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“If ever fans required a reminder of the reasons for our campaign to secure our club’s home, it is the recent £200k windfall received by disgraced former finance director Brian Stockbridge, who in the past couple of days has been handed shares worth approximately £215,000 for which he has paid just over £7,000. It is the current board’s position that Brian Stockbridge was contractually entitled to these shares and it was therefore outwith their control. We reject this entirely. Mr Stockbridge could and should have been sacked for any number of employment related issues including his abysmally inaccurate financial projections, financial mismanagement of tens of millions of pounds of fans’ and investors’ money and several misleading statements to fans and shareholders. That this board allowed a compromise agreement to be signed, on termination of Mr Stockbridge’s contract, which allowed Mr Stockbridge a further £200k windfall is an absolute disgrace. His share option entitlement and any other financial benefit which Mr Stockbridge was due should have been removed as part of his contract termination. Mr Stockbridge has already received considerably more than he merited from our football club as have several others with whom he is closely associated. Did Mr Stockbridge’s close relationship with the Easdale brothers, who hold undue influence over boardroom matters, smooth his path to this further windfall? Furthermore, we believe that David Somers misled shareholders at the AGM on the subject of Mr Stockbridge’s share options. When a question was asked on this topic, the clear inference from Mr Somers was that this would not be an issue due to the option price of 70p, which at that time was almost twice the market value of the shares. Mr Somers clearly gave the impression that the option would not be taken due to the drop in share value. At no point did either Mr Stockbridge or Mr Somers make it clear that this option could be exercised for 1p a share – a crucial and highly misleading omission. Charles Green had a similar clause in his contract which entitled him to 1,028,571 shares. Can the board confirm whether this option was also allowed to remain following Mr Green’s contract termination? If so, can we expect a further windfall in the near future for Mr Green on top of the small fortune he has already bled from the club? Finally, despite repeated attempts to engage with Graham Wallace and the board over the issue of a binding legal commitment not to sell or lease back Ibrox or Murray Park, we have been unable to come to any agreement. It seems the board are happy to continue to alienate the thousands of fans who have supported our efforts through the Ibrox 1972 fund. As a result of this refusal from the board to give fans any legal undertaking over the club’s most prized assets, we are left with no option but to release all those who have supported the fund from their binding financial commitment. This will be confirmed to them over the coming weeks. We urge fans not to give their money to this regime in a lump sum payment via season tickets and to support the team on a game by game basis. The team deserve our loyalty, this regime, with its stranglehold on our club, deserves nothing but our contempt. Quite simply, they cannot be trusted and supporters simply do not know where their hard earned money is going to end up if they pass it over blindly."
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well a few weeks with no rangers games and old compo is lost and to make things worse the world cup has wetted my appetite for footie I just hope we at ibrox play a passing and free flowing type of game something that will have the fans begging for more , lets hope .
