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As title - What is wrong with the guy? Who the f*#k bites people??????? (Dracula excluded obv)

All over twitter this evening.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27934760

We know that season ticket sales are slow/low, and this is for a variety of reason. One of them being Dave King's "trust". Does anyone know what sort of numbers are involved with the trust now??? Is it a significant number, or has it turned out to be a bit of a damp squib???

HULL City supporters Mark Gretton and Kate Ogram urged Rangers fans not to give up their crusade to gain security over prized assets Ibrox and Murray Park. HULL CITY fans took on their club’s hierarchy and won. Now the people who successfully challenged Tigers owner Assem Allam have backed Rangers supporters to prevail in their battle against the Ibrox board. With just 17,000 season tickets snapped up for the new season Gers’ Union of Fans are continuing their fight with the powerbrokers. The majority of Ibrox punters are fed up with chairman David Somers, chief executive Graham Wallace and directors who they believe have made poor decisions at the club. But despite significant protests against the regime Wallace and Co refuse to give Gers supporters what they want – security over prized assets Ibrox and Murray Park. Hull City supporters Mark Gretton and Kate Ogram – who were in Scotland this week at the annual Supporters Direct Conference – have urged Rangers fans not to give up their crusade. Last August they took on the might of Allam after he changed the club’s name to Hull Tigers against their wishes. Gretton, Ogram and thousands of fellow Hull fans were treated with disdain by Allam who said: “I can’t afford to run the club by fans’ feelings. Hull City is irrelevant, my dislike of the word City is because it’s common. City is a lousy identity.” That sparked fury among the Hull faithful and after a peaceful yet powerful “No To Hull Tigers” campaign the supporters emerged victorious in April as the English FA kicked out the owner’s bid to tamper with their history. They didn’t just get clubs around the UK behind them, Gretton and Co mustered support from all over Europe as Allam quickly realised fan power shouldn’t be underestimated. The Hull City diehards now hope to see Rangers supporters stick to their guns and eventually oust the under-fire Ibrox board. Gretton told Record Sport: “The key thing for Rangers fans is knowing exactly what they want to achieve. We had some simple aims that we stuck to until the end. You have to believe in your strategy. “If the supporters feel they’re fighting a losing battle at times with the board my advice would be to keep at it. “If it means enough to them, don’t give up. Just make sure you have a plan on how to get there and you’ll achieve it. At the start it was quite intimidating for us. Allam is a powerful man, a very successful business figure. We were being told all the time – not just by the club but other fans too – it was men against boys. “We looked on him as a James Bond villain, he’d cleverly manipulate all the situations. It was tricky for us because, whatever happens at Hull City, we’ll always be grateful to Allam for putting money into the club when it was on its uppers. “We didn’t know if we’d make headway but eventually you realise you’re not fighting a super-villain. It’s just a person or people. “And people make mistakes. They didn’t take us seriously and that’s why it was vital we were organised from the start. “As a fans’ group we had to be professional. That was the only way we’d be successful. It was crucial that, apart from the official supporters club, we had every other fans’ group on board with us so people could see we were legit. “We had a unified face and that’s what the Rangers fans need.” Gretton’s sidekick Ogram co-ordinated the campaign against Allam and she sees similarities between their predicament and the one Rangers fans face now. She said: “We can completely sympathise with the Rangers fans right now. We’ve heard the board have refused to engage with the supporters group and they’re making decisions against fans’ wishes. “It’s staggering a club of Rangers’ size, with their importance and history, appear to be brushing fans away. “We’re a relatively small club compared to Rangers but it’s a similar situation. They’ve shown a lot of spirit and their campaign to make their voices heard should be easier because they’ll have more power than us, as long as they have the organisation and unity behind it.” Gretton has revealed that the “City Till We Die” group were discouraged from taking on Allam, who was completely dismissive of them from the outset. And he’s adamant Rangers fans will need the same resilience if they want to dislodge the likes of Somers, Wallace and James and Sandy Easdale from the boardroom. He said: “Some of our group were certain we’d beat them. But I’m a natural pessimist and always felt we’d lose. I was part of the campaign because I just felt it was the right thing to do. “You always think the machine wins, don’t you? The rich and powerful normally get their way. We were kicking against that and Allam had a reputation of not losing. “He kept telling us, ‘Look at my CV, I’m the businessman and I’ll do what I want.’ “The support we received from around the UK and abroad was incredible. We did media interviews with 12 European countries, we had a TV crew from Norway over in Hull covering the campaign. “When football fans anywhere appreciate that you’re doing the right thing for the game and your club they back you. I’m sure Rangers supporters would be the same.” Ogram hopes the Yorkshire club’s supporters have proved it’s worth standing up for what you believe in when decisions are made without fans’ approval. She said: “It feels we’ve led the way for clubs like Rangers to overcome the people in charge. “We’ve had terrific feedback and loads of messages from club supporters saying, ‘Thanks, this will make it easier for us now.’ We’re really proud of that.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/hull-city-fans-who-successfully-3713453

