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True Blue' William “Daddy” Dunlop William “Daddy” Dunlop gave great service to the Rangers, both on the field and off. He scored two goals in the first replay of the 1877 Scottish Cup Final against Vale of Leven. That second goal was, of course, not given. The reason for that is covered in the report of the 1877 Scottish Cup Final.* He served on committee, rising to become president of the club. He was a regular in the “Ancients” team which played many matches throughout the 1880’s. He was clearly an accomplished player but it was suggested that but for poor eyesight, he would have been even better! It was with the pen, though, Daddy made his greatest contribution. Willie wrote the most important history of Rangers Football Club. Although a relatively short article, his record of the early days of the Club provides us with the first hand evidence of his friends, the McNeils, Vallance, etc of the games at Flesher’s Haugh, the wearing of the light blue for the first time, etc. Under the sobriquet "Old Blue", this vital record of the founding of the Club appeared in the SFA Annual of 1881/82. Willie married Annie Cardwell in Manchester on 17 September, 1891. Two years later, “Daddy” became a daddy with the birth of his son, Colin Buchanan Dunlop. Sadly, Colin was only eighteen months old when his father died at the family home at Kelvinside Terrace South, just off Queen Margaret Drive. Willie succumbed to influenza after battling spinal meningitis. The obituaries that appeared in the newspapers were united in acknowledging the sad loss of a man who was popular and highly respected throughout his life. His contemporaries owed a lot to “Daddy” Dunlop. Present day historians of the Club owe a great debt to him, too. * Report of rangers first scottish cup final 1877 "True Blue" - Page 1 (10pages)

STV - 12 September 2013 00:01 BST Rangers midfielder Ian Black will go before a Scottish Football Association committee on Thursday to answer accusations of betting against his own club on three occasions. The former Inverness CT and Hearts player is accused of putting money on his team to not win matches between March 4, 2006 and July 28, 2013. Black is also accused of betting on a further ten games in which the club he was playing for were involved in, as well as betting on a further 147 games not involving his team. It is not known which specific fixtures he is accused of placing bets on which involved the clubs he was registered with. The Scottish FA have stated that there is no evidence to suggest the player acted in a manner or influenced proceedings during a game which led to him making money. STV understands the most recent match Black bet upon was Rangers' tie with Albion Rovers in the Ramsdens Cup on July 28, 2013. Rangers won the game 4-0. It is also understood that the player's actions came to light through his use of a Ladbrokes phone account. Footballers registered in Scotland are prohibited by the Scottish FA from betting on any football match. If found guilty, players can be fined from £500 to £1,000,000 and can be either suspended or expelled from playing professional football. They are also not allowed to "behave in a manner, during or in connection with a match in which the party has participated or has any influence, either direct or indirect, which could give rise to an event in which they or any third party benefits financially through betting". The Scottish FA however have made clear there is "no evidence" to suggest Black has breached the second rule. When the allegations were first made, a Rangers spokesperson said: "The club is aware of the SFA's notice of complaint and are currently investigating the matter." http://news.stv.tv/west-central/239202-rangers-ian-black-to-go-before-sfa-committee-over-betting-claims/

LET me start with a couple of confessions First, I don’t know Craig Mather. I have neither met the man nor talked to him. I do happen to know that, in private, he tends not to speak too fondly of me and that’s fine. As someone who has gone to some lengths to expose and condemn the dysfunctionality of the board over which he presides in his highly-paid role as the Rangers chief executive, I would expect nothing else. Mather has made it perfectly clear how badly he wishes to survive in his lucrative position. In fact, both he and financial director Brian Stockbridge have been actively attempting to make themselves bomb-proof from next month’s agm, which is shaping up as a general election to decide the future for Rangers. Perhaps even a defining moment which will determine if this club has much of a future at all. Mather and Stockbridge would prefer not to have to go to the polls. In fact, they wanted desperately to strike a deal with Jim McColl and his group of rebellious shareholders which would have guaranteed their jobs on a new-look board. Perhaps they are worried their credentials will not withstand such a thorough democratic examination and given the mess they have created in their time in charge of the coffers, who could blame them? By Stockbridge’s own recent admission, somewhere between £40million and £50m has gone from the bank vault over the last year or so. This has been an extraordinary cash burn. A £12m injection of funds last summer, followed by £22m from an IPO in December, two lots of £8m from season-ticket sales and various other amounts from commercial deals and hospitality matchday sales. And Stockbridge says only £10m remains. So these men then have already lost a lot. Now though, they stand to lose their own bulging pay packets too and clearly that just won’t do. No wonder they’re prepared to fight in whichever way they can to cling on. And I write this, not only as someone who has personally experienced some dark intimidatory tactics over the past few months, but who has been approached by Rangers employees at both extremities of the club’s pay scale who tell of similar tales. Truly, this club has become toxic beyond belief. After all, for those in charge, it’s all about the pounds, shillings and pence. It’s what brought Mather and Stockbridge to Ibrox in the first instance. It’s what drives them. Mather can hardly sign off on a press release these days without mentioning that he has sunk his own money into this basket case. He did, and in so doing became one of Charles Green’s original backers and trusted allies. Mather handed Green his money and now he wants his pound of flesh. It’s the same with the Easdale Brothers, who were sold a seat on the board by Green, shortly before the Yorkshireman packed up and took his monorail sales pitch to Springfield. All of these characters are hanging around demanding they take what is their due from this club. As is their right. They do not take kindly to being criticised or in some cases even scrutinised. Business is business after all. And Rangers is their business. So, no, I won’t be expecting a Christmas card from Mather. The honest truth of the matter is, for the good of this ravaged and stricken sporting institution, it is my sincere hope that Mather is gone long before then in any case. And that he takes most if not all of the club’s current directors with him. Which moves us along to confession No.2. I DO know Paul Murray. In fact, over the last three years, pretty much since the original Bull**** Billionaire Craig Whyte first appeared on the radar, I have got to know Murray very well indeed. During this time, I have grown to admire the man for his honesty, integrity and sincerity – all qualities which have been in desperately scarce supply around the Rangers trauma. Most of all though I have been struck by his unflinching determination to do the right thing for a football club which has been systematically abused ever since Whyte took it over and forced him off the old board. He is motivated purely by a sense of duty and devotion. In other words Murray is “Aye Ready” to Mather’s “My Readies”. If Mather doesn’t understand what that means he can always ask one of his many spin doctors to explain. They too have to earn their vast Rangers pay checks. And, if nothing else, it’ll keep them off Twitter for a while. That’s where Jack Irvine of Media House, recently reappointed by Mather to fight this dirty war, popped up on Friday full of foul-mouthed, late night insults. Irvine – the man who told the world Craig Whyte was good for Rangers – called McColl a Bull**** Billionaire. And all of this just a few hours after Mather had attempted to humiliate Murray in public with the release of a statement questioning the credentials of this lifelong Rangers fan and former Deutsche Bank high flyer. It was another classless, mean-spirited attack from the club’s own Politburo, in which Murray was made out to be a troublemaker on some sort of vanity project to force his way into a blazer and brogues. Murray responded on Saturday evening when he appeared on BBC Radio to slap Mather back down. And yet, throughout, he maintained a sense of decorum and good manners which seem beyond those currently in charge of the club. Few who listened could have failed to be impressed by the way in which Murray handled himself, or the strength of the message he delivered. He spoke well, his words from the heart and with honesty. Murray stressed that he’d walk away from it all tomorrow so long as he was able to rest at night knowing his club is back in safe hands. Despite the recent smear tactics, I remain convinced that peace of mind is all Murray wishes to gain from this sorry and increasingly spiteful saga. In the end it will all boil down to a matter of trust. The Ibrox fans and the club’s investors will have to decide next month if they trust McColl and Murray. Or if they would rather place their faith in those who continue to recklessly damage Rangers’ reputation. At a time when so much is made about the current status of Rangers, about whether the club died last year or whether it survived the liquidation of the company which owned it, a far more important debate is being ignored among these petty attention seeking squabbles. The truth is, when Green picked this club up for a pittance after Whyte had plunged it under, Rangers held on to its history, its trophies and its titles. Trouble is, it lost its heart and soul somewhere along the way. Perhaps it’ll take men of Murray’s calibre to wipe the ugly snarl from its face and make Rangers recognisable once more.