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As title - What is wrong with the guy? Who the f*#k bites people??????? (Dracula excluded obv) -
Article submitted by Andy Steele: SDS Survey: No Issues? No Chance! News that a survey by fans' body Supporters' Direct Scotland has found that while the vast majority of fans felt the game in Scotland had no issues with racism or homophobia, it had a big, big problem with sectarianism. This highlights not just the issue of social attitudes and football, but, sadly, the problem people have with perceiving themselves as part of the problem. One can assume fairly safely that for such a result to be obtained a good proportion of respondents were either non-Old Firm fans, or if Old Firm fans, Celtic supporters. I would be willing to place a hefty wager that the only fans who feel strongly that there is little sectarianism in Scotland would be those supporters the others consider to be the problem: Rangers fans. One must always, in such debates, pander to the thin skinned and establish that yes, one does think there is an issue and yes, Rangers fans most of all need to deal with it. A major issue, though? I don't see it in my day-to-day life, though I may of course simply be lucky or blinkered. Having established that denial is not on the agenda, though, I'd like to examine the other two aspects mentioned, homophobia and racism. If Scottish football has no issue with racism it is because the game is played, watched, commentated on and written about in what is a virtual monoculture. The BBC can count Kheredine Iddeshane, who to guess from his name may be of middle east extraction, and STV Rhaman Bardwan, but that's about it. The sight of players from non-European backgrounds has diminished of late, while managers and chairmen are exclusively white. No racism? Well, maybe if we understand that creating an almost exclusively European ethnic identity for the game will go a long way to excluding those from without such a background, it may expain why there's 'no racism': there's no cultural mix in which it might appear. Perhaps, if we actively created an environment which encouraged diversity, and focused on policing the resultant mix effectively, we may find we're not quite so tolerant as we might like to think. Or we may not - who knows? Casual racism has certainly been part of my west of Scotland experience: I am inclined to believe that 'no issue' is a complacent and boastful conclusion not based on evidence. But since many have called long and loud for such an approach to sectarianism, it seems only logical to apply it to these other areas as well. And what about homophobia? 'Get fucking up, ya poofy cunt' is, for the student of English, a fascinating sentence, but it's hardly indicative of a tolerant atmosphere. You'll hear it, and variants thereon, at every ground every week when an opposition player is apparently injured, though: 'no issue'? When 'Off the Ball' described a poor flag as 'poofy' I actually, for the first time in my life, got off my arse and complained. I got a reply: it was drivel. Credit where it's due, though, the programme presumably realised they were out of order and have since addressed the issue interestingly and humourously. What the incident that riled me shows, though, is that many of us are actively discriminatory without even realising it: Stuart Cosgrove was no more actively trying to put down homosexuality than I am actively trying to create a Protestant theocracy when I sing 'No Surrender' at Ibrox. The effect, nevertheless, can be non-inclusive. My singing of that song is based on the fact that it creates a great atmosphere first and last, and not in any way because I care about or know about Irish or religious history. Others, though, hear my singing and feel excluded or offended by it. What to me is a noise is to others an insult - if Tom English, easily the best analyst of the game at the moment, is freaked out by it I have to think twice. That's not to say I will agree with him, but it gives pause for thought. Plainly all these issues are hyper-sensitive with absolutes thin on the ground, but there's simply no way we have absolutely 'no issue' with racism or homophobia. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that in our game, all three of these issues exist to varying degrees, but only one is taken seriously and, conveniently, it's the one that can be blamed on someone else. Sectarianism deserves to be taken seriously, but so too do other forms of bigotry: not least sexism, which in Scotland remains rampant. I find women as sexually stimulating as the next man, assuming he's straight, but that's no reason to objectify them or base a professional appraisal on their chests or backsides: that's still the default position of far too many men. We've plenty issues which could do with being addressed both in the game and in the country, but the first step we take will have to be from our own front doors. Blaming everything on Rangers and Rangers fans while insisting the rest of the land is a paradise of tolerance and diversity is doing no-one any favours: a more honest appraisal of our own prejudices would reveal some or all of these issues, far from being non-existent, might be visible in the mirror tomorrow morning as you shave. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/252-sds-survey-no-issues-no-chance
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.........that Ally McCoist showed me the door at Rangers. THE Northern Ireland internationalist says that McCoist spoke to him throughout last season and fully expected to stay at Ibrox. FORMER Rangers striker Andy Little says he was left stunned last month when he was axed at Ibrox. The Northern Ireland international didn’t take long to find a new club and earlier this month agreed a contract with Preston North End in England’s League One. Little, 25, is disappointed he wasn’t offered a new deal but understands why he was allowed to leave the League One champions. McCoist has brought Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd back to Ibrox since and Little said: “It was a massive shock. I was fully expecting to sign a new contract and stay at Rangers. “The manager had spoken to me throughout the season. I loved every minute of my time there but these things happen in football. “I think they needed to offload some players and I was the collateral, if you like. “I think the manager wanted to keep me but sometimes if there is another player he fancies more than you, he has to make that choice.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-transfer-news/stunned-striker-andy-little-still-3787254
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http://www.redandblackshirt.com/
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All over twitter this evening.