Rangers' beleaguered directors face the possibility that the club auditor, Deloitte, could sever its connection with the club over the next few weeks, following a collapse in the number of season tickets sold. The Daily Telegraph understands that the international corporate finance and accountancy specialists are unhappy about the latest figures emerging from Ibrox, which show that season ticket sales for Rangers’ Scottish Championship campaign are running at half the level of last year’s take-up for their SPFL League One schedule. In a statement on the Rangers website on Friday, the board confirmed that only 17,000 season tickets have been sold. On March 27, when Deloitte signed off the half year accounts up to the end of 2013 – which showed a £3.5 million loss – the auditors added that “key assumptions” made by the directors included a reckoning of future season ticket sales. Deloitte noted that this indicated the existence of a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Despite assurances at the annual general meeting in December from the chief executive, Graham Wallace, that the club could meet its costs until the end of the season, the board subsequently borrowed £1.5 million from shareholder George Letham on the assurance that the sum would be repaid when season ticket sales had yielded the equivalent amount. *However, there has been no notification to the Stock Exchange of any repayment. Instead, leaked reports from a spin doctor formerly employed by the club, confirmed that the board would attempt to raise £8 million through a rights issue later this year. In a statement on the club website on Friday, the Rangers directors said of the latest season ticket sales total – and the likelihood of a share issue – that “The Board believes that whilst this level of support reduces the potential requirement for short-term financing the Board also notes the strategic objectives that it identified in the Business Review Summary published on 25 April 2014 and the related funding requirements. “The Board continues to evaluate its plans in this regard and will update the market in due course.” However, should Deloitte dissociate themselves from Rangers, investor confidence is likely to diminish. Deloitte last night would not comment on any speculation, citing client confidentiality. In response to the club statement, the supporters’ umbrella group, the Union of Fans, condemned the directors’ stewardship. The UoF statement read: “We note the announcement of the Rangers board regarding the season ticket renewal levels for the club this year. It is now obvious that a clear majority of fans have rejected Graham Wallace, Norman Crighton, David Somers, James and Sandy Easdale and their running of the club. “In any normal business, a board which had been rejected by over 50 per cent of its customers in the space of a few months would be removed. Whilst we do not expect this to happen due to the continued support of anonymous shareholders, who could not care less about Rangers, we would highlight that they have utterly failed to gain crucial trust from fans. “We do not believe this trust will ever be built without fundamental change at the club. The problem for this board is very simple. The vast majority of fans, even many of those who have renewed, simply do not trust them and likely never will. “The corporate governance at the club also continues to be a cause for grave concern. We would repeat that it is unacceptable for Jack Irvine of Mediahouse to have access to confidential, price sensitive board information through the Easdales and to then leak that information to the press as he did this week.” J

After a successful meeting with Glasgow City Council and Police Scotland today it would appear that subject to a few little details our application for a procession to Ibrox on the 19th July will be passed as acceptable. We will require the following volunteers from within the support to fulfil some council requirements. - Experianced marshals - Volunteer marshals - First aiders - Expectant numbers. I would love to hear from pipe or accordion band with a repertoire of Rangers songs In their play book. If you can help with any of the above or will be in attendance can you please let me know on this post or via PM Thanks Craig SoS https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfStrut...al_comments=14 L

I'd have thought that a joint purchase with the SFA of a new long lease at Hampden, (which expires 2020) with a view to eventual redevelopment will have been mulled over by DK. If Rangers are liquidated again, this option would fit DK's 'not a penny' mantra, and deprive 'the ****s' of a more bountiful return on the assets. At the very least, tactically, DK could bring Hampden into the arena as a piece of leverage against the board, as unpalatable as the prospect may appear to the support.

As big Tel is moved on from Hibs he has been mentioned for us many a time. Would you prefer him to Ally now? TBH Im not a Ally fan as a manager but I don't want Butcher. He'd bring Mo Malpas and I don't see them as a big enough step up at all for me. Id have Calderwood and Nicholl ahead of them all day long.

Information from a few journalists now suggesting he will undergo a medical for us today after turning down a move to Hearts...

