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Another week, another court appearance, another gut wrenching series of unfortunate events. Welcome to our world, Oscar Pistorius. In poor taste, of course, since no-one that we know of has died because of this shambling wreckage currently impersonating our club. Even so, just as in the OJ Simpson case and just as with Oscar, sides are being taken and battle lines drawn up. As a completely uninformed and lonely outsider with no inside info at all, it's just plain depressing. Amazing what a difference a week makes - last Tuesday, I was sitting in the garden with sun cream on, this week the only use I'd have for the lotion is to hold the shiny orange bottle in front of me as a guide through the gloom. Last week, hopes were high Dave would ride to the rescue, this week, the Man Who Would Be King revealed his plan for increasing pressure on the board this week, a pledge scheme which is, presumably, intended more to demonstrate the level of power over the club's income streams that Camp King possess rather than actually force a result; posters have pointed out already the slim chance of the present lot actually handing over securities in exchange for ST cash. If this is a game of chicken, I think King will lose, because unlike the Kelly family when Timothy was at death's door, the people running our club couldn't give a toss whether their name is forever mud on the streets of Glasgow (or, in fairness to all, Fraserburgh or Berlin). They won't blink because they don't care if the outcome is catastrophe: that unpleasant fact, which incidentally ought to help us decide whether they are fit for purpose or not, gives them an advantage in any poker game. Speaking of Timothy...he's been invoked a few times during this saga, usually along the lines of 'if only Rangers had a Fergus McCann figure'. Last week saw a cacophony of media types berate King for not just spending his money and getting it over and done with; curious, really, considering that (a) he was apparently offered a controlling interest for approximately £6m, quite a saving on the 70p a share deal he was offered a year ago - it seems holding out for a good deal can be advantageous. It's also curious because (b) these same media types were only a few weeks ago lauding Fergus McCann to the skies on the anniversary of his bailout of the dying Timothy, berating fans who booed him at cetlc Park and castigating the journos who mocked him. And now, they do exactly the same to a similar figure across the city. Whether King is tyre kicking or driving a good deal I have no idea. Hopefully every penny he's saved as yet will go into Rangers because by heck, the club will need his money. While I can see that people are fed up with little detail and much bluster, the lesson history certainly suggests deciding the issue in advance can lead to subsequently looking daft. Telling someone else to spend their money is never a position which can be defended: we simply don't know enough facts. We don't know if Rangers, like the Stones sing, are 'gonna be mine', his or theirs; with King, all we can do is hope he either does or doesn't come through. depending on your personal preference. I suppose it indicates how far we've come (or gone?) socially that instead of a toff whacking a peasant on the head and loudly crawing 'you there! make my mark, you beast!' we now grab the rich person and yell 'Haw, you! Get yer waalet oot!' But really the main impression is of people just talking for the sake of making a noise: I'm uncomfortably aware how close to the bone this criticism is! As Mick says, it's just sad, sad, sad, coming on top of years of sadly depressing viewing all round in football. Other sports don't seem to be so institutionally useless as football is, here and elsewhere. The owner of the LA Clippers basketball team makes a racist comment and is immediately forced to sell by his fellow owners: just imagine that level of corporate accountability here! We can but pray the suspiciously Scottish-sounding Donald Sterling doesn't fancy investing his dollars in our club; there is a limit to the number of bad publicity one team can withstand. All I can hope is that , when the dust eventually settles, people aren't too bitter. While there are probably some people in your Rangers life you'd be glad never to talk to again, life is too short for grudges. Like the seemingly infinite number of ants who are apparently holding a month long sports day under my kitchen window, the highlight of which is the 'climb in Steely's windae and run aboot the worktops avoiding his crushing thumb' event, we'll need to show a level of patience and stoicism last seen when Seneca was penning his dramas. Tally-ho!
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via @Rangers_Official Now that the season is over, this is a good time for me to speak to you directly as part of our ongoing Ready To Listen fan engagement programme. In order to do so I will be answering questions from supporters today in a Twitter Q&A on our official club account. You can tweet your questions directly to me on @RFC_Official using the hashtag #ReadyToListen between 1pm and 2pm. I will answer as many questions from supporters within the hour and look forward to speaking with as many fans as I can. Graham Wallace, Chief Executive Officer.
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Wallace about to come under greater scrutiny re assets. Also, his man Tyrrell speaking to BBC behind McCoist's back. Today's Sun back page a deliberate attempt by sports editor Ian king - been called by Wallace - to discredit McCoist. Hardly subtle Ian. Put on twitter by someone who has been very insightful recently.
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By mutual consent. Oh dear! Striker Kenny Miller moves on May 4, 2014 VANCOUVER, BC – Vancouver Whitecaps FC announced today that the club has parted ways with striker Kenny Miller. The club and Miller have mutually agreed to a contract termination. “We are thankful for the contributions Kenny made both on and off the pitch during his time in Vancouver,” said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. "He has been a great role model, a constant professional, and someone who I consider a very good friend. We wish him and his family all the best.” Miller, 34, joined Whitecaps FC in June 2012 and during his time with the club the native of Edinburgh, Scotland, made 45 appearances in all competitions, registering 13 goals and adding three assists. Conference call audio from head coach Carl Robinson and Kenny Miller will be posted on whitecapsfc.com this afternoon.
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http://kickoff.blogs.lequipe.fr/les-rangers-religion-decosse/ Someone care to translate?
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MICHAEL MOLS has challenged the Rangers board to prove they regard the club as more than just a cash cow to be milked dry and insists a number of former players are waiting in the wings to provide an international scouting network on the cheap. The 43-year-old Dutchman - who played up front for the Ibrox side in a more prosperous era between 1999 and 2004 - travelled to Gayfield to watch the weekend's 2-1 SPFL League 1 victory over Arbroath and revealed that an ex-players' collective is ready to help reconstruct a now nonexistent element of the infrastructure at their former employers. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/football/rangers-can-call-on-international-rescue-mols.23828999 I don't have access to the full article.
