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Haha - you must be joking... Firstly, how does today's Daily Record - which struggles to mention yesterday's disgraceful 'penalty' award to St Mirren - compare with early last year when we got a similar supposedly dubious penalty against Hearts? Let me refresh your memory: Daily Record - March 4th 2005 Front Page: Small section on bottom left hand side; Back page: 9-page sports special on 'that' penalty. Back page: THAT WAS NEVER A PENALTY - Exclusive by Keith Jackson Pages 86 and 87: Another Exclusive by Keith Jackson - The Great referees debate - Were officials correct to give Gers that spot kick - Yes says Refs Chief Don McVicar - No says Hearts' Lee Miller Pages 84 and 85: By David McCarthy - Is there a conspiracy in favour of Rangers? Yes says Paulo Di Canio - No says Lorenzo Amoruso. Jim Traynor - If Gers win title, linesman Andy deserves medal. Pages 82 and 83: I took United to Parkhead and linesman went home on Celtic Supporters' bus - Jim McLean. Page 81: Hotline special - Official has crossed the line with his 'corrupt' call. Quote of the week: 'What happened was corruption. Our game is rotten from top to bottom and there should be an SFA inquiry' - Eddie Fenwick from Dunfermline wins a bottle of whisky for that quote. Page 80: Quote from George Foulkes - 'Even the Rangers players did not claim for the penalty, and in the boardroom Rangers directors seemed embarassed by their luck'. BTW, just in case anyone forgot, Lee Miller was quoted a few days later as saying "9 out of 10 times you get away with it". Strange that if he never did anything wrong? Today's second example of media lies comes from one of the usual sources - Graham Spiers. He might be on his way out of the Herald View (and it does seem as if his replacement, supposed 'Rangers man' Darryl Broadfoot, might be after his crown of imbalance) but bold old Graham doesn't let us down with his unique brand of 'insight' amongst the usual padding. He suggests in today's online Herald that: "The Rangers fans yesterday chanted captain Barry Ferguson's name, and quite rightly, as their leader's contribution was magnificent on the field. But such choral approval has so far eluded Le Guen himself. It is rare for a Rangers manager not to be serenaded from the stands, yet there remains anxiety and even perplexity over where the Frenchman is taking the team." What absolute and utter tosh. Now Ferguson was lauded and he did have a good game but he was far from the only person to receive fan acclaim either yesterday or before. Indeed, yesterday and in almost every game I've been at this season, we (the TBO) have sung the "Allez, Allez PLG" and the PLG "Vindaloo" songs loudly and proudly while almost every Rangers fan I know is prepared to back the new manager and give him the time and support he needs to turn around our fortunes. Has Mr Spiers' hearing suddenly become selectively bad again or maybe he's just been at too many games outwith the SPL? After all it can't be easy travelling to second rate matches while a younger lad takes over your position slowly but surely? Same goes for his sudden disappearance from the golf pages - no trip to Augusta or the K-Club for poor, wee Graham! A man whose corduroy jacket and pink scarf are on a very shoogly nail. Perhaps Darryl Broadfoot might want to view this fall from grace very carefully as he writes another match report which doesn't mention the dubiousness of the penalty award? Two such soft and downright laughable awards in as many matches - yet 'bluenose' Broadfoot chooses to blame Julian Rodriguez? More of the same objectivity Darryl and you'll soon be the Celtic fan's journalist of the year! Fellow bears, I urge you to not buy these newspapers and stay away from any other outlet which utilises such liars. Every Scottish football fan deserves better and its at times like these that it once again shows just how ineffective and impotent our chairman has become. By highlighting and not subscribing to such nonsense we will have improvement. Keep up the good fight. We are the people!

