Jump to content

 

 

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'future'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • Main Forums
    • Rangers Chat
    • General Football Chat
    • Bluenose Lounge
    • Forum Support and Feedback

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


Location


Interests


Occupation


Favourite Rangers Player


Twitter


Facebook


Skype

  1. ...now there's just hatred and bitterness. KEITH looks forward to this weekend's game and tries to see through the nastiness and petty squabbles that surround it. IN the endless search for rational thinking on the subject of Scottish football – and on Celtic and Rangers in particular – social media is seldom an ideal starting point. A digital breeding ground for 
card-carrying bampots and 
extremists of all denominations, it never ceases to amaze just how much rancid hostility and barking insanity can be squeezed into 140 characters or less. Often it is a place where the very dullest of wits go to be unburdened and emptied out on to a screen. More often than not, as will without doubt be the case this week and beyond, it quickly degenerates into online loutishness and a feeding frenzy for the terminally unhinged. Already, the build-up is dominated by anger and insults. This, of course, is not to say every Old Firm fan who lurks around on the internet must slaver and breathe through the mouth. Absolutely not. On the contrary, some of them are fiendishly clever. Every now and then one will pop up quite unexpectedly on Twitter and manage to succinctly nail it. Like the Rangers fan who, when discussing what lies ahead at Hampden this weekend, offered up the following: “There’s no rivalry any more. Just hatred. It’s sad.” That’s the truth, right there. As much as these two clubs and their followers might posture and growl at one another – no matter how many full-page newspaper ads they might take out in the coming days – the reality is their two teams are about to engage in a phoney war. What was once a formidable sporting rivalry is now a fading memory. This fixture is the headline act in Scottish football’s odditorium. Yes, it may well be watched in big numbers but only because it holds all the fascination of a modern-day freak show. As a newspaper man of more than 25 years, there was nothing quite like the adrenalin rush of a Glasgow derby. The ferocity of the occasion made it completely compelling. Then, on top of all that, came the Larssons and Laudrups, de Boers and Di Canios – men whose skills would light up and shine like a thing of beauty making it easier to ignore the surrounding ugliness. Now that’s all there is left. The Great Ibrox Implosion of 2012 and events since have ravaged Rangers and reduced them to a state of irrelevance. There is no contest between these two clubs. None at all. It is hard to imagine Ronny Deila’s Celtic not winning this League Cup semi-final and winning comfortably. His team is stronger and more talented than Rangers in pretty much every department. It ought to be really quite straightforward. But even if it is not – even if somehow Rangers were to spring up and catch Celtic cold with the kind of sucker punches that floored Chelsea and Manchester City over the weekend – in a wider context nothing much will really change. Deila might find his relationship with Celtic fans so badly damaged that no amount of post-match
 fist-pumping from Pittodrie to Rugby Park can fix it. But, even so, he will deliver the club’s fourth successive league title. The summer would then be used to debate whether Deila deserves another shot at qualifying for the Champions League. Even if the general consensus is “no” then Celtic will go on about their business just the same, only with a new man in charge. That’s the worst case scenario at Parkhead. The Champions League remains Celtic’s be all and end all. Over at Ibrox, meanwhile, a once great footballing rival continues to eat its own feet off. The worst that can happen to Rangers fans is that their team might be humiliated. Maybe annihilated. But again nothing really changes. Nor for that matter would a victory, as far fetched as it might seem. Chances are they would be wiped out in the Final by either a resurgent Aberdeen or an equally thriving Dundee United. And even if by some miracle this rudderless, managerless team, which cannot stay out of harm’s way in the Championship, went on to actually lift the League Cup then so what? They’ll be looking inwards because before they can aspire to competing against their neighbours, first they must fix their own house. Where Rangers are concerned, there will be another meeting at Hampden this week which is of far greater significance to the club’s future. And it will take place tomorrow, not out on the pitch but on the