision, the senior editorial complaints adviser said she "acknowledged the strength of the complainants' feelings and noted that this was a matter that was highly significant to Rangers fans". But the break-down of the complaints into six separate issues found the appeals "did not have a reasonable prospect of success". She also noted that the editor of sport at BBC Scotland had acknowledged the comments by Mr Spence could have been better phrased within the live piece and had apologised for any offence caused.

Supporting Rangers has never been quite so difficult. Doesn’t matter if it’s new beneficial club owners from one year to the next, executive directors that are replaced quarter by quarter or turgid on-the-field performances which would struggle to excite the most positive of football fans, it’s not easy to find a bear without a sore head nowadays. This headache soon becomes even worse when you try to examine the minefield that forms our supporter group landscape. Let’s go through them for clarity – take a deep breath: a) The Rangers Supporters Association – the oldest group which represent a range of RSCs all over the world. Nowadays, pretty small, perhaps old fashioned and primarily scoped to deal with ticketing issues you’ll nevertheless find their latest secretary Drew Roberton commenting in the media on a regular basis. b) The Rangers Supporters Trust – an independent group formed in 2003 mainly working towards fan ownership via share purchasing; the RST account for up to 2000 members. Their chair Gordon Dinnie is also often credited in the media on their behalf. c) NARSA and ORSA – two foreign associations which look after the interests of the North American and Oceanic RSCs respectively. It’s not often they’ll be quoted in the media but they do have lots of members with a fair amount of clout behind the scenes. NARSA especially have a solid historic relationship with the club. d) The Rangers Supporters Assembly – the original umbrella group which encompasses all of the above (and more) and was setup around ten years ago. Since then they’ve really struggled to capture the imagination of those they insist they represent (including season book holders). President Andy Kerr remains vocal in the media and usually aligned with a) and b) above. The future of the organisation within the club since the 2012 administration is unclear. e) Sons of Struth (SoS) – a more recent phenomenon is two fans that have been at the forefront of various protests against figures at the club. Most controversially, their spokesperson Craig Houston was threatened with legal action by club director Sandy Easdale for defamatory comments on a social network page. This has prompted much comment which we’ll explore further below. f) Union of Fans – even more recent is this new umbrella group which is made up of a), b), d), e) and the two Ibrox singing sections. Again, this group appear most concerned with the short-term future of club and their statements are geared towards this political aim. Spokesman Chris Graham is a keen blogger on the club and is featured regularly on two popular websites. g) Buy Rangers and Rangers First – not to be outdone, we now have two share vehicles specifically interested in achieving fan ownership via the purchase of shares as part of government backed schemes. The former is organised by the RST while the latter is a new development also promoted by Supporters Direct. At first glance both appear attractive to the interested supporter. h) Rangers Fans Fighting Fund (RFFF) – set up in 2012 this fund was put together to raise money for the club post-administration. Despite having Assembly and official club connotations, the Fund has been blighted by a lack of communication and transparency. Indeed, its website is no longer available and uncertainty remains with respect to the £500,000 surplus in its account. i) The Rest – as well as the TEN groups above, there are a variety of other clusters of fans which one may or may not perceive as ‘formal’ groups. These are often backed up with websites/blogs and can be made up of thousands of shared members; though usually these can be concentrated down into smaller lobbies of key opinion formers from group to group. It’s difficult to recognise all such bodies in a formal sense but there’s no doubting their contribution can be worthy. The above really is quite incredible when put down on paper – even with what I’d concede is a very superficial outline of each group. Quite simply, there’s no wonder confusion and division exists when we have so many groups all competing against each other. Despite regular assurances to the contrary (and so-called umbrella groups speaking for all), the chances of genuine fan unity and convincing representation remain as far away as ever. This is confirmed by the most recent issue which has caused further splits in the support. As touched on above, the Sons of Struth has been one of the most prominent groups of late. Despite only being made up of two individual supporters with no formal constitution, their stadium protests and media profile have resulted in much debate over recent months. Undoubtedly in my view their lobbying of Rangers and its support has contributed to the decision-making of the club hierarchy – even if I may also disagree with their methods and words from time to time. This is especially disappointing when using (or allowing) derogatory language to make their point. As someone who has experienced legal contact in such matters previously, there’s a fine line between fair criticism, unfair falsehoods and petty name-calling. Therefore, it was no surprise to see the main SoS figure Craig Houston served with a legal notice by Sandy Easdale to desist from such alleged behaviour or face a £200,000 court action. At this point the debate became polarised with those generally supportive of the SoS eager to source funds from the hitherto inactive RFFF to help Mr Houston in his defence against Mr Easdale. However, this suggestion seemed at best unlikely and at worst flawed given the RFFF monies were primarily setup to be used for the club only (despite some cash being used to pay small oldco debts such as Dunfermline Football Club in 2012). With that in mind, even those who had sympathy with the SoS predicament felt it was best a separate fund was setup should legal action go ahead. Hence, it was a great surprise to many bears when the RFFF subsequently voted to put the decision to a general vote of fans rather than immediately reject the suggestion. Despite this curiosity it could be argued this was perhaps the most reasonable course of action. After all, while many fans didn’t agree with this non-club appropriation of funds, what should happen if another more popular non-club opportunity arose: should it be declined automatically or debated by the fund contributors? Furthermore, the volunteer RFFF committee were put in place to act on our behalf so it’s difficult to argue with the democratic process being followed – even if the lack of clarity surrounding the decision (and RFFF work generally) is of valid concern. In any case, no matter our thoughts, the reaction has been furious from some quarters with one website and NARSA both calling for the resignation of those who voted for the issue to be decided via a ‘general meeting of fans’. Suffice to say the response to that has been equally negative with all sorts of insults permitted in some online communities. Once again the fan-base is split – often based on their website or group of choice rather than actually examining the issue without prejudice. Indeed it’s this kind of division that is now becoming very difficult to ignore when looking at most issues related to the club. Rather than such subjects being analysed with balance and in unison, we have some coming to most debates with a pre-determined opinion already in place. Quite simply if person/site/group A says one thing, you can be sure person/site/group B will say another and vice-versa. Such disagreement may actually be healthy in some respects but when it is increasingly accompanied by the kind of nonsense we usually see for those hostile to our club then such puerile debate just becomes counter-productive. Is it any wonder our club and fan-base have been taken advantage of in recent years when we can’t agree on the most basic of issues? Unfortunately, there’s no easy solution to this ongoing tribal warfare. Existing ‘umbrella’ groups have tried and failed for many years to capture the imagination of the widespread support while those not already interested in such ‘political’ matters won’t be swayed by a long list of fan organisations they may struggle to identify with. In addition, resignations, fall-outs and abuse appear to tarnish any good work such groups do. Meanwhile, a club fighting with itself on a month-to-month basis appears to have neither the will nor the way (not to mention the funds) to put in place a new scheme which can accommodate fans of every possible background. Yet, in my opinion, if such a group is to be successful, from the club it must come. It needs that formal official status, along with the backing of high-profile relevant figures, to take fan representation from social clubs and websites to the boardroom. However the only certainty is that when such a proposal does see the light of day, it may be strangled at birth by a minority of people who will always insist upon throwing out the baby with the bathwater for the most ridiculous of arguments. In the meantime, the moderate (and usually silent) majority can only hope for better. And until we concentrate ten bizarrely disparate groups into one then that day may be a long time coming. What part will you play in achieving that positive change: are you part of the problem or the solution? Will the real Rangers support please stand up?