By Alasdair Lamont and Martin Conaghan BBC Scotland The Scottish FA is to look into moving away from Hampden Park. It is one of a number of proposals put forward following the hiring of a consultancy firm by SFA chief executive Stewart Regan. The SFA's lease on Hampden expires in 2020 and that could signal an end to international matches and cup finals at the national stadium. Its board will look at the practicalities of taking such games to other stadiums round the country. The proposals, which are at an early stage, also include exercising an option to renew the lease for a further 20 years or acquiring the freehold from current owners Queen's Park Football Club. BBC Scotland has seen documents circulated to key SFA figures last week. Celtic Park, Pittodrie Stadium, Ibrox Stadium, Easter Road and Murrayfield Stadium are all under consideration as venues for Scotland's home matches and Scottish Cup games. It would also mean the SFA finding offices elsewhere as well as moving the Scottish Football Museum and sports medicine facilities. The SFA has lodged a bid with Uefa to host group matches for Uefa's Euro 2020 competition, which will be staged across multiple European cities. It recently extended the lease to incorporate the Euro 2020 bid. The proposal document assumes there is no desire in the SFA to build an entirely new stadium or refurbish an existing ground. James Watson Consultancy has been engaged to assess the various options ahead of any announcement regarding Euro 2020. BBC Scotland contacted the SFA, who did not wish to comment at this stage. Hampden, which also houses the headquarters of the Scottish Professional Football League, has been temporarily converted to an athletics stadium for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Queen's Park, who play in Scotland's League Two, have been playing their home games at Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie during the conversion work and until the stadium reverts back to a football venue after the summer event. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27774208

ALLY MCCOIST was disappointed that 18-year-old Charlie Telfer decided to move to Dundee United after Rangers had offered him a new deal to stay at the club. Telfer was a key player for Gordon Durie’s Youth Cup winning under-20 team in 2013/14 but at the start of this month it was confirmed he would join the Tangerines which came as a surprise to many Rangers supporters. The midfielder, who made his Gers first-team debut in a 4-0 win over Stenhousemuir at Ochilview Park in April, was seen as being one of the brightest prospects at Murray Park but McCoist reluctantly had to accept his decision to move on. He said: “We wish Charlie all the best but we were obviously very sad to see him go. “He trained with the squad and came on against Stenhousemuir last season and we feel he is a great prospect. He still is a great prospect but sadly for Dundee United now. “We offered Charlie terms which he was well within his rights to decline and turn down and he did so. He has moved to Dundee United with our best wishes. “The first thing people have to realise is it was Charlie’s decision. We wanted to keep Charlie but he obviously decided to turn down the offer that was put to him by the club. “I can understand people questioning why would Charlie want to go to Dundee United rather than stay at Rangers. He can answer that, he has been quoted in the newspapers recently. “But we have been delighted with some of the younger boys that have come through. “Last year alone we had 13 academy graduates who played for the first team. Some of them will develop quicker than others. Look at boys like Macleod, Gallagher, McKay, Aird and numerous more have come through the academy.” In total 21 Murray Park graduates have made more than 450 appearances for the Rangers first-team post-administration which goes against any suggestions that young players have not had an opportunity at senior level in recent years. McCoist added: “We are delighted with the academy, we want to get as many coming through as possible but 13 last year is good and we will never rest on it. “Jimmy (Sinclair) and the lads in the youth department are very pleased that myself, Kenny and Ian have told them, and we stand by it, if we feel the kids are due an opportunity and deserve an opportunity then they will certainly get one. “They will always get the opportunity. Even further back Allan McGregor, Barry Ferguson, Charlie Adam, Chris Burke, Stevie Smith – international footballers a lot of them - have come through the academy at Murray Park. “Perhaps the whole thing has been blown up a little bit because Charlie has exercised his right to move on but we will continue to work hand in hand with the academy. “The boys that warrant and deserve their chance, I can reassure everybody, will get it.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7046-ally-sad-to-see-charlie-go

...moves into a £65-a-week council house. EX-SCOTLAND star once lived in a £1.3million mansion and drove a £100,000 Ferrari but he is no longer living the high life after his career fizzled out. FORMER £16,000-a-week footballer Garry O’Connor has moved into a council house with his family. It is thought they pay £65 a week in rent for the terraced property. The family’s modest lifestyle is a far cry from O’Connor’s heyday when he earned a fortune, lived in a £1.3million mansion and drove a £100,000 Ferrari. The move to the Law View estate in North Berwick, East Lothian, is the latest twist in the rise and fall of the former Scotland and Hibs star. In a career marred by drug scandals, court appearances, debt problems and professional humiliation, O’Connor has gone from hero to zero. At one time, he was courted by top clubs. But he last played for third-tier Morton. And they released him after club chirman Douglas Rae branded him lazy and out of shape. O’Connor, from Edinburgh, began his career with Hibs. The player, who has 16 caps for Scotland, landed a big-money transfer to Lokomotiv Moscow in 2006 but did not settle in Russia. The first major controversy of his career came when he went AWOL before Scotland’s Euro qualifier with Ukraine. A year later, he got a megabucks move to the English Premier League with Birmingham City. Since then, his story has been one of unfulfilled potential. In June 2012, O’Connor was convicted of possessing cocaine. He was sentenced to community work but landed back in court when he repeatedly failed to turn up. Shortly afterwards, the player was cleared of a £93,000 insurance fraud after he crashed his Ferrari Spider. The same year, after moving to Siberia to play, O’Connor suffered a £350,000 loss when he sold his £1.3million five-bedroom house in the exclusive Archerfield estate in East Lothian for £950,000. Last year, it was revealed that O’Connor owed large debts to creditors and that he had put a trust deed in place in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. And earlier this year, he was taken to court by Bank of Scotland who wanted to seize his previous home in Longniddry. East Lothian Council’s decision to allocate a house on the newly built Law View estate to O’Connor, wife Lisa and their three children, has angered some neighbours. Irene Galloway, of Law Residents Group, said: “The area is a lovely, modern council estate. But there’s a lot of anger here that people from outside North Berwick have moved into the home. “Local folk who didn’t get them aren’t happy.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/former-16000-a-week-footballer-garry-oconnor-3663510