And I'm not being kinky here... Scotland have a tradition of keeping poor quality managers in a job for a long time after their sell by date, so let's make sure we don't lose a prime quality one. Let's be honest, Walter Smith is not really among the best club managers Scotland has produced. He had great domestic success at Rangers but it was at a time when we were spending far more than our opposition and had possibly the highest wage bill in the UK. Celtic were in turmoil and Smith took advantage. Don't get me wrong, I think Smith is a good manager, worse managers than he would have lost one of those titles in the 9 in row years despite the gulf between teams. But one CL run apart, his European results and his struggle with Everton albeit with financial problems, showed where his level lies. Good and solid, well above average, but not a world beater. However Scotland have been very poorly mismanaged for two decades - since Roxburgh took the reins. We had a very good team at the time and although he got us to a couple of finals, we would lose to the likes of Costa Rica through terrible tactics and an overcautious approach. Brown was a slightly better manager but still average at best. He too couldn't bring the best out of a reasonably talented squad and he couldn't do that at Preston either. Vogts, just didn't have a scooby. He confused the players tactically and made them feel inferior, telling them how poor a crop he had to choose from almost on a daily basis. He also capped players who should never have donned a dark blue top. However, Smith seems to have galvanised a bunch of so called journeymen into a team with great self belief, who know if they work hard and do their job they can get results. It's night and day over those previous managers who would spin us tales of caution against the likes of the Faroes and then struggle against them. Walter has taken a team who ply their trade in the English Premiership (whom some would have you as the best league in the world) and in the top half of the SPL, which is still a decent league by European standards. The players are plenty good enough to give a team of postmen and bankers a good thrashing, and for the first time in my memory, they did so. We should definitely be better than the likes of the Balkans and Walter has taken us to the best of them and won soundly only letting in the most spectacular of goals. The win against France was unexpected, but we all expected the team to have a decent go (I was very optimistic for a draw) and history suggests we can claim the odd win or draws especially at home against the greatest teams in the world if we play to our full ability. History is littered with Scotland wins, draws and unlucky losses against the likes of Brazil, England, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Holland. I think we've always had the players who could do something reasonable if they played to their strengths, but what we lacked was consistency and a bit of luck with the former being down to the manager. Walter Smith was always good at man management and basic strategy without being a tactical mastermind ("What's a tactic?"). He can definitely make a team play as a team. This really lends itself to international football as you only have a limited time with the players so intricate training sessions are a waste of time as are very unorthodox formations and tactics, since the players are more used to their different club systems. He has an advantage here over more tactically astute managers as he knows the stuff that really counts on this stage. This could make him achieve more acclaim as a Scotland manager than his many trophies for Rangers. He's shown what he can do, even that the job was made for him, so lets enter a period of stability and let him steer Scotland into an era where we at least punch our weight for a change. Give him a long contract and let him become a Scotland legend.

Joining the RST is the best �£10 I've spent this year .... http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/news/2006/070806.html Cammy F

Firstly I'd like to congratulate every Rangers fan at Ibrox today for not playing into our enemies hands. Despite going 2-0 down, despite some provocation from the away support and despite there still being a lack of clarity with respect to some songs, our fans handled themselves impeccably. Afterwards, while driving home, I knew it wouldn't take long for the lies and misinformation to begin. Despite the SFA/SPL advisor being delighted, despite the Match Commander being delighted and despite our chairman being delighted Jim Traynor was allowed to try his utmost to change the neutral's mind. His agenda was clear from the outset as he admitted attending the game only to listen to our fans for sectarianism. Eventually, his female accomplice read out an email (30mins later) regarding this incredible comment and he struggled to answer and stuttered on about who the emailer was. No answer was forthcoming. Neither were any Rangers fans wanting to talk about the issue allowed on in the first hour of this programme. For those who weren't at the game and those, like honest Jim, tuning in only to help UEFA enforce their new directive, Derry's Walls, The Sash and Rule Britannia were all sung. All 3 are good, honest folk songs and while they might not be immediately associated with football, they are songs we should be able to sing proudly without being branded sectarian. Jim Traynor and his ilk can try all they want to decry us at every opportunity. Thankfully at last the club offered some back up. Now this may be too little too late for some and I appreciate that but I sense a change in the attitude somewhat. It may be slight but it's a start. Together by continuing to adhere to the directive and continuing to sing our athems like the above we can show the trouble-makers (and downright malicious liars) like Traynor and his friends we won't go quietly into the night. We had a poor result today but there were many positives to take on and off the pitch. I'm as proud as ever to be a bear. The quicker Traynor and muck liek him realise that pride and loyalty will never disappear the better.