It would be an interesting debate as there are some parallels with the way that the F word and H words are used in Scotland (although there are obvious differences in both cases). I wonder if they would be interested in having a H word debate but guess that abuse of white Protestants don't feature highly in their priorities. http://www.kickitout.org/join-spurs-legend-garth-crooks-for-free-y-word-debate/

.........with Celtic showdown one win away and a cup final they hope never to contest again. It's time for Rangers to take a break from slogging through the epilogue of League One and face two matches that could change the whole story of their season. On Sunday, Ally McCoist’s side travel to Easter Road to meet Raith Rovers in the final of the Ramsdens Cup, hoping to win a first knockout tournament under their manager. Six days later, they welcome Dundee United to Ibrox in the Scottish Cup last-four. The merits of overcoming United to reach the season showpiece at Celtic Park are undisputed. Should Rangers be able to raise their game against Jackie McNamara’s Premiership high-fliers – and they would have to do so substantially after grimly toiling to victory at Gayfield – it would be their greatest on-field victory since the financial carnage of 2012. What, though, of the Ramsdens Cup? Where does that rank in the overall scheme of things? After all, it’s a competition Rangers would hope never to be involved in again come their planned top-flight return. Any attempt to belittle the importance of the occasion is, however, met with strong resistance from within the squad. Take Cammy Bell, who performed heroics for Kilmarnock when they blanked out Celtic to attain League Cup glory in March 2012. The goalkeeper is adamant that success in Leith this weekend would mean every bit as much to him as that remarkable Hampden day. ‘Definitely,’ he insisted. ‘This is a cup final and it’s for the club I love, Rangers. It’s a massive day for me and all the boys. We’re really excited about it. ‘The manager spoke to us at the semi-final and told us we would never forget being part of a Rangers cup final. We want to go and win it. ‘Raith Rovers are a very good side, so it will be a tough match, but we’ll train hard all week and make sure we’re prepared.’ Whoever watched events in Arbroath on behalf of Raith would have returned an optimistic report to boss Grant Murray. It required an 87th-minute goal from Fraser Aird to maintain Rangers’ 100 per cent away record in the league after Jon Daly’s first-half header was cancelled out by Paul McManus – following a dire back-header from Seb Faure. ‘We do have to raise our game for the matches coming up,’ admitted Bell. ‘We’ll need to be on top of our game. Dundee United will be tough for us but it’s a challenge the boys need to stand up to.’ However, Arbroath goalscorer McManus questioned whether Rangers have what it takes to get the better of his former club Raith - never mind United. Had Alex Keddie not turn a golden injury-time opportunity over the bar from point-blank range, League One’s bottom side would have taken a point. ‘It’ll be close on Sunday,’ said McManus. ‘Raith are taking 3,000 fans and it will be a good experience for their players. But they won’t just be going to cherish the occasion – they’ll want to win the cup. The last couple of weeks, Rangers have been poor. That isn’t just down to them, other teams are putting up a fight. I think Rangers will struggle next week to be honest.’ McManus still harbours a grievance about Arbroath’s 3-2 defeat at Ibrox in January and was similarly miffed at a second narrow loss, sealed when Daly’s shot was diverted in by Aird. ‘The goal they got? Same old Rangers,’ he said. ‘When things aren’t going for them, they get a bit of luck. Not just off the linesmen and referees – it was a ricochet off one of their players and the ball goes in the back of the net. At the end, Rangers were hanging by a thread. ‘I was arguing with Lee McCulloch on the park because I felt he went down too easy. Tough times: Paul McManus expects Raith to test Rangers +5 Tough times: Paul McManus expects Raith to test Rangers ‘We played them off the park at Ibrox and got nothing. They got a late penalty through Jon Daly, who I felt went down easy then. ‘They won that game and decisions like that… we even saw it on Saturday with certain decisions down the side, when the flag never went up. We worked hard and never got anything out the game. It’s typical Rangers.’ Those jibes will not worry McCoist as much as the diagnosis on a hamstring strain that forced Daly’s late removal. Losing him for the forthcoming cup encounters would a huge blow. Ian Black and Nicky Law also missed out with ankle and back problems respectively, while David Templeton and Andy Little are also fighting for fitness. Greater long-term concern surrounds Lewis MacLeod. The Scotland under-21s midfielder will travel to England this week to discuss treatment options after a virus affected the muscles around his heart. While no timescale has been placed on his return, McCoist is optimistic the 19-year-old will make a full recovery. ‘Lewis’ spirits are high and he has the best people looking after him,’ said goalkeeper Bell. ‘He’ll come back, I’m sure he will. He’s a strong lad. He will be round about the lads on Sunday and hopefully he is back involved soon. We support each other no matter what is happening.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2593016/Rangers-face-season-defining-week-Celtic-showdown-one-win-away-cup-final-hope-never-contest-again.html#ixzz2xUsyODRf