sixth floor. Mike Ashley will not attend but his lawyers will be there, or at least they’ll be on the other end of a conference call, as the SFA’s judicial panel gets down to the business of dealing with the Sports Direct tycoon’s interest in all matters Ibrox. His legal representatives will ask for more time – possibly months – to fully consider the charges which centre around their man’s influence in the boardroom. The SFA’s lawyers will argue that no such lengthy delay is necessary to prepare Ashley’s case. It is likely that the whole process will be stalled for two to four weeks. Meanwhile, Ashley is expected to further tighten his stranglehold with another wad of emergency cash, as much as £10million – a great deal more than Rangers require in order to survive until new shares are released. This entire deal appears to be designed to suit Ashley more than to satisfy the needs of a club that may find itself saddled with a huge debt mountain to one man. These are the issues Rangers must tackle before they are even remotely ready to go toe to toe with their city rivals. And even though clarity may be provided when the shareholders vote at an egm a few weeks from now, potentially smashing the current regime and rebuilding the boardroom, there are no quick fixes. For the time being then, this rivalry has had its day. But the hatred rages on. If only it were confined to the land of the hashtag. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion/sport/keith-jackson-celtic-v-rangers-5043134
  2. US-BASED coach persuaded Pheonix Suns owner to mount £20m bid and reckons Ibrox board failed the club by rejecting the offer. DAVID ROBERTSON last night insisted Rangers have blown a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by ditching a takeover bid from American millionaire Robert Sarver. The former Ibrox full-back also accused the board of failing to act in the best interests of their club by rejecting a £20m offer from the Phoenix Suns owner. Sarver opted against a further attempt to do business after his approach to gain a controlling stake was kicked out by the directors who failed to find the required 75 per cent shareholder backing. But Robertson is adamant Rangers’ loss will be another club’s gain and insists they have looked a gift horse in the mouth. The 46-year-old played a key role in pitching the idea of an Ibrox bid to the Phoenix Suns owner. Robertson’s role as head coach of Phoenix FC allowed his path to cross the American financier’s and he admits it should have been a twist of fate that would have shaped an exciting future for the Light Blues. He said: “I run a club in Phoenix and his kids play within the club, I coach one of his kids. “He’s just like any other parent, he stands on the sidelines and cheers his kids on. He’s a down to earth guy and has been generous to our club. “It’s a good relationship I’ve got with him. It was actually by chance that he was talking about buying a football club and I mentioned Rangers. He took a big shine to it. “If you look at his interviews then that’s the type of guy he is. He’s by the book and straight talking. He’s not going to go around doing anything dodgy behind the scenes. He’s out in the open and he put in a couple of offers that have been turned down. “Rob’s the type of guy who wants to make a bad situation good. He would do whatever it would take. He was prepared to invest a lot. “Rob’s got the know-how of a pretty big sports franchise to implement a lot of stuff. “I know Rangers as a club – even on the business side of it – are not operating to full capacity. “Whoever ends up in control of Rangers, there’s got to be a good solid plan. It’s got to be long term.” As one of the best defenders of his generation, Robertson’s six years at Ibrox brought six titles and countless trophies as well as three Scotland caps. After flying back to Glasgow to start his SFA UEFA Pro Licence course, it allowed time for the former Aberdeen player to provide a detailed analysis of the origins behind Sarver’s bid but he is adamant a quick trip to Google would have done the trick. He said: “With technology these days it doesn’t take you long to work out what a good guy he is. “He’s got a heart foundation. My daughter goes to school in Tucson, University of Arizona, and he’s got the Sarver Heart Foundation, so he does a lot of charity work there. “He’s also a winner. The Phoenix Suns are on a fantastic run at the moment, Rob’s got all the infrastructure. He’s obviously got the wealth to invest in a football club and at some point he will. “You’ve got to meet tough guidelines with the franchise every year, every week. Whatever club he ends up at, he can certainly bring all that. “Even just the Phoenix Suns alone, he has had the franchise for 10 years. He has invested a lot of