Written by Andy Steel As the globe gears up for the festival of football that is The World Cup, it's good to know that here in Scotland there are people who haven't taken their eye off what's really important. While the Coupe Mondiale deserves the capitalised definitive article, given its planet-bestriding presence, Scottish football's lower case lackeys show no sign of drying up. For once, though, it isn't Rangers we have to thank for a distraction from minor events such as the biggest sporting event on earth; it's the breath-of-fresh-air that is dynastic scion and Corner Shop King, Dundee United's Steven Thompson. For Bluenoses who feared that their club had cornered the market in dimwitted Chairmen and chief executives who pander to their support and are only marginally chastised by being exposed as liars or incompetents, Thompson's scenery chewing performances of late have been a blessed relief. Exposed as fibbing about the SFA over Scottish Cup ticket allocations, he now insists said sad Glasgow club have only two years of history and so aren't due much compensation over the transfer of Charlie Telfer. Since his club's fans tend to tediously complain about Rangers and others economic lack of soul, such fairly blatant posturing to sell season tickets is interesting coming from this source: but then, bullshit has never been in short supply in Scotland. Be that as it may, I would think most Rangers fans are 99.9% concerned at seeing decent youth players leave and, shall we say, 'experienced' names like Kenny Miller come in, added to the rather obvious panting of the Rangers board to get Dundee United (or anyone's) money to keep them going: feeble attempts at closed season advertising on Rangers back are likely some way down their list of worries. Thompson was wrong about tickets, he's wrong about Rangers, and that's about it. I, however, am grateful that Mr Thompson has taken up the slack left by Charles Green as the game's go-to guy for guff. The horror of the unrelenting stream of cobblers coming out of Ibrox has been hard to take, and, the egregious balloon of pomposity that is Turnbull Hutton aside, few others in the game seemed willing to try to match it. Then again, we should be careful. Who knows? While the world settles down to see if Brazil can win on home soil, perhaps Mr Thompson already has his application for Graham Wallace's job in the post...he seems 'Ready' to make the step up. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/249-a-heartfelt-thanks-to-steven-thompson

GRAHAM WALLACE believes Rangers are now moving closer to the successful establishment of their first fan board as the club activates in its biggest supporter engagement initiative. The Ibrox chief executive will tonight return to the UK from Toronto, where he has spent a couple of days talking to Light Blues followers at the 2014 NARSA convention. More than 1,000 of them have been in attendance and Wallace feels it has been important to reach out to them as he seeks to build bridges and create a better, sustainable future at Gers. He addressed around 900 attendees at the gathering’s Grand Banquet yesterday and hopes his visit there can help develop a stronger relationship going forward. Wallace said: “We have recognised right from day one we had a big job to do in terms of trying to improve engagement with the club’s fans. “Several months ago we launched our Ready To Listen fan engagement survey and that was really just the first step. “We’ve now gone through another two subsequent steps in terms of narrowing down areas of interest to the fans so we can fully understand what matters to them. “We are currently moving into the third phase which is a set of detailed focus groups that involve people sitting round the table and looking at specific issues. “It’s all designed to move us forward to the creation of our first Rangers fan board, which will be an official board that will act as the body to represent the fans with the club. “We’re looking at the constitution and composition of that because we want to get a wide spread of Rangers fans engaged in talking to the club. “Like anything else, these things take time to work their way through and particularly at a level where what we’re dealing with is not just a simple scenario. “There are many issues dear to Rangers fans’ hearts. We’re trying to engage with them in a way they’ll say they can see progress and I think we have made a number of steps forward.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headli...edging-closer? There must be fans who actually swallow this bullshit.