Genuine question because I think Dave King could get blamed for something he is not totally responsible for. I honestly believe, after speaking to hundreds of other fans, that they have had enough of the complete and utter dross being served up on the park. Nothing to do with boardroom stuff.

https://twitter.com/gerrymcculloch1/status/450025504805257216 Gerry McCulloch ‏@gerrymcculloch1 @bjm1979 @Eddiek62 ebt's undoubtedly gave sporting advantage in my opinion. We'll see what result appeal brings.

http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=2986&newsID=13171&newsCategoryID=1 In response to recent speculation and comments made by Dundee United officials, the Scottish FA is compelled to clarify the club’s ticketing allocation for the forthcoming William Hill Scottish Cup semi-final between Rangers and Dundee United at Ibrox. At the pre-operations meeting held on Tuesday, 11th March, Dundee United were made an initial offering of 11,063 tickets, allocated in the entirety of the Broomloan Road Stand, the Govan West corner and a section of the Govan Stand Front and Rear. The number was offered on the basis of Dundee United’s ticket sales for recent semi-finals. For last year’s semi-final against Celtic at Hampden Park, with a 12.45pm kick-off, Dundee United received an allocation of 10,686 tickets and sold 6783. For the 2010 semi-final against Raith Rovers at Hampden Park, with a 3pm kick-off, Dundee United were allocated 11,806 tickets and sold 9969. The Dundee United official present stated that in order to ensure a maximum attendance, in the first instance the club would not require the additional allocation in the Govan West corner, Front and Rear and, instead, would prefer the Broomloan Road stand, capacity 8012. He was invited to revert to the club for confirmation but declined. Notwithstanding the present allocation of 8012 – as requested by the club – Dundee United retain first option on the Govan West corner, and a section of the Front and Rear, an additional 3051 seats. Should the club a) request that additional allocation and b) sell it, then there remains the opportunity to extend the allocation subject to agreement between the clubs and the relevant police and stewarding advice.