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-its-check-mate-3286265#.UzKOhg6Tggg.twitter
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IF, LIKE me, you’re proud of the Scottish Cup being the oldest national football trophy in the world you might have issues with it copying other inferior johnny-come-lately tournaments. I’m thinking of the screeching pop music, the balsa-wood stage for the winners, the celebratory bouncing, even the foliage in the managers’ lapels. You were first, Scottish, do your own thing. Don’t be bullied by the Champions League into moving from sacred Saturday to Sunday. And – favourites of this column – let’s bring back the massed pipes and drums and the Alsatian obstacle-course. Some of those changes are modernisms and maybe we have to move with the times. But every year our clubs are writing the cup’s history, a dutiful task like that of the trophy’s engraver. And when future generations of football students and anoraks open up Wikipedia at season 2013-14, what will they see? That Rangers played their semi-final at Ibrox, their home ground. Seriously, that has to be a joke. What an all-consuming tale this is. Truly, our cup runneth over. There’s stupidity, arrogance, incompetence, intransigence, fatuousness, our-club’s-bigger-than-your-club juvenalia, delusions of grandeur, you name it. Let’s deal first with the delusions of grandeur. The Scottish Football Association, who announced as far back as last October that Ibrox would host both last-four ties due to Hampden being out of action, have in the midst of the rammy tried to cite Euro precedent. The Champions League final venue is confirmed a whole season in advance, they point out, and you’ve got to forward-plan. Who are they kidding? Without wishing to contradict myself, the Scottish Cup is not the Champions League. It does not need six months of planning. George Peat, the former SFA president, recalled seasons in the League Cup where the Scottish league would have less than a week to arrange all-ticket ties. Peat said that while the SFA would have signed a contract for Ibrox he couldn’t understand why they didn’t have a plan B in the event of Rangers reaching the semis. Dundee United chairman Stephen Thompson reckoned he had a pretty good idea why: money. All current SFA chief executive Stewart Regan, pictured right, was interested in was the commercial benefits, he claimed. “Obviously looking after the sponsors is more important than it being a neutral venue.” Certainly Ibrox getting the semis and Celtic Park having the final sounds very SFA: a divvying up in the grand old tradition. But I do find it astonishing that no one in a blazer thought the cup could pan out like this. If no one did, requiring the plan B that Peat was talking about, then you have to wonder what kind of brains trust is running the game. The SFA have tried to pass the buck for being aware that Ibrox was the home of a club who potentially had semi-final aspirations back to the rest of Scottish football, saying that any concerns should have been raised at the time of the decision. It is here that the story becomes a bit murkier. You can find two different Dundee United responses. Yes, we had concerns and raised them then. No, we didn’t because it would have been presumptuous to suggest we’d be involved in the semis. But this isn’t the crucial aspect, and the second response would have been perfectly acceptable. The duty for organising one of the oldest club football competitions in the world, and avoiding the complete and utter embarrassment of one team having home advantage in their favour to reach the final, rests entirely with the SFA and it is both laughable and chilling that they appear not to have anticipated this could happen, or had a contingency plan, or were unprepared to change the venue when, as Peat says, they still had the best part of a month to do so. The bickering between Rangers and Dundee United was caused by the SFA, although the individual reactions of the clubs were fairly predictable. United laying into the game’s rulers, angry at the SFA’s tone, arguing that given the number of talented young footballers they were producing for the greater good they didn’t deserve such treatment. And Rangers, in the squabble over how many tickets United should receive, labelling their fans glory-hunters. Ally McCoist chose this moment to boast about Rangers’ bigger support. The last time United had been in a semi, against Celtic, Hampden was only half-full. His club’s fans didn’t just turn out for semis, McCoist said, but all games. Not true, of course – Ibrox wasn’t packed for the quarter-final against Albion Rovers – but the basic point hardly needed to be made: a lot of people like to watch Rangers do their special thing. The issue then became ludicrous with McCoist claiming no special benefits for his men from playing in the distinctive Govan air, with yon majestic Broomloan Stand rising up behind them and the classic criss-cross detailing by the great stadium architect Archibald Leitch so known to the team, like the tattoo on the back of a hand. “There’s very little to be taken from home advantage the higher you go in football,” he argued, before being quickly backed up by his striker Jon Daly. Sorry guys, but you’re talking tripe. Daly would not be saying “I don’t see Ibrox as being an advantage” if he was still a Dundee United player and McCoist would not be dismissing the venue as being of no significance if Rangers were facing a Scottish Cup final at Celtic Park against … Celtic. This too was among the scenarios of the SFA’s “planning” last October. They’ve avoided that, but a semi at the Big Hoose featuring its occupants is definitely happening. To be fair to McCoist and Thompson, they’ve toned down the language since the rumpus kicked off. But 12 April is currently shaping up as a dread day in the football calendar rather than one for families to enjoy. The SFA can still change the venue and they should. As things stand they’re doing no favours to Rangers save for stoking the defiance of their own fans and the conspiracy theories of the rest. They’re doing no favours to Dundee United who’ve been dealt a grossly unfair hand for sure but must be wondering if making such a stink could cause their young team to think their abilities to win are being doubted. Most of all, though, they’re discrediting the grand old Scottish Cup. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/aidan-smith-sfa-should-change-semi-final-venue-1-3350659