“You’ve only got two years of history.” Dundee United have pushed relations with Rangers to breaking point. They have declared: “You’ve only got two years of history.” Tannadice chairman Stephen Thompson delivered the incendiary put-down to Light Blues Chief Executive Graham Wallace in negotiations over youngster Charlie Telfer. Rangers wanted £175,000 to £200,000 in compensation for the development of the player from the age 12 to 18. But United countered with £50,000, arguing only the time since the 2012 liquidation of the Ibrox club is relevant. That’s infuriated the Govan outfit, who squashed talks to await the verdict of an independent panel early next season. It is the latest in a series of conflicts between the clubs, stretching back to United’s involvement in the decision not to allow Rangers to play in the SPL in 2012-13. In deciding to reject an offer from Rangers in order to switch to Dundee United as a free agent this summer, the Scotland Under-19 cap raised more than a few eyebrows. Seen as one of the brightest products of the Murray Park youth system, he was tipped as a future Ibrox first team star. Yet if the failure to hold onto the midfielder irked some Rangers fans, it should be nothing to the reaction to news of United’s inflammatory stance in subsequent compensation talks. Under Scottish regulations, clubs who lose a player under the age of 23 through freedom of contract are entitled to payment for his development and training. The scheme protects those who invest heavily in youth development, only to see their best prospects snapped up by bigger clubs. In exploratory talks about Telfer, Rangers — using the ready reckoner for such cases — asked for a payment of between £175,000 and £200,000 for bringing Telfer through from the age of 12. Tangerines chairman Stephen Thompson, though, offered just £50,000. He dismissed all but the last two years as irrelevant — because in his eyes Rangers only came into existence in 2012. That stance has infuriated the club and will provoke a similar reaction from the Light Blues support. The liquidation of two years ago is not disputed. But, they assert, the purchase of business and assets by the new company covered Rangers’ illustrious history, including the world record 54 titles and seven domestic Trebles. Now, with no agreement reached, the validity of United’s argument — centring on the successful departures of stars such as Steven Davis, Steven Naismith, and Steven Whittaker in 2012 for nothing — is set to be decided by an independent panel. Likely to include a law lord, it should take place early in the new season. The news will do nothing for already strained relations between the two clubs. Many Light Blues fans blamed Thompson for the fact the newco was not allowed to join the SPL two years ago. He was involved in the move to open up the vote to all clubs, the catalyst for the so called “Arab Spring” of fan opposition. With many Rangers fans already annoyed at the Tangerines’ failure to honour tickets for an abandoned league fixture four years ago, the Scottish Cup tie between the pair at Tannadice was subject to a fan boycott. Since then, there has been the rancour over this season’s Scottish Cup semi-final. http://www.sundaypost.com/sport/football/dundee-utd-blast-for-rangers-in-tranfer-row-1.410939

by Andy McGowan | Contributor I don’t consider myself a brave man, nor am I a seeker or justice or truth like so many of my counterparts on other side of the Old Firm. But I can no longer stand by and watch the club I love be ruined by hate and bigotry. As a responsible law abiding Rangers fan who supports his club through thick and thin I feel it is my duty to expose the secret truths of Rangers Football Club in a bid to cleanse it forever of its toxic elements. Although this may be hard and shocking for some of you to read, I am going to lay bare the truth behind some of the songs, statements and style of Rangers. Let’s start with one you will all be familiar with but may be unaware of its secret meaning: We Are the People. It sounds harmless right? Wrong. "We are the People" of course refers to Unionist leader and first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, James Craig, who in 1921 declared that NI would be "a Protestant State for a Protestant People." He made this declaration after a conversation with Bill Struth, who of course had taken over as Rangers manager the previous year. A little known fact is that James Craig was a keen footballer before entering politics and almost became Bill Struth’s assistant at Ibrox. When the two friends met up in secret they often discussed their proud Catholic hating Protestant roots and had regular meetings of a secret club known as “We Are the Protestants” (WATP) preceded by many a secret handshake. Struth decided this was too contentious a name and We are the People was born and exists as an anti-Catholic masonic organisation run from within the corridors of Ibrox to this day. The Club logo fills us all with pride. The colours, the words, the lion – they all hold a special meaning to Rangers fans worldwide. But it also holds more sinister secrets you might not be aware of. It should also come as no surprise that the WATP Organisation were behind a plot named the “Ready to Destroy Ireland” movement of 1973, or simply, “Ready,” which is why it now appears on the club crest. Rangers new boy Nicky Clark this week declared “I'm ready for round two.” This was a sickening secret anti-Irish comment from Clark who was inducted into the WATP Organisation just six days earlier. Not only that, but the lion which stands so proudly on the badge that is printed on your child’s shirts and t-shirts every year, covering their now vile and twisted bigoted little hearts, is a nod to the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169, and more specifically Henry II, who in 1171 took Dublin and accepted the fealty of the Irish kings and bishops and was known simply as The Red Lion in Ireland from then on. Some of our unacceptables you may be more aware of are found in the song book. Our love of the song “Penny Arcade” is again sadly attributed to religious hatred and due to the death of a Catholic man in Belfast in 1986 in an amusement arcade. I can’t confirm this but my source tells me Gazza may have been the main culprit. As many of you are aware the Beach boys hit “Sloop John B” has been taken on by Rangers fans as Carl Wilson and cousin Mike Love were fierce bigots and good Rangers men. The "Blue Sea of Ibrox" as we all know is about drowning Catholics in the Irish Sea, not at any specific time or anything; we just pure love doing that. Our traditional red and black socks are perhaps the most secret and disgusting vile act of Sevco-hun-bigotry in the Club’s history. First worn in 1904, they were the work of Moses McNeil, who wanted a way to express his feelings toward the people he hated the most: Blacks and ******s, thus the black sock with the red trim. The black symbolised that there were too many African Americans in the USA (McNeil of course was a founding member of the second Ku Klux Klan in 1915) and the red to show that we were up to our knees in ****** blood, which to this day is where we and our socks remain. Now that the light has been shined on just a few of the many, many shameful practises at Rangers Football Club I hope you will join me in our progress, and that us good law abiding fans can move forward in peace. http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2013/06/rangers-exposed.html