.......and it's fast-fading for Graham Wallace and the Rangers board. KEITH looks at how Rangers' CEO Wallace's reputation has been damaged in recent months and says that his business review, published in a fortnight's time, will give him an opportunity to salvage it. RIDDLE me this. It’s a priceless commodity and yet it costs nothing at all. It cannot be bought but its every ounce must be thoroughly earned. If Graham Wallace could solve this puzzle then his task as Rangers chief executive would be made a great deal more easy. The answer, of course, is trust. And it’s been his biggest issue ever since he agreed to wade into the quagmire that is the Ibrox boardroom. Simply by willingly associating himself with the board which appointed him, Wallace was up to his knees in inherent suspicion from the start. But his long-standing professional reputation bought him a bit of time. To many, he was the acceptable face of an otherwise intolerable regime. Five months on, however, Wallace’s mask might be starting to slip. Because on Thursday of last week, just hours after putting his name to the Ibrox club’s latest declaration of multi-million pound losses, Wallace found his integrity being called into question by the very supporters he has been struggling so hard to convince. The Union of Fans – an umbrella group made up by various factions – accused Wallace of “misleading” season-ticket holders and shareholders alike over the true state of Rangers’ finances. And all at once the CEO became a busted flush because if he really has lost the trust of his own customers then it’s hard to see any way for him to claw it back. His silence, as well as that of chairman David Somers in the five days since, has been of the deafening variety. Then again how exactly is Wallace supposed to talk his way out of this one? How on earth can he explain why he stood up at the club’s agm on December 18 and insisted robustly that all was well when, with the benefit of hindsight, the whole world can now see that plainly it was not. For the record here’s a taste of what Wallace told the assembled shareholders: “There is sufficient cash in the business to fund the ongoing needs of the club in the near term. There has been speculation in the Press that we are teetering on the brink of administration. That is categorically not the case. There is sufficient funding to continue to trade as we normally would.” Now Wallace may not have been attempting to mislead about any of the above. If, by the near term, what he meant was really the next three or four weeks. And if, by categorically pooh-poohing the risk of another administration, he already knew how he was going to raise the money needed to plug a £4m black hole for the rest of the season. It could also be argued in Wallace’s defence that he himself had been misled, perhaps by the then financial director Brian Stockbridge who lost his job very soon after. And none of that can be discounted. But, if you believe it then you must also ask how it could be that a man with Wallace’s credentials as a financial big hitter, would allow himself to be placed in such a position. If, when he stood up to speak at the agm, he really wasn’t armed with the full extent of the club’s dwindling cash reserves, then what does that say about his own competence as a CEO? And here’s the really tricky bit. What if, less than a fortnight after the agm, frantic discussions were taking place behind the scenes, not just about how to keep the floodlights switched on through February but also how best to keep everyone else (particularly those in the market place) in the dark about this need to raise emergency funding? In fact, what if the board had been preparing for precisely this penniless scenario since as long back as last September, when they first opened negotiations aimed at raising £2m against assets such as the jumbo screens at either end of the stadium? The truth is, it was only after this potential deal collapsed, at around the time of the agm, that the Rangers board was forced to look at alternatives and ended up agreeing controversial loan deals for £1.5m with two shareholders, Laxey Partners and Sandy Easdale. And yet on February 25 in an exclusive Q&A with Record Sport after this arrangement had been announced, Wallace said: “Football is a very cyclical business, with big incomes generated early in the summer which progressively run down. So this is not a crisis move. It’s not a last-gasp policy. “We have some fairly significant income streams that will arise in the summer. So this is just a short-term facility. We have no bank debt, no overdraft and a balance sheet which is probably the envy of a lot of football clubs but yet consistently everybody talks about us being in a crisis.” Wallace added: “The need for a financial facility is no different for Rangers than for any normal business. We need time for people to see how the business is being operated and to rebuild people’s trust in Rangers as an organisation and trust in the credibility of those who are running it.” There’s that word again. Trust. In little more than two weeks’ time Wallace will have another chance to start earning it, or at least winning some of it back, when he delivers his 120-day business review. It will be interesting to note if he will put his name to one particular plan which has already been floated at boardroom level. It involves not just a huge hike in season-ticket prices but also asking fans for additional cash payments which would be ringfenced and used for spending on their team. Now that really would be one test too many for the patience of this support which is already hankering for Dave King’s millions to give the club an easy fix. Given the hand-to-mouth existence of Wallace’s club, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand why the man in charge is not shifting heaven and earth to bring King’s money inhouse. Immediately. The longer King is kept at arm’s length the less trust these fans will have for Wallace and his regime. It really is that simple. And you don’t need a badge in riddle solving to work out where that leaves Wallace and Somers with these supporters.

..........gets Rangers fans all fired up to renew Old Firm rivalries. IT was a terrific quote. Nauseating so far as its sentiment was concerned, but a marvellous sound-bite never the less. It was the one Dave King delivered about some Rangers fans who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put shoes on their children’s feet because they wanted to use the money to buy their season ticket for Ibrox. This was portrayed as evidence of the extraordinary degree of passion some fans have exhibited for the club. It’s nothing of the kind. Putting football before your family’s needs is not and never will be a badge of honour. Indeed it is a source of everlasting shame and there shouldn’t be the slightest hint of dubiety about that. But Dave wasn’t indulging in some emotional flight of fantasy, dreamed up one night while he was lying on a sun lounger as dusk fell on his exotic garden and swimming pool in Johannesburg and thinking about his place of birth. These people really do exist. I was once abroad in the company of an old friend who had a long and illustrious career with Celtic. We had been covering one of the club’s European ties and having a post-match refreshment before turning in when he was accosted by a fan. One who proudly told him his children hadn’t had a holiday in any of the previous three years so that he could travel the continent to support his team. The supporter had managed to turn denial where his family was concerned into some kind of imagined virtue He may have expected the Hoops hero to offer heartfelt words of praise but it was all the ex-player could do to maintain self-restraint after the interloper had invaded his company to spout his ?nonsense. Here’s the thing, though. ?Rangers’ survival as a viable concern is essential to the future well-being of the game in this country. The written media have done their usual first-class job of turning Celtic’s latest title-winning exercise into more column inches than would have been devoted to the Second Coming. But the reality is we need, heaven help us, the return of the rivalry that brings out those whose distorted sense of family values is an affront to decency. That also means unleashing the younger element upon us as they represent another part of the baggage that comes with re-establishing the Old Firm. Rangers and Celtic will play an Under-20 league match at Murray Park on Tuesday afternoon. That’s because the number of police who would’ve been required to enforce security if the game had been played ?in public view would’ve been financially inadvisable in times of austerity. It would have been interesting for normal folk to monitor and contrast the clubs’ youth development set-ups. Particularly at a time when 17-year-old Liam Henderson is scoring in a match against Partick Thistle that confirmed Celtic as league champions. But the youngsters’ match would have been hijacked, as those in authority well know, by the flare throwers, the singers of questionable songs and the rest of the misfits who would leave a family audience in fear of their safety. The match would’ve become an irrelevance to both sets of fans while they hurled sectarian insults at each other. It was the business of using rivalry as a basis for thuggery that put King’s policeman father off football when Dave was growing up. But one day, and it’s not too far off now, we’re going to have to deal with a first-team Old Firm derby that troubles society at large while helping enhance the product known as the SPFL Premiership. King knew exactly the right button to press when he started his propaganda campaign to win control of Rangers by instilling the fear of Celtic winning Ten in a Row in the minds of his club’s fans. And that’ll prey on their minds longer than Rangers’ captain Lee McCulloch’s talk about next Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup Final being a “massive” game. The match with Raith Rovers is a by-product of a club fallen on hard times. Nothing more and nothing less. Only those who would contemplate denying the weans shoes to buy a season ticket will think otherwise. Now the Ibrox board have countered King by saying that fans will threaten Rangers’ viability as a going concern if they decide to withhold season-ticket money The fans are now trapped between two sides, each trading on their innermost fears. And gullibility. I was speaking to a fan on the radio the other night who told me Celtic qualifying for the Champions League group stages next season would be a greater achievement than winning the European Cup in 1967. It was breathtaking nonsense, and a moment to ponder whether some fans actually understand history. Celtic were the first British, not Scottish, winners of the competition. Idolising Neil Lennon's perfectly all right, but distorting the truth while tarnishing Jock Stein's memory isn't. Neil would surely be the first to agree. No-one's dismissing his achievements. But there must be a sense of perspective.