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.....but Stephen Thompson got it wrong. BARRY says the controversy and unnecessary bad blood that has been whipped up because Dundee United didn’t ask for their fair share of tickets is causing an unhelpful and unwanted distraction for McNamara. AT least Stephen Thompson has got something right. His decision to back down in his war of words against the SFA was the first thing the Dundee United chairman has got right since creating this season’s latest back-page controversy. Honestly, sometimes I get the feeling the people at the top of our game could start a fight in an empty room and this latest row about the venue and ticket allocation for United’s semi- final against Rangers just goes to prove my point. If I’m getting this right, Thompson started it all by complaining about having to play the game at Ibrox, even though this had already been decided months ago. Then it escalated when Jackie McNamara complained United should be given a 50-50 split of the tickets – only to find out later his own club had only asked the SFA for 8000. Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not having a go at Jackie for that. If I was in his shoes I would be making the same demands as I see no reason why United couldn’t take 20,000 fans to Glasgow. But clearly his club has mishandled the situation. I can’t understand why they didn’t go for the maximum amount of tickets available (say around 40 per cent) then attempted to sell them to their supporters. If it turned out they couldn’t shift the lot they could easily have handed the excess back and Rangers fans would have snapped them up. I’m sure that’s what Jackie would have expected his bosses to do because he needs all the help he can get to make this playing field as level as possible for his players. What he doesn’t need are the people around him ramping up the bad feeling ahead of this tie and making sure the matchday atmosphere will be red-hot which is exactly what has been going on over the past few days. I’ve seen all kind of talk about United and their fans not feeling safe inside Ibrox. Thompson has even said he won’t be taking his seat in the directors’ box. What is that all about? I’m a bit taken aback by that. I can’t for the life of me work out what they are getting at here. But it seems to me all this controversy and unnecessary bad blood has been whipped up because United didn’t ask for their fair share of tickets in the first place. And none of it helps their manager. For Jackie this will be an unhelpful distraction. Not only is he heading to Ibrox with a very young side and with only 8000 United fans behind them but now, because of all this other stuff, he can expect an even more hostile reception in Glasgow. He needs that like a hole in his head. Some people will tell you the size of the crowd and the atmosphere the fans generate on a big matchday doesn’t really affect the game itself. Trust me, those people are talking garbage. As a Rangers player I always responded to the big occasion. The more fans we had behind us, the more signing and dancing the more I buzzed off it. I knew these fans were in our corner and they could help lift us through difficult moments as much as they could intimidate the opposition. I just need to think back to one of the strangest nights of my career to show the difference supporters can make. In September 2005 we went to the San Siro to take on Inter Milan in the Champions League. UEFA had ordered that the game be played behind closed doors as a punishment for the Italians. It was the most surreal 90 minutes of my life. We walked out to hear the Champions League music rattling around this huge empty stadium. That was as close as it felt to being a proper top-level European night. Because the moment the music stopped and this huge ground fell completely silent it just felt wrong. Normally on nights like this you can’t hear yourself think. But when that game started we could hear our own shouts echoing back off the empty stands. The action itself was as flat as pancake. It felt more like a pre-season kickabout than a Champions League encounter and it must have been the same for Inter’s players because they couldn’t get going either. So don’t tell me fans in the stands make no difference to the players on the pitch. I always believed our supporters could be our 12th man. When you have nothing left in your legs these guys can push you on and make you dig that little bit deeper – and I’m sure that will be the case again when United head to Ibrox next month. It’s definitely a disadvantage for the players to have only a quarter of the seats but Jackie will hope that because some of his boys are so young they might not be all that bothered by it. You often find kids have no fear in these kind of situations – it’s the more experienced players who tend to get a bit more rattled by things like that. But it can work both ways too. Maybe that was the case with Aberdeen last weekend when they struggled to get on top of Inverness, with 40,000 of their own fans inside Celtic Park. By the way, that’s one thing I’ve never fathomed. How come Aberdeen get gates of eight or nine thousand on a normal Saturday at Pittodrie but 40,000 of them turn up for cup finals in Glasgow? Can you imagine what a big club they could be if only some of these punters would go to games more regularly? These are difficult times I know. It’s not easy to find the cash to go the football every week. But even so, Aberdeen will surely be hoping crowds go up now Derek McInnes has put a trophy in the cabinet – especially as there could be a Scottish Cup to come at the end of this season. There’s no doubt that bigger crowds create bigger pressure for the players. But isn’t that why you pull on your boots in the first place? If you can’t cope with a bit of pressure then you’re in the wrong business. Big players don’t buckle under it, they thrive on it. Which is why United’s visit to Ibrox will also provide these Rangers players with a perfect platform to prove they deserve to wear that jersey. They’ve taken a lot of stick and they’ll know they have a lot of doubters out there. People have said they are not good enough to represent the club. Well lads, here’s your big chance to prove them all wrong. If you don’t think you can win this cup don’t bother turning up. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barry-ferguson-jackie-mcnamara-right-3266401 -
Former Rangers chief executive Charles Green has revealed he may still be at the Ibrox helm had he not 'been driven out of the club'. Green led the consortium which bought the assets of Rangers for £5.5m from administrators Duff & Phelps on June 14, 2012, just two days after they were consigned to liquidation when HMRC rejected the offer of a CVA. The Yorkshireman insisted he was at Rangers for the long haul, claiming he would not consider leaving 'until he had heard the Champions League music over Ibrox again'. But after a turbulent period in charge of the League Two side, he stepped down in April 2013 in the wake of a backlash from supporters over a series of controversial public comments. He returned to the club on August 2 last year on a consultancy basis 'to assist with shareholder relations and advise the company on its capital structure'. However, his second coming lasted just 18 days and he agreed to stand down from the role and sell his shareholding, at the time the largest in the company, to current board member Sandy Easdale. Now, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports News, he has broken his silence on his departure, and on the terms of his pay-off. "When I joined Rangers, I was the only employee, the only director and the only investor," he said. "I was going to have the same salary as Ally McCoist but Malcolm Murray (former chairman) said that was wrong and halved it. For the work I did at Rangers, I should have had double. "Secondly, I didn't want the severance pay. I would have stayed at Rangers but was driven out of that club. "It's a matter of public record what I took from the club when I left. It is in the accounts. My salary was £360,000 a year, but I didn't take 12 months' notice. "I agreed I would take less money because I didn't want to penalise the club, but I would have happily carried on at Rangers. "The bonus was a bonus which was in my contract, and I was entitled to that." Watch Sky Sports News throughout Friday evening for more from Jim White's exclusive interview with the former Ibrox supremo.