Some thoughts from your humble correspondent on the last few days... http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/283-paul-murray-the-uncomfortable-truth

from 26 mins in http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03b2vty

I'm interested to know whether or not I'm in a minority of one on this. Spence, despite being a wretch, claims to have been hassled in the street while out walking with his wife. I'd like the club to officially deplore such incidents because this way we not only (hopefully) deter the more aggressive fan from causing trouble but keep the focus on the journalist, not us. Aside from which, depending on how heavy the hassle was, its not really on either. I suppose this could be seen as a bit grovelly but we really need to up our political game because atm we are outsmarted every time. Yes, journalists, managers and players have been hassled by fans for decades without feeling the need to call (a) the police and (b) the papers but in the publicity war we are losing, heavily. 'Yes' to a statement or apoplectic 'get stuffed you handwringer'?

http://news.stv.tv/west-central/239433-rangers-ebt-tax-case-hmrc-appeal-to-be-heard-in-public-judge-rules/ HM Revenue and Customs’ appeal against the Rangers tax case will be heard in public, it has been announced. The tax authority is appealing the First Tier Tax Tribunal that ruled in favour of the Murray Group Holdings and its subsidiary, Rangers oldco. In the tribunal decision released last November, a majority of two to one on the panel found that payments made through offshore employee benefit trusts (EBTs) to players and staff at Rangers should be classified as loans and did not attract PAYE and national insurance. There were five cases where the payments made to employees should be classified as wages and were taxable, the panel found. HMRC launched an appeal against the ‘big’ tax case in the Upper Tribunal last year and it is set to be heard on several days between January and March 2014. Colin Bishopp is the Upper Tribunal judge overseeing it and his directions issued at an earlier preliminary hearing in the case were released on Friday. In it, he confirmed that all further hearings in the case will be made in public, after the previous case was held in private. Judge Bishopp said: "It was common ground before me that the presumption is that tax appeals are heard in public, and with no concealment of identity or detail. I accept that, in the past, there was good reason to fear that the personal safety of certain individuals was threatened; but the information now before me indicates that the threats have abated and have probably disappeared. "Even if the identities of some individuals were concealed in the First-tier Tribunal’s decision, the nature of the issues was not." He stated that the original decision to withhold the identities of those giving evidence in the case came about because of the "strong feelings" football can generate. Judge Bishopp explained: "It is undisputed that various threats of a serious nature have been made, and that the Strathclyde Police have been compelled to offer advice and protection to several individuals involved in RFC’s affairs. Some of the threats have come from disappointed Rangers supporters; others from supporters of rival teams who have formed the opinion that RFC’s use of the EBT gave it an unfair financial advantage. "Largely because of those threats the hearing before the First-tier Tribunal was held in private. Some of the witnesses who gave oral evidence were resident outside the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom courts and tribunals, and therefore could not be compelled to give evidence; they did so only on condition that their names were not revealed. The two HMRC officers who had dealt with the matter, too, were believed to be under threat and their identities were concealed. In consequence the decision was released in a heavily redacted and anonymised form." 'No special status' The judge also noted that many of those who gave evidence could be identified by piecing together their First Tier Tribunal evidence with the findings of the independent Scottish Premier League commission chaired by Lord Nimmo Smith that found Rangers breached the rules by failing to disclose EBT payments. After the case last year, former Rangers owner Sir David Murray stated that the decision left the oldco, which is now in liquidation, and his company facing a "minimal tax liability". Originally, HMRC had sought £36.6m from Rangers oldco for PAYE and national insurance for its use of EBTs from 2001 and 2010. It also alleged that four companies related to Sir David - Murray Group Holdings Ltd, Murray Group Management Ltd, the Premier Property Group Ltd and GM Mining Ltd – owed a further £10m in unpaid taxes on the EBT payments. The panel that heard the first case ruled that most of the trusts were "valid" and payments made to players and staff were loans that are "recoverable" by the trusts. Rangers oldco, now known as RFC 2012 plc, went into administration last February with debts of between £50m and £124m, depending on the amount allotted to the big tax case. Duff and Phelps were unable to agree a company voluntary agreement (CVA) among creditors and liquidators BDO were appointed last October. Rangers’ assets, including Ibrox stadium and the Murray Park training ground, were sold to a newco, formerly Sevco Scotland Ltd, which was backed by Charles Green’s consortium last June in a £5.5m deal. Judge Bishopp said he took into account the financial collapse of Rangers and subsequent fallout into allowing the hearings to be held in public. He stated: "Perhaps because of such feelings, professional football clubs are often regarded as having a special status. In some respects that may be the correct view; but it should nevertheless not be overlooked that a modern professional football club is not a 'club', in the sense of an unincorporated association of members who join together in pursuit of a common purpose, but a commercial enterprise whose function is to generate profits for its shareholders. "From that perspective it has no special status, and there is no reason why its tax affairs should not be as open to scrutiny as those of any other profit-making organisation. The players, too, have no greater right to conceal their tax affairs from public scrutiny than any other taxpayer. The fact that they are in the public eye is irrelevant. "Any application for privacy, anonymity or redaction of detail must therefore be supported by the same type and quality of evidence as would be required of another taxpayer, and will be granted only for the same reasons." Under his direction, the HMRC employees who dealt with the case will remain anonymous in the Upper Tribunal hearing, while other witnesses who were not compelled to give evidence during the original case will not have to give evidence.

CAN the people of Scotland trust BBC Scotland? Can BBC Scotland be trusted with the news? Can BBC Scotland be believed? Can BBC Scotland’s many staff journalists and its numerous regular freelance contributors be trusted to report the news in a fair, accurate, balanced and totally truthful way? These are big questions, especially as we are the midst of a Referendum campaign which will decide whether Scotland remains as part of the United Kingdom or becomes a separate country, a decision which will impact on everyone. It is therefore of vital importance that the language of this debate, when used by broadcasters, accurately reflects what is factual and verifiable. The same is true of any other major political, economic, or, indeed any story, be it news, sport or the arts, which is reported by BBC Scotland’s broadcasters on television or radio. Unfortunately the answer to these major questions are all in the negative. No, BBC Scotland cannot be trusted with the news. BBC Scotland cannot be believed. BBC Scotland’s vast army of staff journalists and their numerous freelance contributors cannot be trusted to report in a fair accurate balanced and totally truthful way. These are the conclusions which must be drawn after the news has been leaked that BBC Scotland bosses are to challenge the judgement of the BBC Trust that Rangers cannot be referred to as a new club. The BBC Trust, the final court of arbitration within the BBC, reached this conclusion when it studied judgements from two learned Scottish judges, Lord Glennie and Lord Nimmo Smith, from the Scottish Football Association and from UEFA, among many others, who have all ruled that Rangers may be a Newco, but remain the same club with all of its history intact. At least two BBC employees dispute this. They dispute not one, but two legal rulings from two of Scotland’s most eminent judges. The two are BBC Scotland staff reporter, Jim Spence and BBC Scotland freelance employee, Graham Spiers – aka Odious Creep – who has now dragged the Herald into the row after being allowed by his supine sports editor, former Celtic View editor Donald Cowie, to write in support of Jim Spence. He has been joined in this by the fiercely pro Irish Republican National Union of Journalists and the union’s Celtic and Liverpool supporting Scottish organiser Paul Halloran, plus some of the other usual suspects, the fanatical IRA supporting Philmacgiollabhain – who holds a senior positon in the NUJ and who the Press Complaints Commision agree is a bigot - and his pal Angela Haggerty, who has roped the once respected Drum magazine, which claims to cover local media matters, into the rumpus. It is a curious alliance. Surely one would expect the National Union of Journalists to be a bastion in defence of truth and accuracy? The opposite, however, appears to be the case. The NUJ now seems to be saying that flying in the face of facts is to be accepted and admired as is official National Union of Journalists policy. The NUJ further seems to be saying that Jim Spence’s blatant disregard for the facts, that his inaccurate and truly low standard of reporting is not only to be accepted, but actually actively encouraged. Which is exactly the stance BBC Scotland appear to be taking. For a report in the Herald – the paper Odious Creep writes for – that BBC Scotland have apologised for what Jim Spence said, is more than wildly exaggerated. It is just downright wrong. As factually inaccurate and incorrect as what Jim Spence said on BBC Scotland to spark the row. The story, headlined in the Herald “BBC SAYS SORRY OVER SPENCE’S RANGERS COMMENTS” was, boasts the Herald, the paper’s on line edition’s most read story this week. Except, the BBC did not apologise, leaving the Herald looking as though it is colluding in BBC Scotland’s lie by printing a second lie. Let us be clear. BBC Scotland has not apologised for Jim Spence saying that Rangers are a new club. That, unlike much of what you hear on BBC Scotland from Jim Spence and Odious Creep and what Odious Creep writes in the Herald, is the fact of the matter. Now, the trouble for BBC Scotland is they have placed the organisation in a bad place by backing Jim Spence for what appeared his wilful disregard for the BBC Trust’s judgement and directive. That place is alongside the Republican militant and publicly branded bigot , Philmacgoillabhain and his sidekick, Angela Haggerty. It is a place which will see everything any of BBC Scotland broadcasters report or comment on, especially during the run up to the Referendum, disbelieved. That is what happens to a news organisation when its credibility is undermined and destroyed by rank rotten journalism. There are many fine journalists within BBC Scotland, both staff and on the freelance payroll. Men and woman who are diligent and painstaking in the way they report the news. I know many of them are worried about their integrity and their reputation for honesty, being damaged by BBC Scotland’s support for Jim Spence’s lie. A number of them may also privately express their concern at the nature of those who are lining up to support Jim Spence. For they know that BBC Scotland’s backing of Jim Spence and his lie means that BBC Scotland cannot be trusted by the people of Scotland to report the news in a fair, balanced, accurate and more importantly, honest way.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but was the deadline for the board to agree to the boardroom changes not extended to last Friday or an EGM would be called, or an agreement to incorporate it into the AGM ? I haven't seen anything mentioned about it over the weekend, unless I've missed it ?