RIDDLE me this. It’s a priceless commodity and yet it costs nothing at all. It cannot be bought but its every ounce must be thoroughly earned. If Graham Wallace could solve this puzzle then his task as Rangers chief executive would be made a great deal more easy. The answer, of course, is trust. And it’s been his biggest issue ever since he agreed to wade into the quagmire that is the Ibrox boardroom. Simply by willingly associating himself with the board which appointed him, Wallace was up to his knees in inherent suspicion from the start. But his long-standing professional reputation bought him a bit of time. To many, he was the acceptable face of an otherwise intolerable regime. Five months on, however, Wallace’s mask might be starting to slip. Because on Thursday of last week, just hours after putting his name to the Ibrox club’s latest declaration of multi-million pound losses, Wallace found his integrity being called into question by the very supporters he has been struggling so hard to convince. The Union of Fans – an umbrella group made up by various factions – accused Wallace of “misleading” season-ticket holders and shareholders alike over the true state of Rangers’ finances. And all at once the CEO became a busted flush because if he really has lost the trust of his own customers then it’s hard to see any way for him to claw it back. His silence, as well as that of chairman David Somers in the five days since, has been of the deafening variety. Then again how exactly is Wallace supposed to talk his way out of this one? How on earth can he explain why he stood up at the club’s agm on December 18 and insisted robustly that all was well when, with the benefit of hindsight, the whole world can now see that plainly it was not. For the record here’s a taste of what Wallace told the assembled shareholders: “There is sufficient cash in the business to fund the ongoing needs of the club in the near term. There has been speculation in the Press that we are teetering on the brink of administration. That is categorically not the case. There is sufficient funding to continue to trade as we normally would.” Now Wallace may not have been attempting to mislead about any of the above. If, by the near term, what he meant was really the next three or four weeks. And if, by categorically pooh-poohing the risk of another administration, he already knew how he was going to raise the money needed to plug a £4m black hole for the rest of the season. It could also be argued in Wallace’s defence that he himself had been misled, perhaps by the then financial director Brian Stockbridge who lost his job very soon after. And none of that can be discounted. But, if you believe it then you must also ask how it could be that a man with Wallace’s credentials as a financial big hitter, would allow himself to be placed in such a position. If, when he stood up to speak at the agm, he really wasn’t armed with the full extent of the club’s dwindling cash reserves, then what does that say about his own competence as a CEO? And here’s the really tricky bit. What if, less than a fortnight after the agm, frantic discussions were taking place behind the scenes, not just about how to keep the floodlights switched on through February but also how best to keep everyone else (particularly those in the market place) in the dark about this need to raise emergency funding? In fact, what if the board had been preparing for precisely this penniless scenario since as long back as last September, when they first opened negotiations aimed at raising £2m against assets such as the jumbo screens at either end of the stadium? The truth is, it was only after this potential deal collapsed, at around the time of the agm, that the Rangers board was forced to look at alternatives and ended up agreeing controversial loan deals for £1.5m with two shareholders, Laxey Partners and Sandy Easdale. And yet on February 25 in an exclusive Q&A with Record Sport after this arrangement had been announced, Wallace said: “Football is a very cyclical business, with big incomes generated early in the summer which progressively run down. So this is not a crisis move. It’s not a last-gasp policy. “We have some fairly significant income streams that will arise in the summer. So this is just a short-term facility. We have no bank debt, no overdraft and a balance sheet which is probably the envy of a lot of football clubs but yet consistently everybody talks about us being in a crisis.” Wallace added: “The need for a financial facility is no different for Rangers than for any normal business. We need time for people to see how the business is being operated and to rebuild people’s trust in Rangers as an organisation and trust in the credibility of those who are running it.” There’s that word again. Trust. In little more than two weeks’ time Wallace will have another chance to start earning it, or at least winning some of it back, when he delivers his 120-day business review. It will be interesting to note if he will put his name to one particular plan which has already been floated at boardroom level. It involves not just a huge hike in season-ticket prices but also asking fans for additional cash payments which would be ringfenced and used for spending on their team. Now that really would be one test too many for the patience of this support which is already hankering for Dave King’s millions to give the club an easy fix. Given the hand-to-mouth existence of Wallace’s club, it is becoming increasingly difficult to understand why the man in charge is not shifting heaven and earth to bring King’s money in house. Immediately. The longer King is kept at arm’s length the less trust these fans will have for Wallace and his regime. It really is that simple. And you don’t need a badge in riddle solving to work out where that leaves Wallace and Somers with these supporters. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-its-matter-trust-3303691