Juventus have offered defender Jonathan Zebina in a swap deal for Newcastle United's Jean-Alain Boumsong, according to reports emanating out of France. The Old Lady lost both their star centre backs Lilian Thuram and Fabio Cannavaro to Real Madrid earlier in the summer and coach Didier Deschamps is trying to rebuild for the tough challenge that lies ahead. His team have been relegated to Serie B for the coming season for their involvement in the Italian match-fixing scandal and Deschamps has reportedly earmarked two French internationals to lead the back line. Monaco captain Gael Givet, who has also been linked to Villarreal, and Boumsong (pictured) were both part of the Bleus squad which made it to the World Cup finals in Germany and Deschamps hopes they can lead his side's resurgence up the leagues. "It is true I had contact with Juve and that the club wants to hire me for next season. But it is not the only trail," Givet told L'Equipe. "There are other clubs which have recently shown an interest. But I am under contract with Monaco until June 2009, and if the officials want to refuse my departure, I will stay. "On Thursday afternoon I talked with Marc Keller and Jean-Luc Ettori and they told me they absolutely want to keep me. On Monday I will take stock with my agent and the chairman and vice-chairman. "I know what I owe Monaco. If the officials offer me a chance to leave that would be fine, but if they refused categorically I would go back to work." Bianconeri are also reported to be chasing two Brazilians in Udinese defender Felipe Da Silva and Corinthians midfielder Ricardinho. "Felipe? Yes, we are thinking about him," Juve general manager Alessio Secco confirmed. No official negotiations have opened with either side yet, but Ricardinho has a European passport so there would be no issue regarding EU statuses. Deschamps has already announced that no more players will be leaving the Stadio Delle Alpi, but Spanish reports still suggest that Valencia are ready to offer Juve ââ??¬15 million (Ã?£10.2 million) for Argentinian midfielder Mauro German Camoranesi. Both he and Zlatan Ibrahimovic's futures remain in doubt. Story Tools: Print Email this page Messageboards

Currently, we are being portrayed, and seen as the BNP, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda of football and have a huge job to turn this perceived image around. However, this is a direct consequence of Dodgy Daveââ?¬â?¢s continued refusal to publicly back us, the Rangers support. For years, many media outlets in this country have openly lied about the actions of Rangers fans. From the supposed riots in Sunderland and Bradford to us cutting our pitch to resemble a sash to the annual criticisms of our kit, sections of the mhedia have shown their agenda ââ?¬â?? to demonise Rangers Football Club and itââ?¬â?¢s supporters. Now, I could go on and on about things that have been printed in certain papers by certain journalists, but I am aware that the Amazon rain-forests are running out of tress and I donââ?¬â?¢t want this blamed on Rangers fansââ?¬Â¦Ã¢â?¬Â¦. Anyway, itââ?¬â?¢s safe to say that we all know the main culprits and their many lies and innuendos. I have to interject here and discuss the UEFA decision and that by not challenging this, David Murray has given our enemies ammunition and by god are they using it to their advantage. The RST rightly said that only through education and not condemnation could we change attitudes, they are right, but it is a pity the media donââ?¬â?¢t see it this way. We are working to eradicate some of the songs and chants that are heard at Ibrox and elsewhere, and after the UEFA decision we were promised that the club would take the lead and inform us what we can sing and how they were going to promote and celebrate our proud history and tradition. Linfield Football Club have, through community work, education and PR positively created an inclusive club which still promotes and celebrates itââ?¬â?