No-one likes a thorough examination. It could be a test for English, it could be a check-up at the dentist. God forbid, it could even be the prostate exam from an overweight medico with fingers like fairtrade bananas. This week saw the appointment of that bogeyman figure for many Rangers fans, Peter Lawwell, to the Professional Game Board of the SFA. Leaving aside the hilarious irony of anything connected with the game in our country having the sheer balls to call itself 'professional' - the name of the new league was, for me, the highlight of the summer, an act of self-mockery and criticism not seen since the Red Guards were touring the Chinese countryside in the 1960's - you'd think the raising of another Celtic employee to another administrative role ought to have aroused some examination. As things stand now with the SFL gone, the SPFL Board consists of Steven Thompson of Dundee Utd, Eric Riley of Celtic, Aberdeen’s Duncan Fraser, Les Gray from Hamilton, Mike Mulraney of Cowdenbeath and Bill Darroch of Stenhousemuir plus CEO Neil Doncaster. Even Celtic fans must realise Mssrs Riley and Lawwell's various roles raise some interesting questions. Is it good for the game, or their club? Is it good for them, personally? Can they avoid conflicts of interest, and can they operate best with a work-load of this nature? What does it say about the structures which oversee the much vaunted reconstruction of the game in Scotland? Gersnet poster Brahim Hemdani sums up the bemusement may feel when he said "Quite why the other clubs think that having two represetatives from one club in the top echelons of power is appropriate is beyond my comprehension but that is the state of play that we have to live with." I ask these questions because they will affect us, like every other club, and because the overall coverage of the move has been muted to the point of fearful censorship. Tom English has taken refuge in slating OF fans for being loonballs rather than look at the appointment itself, while no-one else seems to have mentioned it at all. Maybe no-one is a little concerned that one club looms quite so large over the landscape (you may recall Kenny Shiels swift demotion by the ever sensitive Pacific Quay from colourful entertainer to highly suspicious proto-bigot when he touched on this subject), or, more likely, maybe they're worn out by all these saga and don't care anymore. Dangerous attitude, if true. We need to care. My own view is that no-one from either Rangers or celtc should be on any governing body, nor anyone with a connection to them. Rules out a hell of a lot of people, doesn't it? But look at the history! Since the mid-1980's, the Old Firm have more or less run the game. First them then us have been, during that time, complete basket cases. Prior to that, with faceless, anonymous men who enjoyed the benefits, yes, but were primarily upholders of the game as a concept - that is, as a sport - Scotland actually did not too badly, certainly by comparison with its later, hideous self. Of the two potential scenarios - well meaning if possibly bumbling amateurs, or corporate OF types - one would have to be a follower of either side to support the elevation of the latter to the running of the game. If that maybe sounds like accusations of bias toward the media, maybe it is - given the outrage we saw over such issues as contentious capitalist contract practices and internal SFA inquiries, surely they would feel the make up of game boards also need a revolution? No? Happy to carry on as we have for thirty years, are you? Thirty years of continual decline and failure? Quite content to see the setup which has brought the game to the laughable stance of not even having a sponsor - bear in mind, this is a league which reaches both Rangers and celtc fans every week, that's market penetration many a company would give their right arm for; you are looking at well over 2,000,000 potential customers on a more than weekly basis being exposed to your product - and think this is a suitable plan for the future? Well, fair enough. Everyone's entitled to an opinion. But you can hardly be surprised when people raise a quizzical eyebrow, and wonder quite what the reason is for your optimism. celtc's current dominance is the reason put forward, I guess. That ignores their two decades of shambolic behaviour since the early 1980's; no doubt our period of insanity will be as quickly forgotten. It also forgets the wasteland that the rest of the game is; perhaps a momentary lapse in memory by our writers, or again, perhaps they just don't care. The game desperately needs diversity, in terms of cup winners and media coverage. We're unlikely to see the latter, since the media is as self interested as the next man. I can't see how having the people from the top club running the leagues will help create that diversity; the logical outcome will be a set up which favours that leading club. Cravenly avoiding the fairly obvious self interest inherent in this move, and whining about how Old Firm fans are loonies while you pretty much cowardly refuse to actually examine the move, won't impress anyone. Maybe, when this blows up in the face of Scottish football (as OF people running the game always will, in my opinion), those who have airily seen it through on the nod will have the guts to examine their own role in it. I won't be holding my breath, though. As the dire Neil Doncaster happily points out "“The relationship between the SPFL and the SFA is a good one and I think a much better one since the reconstruction’s completion on the 27th June.” This is unsurprising when the same people, two of whom are from the same outfit, sit upon these boards. If blissful happiness and an end to dissent is the aim, I can see the point. If running the game in a progressive and accountable way is the aim, it becomes rather more questionable. But questions are good, in a healthy democracy. We need our media writers to question, to examine. Their current craven obedience will be just something else we will all come to regret.