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Five people have been arrested in connection with crowd trouble at the Motherwell v Celtic game last week A reported £10,000 of damage was caused to seats in a section housing Celtic fans, a flare was let off in the same area before the game and two green smoke bombs were thrown on to the pitch during the match at Fir Park stadium on Friday. Celtic said they were ''appalled'' by the actions and issued precautionary suspensions to 128 supporters preventing them from attending home and away matches, while 250 season-ticket holders seated in the Green Brigade's corner of Celtic Park are to be moved to other parts of the ground. Police said 18 smoke bombs, three fireworks and one flare were set off. There were also disturbances and vandalism in Motherwell both before and after the game. Officers said five people were arrested in connection with the disorder on Monday and inquiries are continuing. The incident was the latest in a spate of trouble at Scottish football matches. A teenage girl was arrested after a flare was thrown from the Rangers support after their win at Falkirk on November 30, damaging the pitch, and a smoke bomb was thrown from the Motherwell support during their defeat by Albion Rovers on the same day. Last Saturday, 10 people were arrested in connection with football-related disorder before the Falkirk v Raith Rovers match. http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/u/five-arrested-after-celtic-fan-trouble-at-motherwell-match.1386845170
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Hi folks, we are delighted to announce the line-up for the forthcoming inaugural Milo' Miles Gala Ball 2014 on Saturday the 11th October. Please share with your fellow bears! MC - JIM WHITE FROM SKY SPORTS TOP RAFFLE & AUCTION PRIZES CHAMPAGNE RECEPTION & 4 COURSE DINNER LIVE MUSIC BY THE THE DAWN PATROL DRINKS RECEPTION 7pm CARRIAGES 1am Tickets £60 or a Table of 10 for £600 SATURDAY 11st OCTOBER 2014 CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL GLASGOW Buy your tickets NOW by visiting http://www.legendstrek.co.uk/#!milos-miles-gala-ball-2014/c1a75 and filling out the form or any other enquiries email scott@travistrek.co.uk or call 07979 956932 COME ALONG AND HELP US RAISE MUCH NEEDED FUNDS FOR GUIDE DOGS FOR THE BLIND IN THE COMPANY OF HEROES FROM THE SPORTING WORLD AND SHOWBIZ STARS STRICTLY OVER 18s ONLY
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More from my good self on TRS today: http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/316-making-your-mind-up
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Stand back and survey the scene. The institution that once believed itself to be Scotland's premier football club; a national monument, an establishment-protected icon, a pillar of excellence and endeavour, is in disarray once again. The red brick Ibrox facade hides a multitude of sins and an array of secrets. The Old Lady is a bank of opportunity for hedge funds and a safe haven for overpaid, bonus-ridden, bean-counters. Its fading grandeur reflects the impoverishment of its host, and like a stately home with a leaky roof and a never-ending list of repairs, the old ground has an uncertain future. The Old Lady is a victim of the disease of avarice. As she struggles to hide the scars of neglect, a succession of carers has swanned off into the sunset with money-laden suitcases, and now a crisis loan is required to pay bills and keep third division players on top division wages. Rangers' problems have not gone away. Maybe they never will. As smaller football clubs receive public sympathy for their financial difficulties, Rangers, uniquely, stands accused of depriving schools and hospitals of income. As football minnows wallow in victim-status, Rangers is in the dock, roundly condemned by press comment and regularly vilified by public opinion. The world has changed: Scotland has changed: the political establishment has changed. Rangers has become a misfit. In modern Scotland, the club has few friends and even less powerful allies. The club has been so denigrated in recent decades that it taints reputations merely by association. As the club flounders and falters, there is an almost unspoken hope in polite society that its final act will be to disappear altogether. To Rangers fans, this is an unpalatable prospect, but there are people across Scotland - not just Celtic fans - whose most fervent wish is that Rangers goes away: permanently. To them, Rangers represents intolerance, sectarianism and bigotry, and in this hypersensitive and politically correct age, the club is perceived to be an anachronism that has outlived its usefulness. They want it to wither and die because only hardcore bigots and sectarian morons will mourn it. Decent people, in their eyes, will be glad to see the back of it. Beleaguered Rangers fans can attempt to deflect blame, point the finger elsewhere and proclaim innocence, but no-one is listening. The jury has already made its mind up. Rangers has lost the respect of a nation and edged towards the precipice. It has become the black sheep of Scottish football. Administration and liquidation didn't kill the club, but they highlighted something that should be deeply concerning to a support which aches for a leader to look up to and respect. Within the million-strong Rangers fanbase, there is a noticeable lack of people who have the means to rescue the club and the willingness to actually do so. When David Murray bought Rangers in the late nineteen-eighties, it seemed like a marriage made in heaven. Scotland's biggest club had been taken over by a young businessman who had the means, the cojones and the ambition to further the Rangers cause, and enhance his own reputation along the way. From being a well-known business figure, Murray quickly became a household name, and he relished the fame that was part and parcel of being owner of Scotland's establishment club. In time, he became Sir David Murray - a dream come true for a man whose ego matched his not inconsiderable bank balance. Would a thrusting young Scottish businessman buy Rangers today, or would he prefer to duck the opportunity and steer clear of the hassle that being custodian of Rangers brings? Given that there are no budding David Murrays knocking on the Ibrox front door, it would appear to be the latter. What respectable businessman or woman would want to take on an ailing institution that has incinerated millions of pounds at an alarming rate and now has to borrow to keep the wheels on the wagon? What entrepreneur needs his name associated with a club whose existence is played out while the spectre of sectarianism still haunts it? What hard-won reputation wants to take a chance on a club that habitually pays out too much money for too little reward? What business type would enjoy being the man or woman to sack the club's management team and bring in new blood more appropriate for the task ahead? Would the young David Murray be as quick to buy Rangers in 2014 as he was in 1988? Rangers Football Club is a bloody mess. The team plays dreadful football, the club spends exorbitant sums in the process, it makes the undeserving rich, it is owned by people whose God is greed; it has a reputation that will take years to repair, it can't afford to look after its stadium, and its fans excuse incompetence out of a misguided sense of loyalty. The Rangers support, for the most part, doesn't welcome soul-searching and reflection. It prefers to talk itself up and believe that a full recovery is not only possible, but likely, and this is a mistake. Rangers urgently needs to be re-born. In a relatively short time, the club has descended from being the centre of the Scottish football universe to become an outcast within the sport - and a much-ridiculed laughing stock within the country. The Rangers support has played a minor role in the club's downfall, but it will never fully recover until it plays a major part in its recovery. Fan ownership has to be the future for Rangers. Nothing else will return it to where most fans believe it should be. Only a revolution - a people revolution - will save this club now.