money in every single aspect of that franchise. “I’ve had a few conversations with Robert but it’s mainly just about my views on Rangers as a club. “The one thing he has said is he loves the passion that the club has and that the Rangers supporters have. He has had loads of messages and thank you notes, he’ll definitely remember Rangers for a long time.” One of the more reasonable suggestions for Robertson was to expect a call from someone from the Rangers board on a fact-finding mission about Sarver. He said: “No one called, I do feel if they were looking for info then it’s surprising. “I had a lot of people contact me at certain points from the media but I’m so much away from it that I didn’t want to get involved.” Cynics may suggest Robertson’s initial motivation for inviting Sarver to attempt a salvage operation at Rangers could have been to try to carve out a coaching return to Ibrox but he says there’s no hidden agenda. He said: “That was never spoken about. I’m not the type of guy who goes out to try to do something like this to get an opportunity. “He has taken a big shine to it and all the conversations I’ve had have been about my knowledge of Rangers.” There is frustration both as a friend of Sarver’s and also as a former Rangers player that the takeover has not been realised but there are no hard feelings for Robertson, only a suspicion the Ibrox board have a selfish motive not to relinquish control. He said: “It’s a difficult situation. He needed 75 per cent and they felt they couldn’t have got that. The shareholders really could have made it happen. “I don’t know how far he would have gone but he’s such an honest guy, whatever he says you can take as gospel. “He had visions of getting Rangers back to where they were. He has never been negative towards Rangers or anything but he’s disappointed the way it has turned out. “I talk to him now and again. He’s never going to give too much away. But he was serious about Rangers.” ● David Robertson was speaking at the SFA’s UEFA Pro Licence course. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/ex-ibrox-star-david-robertson-says-5042436
  3. ByPAUL THORNTON The Sun Published: 18 minutes ago CHEEKY Celtic fans are planning to light the blue-touch paper on next week’s long-awaited Old Firm clash - with a full page ad explaining why Rangers are a new club. Sections of the Hoops support have clubbed together to take out the message in a Sunday newspaper one week before the tie. The lengthy message sets out why some Celts reckon the Gers are a different outfit from their historic rivals following the oldco’s liquidation in 2012. After organising through forums and supporter sites a group of dozens of fans have clubbed together a four-figure sum to place the statement. The message states: “As Celtic supporters, we regrettably recognise that our club had an association with Rangers (1872) through the collective descriptive term, The Old Firm. We believe this term is now redundant following the liquidation of Rangers (1872). “On 1st February Celtic supporters will support our team in the semifinal against a new club, which came into being in 2012. “This will be the first ever meeting between the two clubs and the purpose of this statement is to place our position on record so that Celtic supporters can enjoy the occasion for what it is and without playing any part in what we see as the Rangers ‘club continuation’ fiction.” The stunt is sure to wind-up Bears who were buoyed by Lord Nimmo Smith’s report which saw Rangers retain their titles in 2013. At the end of December SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster firmed-up that view when he insisted the team were “absolutely” the same club. He said: “It’s the same club, absolutely. “The member club is the entity that participates in our league and we have 42 member clubs. “Those clubs may be owned by a company, sometimes it’s a Private Limited Company, sometimes it’s a PLC, but ultimately, the company is a legal entity in its own right, which owns a member club that participates in the league. “It was put to bed by the Lord Nimmo Smith commission some while ago – it’s the same club.” Bosses at the paper where the ad is due to run contacted Police Scotland to make sure it would not spark trouble between the supports. Last night the force said: “We are aware of the advert.” Rangers declined to comment. But Union of Fans spokesman Chris Graham said: “We’ve been over this time and time again. The football authorities have said it’s the same club and Lord Nimmo Smith has said it’s the same club. “I don’t think Rangers fans are paying any special attention to the online crackpots among the Celtic support who continue to put forward this notion. I’d have thought they’d have better things to spend their money on.”