From poster McCoist_355 on FF: http://forum.followfollow.com/showthread.php?t=932306 For posterity... Lord Nimmo Smith/Glennie/SPL: http://tiny.cc/ojiipw - NimmoSmith verdict's proving Rangers FC continues (JPG) http://tiny.cc/832kqw - Lord Nimmo Smith's report (PDF) http://tiny.cc/xn6kqw - SPL CEO Neil Doncaster: "It is an existing club, even though it's a new company" 1 minute in. http://tiny.cc/0ko6xw - Lord Glennie - distinguishing between company and club UEFA: http://tiny.cc/u8akpw - UEFA Rangers "Scottish Cup" squad (Elgin game) updated 8th Dec 2012 (LINK) http://tiny.cc/r12kqw - UEFA's updated Scottish Cup squad (JPG) SFL/SPFL: http://tiny.cc/8h832w - SPFL Rangers home page - "Founded 1872" - Full trophy list (LINK) http://tiny.cc/pyyzyw - Derek Longmuir, SFL CEO, congratulating Gers on 140 years. SFA: http://tiny.cc/xn832w - SFA statement - Newco are "the new owners of the Rangers Football Club" http://tiny.cc/b1kuyw - SFA Annual Review - RFC "entering liquidation and subsequently accommodated into SFL3" http://tiny.cc/qdfjqw - SFA's Scottish Cup archive: Rangers FC record continuous into 2013. (JPG) http://tiny.cc/gt3kqw - SFA Q&A: clarifying status of "Rangers FC" re. Div 3, 4 yrs of accounts, Scottish Cup entry (LINK) http://tiny.cc/lu3kqw - SFA statement "full membership has been transferred". (LINK) HMRC: http://tiny.cc/cryzyw - "the liquidation route does not prejudice the proposed sale of the club. This sale [of Rangers FC] can take place either through a CVA or a liquidation." (LINK) European Clubs Association: http://tiny.cc/yw5kqw - "The organisation considers the club’s history to be continuous regardless of the change of company" (LINK) Advertising Standards Authority: http://tiny.cc/gs832w - Rangers' most successful club claim is rubber-stamped by the ASA BBC - Independent report by Editorial Standards Committee: http://tiny.cc/lezzyw - "where.. the BBC had made the distinction between an “old” and “new” Rangers.. club as opposed to the “old” and “new” company, ..due accuracy had not been achieved." Proof of post-liquidation survival precedents: http://tiny.cc/5jnqqw - Leeds WERE liquidated/No CVA - KPMG source http://tiny.cc/7tpqqw - Arbitration case proving Leeds no CVA http://www.theifo.co.uk/adjudication...llettfinal.pdf - Luton No CVA (IFO)/Bournemouth/Rotherham/Leeds too http://judgmental.org.uk/judgments/E...A_Civ_180.html Crystal Palace were also liquidated. http://tiny.cc/9xp6xw (PDF) and http://tiny.cc/8cq6xw (JPG) - Portsmouth were also "liquidated" in 2010 And finally....Dermot Desmond: http://tiny.cc/vqo6xw - "A fantastic club with great history"

Petition by Sevco Scotland 5088 Glasgow, United Kingdom 134 Million pounds was lost to the Scottish taxpayer when Rangers died and were liquidated. Now a year after their liquidation they are claiming the 5 stars of the liquidated club. This club has only won the now equally defunct SFA Division 3 of Scottish football and claims to the contrary are a disgraceful attempt to claim the history of a liquidated club. Transparency is needed. If they claim the oldco's history then they should pay its debts! http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/spfl-take-the-5-stars-of-the-oldco-rangers-off-the-newco-s-shirt

Written by The Ref: The definition of sabotage is:- 1. The destruction of property or obstruction of normal operations, as by civilians or enemy agents in time of war. 2. Treacherous action to defeat or hinder a cause or an endeavour; deliberate subversion. The term "sabotage" derives from French factory workers throwing their wooden shoes ("sabots") into machinery to jam them and stop production. In a sense this was the very first use of industrial sabotage. The aim of industrial sabotage is to cause maximum disruption and/or damage by secretive means. Often industrial sabotage works hand in hand with industrial and economic espionage. Economic espionage is often orchestrated by governments and is international in scope, while industrial espionage is more often national and occurs between companies or corporations. The purpose of espionage is to gather knowledge about an organisation or organisations and it may describe activities such as theft of trade secrets, bribery, blackmail and technological surveillance. In any business, including football, information can make the difference between success and failure; if secret information is stolen, the competitive playing field can be levelled or even tipped in favour of a competitor. Although a lot of information-gathering is achieved legally through competitive intelligence; at times other parties feel the best way to get information is to take it. This commonly occurs in one of two ways. Either a disgruntled or dissatisfied employee appropriates information to advance their own interests or to damage the company or, secondly, a competitor or foreign government seeks information to advance its own technological or financial interest. ‘Moles’ or trusted insiders are generally considered the best sources for economic or industrial espionage. Individuals may leave one company to take up employment with another and take sensitive information with them. As a Rangers supporter, I read the above and draw great similarities to what we have witnessed over the last few years and continue to witness now. Have the normal operations of our club been disrupted? Yes, and they still are. As we endeavoured to rid ourselves of the debt we were carrying under David Murray, were we hindered? Yes. David Murray was being pressurised to sell the club by the Lloyds banking group, despite successfully managing to reduce the debt we were carrying. With the outcome of the ‘Big Tax Case, still in the balance, and with sensitive and confidential information surrounding the tax case being leaked illegally to the general public through the media and online blogs on an almost daily basis, it made it almost impossible for Murray to find a buyer. How convenient it was then, when a little known man by the name of Craig Whyte appeared on the scene to buy the club for the princely sum of £1. Quite who Craig Whyte is, where his loyalties lay, or the real reasons why he bought our club are still not known, but I for one would like to know what his real part was in the destruction of our club. Was he put in place to deliberately drag our club down? Was he a pawn in a much bigger game? Was he really just a charlatan and fly-by-night who saw an opportunity to fleece one of Britain’s great institutions? Will we ever know? When we survived with our history intact, I suspect many thought that we had reached the end game and could move on. It is obvious that we will not be allowed to move on. We are still being attacked; confidential information is still being stolen from our club and leaked to the public. Whether this is being done by a mole or electronically, I don’t know, but somehow that information is finding its way into the public domain and damaging our club in its efforts to stabilise, move on and recover from the events of the last few years, and it must be stopped. I am convinced that a major crime has been and is still being committed here, and the only way to get to the bottom of this is to have a full independent police investigation. The leaking of confidential information itself is a breach of the Official Secrets Act 1989 and warrants an investigation. I don’t want to appear paranoid, but something stinks in this whole saga, a saga which has brought Rangers fans into conflict with each other, simply due to the lack of honesty, truth and clarification surrounding this whole mess. The thought that a group or organisation may have deliberately tried to destroy the institution which is Rangers Football Club may seem like something from the film Mission Impossible, but could it actually be nearer the truth than some would like us to believe? http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=97&a=industrial-sabotage

Glen Gibbons: Ally McCoist’s claim to have as formidable a squad of players as any club in the country outside champions Celtic would do nothing to dispel the impression that his tongue these days is quicker than his wits. The words had hardly left the Rangers manager’s lips when his side were beaten 3-1 at home in a closed-doors friendly by Hibernian, who could not reasonably be described as the galacticos of the SPFL’s Premiership. The former striker’s readiness with the impulsive, unconsidered response may be rooted in his history as a media-friendly figure. He has, after all, been what is known these days as the go-to personality for the telling quote for as long as anyone (including himself) can remember. It is possible that McCoist has become so practised in the art of filling space that he cannot break the habit. Even so, he has been steadily compiling what might be called a portfolio of outbursts, some of them grossly ill-advised and even dangerous. McCoist’s errant views began at Dunfermline two years ago when, without having seen the incident, he insisted that Steven Naismith could not be guilty of elbowing Austin McCann because “he’s not that type of lad”. Naismith, of course, was caught on camera and suspended. There followed the infamous “we want to know who these people are” demand in the wake of the review panel who sat to consider Rangers’ rules breaches in the wake of their entering administration. A similar noise was made over the question of Rangers being fined for their indiscretions while Hearts and Dunfermline were not. On both occasions, the SFA revealed that McCoist (and, in the latter case, his chief executive, Craig Mather) already knew the answers. Perhaps most seriously of all, McCoist declared himself “appalled” by the arson attack on the bus depot which housed Rangers’ new luxury coach, clearly implying that it had been carried out by rival football fans. The subsequent police investigation disclosed that the crime was not related to football. If these previous retorts are a measure of his judgment, there is unlikely to be a stampede of punters desperate to plunge on Rangers for the only “major” left to them, the Scottish Cup. http://www.scotsman.com/news/glenn-gibbons-scots-send-in-the-clowns-1-3081141