Our very own William Thornton was one of only 19 members of the Scottish Horse Regiment to be awarded the Military Medal during World War 2. The Battle of Sferro Hills on Sicily, in which Mr. Thornton's actions saw him awarded the Military Medal, claimed the lives of 124 officers and 1,312 ' other ranks.' You can read more on the Battle of Sferro Hills on this link http://51hd.co.uk/history/sicily_sferro Below is the recommendation for his Military Medal, purchased from the National Archives. " On the night of 31st/1st, 986278 Gunner Thornton, accompanied his Battery Commander as Signaller to an O.P. on Point 224. He retained constant communication for 18 hours and passed down Fire Orders often under heavy shelling and mortar fire. By his coolness and devotion to duty Gunner THORNTON gave great assistance to his Battery Commander in bringing down his fire on the enemy." The Memorial at Sferro Hill being dedicated on 4th November 1943, 8 days before William Thornton received his Military Medal, and how it is today. Of course there are more Rangers World War Heroes, some of which are detailed in an article I wrote last summerÂ… http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/club-history/265-armed-forces-day-rangers-world-war-heroes

http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7016-ally-continue-your-magnificent-support

Wednesday, 04 June 2014 18:45 Miller Completes Rangers Hat-trick Written by Rangers Football Club RANGERS Football Club has today confirmed the signing of Kenny Miller on a one-year deal, with the option for a further year. The 34-year-old striker is now in his third spell with the Light Blues having joined initially from Hibs for the 2000-01 campaign and returning for a hugely successful period between 2008 and 2011. Miller won three top-flight league titles, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup during Walter Smith’s reign before leaving for Bursaspor in January 2011. Following spells at Cardiff and Vancouver Whitecaps in America he has returned to Rangers, where he scored 67 goals in 147 appearances. Miller commented: “I am thrilled to return to Rangers for a third time. I have enjoyed so much success at this great football club and I am determined to repeat it again next season and beyond. “Rangers is a special football club and we are on the rise again and I want to play my part as we look to get back to the top of Scottish football. I had a number of offers once I left Vancouver but I had my heart set on returning to Ibrox and I can’t wait to get started again.” Rangers Manager Ally McCoist: “We are delighted to welcome Kenny back to Ibrox. He was a terrific player for us in the past, especially his second spell at Rangers, and we have won many trophies together. “Kenny brings experience and pace to our forward line and will be a great influence on our younger players at Murray Park. He is a top class footballer and we look forward to seeing him in a Rangers jersey once again as we look to secure promotion to the top flight next season.” http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/7005-miller-completes-rangers-hat-trick