  4. Just been looking at SOS FB. They have pics of invoice for £32400 from a media company that they say nobody remembers using! One of the directors of said compay is Llambias. The photo on the left is a photo of an invoice for a service no one can recall us using, the photo to the right is the directors of the company we paid for work that no on can recall using Can we have more of these guys please
  5. If loans are given by Ashley Ibrox will not be used as security -Sky Sports News.
  6. ...snubbing bids to help sacked Scots workers. RANGERS shareholder Mike Ashley has been accused of deplorable behaviour after he repeatedly rebuffed attempts by ministers to offer help to warehouse employees who his firm had abruptly made redundant. Business Minister Fergus Ewing has expressed "extreme concern and disappointment" at the conduct of Mr Ashley's Sports Direct, the parent company of clothing chain USC which the billionaire allowed to go into administration this month costing 88 employees their jobs at its base in Dundonald, Ayrshire. It has emerged that the Scottish Government made a series of urgent but unsuccessful attempts to contact bosses and offer help to the employees, leading an MSP to question whether Mr Ashley was a fit and proper person to own Rangers. It is understood that representatives from PACE - a Scottish Government initiative which offers advice to workers made redundant - travelled to the warehouse after attempts to make contact with company bosses were ignored but were denied access to the site to speak directly with employees for several days. Workers are believed to have not been offered redundancy pay from the firm, while some are owed cash dating back to mid-December. Sports Direct representatives also refused to return phone calls from the highest levels of the Scottish Government. Despite Mr Ewing writing to Mr Ashley and requesting an immediate response, he only received an acknowledgement of his letter. Scottish Enterprise chief executive Lena Wilson also attempted to make contact with Mr Ashley before Dave Forsey, the CEO of Sports Direct, wrote to Mr Ewing on January 14, a week after the first attempts to make contact with the firm, confirming that USC had been put into administration. Ms Wilson received no response, despite numerous attempts to follow-up her letter. MSP Adam Ingram, whose constituency includes the Dundonald warehouse, accused Mr Ashley of showing "complete contempt" for his employees. "He's got £10 million in his pocket to try and take control of Rangers but he won't pay his workers wages they are due or make any redundancy payments," he said. "He's refused to respond to the minister when he's been trying to get help for the workforce, who only found out they were losing their jobs when nine Sports Direct container lorries arrived to strip the warehouse of stock. "It's deplorable behaviour and calls in to question whether Mike Ashley is a fit and proper person to own a football club according to the SFA rules. He is not someone I would want taking over any Scottish institution given how he's treated these workers." It has been confirmed that another of Mr Ashley's subsidiaries, Republic, has bought USC from administrators. The entrepreneur, who also owns Newcastle United, this week pocketed £117m after selling a 2.6 per cent stake in Sports Direct. According to Forbes magazine, Ashley, who owns just under 10 per cent of Rangers shares but wields a huge amount of power at the club, is worth £3.3billion making him the 293rd richest person in the world. A response to a parliamentary question reveals the PACE team was urgently trying to make contact with the firm throughout January 7, when news of the redundancies broke. Mr Ewing's office and PACE made repeated attempts to contact the company the following day by email and phone with no success, while the issue was also raised on First Minister's Questions. Mr Ewing wrote to Mr Forsey the following day, before Scottish Enterprise began efforts to make contact with a senior figure at Sports Direct and appeals were sent directly to Mr Ashley. After the attempts to contact Sports Direct were unsuccessful, PACE representatives travelled to Dundonald on January 8 where they spoke with representatives and left 150 copies of a guide for affected employees. They were eventually allowed on-site to give presentations to workers on January 13. A motion lodged at the Scottish Parliament by Mr Ingram, which condemns the actions of Mr Ashley and calls on him to ensure employees are paid what they are owed has so far attracted support from 22 other MSPs. Sports Direct declined to comment. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/h...rker.116682728
  7. Sons of Struth 2 mins · If Ashley increased his loan offer to £15m, would this make it easier to accept by the board??????????? File the name Steve Mucklow in the drawer for the time being, he may be made very famous by Ashley if he has his way. For avid readers of our page, Mucklow was the guy who offered to underwrite the last share issue before pulling out and leaving us open to an Ashley loan.