My gran wasn't too impressed with Colin Stein. Nothing to do with the player himself of course, but everything to do with the grandson who muddied himself on her back green in Anniesland trying to emulate the great man's latest goal every Saturday. The following day being Sunday, there was no way she would take her grandson to church looking anything less than respectful and appropriate for The Lord's House. So the breeks were hand washed in the big kitchen sink, scrubbed at the knees with a scrubbing brush before being rinsed, and then wrung out on the huge brass taps. Depending on the weather they were either then hung out on the verandah, allowing the employees of Barr and Stroud, the factory directly across from my grandmother's tenement, to know that Colin Stein's young protégée was in residence. In the event of inclement weather, an extra lump of coal was placed on the fire and the trousers placed on a screen nearby. Nowadays of course they would be straight into the washing machine and then the tumble dryer - Sorted. Often we take for granted the things which makes life's journey far more comfortable or enjoyable. Having them taken away for whatever reason can leave us with the prospect of having to do things as in days gone by, a fact I was reminded of that recently. Rumour reached me that our supporters bus, The Monifieth Loyal, had folded leaving me facing the prospect of a long solitary drive, to and from Ibrox drive every other week. (The fact that it would also mean an abstention from alcohol on match days was a minor matter. Honestly) It was not something I relished having discovered the considerable benefits of the local supporters bus. It was relief to read a few days later on Twitter that the rumours were totally unfounded and it was business as usual. Whilst supporter's buses may be an alternative form of transport for those of us who can drive, for others they are the only form of transport available. For those in our community who are less than firm, less than able, the supporters bus with it's unique and personalised stops and pick ups is often the margin of success in them overcoming insurmountable difficulties. The sight of the infirm and disabled overcoming the cruel hand life has dealt them to watch their beloved Rangers, is one which is truly inspiring. Then of course there is the “social” aspect of the bus. Yesterday at Gayfield I bumped into and old friend of mine I hadn’t seen for years who promptly introduced me to members and organisers of his bus. Let's just say every one of them were in particularly high spirits, I would imagine the crack on the bus home would have been worth the admission money alone. But it goes further than this. For those of who through work or other commitments have been forced to leave the mother nest of Glasgow for pastures new, the supporter's bus brings together a network of exiles who otherwise may have been strangers to one another, and the many considerable benefits which that brings. The local supporter's bus offers many benefits, financial, friendship, social networking, information, opinions and convenience to name but a few. If you currently don’t travel via one I would encourage you to try it. You will soon find it is not one of life's luxuries, after a few experience you place it in the “essentials” category - and there will be no going back to “the old ways”.

Is it just a coincidence that all our flair players have been pretty much invisible this year or is it more to do with our manager? Temps - injured a lot but took him all season to pretty much guarantee a start before his last injury there. McKay - sent out on loan. Shiels - gets the nod, does well, scores a HT and is dropped the next week (I think), clearly he isn't a favourite of Ally. Apart from those 3 guys we literally have zero creativity. OK we are winning but lets be honest our opponents are plumbers/sparks/asda boys ......... we are god damn awful to watch. Edit: just thought it would be nice if one thread on the first page was actually about football.

Has Easdale dropped the libel bid?

Given the dire state of the published interim accounts (despite whatever way folk would like to look at them) - I am yet again left with a lot of questions about how the board are running the club and how they foresee us pulling through. However we all know that over the past almost 4 months, the only answer we are constantly given is 'wait until the 120 day business review is completed'. This excuse is often compounded with the 'previous regime costs' and 'previous shortsightedness' that seemed to be the basis for some decisions. Personally speaking, I have lost all faith in the board. I do not see any results from the investment committee, the Easdale's continue to operate within shroud of mystery and their behavior is nothing short of appalling, the debacle with King / Irvine which must have came from instruction from the board, the Laxey loan agreement etc. Therefor I do not hold out much hope on the outcomes of this review other than what was intimated by Somers - the fans will need to provide cash to bail out the club by season tickets, which I have to say is a totally unacceptable stance to take given the lack of performance that can be easily read from the accounts. As stated, that's my personal view - and I would love to be proven wrong with a positive outcome of the review detailing new ventures / revenue streams / investment plans as well as a detailed account of how the business has been operated over the past 18 months or so. However I was keen to see what other folk think the outcomes of the review will be? Do we have any faith in this 120 day exercise? Will Wallace finally prove he has the substance to continue in his position at Rangers? Will the board finally 'let go' of the historic excuse of the Green / Ahmed / Whyte era? The past few weeks news headlines and media articles have almost laid down the gauntlet to the board - and I certainly still feel that the next move must be theirs, which will undoubtedly be the publication of the review findings. I fear that these results will not be enough to appease the support which will lead into another period of uncertainty.