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The silence of normally loud mouthed, so quick to condemn Scottish Press over the green and grey hordes attempt to get their homage to dead terrorists into the charts is deafening. The cowardice displayed by the media mirrors the cowardice of the terrorists rather aptly. Anyone for a helping of double standards? *Please move this admin if not appropriate for here.
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.........and steer club into fan control 1 Feb 2014 07:56 PAUL GOODWIN believes the Light Blues legions could own the Ibrox club within 18 months following successful attempts by Hearts and Motherwell. SUPPORTERS DIRECT chief Paul Goodwin believes Rangers fans can assume control of their troubled club within 18 months. Goodwin, the head of SD in Scotland, has long championed the importance of community ownership within our national game. And he is convinced the Ibrox faithful can overthrow the current regime – providing they mobilise themselves into one powerful movement and start pulling in the same direction. At the moment there are four main fan organisations – The Rangers Supporters Trust, The Rangers Assembly, The Rangers Supporters Association and the Sons of Struth – with all groups battling for supremacy. But Goodwin, who helped oversee fan buy-outs at Stirling Albion, Clyde, Dunfermline and East Stirling has called for them to unite as one. Indeed, given the lack of trust in the current board, the lack of transparency, the current climate of financial uncertainty along Edmiston Drive and the plunging share price, he reckons this is an ideal opportunity to get the bandwagon rolling. Goodwin said: “I believe if the Rangers fans united, and that is the key, into one cohesive unit there is no reason why they can’t own the club within 18 months. “At the moment we have 8000 Hearts supporters paying £20 a month as they move towards fan ownership and if you have 20,000 Rangers fans doing the same you can go out and buy shares because it is a liquid market. “The simple maths say 20,000 fans paying £20 a month would give you £4.8million in a year. “It just needs the right type of people to pull that together and that is the hard part for Rangers. “I don’t have any doubt it can be done. SD have been working in conjunction with clubs right across Europe. “In Greece you have Olympiakos and Panathinaikos and there are plenty of clubs in Spain, Poland and France who are also going down this route. “Hearts are the biggest we know of in this country going down the route of fan ownership at the moment.” The Rangers share price has plummeted in recent months, from 70p to just 26p and for just over £4m, fans would be able to command a 25 per cent stake in the club. And Goodwin insists the Ibrox outfit’s supporters have nothing to lose pursuing the community ownership route having given their backing to the Craig Whyte and Charles Green regimes with catastrophic consequences. He said: “I believed that Rangers being placed into administration represented a significant window of opportunity to buy the club. “Of course, as we know, this didn’t happen for a variety of reasons; mostly because for many years the fans had been divided and ruled by previous owners of the club and had been left without a united voice, forced to pick sides in amongst political infighting. “Time has moved on and Rangers have unfortunately continued to be dogged by further challenges at the back end of the administration process. “It could have been so different if a credible fans’ bid had been used to galvanise the Ibrox faithful as we have seen at Dundee, Dunfermline Athletic, Portsmouth down in England and of course at Hearts. “Rangers supporters in the past have been used to following leaders whether it be Paul Murray, Craig Whyte or somebody else. “This is breaking the mould and now they don’t have to follow anybody. “What can the objection be? “It can give the fans the empowerment to pick exactly who they want to represent them. “We have four clubs in Scotland that are currently fan owned and we have another four waiting in the wings – Annan, Ayr, Motherwell and Hearts. It is the way forward because there is no other route.” Goodwin confirmed he has already spoken with supporters’ representatives from Rangers. He said: “I have been talking with them over the past 10 days and I will continue that dialogue to see whether there is something we can do. “There is a real opportunity here and I don’t think there is anything to lose. “We can advise and consult but it is ultimately up to them. “Some people have to emerge from the shadows and then we can give them all the support possible.” Goodwin was speaking at the launch of ‘The Colour of our Scarves’ initiative which has been organised by Supporters Direct to help highlight the issue of sectarianism. World renowned photographer Stuart Roy Clarke has been commissioned to produce a series of images captured at every senior ground in Scotland. The project has been funded by the Scottish government and Goodwin is hoping the sectarianism problem can be tackled through imagery rather than words. He said: “We wanted to try to demonstrate through Stuart’s amazing pictures that all fans are the same, apart from the scarves around their necks. “It is the same emotions that bind us all together and that was the reasons behind the project. “We are going round every single ground and also doing loads of workshops in schools and colleges. “It is becoming less of an issue but you need to keep working at it.” Clarke, who singled out Aberdeen as his favourite fans to photograph, has been amazed by the reaction to his pictures which will be on show at a touring exhibition around the country over the next 18 months. He said: “The response has been overwhelming. “While I like banter and edginess I don’t like hatred so hopefully this project can make a small difference to a big problem.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/supporters-direct-chief-calls-rangers-3100404
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http://twitpic.com/dtp3jl According to the Daily Record. Bid of £900k rejected with club holding out for £1.4m. Don't grudge him a move tbh, he has earned it but the fee annoys me somewhat. A possible loss on such a good player is just typical of us. We are talking about a player in his prime, an international footballer and one who plays in a position where it is hard to find good ones. Of course we will survive and win the next two leagues without him but that doesn't mean i like it. If it was Celtic in our place, Lennon would be all over the media saying how priceless Lee is and how no one could afford him and Liewell would have his lapdogs writing the player is worth their standard £10m no matter the level he plays. As delusional as their tactics are, we need to take a leaf or two from their book. Why not tell the agents brokering the deal that the fee is £5m, we may get 3/4s of that. Who knows.