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Don't think we've had a discussion on Boyd before. Certainly haven't had on whether I have been pro-Boyd. Long time posters on here will know I was his biggest critic. However this season I think we've seen a different player and I cant believe I would ever say that if we are being linked with him Id like him to return - mainly due to the position we are in. I still think he is a poor 'footballer' as such but he is a good poacher / scorer. 18 goals this season has kept Kilmarnock in the league until the final day and I wouldn't bet against him scoring today against Hibs. Looking at some of his goals from highlights and pictures I think we have got a guy who has matured late and realised what being a professional is all about. Ive no doubt his ventures in England, Turkey and USA (all of which were poor) has developed the 'person' Kris Boyd. I thought we wouldn't see him play again but to be edging towards a Scotland call up shows the hard work he has put in and he also looks far more fitter and stronger. Perhaps he thought he had made it when he came to Ibrox first time around and being part of Fergusons gang made him feel untouchable. If we was still a top flight team challenging for titles this wouldn't even be a thread but if we ever needed someone WANTING to prove his worth and banging the goals in the championship it might be Boyd now. If Ally could only find some tactical knowledge then playing Templeton, Macleod, Shiels and Law in creative positions then Boyd would score 20+ goals in the championship. But then again if Ally had tactical knowledge we maybe wouldn't need Boyd as Clark, Little and Daly may have got high tallys this season also and we'd be happy with them going into next season. I reserve the rights to retract this statement.
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27934760
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.........and share the 1914/15 league title. By Gary Ralston GARY says that the Premiership champions have an opportunity to lead the way on behalf of Scottish football this summer by requesting a fitting tribute to the Hearts players who made the ultimate sacrifice. HEARTS start the new season in the Championship and it would be an act of graceful benevolence from Celtic if they end it with a top-flight title. The Premiership champions have an opportunity to lead the way on behalf of Scottish football this summer by requesting a fitting tribute to players who made the ultimate sacrifice. It would be a touching act of remembrance if Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell approached the SPFL in the coming weeks and asked for the 1914-15 championship to be retrospectively shared. The new season kicks off on August 9, five days after we pause and reflect on events 100 years previously when World War One was declared. It is estimated total casualties from the conflict was 37 million, including three million alone from Britain and the Commonwealth. It was a slaughter of innocents from all nations that lays bare the great lie of sport’s tragedies, usually uttered when a millionaire fails to score with a free shot from 12 yards. The real tragedy for Scottish football was the deaths of James Speedie and James Boyd, aged 21, Henry Wattie and Duncan Currie, 23, Tom Gracie, 26, and Edgar Ellis and John Allan, just 30 years old. It was the compromised career of Paddy Crossan, gassed and wounded twice at the Somme, and Alfie Briggs, who returned from war and never played again, suffered from severe depression and died in 1950 with two machine gun bullets still embedded in his back. They were among the 16 who signed up from Hearts for McCrae’s Battalion soon after the outbreak of war, foregoing their careers to play for a bigger team and a greater goal. They were not alone, of course, as McCrae’s Battalion attracted players from Hibs, Falkirk, Dunfermline and Raith Rovers, all following Lord Kitchener’s fickle finger of fate to the killing fields of France. No football team in Scotland was unaffected, including Celtic, where players also signed up, and who, in 1918, won the Navy and Army War Fund Shield, played to raise money for the families of those who had fought in war. Seven former Celtic players died in World War One. And William Angus, who won the VC for outstanding bravery, was wounded 40 times and suffering the loss of an eye during a daring rescue of an injured pal on the edge of German trenches. But no team suffered more than Hearts during a period when the SFA were under pressure to postpone the season all together, with Airdrie chairman Thomas Forsyth declaring: “Playing football while our men are fighting is repugnant.” At the start of the 1914-15 season Hearts won eight league games on the trot and hopes were high they would win their third title and their first in 18 years. However, the strain of the war effort told in the end as exhaustion from their army commitments took hold to such an extent even trainer James Duckworth suffered a mental breakdown under the pressure. As a result of innoculations, non-availability and additional military training, their form inevitably crumbled. Hearts led the league for 35 out of 37 weeks but eventually succumbed and defeat to St Mirren and Morton allowed Celtic to overhaul them to win the championship by four points. Striker Tom Gracie topped the scoring charts with 29 goals but played the closing weeks of the campaign with