  8. Not much yet, but here we go ... Rest later or from behind the pay wall of The Sun
  9. Grant Russell ‏@STVGrant 17s18 seconds ago None of the 55 games Steve Simonsen is accused of betting on were Rangers matches. Chris Jack ‏@Chris_Jack89 47s48 seconds ago Rangers keeper Steve Simonsen issued with a notice of complaint for breaching SFA gambling rules. Has until 29/1 to respond. Hearing 12/2
  10. The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is delighted to announce that, following a successful meeting yesterday, the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund (RFFF) has thrown its considerable finances and influence behind the RST's continuing fight to ensure Ibrox remains under the control of the club. We are delighted that the RFFF has taken this decision and would like to thank them for doing so. There is now a substantial legal fund available, should it be required, to fight any attempt by this board to pass security over Ibrox to Mike Ashley. We will work closely with the RFFF going forward to ensure every avenue is explored. http://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-gains-rfff-support-for-ibrox-legal-fight/
  11. http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/FansBoard/Minutes/RFB_Minutes_080115.pdf
  12. A few months ago rbr suggested that likeminded Gersnet members could donate towards a lifetime membership of Rangers First. There was reasonable level of interest at the time, but for whatever reason it didn't translate into action. A lot has happened since then in the struggle for control of Rangers and the recent requisition for an EGM has galvanised supporter opinion, leading to large numbers of new sign-ups for both RangersFirst and the RST's BuyRangers scheme. The Gers Forum were among those signing up this week, having raised £1000 in 24 hours to buy 2 Rangers First Lifetime Memberships (these are available to groups, whereas BuyRangers requires an individual membership). I'd like to organise a similar effort on Gersnet if there is enough interest. I'm aware that many of us already support RF and/or BuyRangers, while others do not share my enthusiasm for fan ownership. It's also January, so not everyone will have spare cash to donate at this time of year. However, a potentially close vote at the forthcoming EGM will be sufficient incentive for many Gersnetters. A RangersFirst Club 1872 membership costs £500, so if we can get 50 interested Bears together @ £10 each, we can make it happen. If you want to donate more than that, then great. So, my suggestion is this: 1. PM me with your forum name and the amount you'd be willing to commit to as a one off donation. 2. I'll keep a tally of the total. As and when we reach £500, I'll pass everyone's details to Bluedell, who has very kindly offered to help collect the funds. 3. Bluedell can then provide you with details (also via PM) of how he plans to collect the funds and once the full £500 has been received, we'll purchase a Lifetime Membership in the name of Gersnet. Any excess funds received will be donated to RF. 4. As RF operates a one-member-one-vote decision making process, the easiest option would be to hold a brief poll of members prior to any future RF votes. Obviously, such polls are open to members and visitors alike, but for one vote among thousands, it wouldn't be worth creating a more complicated process. If anyone has spotted a fatal flaw in the process, or has any suggestions which would make it easier, please let me know. Finally, I'd just like to make it clear that there's absolutely no compulsion to take part, but it's up to those who do to look into the details of RF if they are not already familiar with it. Cheers.
  13. Apropos of nothing whatsoever that may be happening elsewhere, while pedaling my heavy way around the icy hills of Renfrewshire this morning it occurred to me that some businesses are very reluctant to reveal details of their doings, to the point where the uncharitable onlooker might think there was something a touch suspicious about such reticence. I'm sure that, in 99.9% of such cases, everything is entirely straight forward and it's simple business confidentiality which prompts some City types or business big guns to keep their cards ever so close to their chests. One way to get a look inside any such secretive body is through the courts, of course. Should people either take a company to court, or, crazy though it sounds, should any business take a customer to court, it does offer the legally minded pursuer or defender access to the information they might have been after in the first place. Law! Crazy words, crazy system. It's weird how sometimes it works out that those who rush to law find themselves on the sharp end of her sword, hoist on their own petard. Jonathan Aitken springs to mind, likewise Jeffrey Archer. These, and other less boring thoughts, occupy me this dull January afternoon.