Or so it is claimed in this interesting article: + + + We belong to Glasgow ... sort of 7:20pm Tuesday 3rd September 2013 Rangers did not only adopt their name from Swindon Rangers rugby club but also played in the same colours as the railway workers’ side – all white with a blue star crest. THEY are one of the world’s best-supported football teams with fan clubs girdling the globe from Tasmania to Tampa Bay, Bahrain to Boston, Winnipeg to Wellington and Katowice to Calgary. But where did the institution that is Rangers Football Club – winners of 54 domestic league titles, more than any club in the world – get their name? Why from Swindon, of course. The origins of this massive Scottish sporting organisation – or at least, its world-renowned name – has of late been the subject of a spate of queries on fans’ forums. For such a vast footballing behemoth where every trophy, player, goal and all manner of what – for most of us – would seem inconsequential data is feverishly racked up and pored over, the club’s very name is bizarrely shrouded in mystery. However, the consensus is that Rangers owes its moniker to a bunch of Great Western Railway workers letting off a little steam, if you’ll excuse the pun, on a field in Swindon – or Gorse Hill, to be precise – around 140 years ago. Four enthusiastic young sportsmen founded Rangers in 1872: brothers’ Moses and Peter McNeil, and friends Peter Campbell and William McBeath. They had been galvanised after watching a local Glasgow team Queen’s Park – the “Pride of Scotland” – playing a new-fangled form of football. This revolutionary variety of a previously haphazard, frenetic chase-ball activity followed a controversial rule change stipulating that the ball could not be “carried or hacked”… otherwise the game would become “more like wrestling than football”. But what shall we call our brand new sports club, mused the Glaswegian quartet? It was Moses who came up with the answer. A studious fellow, Moses had been reading a book called the English Football Annual written by Charles Alcock, founder member and later secretary of the Football Association, and also the creator of the world’s first knock-out competition of its kind, the FA Cup. In his book, published every year since 1868, Alcock mentioned an English rugby team of the era, Swindon Rangers, who played in white socks, white shorts and white shirts with a blue star on the breast. It struck an instant chord with Moses. Rangers! Wow, what a great name for a football team. The founders of Rangers were not only inclined to nick the name of Swindon’s Victorian rugby pioneers but also copied the kit – an exact replica of which Rangers donned in the 1876/77 Scottish Cup Final (beaten 3-2 by the Vale of Leven in a twice replayed match.) It was later said that Moses loved the name he had plucked from Alcocks’ annual because “Rangers’ rhymed with strangers,” symbolising the bringing together of men from all over the city – or at least the Protestant half – who fancied a game of soccer. Moses, incidentally, played many times for Rangers and became the club’s first player to represent Scotland. A Swindon Rangers exists today in the form of a North Wilts League football team established eight years ago. But unlike its illustrious Glaswegian namesake, the original Swindon Rangers has long since vanished, although the institution that arose in its wake, Swindon Rugby Club, continues to thrive. No-one, apparently, knows when Swindon Rangers formed, but one of the club’s driving forces was John Armstrong, son of the eminent Great Western Railway engineer Joseph Armstrong – one of the key players in Swindon’s growth and pre-eminence as a railway town. John, who also went on to become a big wheel at The Works, initially played for Swindon Rangers Cricket Club, from which the rugby club emerged. He was said to have captained the latter for seven years. Astills Original Swindon Almanac of 1881 lists the Rangers’ President as none other than the Superintendent of the Swindon GWR works, William Dean, with the man he succeeded – John’s dad Joseph – as Vice President. According to Swindon Rugby Club’s official history, the home of Swindon Rangers in 1870 was an edge of town field in Gorse Hill – probably their first ground. They later went on to play at The Croft in Old Town – which also became home for 11 years from 1884 to Swindon Town Football Club – and also The Sands in Bath Road, site of the former Victoria Hospital. During this era the Swindon Advertiser reported on numerous Rangers matches as the team attracted crowds of 300 or so to the Croft, including – now here’s a shock – members of the “fair sex.” Playing away to a rampant, unbeaten Gloucester in January 1883, Rangers pulled off a famous victory. The club’s first and second teams also played two games, one after the other, on January 31, 1885. The second side took on Purton which was swiftly followed by the first XV’s match against Bath Volunteers. Two Rangers’ players – Brunsden and Horsington – played in both victories. Sadly, the axe fell on Swindon Rangers in January 1895 due to “lack of support at committee level”. Months later Swindon Rugby Football Club was formed, pretty much by the same group of people, and today it proudly holds its place in our town’s sporting community. But following its brief history – maybe around 40 years – Swindon Rangers did not die without leaving a remarkable, you could possibly say unique, sporting legacy; the name of a football team known throughout the world and housed in a grand old stadium approximately 314 miles north of Swindon. How weird is that! Gers fan Andy Goran, writing on the Rangers Media Forum, says: “Say there was still a rugby club in the Swindon area called Rangers; a bit of clever marketing about the origins of the name of our famous club would earn them a fortune. I know I’d buy a Swindon Rangers rugby top if such thing existed… unless of course they play in green” (a reference, I feel sure, to their Old Firm rivals Celtic) THE chairman of Swindon RFC Stuart Cock has been aware of the apparent origins of Rangers’ name for some time. That a Victorian rugby club in Swindon gave its name to one of the world’s best supported sporting institutions has virtually become part of the club’s unwritten folklore. Stuart says: “Some of our older guys are absolutely convinced that Rangers got their name from Swindon Rangers rugby club – in other words, our club. “I don’t really know myself. Some say the name came from Swindon Rangers but I’ve also heard that Glasgow Rangers got it (their name) from a rowing club. “Obviously, it’s something we would be very, very proud of – that we spawned such a huge, world famous football club.” Like many other members of Swindon RFC, Stuart considers the present club and Swindon Rangers to be one and the same, making it – at around 160 years old – one of the oldest sporting institutions in the country, possibly the world. However, the rugby authorities refuse to recognise this and mark the beginning of Swindon RFC as 1895… a few months after it arose from the ashes of Swindon Rangers. Stuart says: “It’s a shame really; it was formed by the same group of people. It was the same club really but with a different name. We’re still one of the oldest clubs in the area, though.” + + + Swindon Advertiser