.....for the Premiership title in 2015-16 Ally McCoist last night declared that anything less than Rangers challenging for the Premiership title in season 2015-16 will be unacceptable. The Ibrox club will compete in the Championship next season having won back-to-back titles and are hot favourites to pave their way back to the big time with a third successive crown. However, the source of the club’s long-term financing remains shrouded in uncertainty, with would-be investor Dave King so far being kept at arms’ length by the board. King’s willingness to underwrite the £50million he believes is needed to compete with Celtic has chimed with a fan base who are behind his plan to only release season-ticket money to the board if certain conditions are met. McCoist yesterday expressed his hope that dialogue could yet see all parties arrive at a satisfactory solution. But, come what may, the Rangers manager refutes the notion that the aim of a first season back in the top flight could be consolidation. ‘No, it’s not an option,’ he stated. ‘We know it goes with the territory here, you are expected to win the vast majority of games and you’re expected to get promoted and get back in the top league as quickly as possible. ‘So far, these boxes are getting ticked although there have been one or two hiccups along the way, which we always said there would be.’ Asked if he intended building a team capable of challenging at the first time of asking, McCoist continued: ‘Yes, it’s important. We’ve never made up the numbers at all. No matter what league we’ve played in or where we’ve played, we’ve always believed we’ve had a chance of winning the competition and I don’t see any reason why that should change. ‘In fact, it shouldn’t change and it can’t change.' On Thursday, Rangers chairman David Somers issued a stern warning that the proposed season ticket stand-off could cause untold damage to the club. Speaking after the publication of the interim financial results, Somers said the withholding of money could risk the club’s ability to ‘continue as a going concern.’ McCoist has repeatedly taken a neutral stance in the ongoing spat between the board, King and the fans, but yesterday he admitted to having serious concerns about what Somers had said. ‘Of course that would worry me, as a supporter and as a manager,’ he added. ‘That would be a concern for everybody who has anything to do with the club. If the chairman feels that has to be said, it is probably an unpleasant reminder to everybody involved at the club that we have a long, long way to go.’ Notwithstanding the possible return of King to Ibrox, McCoist believes he and the board are on the same page as far as a shared vision for the future of the club is concerned. ‘I’ve said all along that we need investment to get back, there’s no doubt about that,’ he continued. ‘Graham (Wallace, the chief executive) and the board have said that, too, so it’s good that everybody feels like that and shares that opinion. ‘Where the investment comes from we will have to wait and see. ‘In the meantime, it’s good everybody agrees investment is needed. ‘For us to get back to where we want to eventually be, we will need investment. ‘We lost millions when we lost all those players. To get back to the standard of where we were, investment is needed.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2591972/McCoist-sights-set-challenging-Celtic-Premiership-title-2015-16.html

Didn't look good and does not make good reading either ... Sky Sports News ‏@SkySportsNews 32 Min. Hull expect goalkeeper Allan McGregor to miss the rest of the season with a kidney injury #SSN