  14. keith jackson ‏@tedermeatballs I'm not going to use the phrase 'statement klaxon' again. But, yes, I think one will be along very shortly....
  15. ... in his ET interview My headline makes for a good signature. If anything, those currently trying to oust the board have learned (the hard way) that the key is in having enough shares. Let#s hope this goes through, Murdoch sounds rather confident and you'd hope King has done this because he IS confident of success.
  16. In today's Record: http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/mortgaging-ibrox-stadium-makes-no-5006216#rlabs=2
  17. https://twitter.com/jimwhite Jim White ‏@JimWhite 41s42 seconds ago Kenny McDowall has resigned as Rangers caretaker manager, citing personal reasons for stepping down. #Rangers
  18. Over 481,000 traded today , many small trades but some much bigger , the largest being an 150,000 one
  19. DAVE KING today insisted he will easily convince both stock market bosses and football chiefs that he IS fit to run Rangers. The former oldco director has called a general meeting to vote on plans to rout the Ibrox board. He will also ask the shareholders to vote in himself, former Blue Knight Paul Murray and John Gilligan as their replacements. The current regime - David Somers, Derek Llambias, Barry Leach and James Easdale - released a statement to the stock exchange on this morning insisting they would fight King's bid. In a thinly-veiled swipe at the Johannesburg-based businessman, they said: "The AIM rules require that all individuals appointed to the board of an AIM company are suitable to be a director of a UK public company." The Castlemilk-born millionaire was forced to hand the South African Revenue Services a cheque for £44million last year in a bid to stave off a tax investigation. SARS claimed he owned £149million but he was spared jail after accepting liability for 41 lesser charges in relation to income tax laws. Both he and Murray will also have to explain their part in the demise of the club after serving on the board under former owner Craig Whyte, who put the club on the path to liquidation in 2012, if they are eventually appointed as part of the SFA’s "fit and proper" person test. But King told PA: "There are no problems regarding the AIM regulations and the issue with the SFA is simple. Only once a director is appointed is an application made to the SFA by the club. "Both myself and Paul will have to deal with our previous directorship at the time that Craig Whyte got involved. Additionally, I will have to deal with my reasons for staying on the board and trying to impose some level of governance during the Whyte era. "I will also deal with my favourable settlement in South Africa. "These are all issues that the SFA rightly has to address in the same way that the SFA has to review the history of anyone who gets involved with a Scottish football team. "That was all considered by me prior to my application - as was the likelihood that the incumbent board will use the media to try to influence the debate by misrepresentation. "The enthusiasm that this board adopts to 'media management' and its failure to act in the interest of shareholders and other stakeholders is exactly why they should be jettisoned in favour of directors who have the requisite business skills and respect for the tradition of Rangers to take the club forward. "History will judge this board as one of the worst the club has ever had. There is not one individual who puts the club above personal interest." King hit back just hours after the board called on him to drop his general meeting and save the cash-strapped club the expense of hosting it. The board's 7am statement added: "If the notice (issued by King) is valid and is not withdrawn, the directors intend to recommend that shareholders vote against the proposed resolutions." In a second statement, the directors conceded they may have to consider using Ibrox as security on a loan - but insisted any decision would not be "taken lightly". Thousands of fans protested against that possibility before Friday night's abandoned clash with Hearts after it was revealed Newcastle owner Ashley was preparing to have his name added to the title deeds of both the stadium and Murray Park as part of a £10million loan arrangement. The Three Bears - wealthy fans Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor - had already announced they would increase their own loan offer of £5million - but would not ask for security on the stadium. The board added: "The directors are pursuing bilateral discussions with two parties who are both stakeholders in Rangers. "These discussions contemplate a significant amount of capital being available to the business on a long-term basis in order to enhance the squad which the directors believe is necessary. "A consequence of funding to this level is that, in reality, it may be necessary to use Ibrox stadium as security; such a decision would not be taken lightly. "No decision has been taken at the current time while discussions are being finalised in good faith. "The advance notice does not mean that security will be given, and the directors are adamant that it will not unfairly advantage the party with whom it was agreed. "The board will conclude a transaction, based on its merits, which it believes is in the best interests of shareholders as a whole in accordance with their fiduciary duty." http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/dave-king-ill-convince-stock-5005483?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
  20. I see Rangers First are at over 4k members now, as are the RST The example of Hearts having over 8k members paying in every month was often held up as something we should be quite easily topping with the size of our support Well now we have matched it, and will overtake it at the current rate of sign ups, quite an achievement considering its not backed by the club the way Hearts is I think as the schemes grow, and the numbers look more impressive, people who were not sure will be more likely to say "this could actually work" and sign up Its just a shame in typical Rangers fan fashion its split into 2 factions.. if it was one scheme sitting at 8k and rising steadily every day things would look very rosy for fan ownership imo Any chance of the 2 merging?