Published on September 2nd, 2013 by Andy Muirhead With all eyes on Rangers football club currently, due to the continued ‘political’ infighting between shareholders and the fan base, public relations for the club is needed more than ever. However, even the PR company used by Rangers – Media House – has come under much criticism and increasing calls from Rangers supporters to be sacked due to comments attributed to Jack Irvine, executive chairman of Media House. Scotzine editor Andy Muirhead caught up with Jack Irvine, amid a busy schedule for the PR guru, to discuss his time at Rangers and those who are criticising him. AM: When did you start working with Rangers Football Club? JI: 2006. There had been huge sectarian issues and the football authorities were going to hammer Rangers. There was a danger the team would be playing in empty stadia and face crippling fines. We worked with the legal team to articulate the initiatives from Martin Bain’s management team to curb the sectarian excesses which in turn lessened the possible draconian punishments. AM: We heard from Sir David Murray that he was duped by Craig Whyte in purchasing Rangers from the former Rangers owner – from your point of view and of working with Craig Whyte would you agree with Murray’s statement? JI: Yes I do agree with Sir David. He was led to believe that Craig Whyte was worth in the region of £80million and he had no reason to doubt that. The Bank of Scotland and their boardroom representative saw no problem with Whyte as a buyer and, in fact, couldn’t get the club sold quickly enough. Craig Whyte appeared to be the answer to all of David Murray’s problems. AM: You represented Rangers under Craig Whyte’s tenure at the club which ended with it going into administration and subsequently liquidation – looking back what are your thoughts on your role and Media House’s role during that time? JI: It was a surreal time. I tried to explain to Craig Whyte that he couldn’t possibly run the club himself and I even introduced him to the former Newcastle United Chief Executive Freddie Fletcher who was also a former Rangers man. Freddie would have been magnificent but Craig decided he could do the job himself. Like many businessmen he was totally consumed by The Blue Mist the minute he walked into the boardroom. Media House’s role was what it had always been. Represent the club and its board and attempt to present the good side of the club to the media and public at large. Of course the bad started to outweigh the good very quickly and it was like pushing water uphill. AM: There has been allegations made that Media House and Rangers used friendly journalists to publish positive stories about Rangers and Craig Whyte in particular hiding the truth about the Motherwell businessman – what do you have to say about those allegations? JI: Of course we promoted positive stories – that’s what PR people do the world over. However it didn’t take long for my old newspaper colleagues – and more importantly certain influential bloggers – to find out the truth about Craig Whyte and tell the world. There is no way I could have covered that up or would even have tried to. The dam had burst. AM: Many Rangers fans are now seeing Media House and yourself as culpable in the demise of Rangers under Whyte and are against your continued involvement at the Ibrox club – claiming that you are not there to represent the club but elements on the board? What is your take on this – what is your role at Rangers? JI: That is utter nonsense. We can only work with the tools we are given. Craig Whyte ran the club into the ground although you would have to say he inherited a pretty leaky vessel. Our role at Rangers is crystal clear. We carry out the wishes of the board in an attempt to help the business survive and prosper. However much I sympathise with the agonies the fans are going through, and I speak as one of the original Bond holders, it is not they who instruct me. It is the board. It is naive to think otherwise. AM: A twitter account called Charlotte Fakes has been publishing emails and other correspondence involving you, Whyte, some journalists and Rangers officials – which seem to paint all parties in a bad light. What is your take on what this person is doing? JI: It is illegal. It is a breach of the Data Protection Act and the perpetrator faces serious consequences when he is caught. It is frightening some of the stuff that is going on nowadays on the web. I often wonder what it would have been like in the early 90s when there was the coup to unseat the Celtic board. How would social media have treated that? Would Fergus McCann with his bunnet and squint been given a chance to mount his brilliant strategy or would he have been slaughtered by the fans with laptops? AM: Rangers fans have claimed that the ‘dignified silence’ approach was perpetrated by the likes of Media House and that instead of keeping quiet, you should have gone in all guns blazing. Making demands, threatening legal action etc. What was your approach during Whyte’s reign when negative articles were published? JI: I seem to remember we banned the BBC and if you knew me at all you would know that I am not slow to tell editors and journalists when they are talking bollocks. Lawyers were regularly involved . Do I go out and announce this in the Copland Road to the fans? What do you think? I worked with or trained a lot of the current crop of journalists. I’m not going to publically traduce them although I will make an exception for some of the more stupid ones. AM: Whyte met with several Rangers supporters groups and bloggers who were very friendly to him and backed him to the hilt during his reign at the club – they have now turned on him as if he is the anti-Christ. What is your take on this u-turn by said prominent groups and bloggers? JI: I presume you have certain groups in mind. I can’t think who you are talking about but let’s be fair. The fans loved David Murray then grew to hate him. Ditto Craig Whyte, Ditto Charles Green. So it’s not only bloggers who changed their minds. The economist John Maynard Keynes is alleged to have said, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?” If that concept was good enough for him I hardly think we can criticise the bloggers. AM: Given the amount of flak, hassle and abuse you have taken – if you could do it all again would you still represent Rangers and Craig Whyte? JI: I have taken flak, hassle and abuse since May 1987 when I launched The Sun in Scotland. I thrive on it and the more I get the stronger it makes me. The answer to “Would you still represent Rangers” is obviously yes as I have just signed up for another season. I come from an East End Rangers family so I guess I’m stuck with it. Would I represent Craig Whyte? Not if I had known what I know now but it’s easy to be clever after the event as I keep reminding certain fans and journalists. Hindsight is a wonderful gift . AM: If you could stand in front of the Rangers fans today and talk to them what about the club and the way it is working and those wanting to take over – what would you say? JI: Give the board a chance. The Chief Executive has sunk a million of his own cash into the club. Fellow director James Easdale and his family have put in even more. Let’s all be mature. I know Frank Blin and Paul Murray are passionate about the club but to quote Mr Churchill: “To jaw jaw is always better than to war war.”

... you know, someone had to do it! I'll write and update a list of targets in the first post. Signed: - Nicky Clark (QotS, free, compensation, 3-year deal signed) - Jon Daly (DU, free, 2-year + 1-year extension deal signed) - Cammy Bell (Kilmarnock, 4-year deal signed) - Nicky Law (Motherwell, free, 3-year signed) - Steven Smith (free/Portland, 2-year-deal apparently signed) - Arnold Peralta (Vidal, free, 4-year-deal signed) - Ricky Foster (free, Bristol City, 2-year deal) - Biliel Mohsni (free, 2-year deal) - Kenny Miller (free/Portland, resigned) - Lee Robinson (QotS) - Tom Hateley (Motherwell, free) [ - Chris Humphrey (Motherwell, free, was in talks) signed for Preston North End] Gone: - Neil Alexander (end of contract) - Kane Hemmings (end of contract) - Kal Naismith (on loan, Accrington Stanley) + + + From FF ... Links galore ... The Express

MOST football fans in Scotland do not support Celtic. The majority are not Rangers fans either. MORI and Gallup do not exactly do polls on this sort of stuff so there is no way to be scientific about it, but maybe each of them has about 35-40% of the people who follow a team and the rest are shared around all the other clubs. What those of all allegiances are coming to terms with - whether they rejoice in the fact or resent it - is that Celtic have turned the Scottish game into a one-party state. For most of its history the league title has been an endless tennis rally between Celtic and Rangers, the championship switching from one to the other every year or two. Only now and again has one of them emerged into the clear daylight of a sustained period of dominance. Celtic won six in a row from 1905, Rangers five from 1927. In the late 1960s and early '70s there were times when it looked as if Jock Stein had built a force that would never be caught. When Rangers emulated Stein's nine consecutive titles - latterly buttressed by the bountiful revenue stream of the Champions League - it felt as if Sir David Murray, Graeme Souness and Walter Smith had moved the Ibrox club to a position of power which would obliterate any competition. And what happened? The Lisbon Lions era was built around Stein's individual genius and when his powers waned Celtic were drawn back into the pack. In the late 1990s Rangers grew old and tired, and misspent their resources, to the point a rebuilt Celtic got back among the titles. Currently the record books show only two consecutive league wins for Celtic but that is the equivalent of taking a snapshot of Usain Bolt in the early stages of a 100m race. Everyone can be pretty sure of what is coming next. At Tannadice on Saturday there were the latest renditions of a tune that the Celtic support has been singing for quite a while: "Here we go, 10 in a row." It's part-celebration, part-triumphalism, part-threat to you-know-who. There are 40 clubs which have long grown accustomed to the idea of having no real chance of being Scottish champions any time soon, and one which has a demanding fanbase unused to being denied anything for long. It is common these days to hear people talk about how Celtic have the potential to begin a period of unprecedented domination "if they use their money wisely". What they mean is that if Celtic keep running themselves prudently, employing the right manager and players, staying out of debt and always having money to spend to replenish a winning squad, it is going to take an almighty effort for Rangers to ever catch them. The apocalyptic scenario for Rangers is that Celtic keep getting into the Champions League group every year. They secured £20m in Uefa money alone last season and now they have another £16m this season. That is almost twice as much dough as Rangers raised from a one-off share issue. If Celtic pull off another two qualifications in 2014 and 2015 that would amount to around £80m washing into the club before Rangers even have the chance to take them on in the league. Given that all the fundamentals - season-ticket, commercial and sponsorship income - are otherwise broadly comparable between the Glasgow clubs, the long-term difference between them will be Champions League income. And that means that when a player's agent tries to bring a talent to Glasgow (the same player is often offered to both clubs at the same time), Celtic should be able to pay higher transfer fees and wages every time they both want the same man. All of this is a chilling thought around Ibrox. Horrifying, in fact. The Uefa golden goose that was once Rangers', and then shared, is now exclusively Celtic's. They can thank David Murray and Craig Whyte for that. It used to be the rest of Scottish football that was excluded at one or both of the Old Firm's expense; now Rangers are out in the cold too. Rangers have been in the Champions League group stage 10 times and Celtic are about to play in it for the eighth time. At a very conservative estimate (Champions League income has grown over the past 20 years) that is about £180m of Uefa money the Old Firm have enjoyed, in addition to their already vastly superior regular income. Last season Motherwell made around £195,000 from Uefa, and Hearts and St Johnstone £75,000 each - a tiny fraction of Celtic's £20m. The champions' excellent campaign also meant £100,000 in "solidarity" payments from Uefa for all other top-flight clubs, but that amounts to (welcome) crumbs. The Champions League embodies the concept of a self-perpetuating elite in which the rich get richer. When I spoke to a couple of SPFL Premiership club directors about how they reacted to Celtic generating Uefa income on a scale which makes it impossible for them to be given anything more than the odd bloody nose over the course of a season, one said: "It almost doesn't concern us. We're resigned to them always winning the league now and our competition is to finish second. Most clubs are happy for them to get into the group because it means a bit of Uefa money for us. It's probably very different for Rangers." Every empire falls eventually. The eras of Stein and Souness/Smith came to natural ends. Rosenborg show that even monopolising a country's Champions League access does not guarantee permanent rule. But Celtic's position of strength, and their advantages, are greater than any board of directors have known since Scottish football began. By Michael Grant (Herald)