leukaemia. His body broken, he died in a military hospital the following year. Jimmy Speedie was killed at Loos in September 1915 and Currie, Ellis and Wattie all fell at the Somme, that repugnant slow march to death ordered by their own generals. Hearts would not hit such grand heights in football for almost another half century, with the last of their four championships won in 1960 after earlier success in 1958. The season after they came so close to the championship they finished fifth and on one occasion could not even raise a team to travel to Morton. A shadow of the club they once were, in the 1916-17 season they finished 14th, used 46 players and were in such a state they finished a match at Ibrox with only 10 men because Fred Gibson had to leave early for work. Hearts fans have never forgotten the bravery of their men and every November they gather at Haymarket for a service at the memorial erected by Edinburgh’s city fathers to mark their sacrifice. In recent years, a cairn has been established at Contalmaison and a bronze plaque was also recently unveiled at Tynecastle, 100 years old this year, to recognise their heroism. Scottish football, led by Celtic, have the ideal opportunity to do the same. It would be a poignant gesture if they asked for the history books to be rewritten and that one campaign shared. Players come and go in Scottish football but this squad of 16 deserves always to be remembered. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/gary-ralston-celtic-should-honour-3773982 -
A KILMARNOCK pensioner was shocked to find a rare and valuable Scotland cap belong to former Gers player Bob McPhail lying in his loft. AN OAP has discovered a priceless piece of Scottish football history in his cupboard. Stewart Core, 78, found a rare Scotland international cap belonging to Rangers legend Bob McPhail as he cleaned out his house. The cap – which marks McPhail’s appearances for Scotland against Northern Ireland and Wales in the 1931-32 season – is now expected to fetch up to £6000 when it goes to auction. Father-of-two Stewart, from Kilmarnock, said: “Bob McPhail became a family friend after my dad sold him a house. “My dad worked for house builders John Lawrence Ltd and they became pally. “My dad was a lifelong follower of Rangers. I visited Bob with my father and he became known to me as Uncle Bob. “Bob played outside left for Rangers and played for Scotland 17 times. “He was known as ‘Greetin Bob’ because he was always appealing to the ref. “I understand that Uncle Bob had decided to give away his international caps and he kept his junior ones. “This cap was given to my father as a gift by Bob McPhail himself. “When my father died in 1966 my mother passed the cap on to me. “I never thought about it and found it in a cupboard when I was clearing things out. I decided to put it up for sale so that it can go to a good home.” McPhail was signed by Rangers from Airdrie in 1927 for the then substantial fee of £5000. He went on to become one of the most prolific strikers ever to play for the club, scoring 261 goals in 408 appearances. Only Ally McCoist has scored more league goals for the Ibrox club. McPhail won nine league titles with them. He was also a great success with Scotland – notching up seven goals in his 17 appearances. They included a double in a 3-1 win over England in April 1937 in front of a Hampden record crowd of 149,415 people. Stewart added: “The last contact I had with Uncle Bob was in 1958 when I married and was setting up my first home and I bought kitchen equipment from his firm. He was a generous chap. “I have no idea what I will spend the money on if the cap sells. “I’ll probably just put it towards doing my house up a wee bit.” The cap is due to go on sale at McTear’s Auctioneers next month. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/real-life/oap-finds-rangers-legend-mcphails-3771253
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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???
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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
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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
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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.
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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.
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Information from a few journalists now suggesting he will undergo a medical for us today after turning down a move to Hearts...
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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
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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
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“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
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...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
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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.
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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
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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
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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