I posted this in the footie section, but thought it would be better in here?,admin can delete if they think different. COUNTY chairman MacGregor is leading the way in re-engaging with Scottish football fans by making his club's relationship with their supporters a priority. HE owns and runs a business worth half a billion pounds a year and a community football club worth its weight in gold. In the fragmented new landscape of Scottish football, strewn with the detritus of mismanagement, Roy MacGregor should be a guiding light. A man who believes in customer and fan first, everything else a distant second. Who invests in the people of Dingwall and Inverness and reaps the rewards. Who lives within his means despite their limitations. Two hundred miles away from the game’s traditional epicentre, though, his voice remains relatively unheard. A whisper of common sense drowned out by the eternal bickering of the incompetent. As the chairman of both Ross County and the Global Energy Group he doesn’t take it personally. He has enough on his plate. That doesn’t mean what he has to say isn’t worth hearing, though. So when a man of his substance tells you a Scottish game which sees three of its biggest clubs languishing outside the top tier is ripe for reinvention, for re-engagement, someone in the hierarchy should be asking him not why but how. “Scottish football is still getting an awakening,” said MacGregor. “It’s not so much the sport – I see fledgling shoots all over the place, with young players getting an opportunity but the game is still unable to enthuse the broadcasters and the public. “I see it in all areas of our game that we have forgotten either our brand or our customer. “Clubs have to examine their customer, their fan. If you take your eye off that you have questions to answer. It comes back to boards of directors understanding fans. “Clubs have forgotten their fans and in any business you do that at your peril. “It’s not finance. Nothing to do with it. Hibs’ budget was five times mine – it’s about your relationship with your customer. “Football clubs used to have really good relationships but they took it for granted. Now we need to reinvent it – and everything negative that’s happening can have a positive outcome but only if boards and fans groups get their eye back on the right values. “Hearts have done it, Hibs are doing it as we speak. Rangers still have to find whatever it is they’re looking for. Their directors don’t have their eye on their fans.” As we talk in his Inverness HQ MacGregor has spent the morning at his club’s ground, throwing ideas at his admin staff on how to improve the matchday experience for their fans, and, uniquely, the away support as well. He talks free pies, free transport, entertainment, value for kids – anything that is the opposite of standing still. He knows half the ideas might not fly but it won’t stop him stretching his people to try. He sighed: “We don’t market the game in this country. The league body should be 90 per cent PR and marketing and 10 per cent rules and administration – we’re the other way round. “Yet I look at what Man City are doing around their stadium and I want to do it. You’re not just going to a game. You’re going to the Man City Experience. You’re there from lunchtime, eating, drinking, being entertained, engaging with the community around the club. “Today’s pay-as-you-go generation have choices to make. The people are still there, just in a different culture. When we first came in the league we went down to Morton – I’d never been there before and the ground had held 35,000 people at one point. “And you look out and see the shipyards and decay and you imagine the people who worked there and went for a pie and a pint and then went to the football. “Yet there were only 1200 people there that day. “If you fight your fanbase like, say, Rangers are doing, your club will never be right. It’s a dysfunctional relationship. The hierarchy in football is changing for the better but it’s the clubs who need to change. Get real with where they are with their fans, with their stakeholders, with the Press. “I see it happening because of finance but it needs to be in your soul. “I’m here with Ross County because I believe in an area which didn’t get an opportunity in a football sense, a talent sense or a business sense to express themselves as part of the UK or Scotland. “My role is to give people opportunity. I do it with my business and with my football club. And we don’t live beyond our means.” MacGregor is rightly proud of his club finishing fifth then seventh in their first two seasons of top-flight football, less than 20 years on from becoming a senior club and on one of the smallest budgets and fanbases in the country. But you’ll never catch him thinking they’ve become something they’re not. He said: “What’s success for us? To stay in the top division and do well in a Cup. Anything beyond that is aspirational. “Plug your club into that aspiration. Don’t think you can be a top-six club. It’s not possible. It’s a bonus and you have to be exceptional to do it. “So just be real and don’t let your supporters get expectations beyond reality. The biggest thing is for the fans to believe you can be better than what you are. You always try to outperform what you are and the fans will come with you.” MacGregor also refuses to fall into the trap many wealthy football benefactors have. He’s watched Stewart Milne and David Murray make decisions in the game they’d never in a million years have made in business but he said: “I find the discipline of it easy because I worry, if I get expectation beyond reality, I’ll let my community down. “I go through the wringer the same as every other fan. I’ve been watching my team since 1966 but I’m not on an ego trip. “I’m in it for an area which has two Premiership teams and is being recognised at last that it’s part of the framework of Scotland.” Yet not so much part of the framework that he’s ever held office in a game you’d think would be crying out for its best business minds to participate. “I’ve never been asked,” he deadpans. “But then this part of the world is still trying to come to terms with being part of football and being accepted. “We’ve never been accepted as part of the football hierarchy and it’s 20 years on. I’m not complaining. We’re 200 miles away from the mass of football supposedly but this season we’re playing five teams who are nearly home games for us, all north of the Tay. “So it HAS changed. Where the heartland of football was has been rocked. “It’s getting better though. We’ve had some revolution in the SFA, we have the leagues together again and I believe the structure is better. “But selling the game is still a difficult job, especially with three of our biggest clubs out of the top division. “So you need to sell the brand on 42 clubs, not 12, and you need to sell it on the whole nation. You need someone who buys into that. “It’s difficult because we have a devolution debate – are UK wide companies wanting to get into that debate by getting into football? “You have issues with tarnished goods – clubs who can’t manage themselves. That effect is still there. The product is not good. But there’s a lot more sense being talked and it’s out of necessity. Setbacks are opportunities. “The SPFL will have to adjust their TV policy, for example, and if that’s what the fan wants? You’ll have to give them Hearts v Rangers not St Johnstone v Ross County. “Do what the customer wants.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/f...gregor-3632540