JOHN GREIG and Davie Cooper are two of Rangers’ all-time greats, legendary figures in the history of the club and idolised by the club’s supporters. Both players had blue blood running through their veins. In terms of their sheer devotion to the Ibrox outfit, they were identical. But, in truth, they were different characters all together. So much so that, in the early 1980s, with Greig as manager and Cooper playing under him, they ignored each other as a simmering feud threatened to boil over. It’s a notion most Rangers fans find difficult to understand. But the relationship between the pair at that time was a strained one – as is revealed in Neil Drysdale’s book, Coop: The Life of Davie Cooper, Scottish Football Hero. Quite simply, the winger didn’t fit into the style Greig wanted his team to play and was regularly left on the bench. That frustrated Cooper who, admittedly, took his omission to heart. He wasn’t dubbed the Moody Blue at Ibrox for nothing. That led to an impasse which was only made worse by his refusal to join Brighton in the summer of 1980. That was partly stubbornness but Cooper also couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his home in Hamilton and, more importantly, the club he loved. In Drysdale’s book, he examines the stand-off and, ultimately, the wing wizard’s acceptance that he failed to give Greig total commitment during his time as Rangers boss. He writes: “It was an indication of how relations had soured between Greig and Cooper that when the 24-year-old got the chance to leave, after an approach from Brighton boss Alan Mullery, he should end up staying while Gordon Smith headed south for a record transfer fee of £440,000. “Cooper was reluctant to leave his roots but there is pride in origin and then there is stubborn obstinacy. “Mullery wanted both Smith and Cooper but was told by Greig that he would only sell one of the two. Given how little subsequent use he found for Davie in his plans, it beggars belief the Rangers boss wasn’t ready to move him on if the price was right. “Greig made it clear to Cooper he would be well advised to contemplate expanding his horizons and – considering the money on the table – putting himself into the shop window with a switch to Brighton. “However, that cut no ice with the player who glanced at the map, calculated he wouldn’t be able to get home to Hamilton very often, and so wasn’t interested. “To some extent, one can see why a proud Ibrox man wouldn’t be overly delighted at the prospect of joining the likes of Brighton. But if he had gone and shown his abilities under Mullery, there would surely have been more enticing offers for him in the years ahead whereas he knew that as long as Greig was his gaffer, he would be spending more time keeping benches warm than playing. “Smith said: ‘Alan had been keeping tabs on both Davie and myself and wanted to sign the pair of us but John would only let one go. ‘I don’t believe Davie had any regrets about not going, but I wonder what might have happened if he had. There is no doubt he had more than enough natural ability to make a success of it in England. He could have ?tted in anywhere. ‘But you have to understand that Davie was living the dream and he loved the club, it was as simple as that.’ “It was now obvious that Cooper wouldn’t be wooed away from Rangers and had to accept he was a peripheral ?gure in Greig’s plans. And for those who cherish thrilling football this was a waste of one of the few genuine entertainers on the Scottish domestic circuit. “But while Greig could be faulted for his dearth of ?exibility, especially given the mediocre results attained by players he did select, Cooper wasn’t blameless. “As the months passed he fell into a slump exempli?ed by a lack of intensity at training and unwillingness to scrap for a place in the team. It might be he had concluded there was no merit in battering his head against a brick wall. “But that didn’t excuse his attitude and he subsequently conceded he should have battled harder rather than resort to the dumb insolence which typi?ed the dialogue – or absence of it – between him and Greig. “Cooper started turning up a few minutes late for training, then, once changed, went through the motions. It was childish and he knew it. Davie said: ‘I grew sloppy and the more frustrated I became, the less inclined I was to push myself on the training pitch. Then, when I found myself on the bench, I don’t think my attitude was all it might have been.’ “It was a stalemate which couldn’t have a happy ending. He and Greig were chalk and cheese and only one of them was cracking the whip. “Cooper’s disenchantment increased the more he found himself sidelined. It was an unhappy situation but one which had been brewing for 18 months. “Davie felt isolated, even unwanted at Rangers, even though he refused to take the easy option of demanding a transfer. But a decade down the line, he admitted: ‘I was out of sorts and took it out on John. It was unprofessional and I wish I had shown more application because we needed all the help we could get at the time. ‘John offered me a second chance but I couldn’t get it out of my head that he had given me a raw deal. ‘I look back and wish I’d realised it wasn’t personal. It was just the two of us were different. That didn’t mean either was right or wrong.’” Greig’s spell as Rangers boss ended in 1983 when he was replaced by Jock Wallace. He had won just two League Cups and two Scottish Cups in five years. But his place in the hearts of the supporters was never in doubt and they named him the Greatest Ever Ranger in 1999. Cooper, before and after his death in 1995, was similar to Greig in terms of the fans’ adulation of him. After Greig left, he shone under Wallace and Graeme Souness after that. He became a Rangers legend which, despite that spat with Greig 33 years ago, was all he ever really wanted.

Now I'm not one to get paranoid, or tell people what to watch/buy and what not to watch/buy. But going on the BBC site to perhaps see the highlights, I was shocked to see not one mention of the game. When you think that there were 42,000 TV Licence payers at the match, you have to wonder at their bias and just downright cheek. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/scotland/

I came across this pic in the book ' Rangers-The New Era' published (I think) in 1967. The book covers the early history, however the main focus is on the football/events from Season 1951/52 until 1966/67 Bill Struth resigned from his post of Manager on April 30th 1954, and there is a whole fantastic chapter on the occasion of his retiral. The picture that accompanies it is a great snapshot of the Era, with all the legends present ( still some living) , and was taken in the Reception Room which I believe is now the Blue Room. I've added some of the text that accompanies the picture, a great insight into the man and his love of the Rangers. 'Brushing away a tear, football's Grand Old Man, deeply sentimental about his boys, each of whom was like a son, told of what it all meant to him. Fanatically loyal to his ideals, he made Rangers his life. He lived Rangers. On his Directors -'We have never been indifferent to our reverses. It is because my Directors, men of clear outlook, take them with all due seriousness and try to diagnose the causes that we have been able to over come them' On knowing his days were short - 'Let the feats of our Club - those past and those that assuredly will come - be the star over Rangers. Let none Grieve. Rather, let all rejoice that we have attained so much for the Club which is bigger than the man. The Honour has been mine in serving it. Carry on, my good friends....'

I see TLB's poop troop got beat 2-0 by Shakhter Karagandy over in Kazakhstan earlier.