¢s loyalist roots. We could learn a thing or two from Linfield. In a recent Sunday rag, they told the journalist all of the above and came out with some good press. Meanwhile, David Murray sits in his office counting our cash whilst allowing everyone and their dog to have a go at us. The latest is the Daily Record and their take on why the Bolton friendly was cancelled. Now, as I have said previously, compare his ââ?¬Ë?dignified silenceââ?¬â?¢ to attacks on US to his fast, strong and legal attacks on anyone who dares question Mr Murray or his suntanned mukka Mr Bain. In all honesty, I am at the stage where I believe that Murrayââ?¬â?¢s malaise has spread to a majority of the support who either donââ?¬â?¢t care what is written about us, or worse, actually believe what is written about us. So, what can we do? That is the $64,000 question. Firstly, we have to openly admit and embrace our past ââ?¬â?? we are a football club who represent the Protestant traditions in Scotland and further afield. This is NOTHING to be ashamed off ââ?¬â?? it should be celebrated. However, we are an inclusive club who welcome fans / players / employees no matter their colour, creed or religion. Secondly, we have to convince our fans that by celebrating our Presbyterianism, this doesnââ?¬â?¢t mean disrespecting other religions. Thirdly, we have to do this publicly whilst fighting our corner in the media. That will require a PR Department that will rapidly respond to any inaccuracies that are published in the media. By doing this, we will show that we mean business and the journalists will be treated with respect, only if they treat us with respect and fairly ââ?¬â?? after all that is all we ask. Can this be achieved? Yes and easily. However, can it be achieved with David Murray at the helm? I seriously think not ââ?¬â?? this is going to get worse before it gets better unless Murray acts and acts swiftly ââ?¬â?? over to you Mr Chairman. Cammy F

Here is a list of things that David E Murray needs to turn his attention to as soon as PLG confirms that he has the tools in place to get us back to the top of the pile domestically and build on the very going showing in last seasons CL. Youth Development; Back on my high horse here ââ?¬â?? we urgently need to get this back under our own control. We urgently need to turn ââ?¬Ë?Murray Parkââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? which is essentially a training facility into a Youth Development Centre. We must hire the best coaches and the best scouts to ensure that we are getting the best crop of youngsters from all over the world. They must be houses and schooled at Murray Park. PR Department ; Again, another pet hate for many Rangers supporters. We urgently need to get an effective PR department that will challenge the lies, half-truths and innuendoes printed in the press. A PR Department that will represent Rangers and us the fans at anti-sectarian events and not allow our enemies to dictate the sectarian agenda. This PR Department would ideally be staffed by Rangers fans, and possibly run in conjunction with The RST and this Bear would nominate David Edgar as the new head of PR. Fans Groups ; The RST, TBO, FF, No1 Fanzine as well as the supporters association would all share the responsibility of liaising between the club and the fans. This would include inputs into stewarding (home, away and Europe), fans displays, travel, away ticketing prices / allocation etc. Also, this would include drawing up a schedule for first and second team players to represent the club at Supporters Clubs functions. Failure to attend would lead to fines. They would also work with the club to ensure that the Rangers Museum becomes a reality. Ticket Office ; Firstly, this would be moved from a port-a-cabin at the Craptic end to a permanent building within Ibrox. It would be managed and staffed by highly skilled and effective customer care professionals. After all, they are dealing with people who are spending hard earned cash to follow Rangers ââ?