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........says former Hearts boss Paulo Sergio. SERGIO was dismayed when the winger left Tynecastle to join Rangers in the bottom tier last term and says Templeton has been dragged down by his 18 months away from the top flight. PAULO SERGIO fears playing in the lower leagues has stifled David Templeton’s development but is praying it doesn’t stop him fulfilling his true potential. The former Hearts boss was dismayed when the winger left Tynecastle to join Rangers in the bottom tier last term. And the Portuguese believes twinkle-toed Templeton has been dragged down by his 18 months away from the top flight. Sergio worked with the 25-year-old during his one season at Tynecastle and marvelled at the ability of the player who scored against Liverpool at Anfield just 24 hours before he signed up for a battle in the Third Division with Gers. It was a crucial stage in Templeton’s career and Scottish Cup-winning gaffer Sergio reckons he would now be flourishing rather than floundering if he’d held out for a switch to the English Championship. Instead Templeton, although hampered by injuries at times, has struggled to capture his best form at Ibrox. He has mustered just five starts this season although his scoring appearances off the bench in the last two games show signs he could live up to his £800,000 transfer fee. Sergio just hopes his talent doesn’t suffocate in the time it takes Rangers to get back to the Premiership. The 45-year-old said: “I always believed during my time at Hearts that David had the ability to move to a higher level. “I spoke to him and others and told them they had the qualities to progress. It was my way of motivating them, trying to work their mentality. “I explained to them they go could higher and I really believed in David’s case he could do it. “That’s why, in terms of career, the move he made to the lowest division in Scotland wasn’t the best choice. “In these last two years he’s been playing in a standard of league that isn’t the best to develop a player who is 23 or 24. In the lower divisions the quality isn’t so high. “I know Rangers are a huge club and I hope they can get back to the Premiership but at this time I don’t believe it’s best for David. “You could argue he should stand out more than he has because he’s up against players with less ability than him. “But the way I see it is if you are a top pianist playing in a bad orchestra then the music won’t be good. If you want to develop yourself I believe you must play with and against the best. “If he’d come to me when he was making the decision to leave Hearts I would probably have advised him to go to the Championship in England. “I know he’s playing in a huge club with a great history but individually I’m not sure it was the right move for him. “He’s working with a fantastic manager and technical staff but the competition is not the same. My only hope is there is still time to see the very best of David. “I hope these years of playing in the lower divisions don’t kill his development and the level he could reach. “I like him, I only have good words to say about him. That’s why I’m sure he could have picked up a club in the English Championship when he was leaving Hearts and that would have been a good move.” While Sergio always believed Templeton had the ability to reach the top he insists a strong mentality is equally essential to ensure he gets there. And he wants to see his former protege show the hunger to be the best he can. The former Sporting Lisbon boss said: “To play at the highest level the thing that makes the difference is the brain. You need to marry ability and mentality together. “David was a vital player for me at Hearts because he’s so quick with lots of technical ability. “When I first joined Hearts and I assessed all the players he was one who stood out. His technical ability and pace sets him apart and that’s why I had a lot of belief in his ability to reach the top. “But mentality is so important and what level he reaches depends on his head. It’s about mentality, desire and hunger. “Did I have concerns about his mentality? Any small issues I might have had with players stay between me and the player. “I had a good relationship with him and only have positive things to say about David. He was crucial for me and I’m grateful to every player I worked with at Hearts.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/david-templeton-being-dragged-down-3068184
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Being reported by BBC & STV that the players have refused to take a 15% pay cut.
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Strange email discussion on 2 October 2012 between Sandy and the CEO. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Craig Thanks for your email some parts were not asked for but if the papers have misquoted you should we not rectify The rest I will wait to see you face to face as feelings seem to be running high on certain matters . Just one point I have not moved page nor being influenced by anyone though some of the things that have been said are very close to what has happened . Yours Sandy Sandy Easdale Director McGill's Bus Service Ltd On 2 Oct 2013, at 11:59 AM, "Craig Mather" wrote: > Morning Sandy/All, > > Regarding Ally, I was asked to comment on Ally's wages in the accounts. I said I cannot comment on what wages where offered to Ally by the previous regime however I have asked Ally to consider his wages and take a significant pay cut. I said nothing has been agreed yet and no contracts have been signed however Ally has come to the table to discuss a pay cut which is good because we cannot make him take a pay cut. Nothing is in writing but Ally is aware of his wages and the associated costs when we are playing in the division we are in. I never once said he had taken a pay cut. > > I also believe Frank Blin has been stirring up trouble and talking rubbish creating a divide yet again. > > I am happy to talk on the phone or equally if the board believe they would be better served by a different CEO (which has been said to me by a number of people). Then as I have said numerous times I will give notice to the board and will stay until you find a replacement. I cannot do more than I am doing and am permanently critiqued by every side at every opportunity. > > It is not a good position when every side including at least one member of the Plc board is making statements to others about my abilities or the lack of them. > > The old saying divide and conquer comes into play here and if we stay solid then great, if not then the obvious will happen. > > I thought people maybe positive about how critical of Malcolm Murray I was and also defending Brian for his cost cutting efforts and the defending of the IPO costs. > > For clarity I will not change my allegiance and will not go back on my word. > > I won't be taking or encouraging contact with the requisitioners as they are not what this club need. > > Best as always > Craig > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On 2 Oct 2013, at 13:55, "Sandy Easdale" wrote: >> >> Dear >> Craig I was amazed that you have been quoted saying that Ally has took a significant pay cut . >> >> It would be good to share this with us if this is the case as we all agreed that was not what we were saying because there has been no deal struck on his wages . >> >> If so what is the cut as I am being asked to quote my self on these matters and must defend all these pays >> >> Which frankly I can't . >> >> Sandy from: http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rvdg36
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And I wish you and your families all the very best in 2014.