King: My father was so anti-football he didn't want me to be a Rangers fan Dave King can afford to laugh now. About the round of golf with Arnold Palmer which ended up costing him £20million. His investment in Rangers was never planned. Travelling with Gary Player from South Africa to a pro-am event in Hawaii early in 2000, the intention was to spend some time holing putts. ‘I played with Gary in the pro-am on the Tuesday,’ King recalls. ‘But on the Wednesday he was going to look at a golf course he was designing. So he arranged for me to play with Jack Nicklaus instead. ‘After that round we then had dinner with Alistair Johnston, the future Rangers chairman. He was a good mate of David Murray. ‘He was a big Rangers man like myself and was telling me how the club needed cash and so on. He was trying to sell it to me. Asking what it might take. ‘So I said to him: “You know what would be really nice? I’ve played with Gary on Tuesday, I’ve played with Jack on Wednesday, could you fix it for me to play with Arnold Palmer tomorrow in the pro am?” ‘Alistair could do that. He arranged the pro-am. So I played golf with Gary Player on the Tuesday, Jack Nicklaus on the Wednesday and Arnold Palmer on the Thursday. I might be the only amateur golfer in the world who has ever done that. But golfing with the big three was a costly business. It ended up costing me a £20m investment in Rangers.’ Some still suspect King got most of his money back. Amongst those opposed to his plans for a proposed new Ibrox investment of between £30m and £50m, a report from a South African business journal in November 2008 has now become gospel. Unverified, the report claimed King received £18m in income from Rangers over the 12 years of his previous involvement. It was seized on by the PR man once paid to do the bidding of the current board. Indignant, King tells Sportsmail: ‘Listen, I did not get one penny of that money back. SARS taxed me on my total income. And obviously your income includes what you spent it on. ‘When I invested that £20m I didn’t even have a tax problem. That came later. ‘There was some mischief put out there about me getting £18m back or something. Nonsense. ‘That PR guy Jack Irvine was putting out some stories to discredit me for whatever reason. It was absolute rubbish. The truth is that I put in £20m and lost it all. ‘I didn’t even get my 3p in the pound or whatever I was due back. So when people say I don’t put my money where my mouth is I point to that. ‘I genuinely put in £20m, I genuinely lost it. And I am still coming back for more.’ That first investment finally disappeared down a black hole when Rangers entered administration in February 2012. He threatened afterwards to sue Murray for the loss on the grounds of ‘non disclosure’ over the club’s true financial state. Asked if he is still pursuing the cash, he says: ‘I continue to work on that for myself and for all the fans who lost money.’ Despite it all, he now wants to invest more money in Rangers. This newspaper first broke the news of King’s plans for a fresh investment last April. A year later he is still trying, saying this week the club need up to £50m over the next four seasons and that he would underwrite a new share issue himself if he had to. The sums involved are eye-watering; a world removed from a modest childhood in Castlemilk. One of seven children – four boys and three girls – his policeman father Tom King witnessed the corrosive, disproportionate impact football had on Saturday nights in Glasgow. ‘My father wasn’t at all keen on me becoming a Rangers supporter. He was a Glasgow policeman and because of that he resented the whole football scene in Glasgow. ‘He was actually very anti-football. When we were kids growing up he was very vocal on his dislike of the bigotry in football. The police in Glasgow at that time saw it as a basis for thuggery. ‘He saw what it did from a crime and disorder point of view in Glasgow. And as a family we were taught to reject the whole bigotry aspect surrounding football. That has stayed with me through the years. ‘My father took me to that first game reluctantly, but I clearly remember seeing Ritchie, Shearer and Caldow in the classic Scot Symon team. It would have been 1965 or so and I was 10. ‘Thereafter there were so many players I admired. Greig, McKinnon, Ralph Brand, Jimmy Millar. But it was never about individuals. It was more about the club. ‘If you are a Rangers fan you go beyond players. It’s about the club, the institution – it’s what you are brought up with. It’s just in your blood. It’s in your DNA.” The Kings were amongst the first inhabitants of the new tenement flats in Castlemilk, the south side housing scheme developed by the old Glasgow Corporation to provide affordable overspill housing for the Gorbals. The homes were new, the amenities non existent. ‘I don’t think we ever regarded ourselves as well off in any way. You understand when you are a kid that a lot of kids are better off than you. That becomes a motivation in a way. ‘I wanted to do something different with my life. I didn’t want to feel like that. ‘It would be easy to say growing up in Castlemilk as one of seven in modest circumstances drove me on in life. But it was there within me anyway. ‘Of course, there was a certain sense of growing up and thinking: “I don’t want my kids to live like this.” There certainly was an ambition in me and in everything I did to progress from humble origins, if you want to put it like that.’ Uniquely for a boy growing up in Castlemilk, King attended a private, fee-paying school. ‘I was certainly helped by going to Allan Glen’s,’ he admits. ‘Everyone around me went to the local schools and I suppose I was unusual. ‘The view of my mum at the time was that she would do anything to get me in. ‘But I was lucky because I got a bursary. I sat an exam and after being awarded the bursary I was excused fees. But my parents thought it was so important that even if I hadn’t got a bursary, I would have been sent in any event.’ He left school and started his working life with Glasgow’s Weir Pumps. He was transferred to South Africa with very little cash in 1976. ‘I planned to spend a few years here, make some money and return to Scotland. But one thing led to another.’ He married wife Ladina and the couple had four children. After spells with the Post Office Reserve Bank, King set up a management consultancy and took a golf membership at the Dainfern Country Club. His tax problems began when he established Specialised Outsourcing in 1993/94 to efficiently handle funds on behalf of the government for a share of the profits. He acquired conspicuous wealth and in 2000 – the year he also invested in Rangers – he bought a painting by artist Irma Stern at auction for £100,000. Reading of the purchase, Mr Charles Chipps, a special investigator of the South African Revenue Service, decided to check on King’s tax payments and discovered a declared taxable income of just £4,000. His discovery triggered an infamous 13-year battle between King and SARS. One which placed him on the front pages of South African newspapers and saw his overseas assets frozen. When Rangers entered administration two years ago, he could barely buy a bus pass in the UK, let alone a football club. The damaging dispute finally ended last year with a £39.3m settlement. Shares in King’s company Micromega immediately rose in value by 500 per cent and – on paper at least – he has made all his money back. Regretful he allowed things to drag on so long, he admits the settlement is a weight off his mind. He can now focus his attentions – and cash - back on Rangers. ‘The SARS business was a huge burden - one that has finally been removed. It was onerous. Very onerous given the extended time and the tying up of most of my capital during this period.’ There remains one lingering stain. As part of the plea bargain, King accepted culpability for 41 breaches of section 75 of the South Africa Income Tax Act. Each charge offered the choice of paying a £5,000 fine or spending two years in custody. King opted to pay the total fine of £210,000 rather than spend 82 years in jail and maintains the offences are not serious enough to breach the SFA’s fit and proper person regulations. He remains ‘certain’ he will pass the test, but before he reaches that stage King must find a route back into the Rangers boardroom. He rejects criticism that he has yet to put his money where his mouth is. That he has talked a good game without buying any shares. ‘It’s not unfair to say I haven’t put my money where my mouth is,’ he insists, ‘it’s just plain wrong. ‘I repeat, I’m the man who put £20m in and didn’t get a penny back. ‘I don’t even want to put new money in. If the Rangers board can raise £20m without me than that’s the first prize. ‘I would prefer it and my family would certainly prefer it – because that’s the trust funds for my four kids taken care of. ‘But what I am saying is that if there is a fresh share issue I am willing to do it. ‘It’s quite simple really. Where Rangers are concerned, I am the last resort guy. No more than that.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2591251/Dave-King-My-father-anti-football-didnt-want-Rangers-fan.html#ixzz2xDdtF8hl

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