¬â?? they would be courteous, helpful and bend over to help the Rangers fans. Financial Growth This includes long-term business goals that will ensure the financial stability of the club for generations. It means the board of directors searching high and low for potential backers and when they have identified them, get them to put money into the club to help finance transfer, wages, youth development etc. Official Publications ; As said previously, these need a major overhaul and I would like to see the fans becoming involved in the authoring and publishing of articles from the Rangers News, Rangers TV, the match programme and the official web-site. Match Day Experience ; Supporters groups like TBO, CDL, CRL etc would be given access to Ibrox on a match day to place flags, banners, TIFO, etc all over stadium. The club would help pay and store ALL banners and these would be allowed to be draped over the stands for a certain time prior to kick-off and at half-time. The pre-match entertainment would be used to build up an atmosphere with the playing of Rangers songs like The Blue Sea Of Ibrox, Follow Follow, Every Other Saturday, Wolverhampton Town etc (the original version, not some raved up versions), with fans URGED to join in and wave flags, scarves, banners etc. So in summary, whilst congratulating David E Murray for capturing one of the best young managers in Europe, he still has a lot of work to do to make Rangers FC the club that we all want and deserve. Cammy F

Whilst David Murrayââ?¬â?¢s statement relating to the UEFA charges was welcome, it was months too late and ambiguous at best and shows that he, the club and most importantly us, the fans have a very important few weeks ahead of us and we, the fans, must continue to demand leadership from the club on the thorny subject of ââ?¬Ë?sectarianismââ?¬â?¢. David Murray and Rangers have been very ââ?¬Ë?privateââ?¬â?¢ in their thoughts about ââ?¬Ë?sectarianismââ?¬â?¢ and have allowed the press and now UEFA to demonise us and portray us as bigots ââ?¬â?? the damage has been done, our reputation tarnished and this will take major work to regain. The work needs to start now and needs to be led by the club along with groups like the RST, TBO, fan representatives etc. We have allowed our enemies to set the agenda regarding sectarianism in Scotland and this has seen as painted as the ââ?¬Ë?bad guysââ?¬â?¢ and the only club with a problem. We all know that this isnââ?¬â?¢t true, but the way this is being played in the media, large sections of non-football attending people are believing what is reported and think we are a bunch of bigots. This urgently needs to be readdressed. We (Rangers) need to have a PR Department that actively review media outlets and instantly challenge any lies, innuendos, half-truths etc peddled by the section of the media that obviously hates Rangers and everything we stand for. However, with Martin Bain at the helm, this is unlikely. Mr Bain has already stated that he will NEVER employ a Rangers fan in a job that offers more than Ã?£20K per year. So folks, if he was interviewing for PR jobs and Frankie, Calscot and I were up against Findar Oââ?¬â?¢Neill, Shaun Oââ?¬â?¢Shaunasy and Patrick Oââ?¬â?¢Mally, the later 3 would be given the job of defending Rangers in the press. Thatââ?¬â?¢s right, Rangers would rather employ 3 people who had, at best, no interest in Rangers over 3 people who actively support the club and have an obvious love for Rangers Football Club. This attitude MUST change and Rangers must employ people in the PR roles who have the best interests of RFC at heart. The PR Department should be bringing reporters like Leckie, McNee, Keevins and Speirs to task and by that, I mean banning the reptiles from Ibrox and stopping access to Rangers players etc for them and their newspapers. We have won ââ?¬Ë?smallââ?¬â?¢ victories against these scumbags by getting letters printed in papers, apologies live on air and the RST had the right to reply to McNee in his own rag. Imagine how much more powerful the response if it was directed by an efficient and effective PR Department at Ibrox, supplemented by the fans bombarding them as well? Next, we MUST start to admit, celebrate and encourage our Protestant heritage. It is nothing to be ashamed of, it is something that he have to celebrate along with celebrating our diverseness and our inclusiveness. I quote Davie Jeffery the Linfield manager ââ?¬Ë?At Linfield weââ?¬â?