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I broke with personal tradition yesterday – more due to advancing years than a change of belief. The benefits of the local supporters bus over my own transport had been well argued with an old colleague I bumped into at Gayfield the week before. If I’m honest my increasing propensity for falling asleep at will had made the solitary drive north post match something of a health and safety issue. Having made the necessary arrangements with the Monifieth Loyal bus, come Saturday morning I made my way early to the designated pick up point. Much too early in fact. For those who don’t know Dundee the Kingsway is the main arterial route through the city for those heading north or south. My early attendance at my rendezvous point on a freezing cold day would have normally made for a long cold stand. But not this day. I was literally glowing inside and it was nothing to do with having my daily dose of Ready Break. For bus after bus after bus, packed full of fellow bears, passed as I awaited my transport. All over our country ladies and gents had risen early from their beds, left families and loved ones at home not out of defiance but out of love for and devotion to a football club. It reinforced the understanding within me that no matter the injustice, malevolence, disdain and hatred towards our club – we will never ever be beaten or downtrodden. Its not a single minded determination but a collective one. Its not “I am the person" – Its “We are the people”. But for someone who spends too much time on the net and various Rangers forums trying to apprise himself of the issues of concern to the Rangers support, the issues of the real world Rangers fans provided a refreshing respite from the sometimes near madness of Rangers forums. Whilst internet issues reflect real life issues they do not dominate them in the same way. There is something mystical as well about talking to the more senior members of the bus who can recount stories of Caldow, Baxter, Brand etc. And then of course there is the “crack”. From memory quizzes about Crossroads characters to the merits of Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs - which led to some serious role play. The sight of two guys fuelled by a few shandies dancing the re-enactment of Travolta’s and Thurman’s Pulp Fiction dance in the corridor of a coach doing over 60 mph was one of those “had to be there” moments. “The back of the bus they canny sing”. Perhaps not but by gum they can’t half dance. You know who you are. So a big thank you to the men and women of the Monifieth Loyal and hundreds of other buses like them from all over Scotland and the UK who, week in week out, not for fame or glory but love of a football club, add to the collective assertion. :- We are the People.
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Nice to see Celtic showing why Scottish football is so vibrant and dynamic at the moment. Trying not to be too Jim Spence-like in my praise, but it's clear that only getting gubbed 3-0 by Milan is a clear sign of how healthy the SPL is. Surely that's the case. It can't be otherwise....
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Fire up the rolls & slice, pour a cuppa and enjoy/suffer the latest epistle from your local Handwringer in Chief. Liberal democracy is a good thing. It certainly has its faults, but overall a system which allows you to disagree with it without consequence is always preferable to one which imposes penalty on speech or thought. You might think, given the experience of the 20th century, that this is a lesson humanity has finally learned, but alas the lesson of history is that mistakes are seldom, if ever, absorbed. These thoughts came to mind last week as I re-read my copy of Clive James's wonderful 'Cultural Amnesia', a collection of essays on the effects of totalitarianism on humanity and the humanities in the last century. As always with Mr James, it is genius written with the lightest of touches: the best kind of teaching. You can pick up a copy for about £3 on Amazon and I'd heartily recommend it: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cultural-Amnesia-Necessary-Memories-History/dp/039333354X The defence of freedom of speech was quite the hot potato this week, with some idiot celtc fans feeling the need to compare a 14th century bandido with a 20th century murderer. As if the 700 years in between hadn't taught the Irish anything; no, they were fit to be subjected to medieval methods of warfare. If only they could see how insulting they are to the people they stupidly profess to defend! And in fairness, loud had been the opprobrium from on high within Parkhead. Mr Lawwell don't like it, Mr Lennon don't like it, and surely the final nail for celtc fans, even Mr Spiers, he don't like it. But what is it they don't like, exactly? Well, the timing and the place. Not the picture of a mentally unbalanced killer with a persecution complex added to a natural penchant for psychosis on banners, but the doing of it in such a way as to embarrass celtc fc. In what was probably a throwaway but nonetheless revealing comment last week, Mr Spiers was of the opinion that 'there are rights and wrongs about the IRA but the football is not the place' to discuss them. I have spend a few days trying to think what the 'rights ' of the IRA were and have drawn a blank. Perhaps some other readers can write in with their solutions to this problem. A free bus ride around Belfast town centre, loudly setting out your thesis, will be the prize. On the rare occasions I think about Ireland, I guess that in the long run of history, it will probably end up as the one country. Not exactly plan 'A' to make you popular in amongst the Vanguard Bears, but there it is. But if it happens, it will be through democracy, not violence. Terrorism is always wrong. So here's where poor Clive James is roped in to educate the wretched Mr Spiers and his pals in the east. Terrorism is always wrong. Whether it be Bobby Sands or, as we discovered last week, some madmen in the British Army running about acting like an Argentine death squad, it is always wrong. And using it to score cheap points is always wrong, and not just on the grounds of timing - on the grounds that rehabilitating terrorists in the way that celtc fans and the BBC have done this week ('IRA hunger striker' is so much less aggressive than 'terrorist murderer', isn't it?) is dangerous to democracy. As the lessons of the 20th century showed us, we need to be on our guard against those who would deny free speech. It may seem hypocritcal to ask for free speech and then deny it for the Green Brigade, but with the freedom to speak comes the need