  21. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12218547.html
  22. http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12218558.html
  23. I was unfortunate enough to have to chair a “debate” on my twitter timeline this weekend as two polarised views clashed on my timeline in response to one of my tweets. On one side we had someone who wished to lay the blame for the injuries sustained by our Ibrox employees squarely with the SOS, whilst the other expressed a desire to see a “more aggressive approach” to the nature of fans protests. Throughout the course of what was an unpleasant exchange between the two of them, it emerged that the proponent of the “more aggressive approach” was not a member of the UOF or SOS whilst the other was apportioning blame based solely on unconfirmed reports he had heard. It was a discussion which has been very much mirrored on Rangers message boards over the weekend. Some clearly saw Friday night’s events as an opportunity to tarnish the fans groups whilst others appear unwilling to accept that the behaviour of Rangers led to the injuries of the two elderly Rangers employees. Considering the incident which led to the injuries occurred both after and away from the location of the organised protest it seems unreasonable to link the unsavoury incident to the main protest where thousands of bears demonstrated in an emotional, exuberant yet exemplary peaceful manner. Those who maintain they saw no violence or assaults at the latter incident, may well be correct, but you cannot ignore the fact that as a consequence of whatever happened at Argyle House two elderly Rangers employees, George and Liz sustained injures. And that is not, and never will be, acceptable. I’m sure all of us in the Rangers support would wish them both a speedy recovery. I’ve been harping on for months now, almost like some PC Brigade acolyte, about some of the unhelpful derogatory and inflammatory language being used. If we claim as a support that such language dehumanises our support when it is directed against us, does the same argument not work the other way ? Or would anyone care to argue that terms such as “rats” is neither derogatory nor dehumanising ? What is clear from Friday is that those wishing to exercise their right to peaceful protest now goes way beyond the ranks of members of the UOF and SOS. This places an added responsibility on protest organisers to ensure that all participants are clear about both the nature and aims of such protest. The briefing message needs to be clear, consistent and unequivocal that all such demonstrations against the board are to be peaceful in nature. I am also firmly of the opinion that a “more aggressive approach” will be self-defeating. Our board are worthy of utter contempt for their actions, but that does not in any way, shape or form justify violence or threats of violence towards them. Supporters protesting in a peaceful and responsible manner against avarice, broken assurances and opportunistic businessmen playing Russian roulette with our club will capture the imagination – behaving in a manner befitting thugs wont. Furthermore it will turn away many bears who will just not entertain such behaviour. Protesting and demonstrating is one of the few immediate options available to us as a fan base, it is imperative we use it responsibly and do nothing which usurps either its effectiveness or ability to unite our fan base behind a common cause. The proposal which sees Ibrox being used as security against loan is very much a crossing of the Rubicon for the Ibrox support, and has galvanised and unified us as a fan base. Let’s not cross our own Rubicon in the way we protest against it.