¢re about inclusiveness. In the past there has maybe been a nervousness for people to come out and say that, but Iââ?¬â?¢d like to say it emphatically. Iââ?¬â?¢m probably as Protestant as anybody, or as Loyalist if you want to put that slant on it, but the most important thing for me is the football club. ââ?¬Å?I donââ?¬â?¢t give a fig about colour, creed or whatever else. If players want to play in a blue jersey, thatââ?¬â?¢s all Iââ?¬â?¢m concerned about ââ?¬â?? and they should be supported by all our fans. People donââ?¬â?¢t need to sing anything that is offensive, hurtful or derogatory if theyââ?¬â?¢re supporting my team or my players. We are pushing a new venture at the moment. What weââ?¬â?¢re saying is that if youââ?¬â?¢re a true blue youââ?¬â?¢re anti-sectarian and anti-racist.ââ?¬Â These are the type of words that should be eminating from Ibrox. We should be encouraged to celebrate the positiveness of our culture whislt eradicating the negative songs. It is undenyable that we have become more ââ?¬Ë?anti-catholic/rebpublican/cratic than pro-Unionist (loyalist)/protestant/Rangers. We have to cut out the ââ?¬Ë?FTPââ?¬â?¢sââ?¬â?¢ and the cringeworthy Red Hand Salutes. Now we move onto the word/term that is likely to split the Rangers support if we allow this debate to fester unmanaged any longer. The infamous F-word. Now, this word and itââ?¬â?¢s meaning has been debated at great length and I have listened to both sides of the arguemnt. What doesnââ?¬â?¢t help is that the two camps use offensive terms to describe each other. The fans of the F-word call the non-fans; handwringers, PC-Brigade, apologists etc whislt themselves being referred to as ââ?¬Ë?uber-probsââ?¬â?¢ etc. Personally, I firmly believe that Fenian doesnââ?¬â?¢t equate to Catholic but it can not be denied that certain Rangers fans think that using the word Fenian does mean Catholic or even Craptic fan. Given UEFAââ?¬â?¢s directive to Rangers to ban The Billy Boys, it looks like we have to refrain from using this term. In my humble opinion, I am more than happy to cease using the word if it benefits Rangers and means an end to UEFA charges. Rangers must now inform us why The Billy Boys was banned ââ?¬â?? was it the reference to Fenians, was it to do with being ââ?¬Ë?up to our knees in Fenian bloodââ?¬â?¢ and what other songs are to be axed? Rangers must also ensure that UEFA arenââ?¬â?¢t just picking on Rangers. There are clubs not a million miles away from Rangers who have a worse sectarian problem and that is not mentioning the racist andf sectarian problems across main-land Europe (and further afield). We the fans must actively try to get David Murray to change his attitude regarding the press and get an effective PF Department up and running which is run and managed by people with Rangers at heart. People like Martin Bain and McIntyre must be removed and replaced by ââ?¬Ë?Rangers menââ?¬â?¢. Lets not forget that McIntyre stopped TBO from having a display against Aberdeen but allowed the Aberdeen Ultras to have a display. Yes people, youââ?¬â?¢ve read that correctly. McIntrye stopped a dedicated, anti-sectarian group of Rangers fans from having a display at IBROX but allowed Rangers hating scumbags to have a display whilst singing about the Ibrox Disaster, Richard Gough, Ian Durrant and mocking Davie Coopers death ââ?¬â?? welcome to David Murrays Rangers 2006 folks. Never fear tho, if the media have a go at either Murray and or Bain, the legal writs are flying and the stroies retracted ââ?¬â?? but if they tarnish our image ââ?¬â?? silence is golden. Someone more cynical than myself would argue that Murray has a deal with the rags ââ?¬â?? leave him alone, attack us and everything will be hunky-doreyââ?¬Â¦ So ii summing up, we the fans, have a choice. We can take Murrays attitude and sit back and let the press write what they want about us ââ?¬â?? no matter if it is false. Or, we can lobby Murray and get a PR Depertment that will fight for the good name of Rangers Football Club and everything associated with it. It may mean the end of his ââ?¬Ë?yes-menââ?¬â?¢ but it would be in the interests of Rangers FC. Are you ââ?¬Ë?Readyââ?¬â?¢ ââ?¬â?? I amââ?¬Â¦. Cammy F