In times of trouble, the crown fits old Rangers King - The Herald 'IT would be reasonable to suppose that the Glasgow experience of John Barnes would have been enough to make the former Liverpool player shrink at a Scottish accent and positively bridle at the mere mention of the game north of the border. However, Barnes speaks of his brief tenure as Celtic manager with some insight and maintains a strong connection to the Scottish game through his role as a media pundit and his friendship with Dave King, the Scottish businessman and former Rangers director based in South Africa, who has been vocal in the unfolding turmoil at the Ibrox club. Barnes travels the world in his role as a football analyst and met King in South Africa, where the former England internationalist comments on both Barclays Premier League and Champions League matches. He believes strongly that King has a role to play as the power struggle continues at Rangers. The businessman lost £20m when the club was owned by Sir David Murray and has warned they could be in administration by Christmas. Barnes believes he was a victim of that high-spending Rangers, too, with his coaching career bludgeoned by the reality that he was facing greater resources at Ibrox. He also insists King could be the leader who rescues Rangers from in-fighting and brings the club back to the top league and to financial stability. Barnes lasted from June 1999 to February 2000 as Celtic manager, with a Scottish Cup defeat by Inverness Caledonian Thistle precipitating his demise. "I was not there long enough to learn a lot," he says, his sunny demeanour failing to disguise the disappointment of a opportunity that proved short-lived. Barnes was part of a "dream ticket", coming to Celtic Park in tandem with Kenny Dalglish, his one-time manager at Liverpool. He dismisses any notions he was an innocent thrown into the jungle of Scottish football. "Nothing happened there that I did not expect. I knew the expectations were high. I knew we were second to Rangers and if that continued it would mean that it would not work out." Standing in the BT studios in London where he is about to give his opinions on the English game, he pauses to reflect on the state of Scottish football then and now. "I think a lot of people are now looking at the dynamics of the game north of the border and saying it is not as easy at it seems. In those days it was very different. In those days David Murray was spending a lot of money. Rangers had better players and much more money than Celtic. They were signing such as Joerg Albertz and Michael Mols to join the good players they already had." Barnes was consumed by the imperative to defeat Rangers but with lesser resources. "It is strange to see how it has gone with Celtic and Rangers," he says. "The dynamic is different and it shows the way Celtic were doing things from a financial point of view was the right way and the necessary way to do it." He states bluntly: "Rangers are paying the price for that period." His friendship with King has given him the inside story on his rivals when he was manager of Celtic. King, who took up his role as a non-executive director in March 2000, began his formal association with Rangers as Barnes was ending his with Celtic but King and he have become close after regular trips to South Africa. "He tells me stories of what it was like back then," says Barnes, now 49 and travelling to the Middle East and elsewhere to talk football. "He tells me of the money Rangers were spending and that has impacted on where they are now. It is shame because they're a huge club." In March, King announced his intention to sue Murray, stating: "I seem to be one of the few people who actually invested cash into the club. I have made a claim of £20m the basis of non-disclosure by the then chairman, David Murray, of Rangers' true financial position as far back as 2000." Murray said he would vigorously contend any such claim if and when it was lodged. The past at Rangers is thus clouded with much animosity for King, but Barnes is optimistic on the club's future if his friend becomes involved. "He would be good for Rangers because he is a fan. He wants what is right for Rangers. It is a huge brand that can be hugely successful and it will be successful once again. It may take a few years but the more they can have people like him involved from a footballing perspective the better. If you are a football supporter, you want people like him to involved in football." Barnes, too, would like to become more closely involved in football. He managed the Jamaican national team for a season, taking them to first place in the 2008 Caribbean Championships, and then joined Tranmere Rovers in June 2009, lasting just five months before being sacked. "I would love to get back into management but it is hard. There are a lot of ex-managers who want to get back in. Fortunately, I have the opportunity to do TV work but if something came up I would definitely look at it again." And what of a return to Scotland? Has his experience at Celtic soured him? "It was fantastic up there," he says. "Obviously, the politics were not great but the football was good. I loved it, " he says.' ______________________________________________ Excuses excuses Barnes. Not like those associated with the dark side to revise history is it?. There's no denying we spent a lot of money overall during the DA era. However, lets take a look at transfer activity of the season in question.... The Poor Wee Souls Players In Stiliyan Petrov £2.8m Ian Wright - Free? Rafael Scheidt - £5m Eyal Berkovic - £5.75m Olivier Tébily - £1.25m Players Out Craig Burley - £3m Phil O'Donnell - Free Simon Donnelly - Free Darren Jackson - Free Total loss = £11.8m Us Dirty Cheats that Bought Our Tainted Titles Players In Dariusz Adamczuk - Free Michael Mols - £4m Tero Penttilä - £0.3m Thomas Myhre Loan Billy Dodds - £1.3m Tugay Kerimoğlu £1.3m Players Out Theo Snelders - Retired Jonas Thern - Retired Luigi Riccio - Released Stephane Guivarc'h - £3.4m Charlie Miller - £0.45m Antti Niemi - £0.4m Derek McInnes - £0.3m Ian Ferguson - Free Gabriel Amato - £3.75m Colin Hendry - £0.75m Paul McKnight - Nominal Total profit = £2,150,000 Except Albertz had already been with us for 2 seasons at that point. The simple fact of the matter is that we had a good team and good manager while they had John Barnes who was about as shite as Scheidt.

MOHSNI has high ambitions but before then he can't wait for the club's registration embargo to end next week so he can finally make his competitive debut for Ally McCoist's side. RANGERS star Bilel Mohsni admits he’s dreaming of steering the Ibrox club back to the Champions League. The French-Tunisian stopper has been counting down the days until Saturday when the transfer embargo will be lifted and he will finally be free to play a competitive match for Gers. Mohsni sampled a taste of the big time during the 1-1 pre-season draw with English top-flight side Newcastle. And the 26-year-old has been stunned by the attendances at Ibrox for a team in the third tier of Scottish football. When Ally McCoist showed an interest in signing the stopper this summer he was initially sceptical. But he’s now convinced he has made the right decision to join a famous club and insists it won’t be long before they are challenging for Europe. Mohsni said “When my agent told me Rangers were keen and they were in the third tier of Scottish football, I wasn’t sure it would be that good. But this is a massive club and I want to be part of its history. “It would be great to help them back to the top and perhaps into the Champions League again. “I was in France when Rangers had our first league game against Brechin and when I saw there were 44,000 fans at the game it was unbelievable. “Everyone in the squad is looking forward to playing together.” Mohsni admits it will take time to get match sharp but can’t wait to get cracking. Speaking on the Rangers website, he said: “It’s one month since I signed and I am looking forward to playing again. “I was match fit after the friendlies but I probably need two or three games again to get that back. I’m definitely fit because we have been doing a lot of running. I just need to do a bit of work to get my sharpness back.” Keeper Scott Gallacher could be heading out on loan just as Mohsni makes his entrance. But the 24-year-old is hoping he can follow a similar path to stardom as former Ibrox No.1 Allan McGregor. McCoist wants Gallacher farmed out so he can offer a deal to former Stoke and Dundee goalie Steve Simonsen. And Gallacher is happy to agree after watching McGregor benefit from spells at St Johnstone and Dunfermline early in his career. Gallacher, who played during Tuesday’s Ramsdens Cup win over Berwick, said: “Allan had to bide his time before his breakthrough. “He had to wait behind Stefan Klos which was hard but I’m working hard with our goalkeeping coach Jim Stewart and he’s keeping my confidence up. “Allan got a huge benefit out of his loan spells. Hopefully if I go out on loan it will work out the same. “I have spoken to Allan briefly about it but it’s more about watching him as a top keeper. Allan just gave me general information about catching the manager’s eye.” McCoist is keen to offer a deal to Simonsen but admits midfield trialist Sam Kelly might be a luxury addition to his squad. A stopper and a forward are McCoist’s priorities ahead of midfield, where Republic of Ireland youth cap Kelly plays. But the former Norwich and Everton player has made a big impression since his arrival. McCoist said: “Steve knows we would like to offer him something if we can get Scott out on loan. “Sam has showed up well too in training. I will need to see if there’s a possibility we could maybe offer him something. He’d be a luxury but a nice one to have.” McCoist, meanwhile, has confirmed the contract of Darren Cole has been terminated. The defender was recently asked to stay away after he failed to report for a reserve friendly with junior outfit Cambuslang Rangers. The Ibrox boss said: “Darren’s contract has been terminated and he goes with our best wishes.”

I'm sitting in Oslo Airport and who do I see,yip the famous Claudio Reyna! , never had time to chat as such but I did shake his hand and tell him I'm a massive Rangers fan, all his reply was AWSOME!