  24. ...in Glasgow bars over fears of violence. PUB giants Wetherspoons will black out the League Cup old firm clash and employ extra security staff in all nine of their Glasgow bars on February 1st in a bid to reduce the risk of match day violence. BRITAIN'S biggest pub chain will black out next month’s Old Firm game over fears of violence. Wetherspoon’s say the League Cup semi-final – live on BBC Scotland two weeks today – will not be shown in their pubs in Glasgow . And despite the blackout, all nine of the bars will have extra security staff on duty when Celtic and Rangers meet for the first time since April 2012. Police are visiting pubs across the country to gather intelligence so they can have officers in the right places if violence breaks out. Senior officers want to know how many pubs are showing the game, what type of customers they attract and if they have ever had trouble before. Wetherspoon’s spokesman Eddie Gershon said yesterday: “Wetherspoon’s will not be showing the match in any of its Glasgow pubs. “The decision was taken about a week back.” “The police have been to the pubs to advise that the game is on and ask what measures the pubs are taking. On the day of the match, door staff will be in place where required.” Wetherspoon’s, who have more than 75 pubs in Scotland, say area managers will decide if their bars outside Glasgow will show the game. Police fear the 1.30pm kick-off time for the February 1 game will give fans time to drink before the match and possibly fuel trouble. They confirmed officers are visiting pubs to interview staff but insisted it was normal practice before a big game. One area police are targeting is Ayrshire, where there are large numbers of pubs used by both Celtic and Rangers fans. Superintendent Neil Kerr of Police Scotland’s Ayrshire Division said: “Officers are visiting licensed premises to establish where the game is being shown. We do this for any high-profile events, including past Old Firm matches.” Pubs have been magnets for violence on previous Old Firm match days. Nine police were attacked and injured at the Rowallan bar in Thornliebank, Glasgow, after Celtic beat Rangers 3-0 in February 2011, and a female officer suffered life-threatening injuries. Convicted drug smuggler John Healy, 56, and son Jason, 24, were among six men charged over the violence but the case was dropped after police evidence was lost. There were 280 arrests after the game as trouble flared across Glasgow. Suspects were taken to stations up to 50 miles away because cells in Glasgow were full. One of the most notorious Old Firm encounters was the “Shame Game” of March 2, 2011. Three Rangers players were sent off in the Scottish Cup replay, 12 yellow cards were shown and Celtic manager Neil Lennon and Rangers assistant boss Ally McCoist squared up to each other at the end. Strathclyde Police detained 187 people throughout the day, including 34 at the game, and 40 more suspects were held for domestic abuse offences. First Minister Alex Salmond held a summit with Rangers and Celtic bosses days later. And in 2012, as a direct result of the Shame Game, MSPs passed the controversial Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act. Police then dealt with a record 119 domestic violence cases after an Old Firm game in March 2012. Donald MacLeod, chairman of the Glasgow Licensing forum, said most Glasgow bars will show the February 1 game despite the Wetherspoon’s decision. He added: “Pubs are already required to put strict safety measures in place on match days as a condition of their licence. “This includes providing properly trained and badged stewards “The vast majority of fans watching Old Firm games in pubs do so peacefully. Only a small minority cause trouble. Crime in pubs and clubs is down and most incidents take place in the street. “I’d be more concerned about the easy availability of cheap alcohol in off sales before the game, or even the night before.” Craig Houston of Rangers fans’ group Sons of Struth said the Wetherspoon’s move was “strange” and “could backfire”. He added: “Normally, when you get trouble after an Old Firm game, it’s late at night – not when the game is being shown in a pub. If they’re really that worried about customers’ safety they would shut the pubs at night, but I don’t see Wetherspoon’s doing that. “It seems strange they are penalising fans who can’t get a ticket and want to have a pint and enjoy their game. “If Wetherspoon’s don’t want football in their pubs, fans can decide where they go in future for a drink. It could backfire on them.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/pub-chain-pull-plug-showing-4998413
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.