Fusion to Host Rangers F.C. (Scotland) in July Friendly Written by Danny Page One of Britain's great teams visits Ventura County for training camp, match on July 15th PURCHASE TICKETS HERE - http://www.vcfusion.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/Pages.Page/id/1076 Over the last eight years, Fusion has made a habit of bringing world class soccer to Ventura County, playing friendly matches against a handful of clubs from the English Premier League, as well as other teams from top leagues around the world. Today, Fusion is proud to announce an exhibition match against one of the UK’s most decorated and supported clubs, Rangers F.C. from Glasgow, Scotland. The match will take place Tuesday, July 15th at the VC SportsPlex in Ventura, California. Presale tickets can be purchased for $25 (Adult)//$15 (Youth 14 & under) at VCFusion.com, with ticket prices rising to $30 (Adult)//$20 (Youth 14 & under) at the gate on the day of the match, as available. Rangers F.C. has won 54 Scottish top-flight league titles, dating all the way back to the club’s first championship in the 19th century. “This is another special occasion for Ventura County Fusion to show it’s one of the west coast’s leading soccer franchises and bring a celebrated team to Ventura,” Fusion General Manager Ranbir Shergill said, “The match on July 15th against Rangers F.C. should be quite a thrill for our supporters, players, and soccer fans throughout Southern California.” Rangers last visited the United States in 2007, and are preparing for a key season in the Scottish Championship, the nation’s second division. Rangers will open their North American tour with a six-day training camp in Ventura before taking on Fusion. Rangers then head north to face Sacramento Republic FC on July 19. “The trip to America is a fantastic opportunity to re-introduce Rangers to the North American fans and I am confident the tour will be a success on a number of levels,” Rangers Manager and legendary midfielder Ally McCoist said, “We have a wonderful global fanbase and I am sure the members of NARSA (North American Rangers Supporters Association) will turn out in huge numbers at all of our games.” Ticket Availability and Pricing Tickets for this historic friendly are immediately available and can be purchased via phone (805) 830-8005 or on the team’s website, www.VCFusion.com. Tickets start at just $25 for adults and $15 for Children, with ticket prices rising to $30 (Adult)//$20 (Youth) on the day of the match. The match is expected to sell out, so please purchase tickets via the presale to guarantee your seat at the game. Rangers F.C. will be Seventh British Opponent Fusion has Faced With the upcoming match, Fusion continues its long-standing tradition of bringing renowned British clubs to the region. Fusion has faced half a dozen Barclay’s Premier League clubs over the years, including matches in Ventura County against West Bromwich Albion (2011), Swansea City (2012), Burnley (2009), & Portsmouth (2010). Fusion has also played exhibition matches against Everton (2008) & Manchester City (2011), although these games were not open to the public. About Rangers F.C. Rangers Football Club is steeped in tradition, has a rich and proud history and is a name that conjures up magical memories in the minds of thousands of supporters around the globe. The Light Blues are also one of the most successful club sides in world football - with a record-breaking 54 top flight League Championships, 33 Scottish Cup Final wins, 27 League Cup Final victories and one European Cup Winners’ Cup Final triumph to date. Rangers have made a number of memorable appearances recently in the UEFA Champions League, reaching the group stage 5 times in the last dozen years. During that span, Rangers faced a number of marquee European clubs including Manchester United and FC Barcelona. In 2008, Rangers defeated Panathinaikos (Greece), Werder Bremen (Germany), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) & Fiorentina (Italy) en route to the 2008 UEFA Cup Final, a match they ultimately lost to Zenit St. Petersburg, 2-1, at the City of Manchester Stadium. Recently the Club won Division 3 and the Scottish League One title following administration. Since Rangers humble beginnings in 1872, the Club has earned a worldwide reputation and lifted many honors and accolades, including becoming the first club in the world to win 100 major trophies, a distinction earned during the 2001-02 season. About Ventura County Fusion The Fusion, established in 2006, plays in the Premier Development League (PDL) of the United Soccer League (USL). Considered one of the most successful franchises in the leagues history for multiple milestones. Since our inaugural season in 2007, the Fusion have reached the third round of the US Open Cup, claimed two Southwest Division Championships, and have been crowned PDL National Champions in 2009. Fusion has hosted training camps for more than a dozen Major League Soccer teams, and has met six Barclay’s Premier League clubs in friendly matches. Other past opponents include Chivas Guadalajara (MEX), Independiente (ARG), & GAIS (SWE). Fusion has also faced the national teams of Canada and Mexico as they prepared for major tournaments. http://www.vcfusion.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/pages.page/id/812/article_fuse/detail/aid/335

Talksport programme with big Eck is now available to download. References to Rangers are probably through-out, certainly some at the start (best moment type thing) but the main segment on us kicks in some 62 minutes in https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/my-sporting-life/id777692680 You need to install/have installed itunes as far as I can see

Due to immense demand we are very proud to announce that Graeme has agreed to do a second night for The Rangers Support. Tickets are on sale now… We are delighted that we have managed to secure a legend of British Football for a night at The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium. One of the most admired men in Rangers History, Graeme Souness will be hosting a Question & Answer evening and we could not be more proud. Tickets for this event are extremely limited and are available from http://www.thelouden.co.uk/events.html. Priced at £30, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet a giant of the game. Doors will open from 6.30pm on the night with the Q&A scheduled to begin at 8pm Tickets are available on a first come, first served basis and all ticket sales are final We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises

Anyone heard where Mr King is and what hes up to? He seems to have disappeared off the face of the earth.