to speak with responsibility. No more throwaway remarks about 'rights and wrongs', some things are always wrong. You don't have to be a cynic to wonder where the Scottish Journalist's Book of Adjectives to Describe Current Buns went this week: no 'vile', no 'songs of hate', no 'embarrassment to Scotland in the 21st century', 'no sectarian bitterness', no quotes from Peter Kearney about how awful it all is. Just 'rights and wrongs' and 'maybe the wrong time and place'. We can only hope that such lunatics as Bobby Sands never return to our shores to demonstrate to the likes of Mr Spiers just how thin the divide between liberal democracy and terror in our society is. Hopefully he will get 'Cultural Amnesia' for his Christmas - one way or another, he, and the celtc fans, need to get the message: terrorism is always wrong. But, as always, there's a but. And while it has been lovely to bask in the reflected inglory of the other mob this week, we must be careful what we wish for. For should the amazing happen and Vincent Lunny actually dare chib celtc for once, you can bet he will be on uber-Orange alert for something to even up the score. And we will give him the ammo he needs, I fear. 'What's the handwringer moaning about now?' I hear you ask. Well... 'Super Rangers' for a start. It is going to have to go, and it would be better if we did it rather than had another war. But even that is a bit old hat, and I'm not keen to have that same argument over again. What's bugging me is maybe something that Lunny wouldn't notice, but a super sensitive handwringer such as myself does. When big Daly got us off the mark against Arbroath, about 50 Bears chose to express their happiness with a burst of The Sash. You may think that a coincidence: I don't. I think it was a classless and tasteless riposte, along the lines of 'Aye, well, you may have scored, but don't think we're going anywhere!' At least they left out the add on, which about 10 Bears didn't at kick off. Nevertheless, what a nice touch to thank a model professional. I hope they get over it, and soon. Now, I actually think that reducing the idiot rump of our fan base to about 70 or 80 away fans is something pretty amazing, and the club and most of the fans ought to be congratulated for it. But they won't, you know they won't. In a society which falls over itself to avoid offending the sensibilities of IRA supporters you know that as long as one Bluenose yells FTP we will be hauled up. We could easily lose the musical two fingers to Jon Daly, and we should lose the forbidden line in Super Rangers. It will make them look worse, and that's always good! And especially, we could lose the UVF tribute lines....terrorism is ALWAYS wrong, remember. Weirdly, in Scotland support for terrorism seems to be considered slightly less offensive than what I stubbornly believe is meaningless yells from football fans with a drink in them. You'll never persuade me that the Green Brigade were all steaming when they rattled up what must have been the least catchy slogan last week, and you'll never persuade me that the vast majority of 'sectarian' events in Scotland are little more than Rangers-Celtic tittle tattle. But that's how the chips are falling, thanks in part to liberal consciences like Mr Spiers'. We can't let distaste for the like of him push us away from defending liberal democracy, but there are one or two things we could do to make it better. It may make you feel slightly sick to actually have to tell people this is 2013: it should do. But Mr Lawwell, Mr Lennon, Mr Spiers, and our own hero-worshippers: terrorism is always wrong.
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AS the row over Peter Lawwell's Celtic AGM comments rumbles on, KEITH JACKSON reckons its time both sides of the Old Firm stopped the grandstanding and concentrated on their own priorities. LIKE Alan Partridge, Scottish football is bouncing back. In just 10 months Gordon Strachan has taken this team of ours and stopped it from being a laughing stock. As a result of all his hard work, Scotland are no longer driving from Norwich to Dundee in their bare feet, gorging on assorted Toblerones. Friday’s 0-0 draw with the USA at Hampden may hardly have been inspirational but even so it was yet more proof that Strachan has us on the road to recovery. His players are not losing games against supposedly vastly superior opponents, even when performing well below their own best standards. That’s progress and it comes at a time when things are looking up. All over the country, talented young players are emerging at club level and thriving with the responsibility of first-team football. Stuart Armstrong has just earned his first call-up to Strachan’s full squad while Ryan Gauld and Stevie May will soon be knocking on the door. At last, after years of internal vandalism, we’re getting our own house back in some sort of order. It’s not immaculate but no longer does it make us cringe with embarrassment. Until, that is, someone goes and mentions the Old Firm. I did it once but I think I got away with it. Oh no wait, that will be the sound of a thousand emails cascading into my inbox. A deluge of dementedness. “Don’t call us the Old Firm. We don’t want anything to do with that other mob.” They may hate the living daylights out of one another but what they do share – in fact what binds them together – is the capacity for ferocious bampottery. Every comment passed in public about one side or the other is picked apart forensically by supporters of both. Often the throwing of these titbits results in an online feeding frenzy, where all reason and logic are the first to be devoured. It has been this way since the invention of the internet. But, just lately, the landscape around Glasgow’s uneasy neighbours has become noticeably darker and poisonous. Which is why Peter Lawwell, of all people, should have displayed better judgment than to poke a big stick into this hornet’s nest at Celtic’s agm on Friday. By gratuitously branding Rangers Rory Bremner FC, Lawwell sent this bitter little world into meltdown. Lawwell’s words were a nod and a wink to the most extremist element of his club’s support and, in a way, a green light for them to pursue their own dubious agendas. Sound familiar? It should do. Because it was not that long ago that a certain big-handed Yorkshireman was doing precisely the same thing to win over the masses at the other side of this never so deeply divided city. It’s called grandstanding and, at a time when emotions are so volatile and feelings so raw, it’s a dangerous road for either of these two clubs to be going down, never mind both of them at once. In opposite directions. The sooner this pair remember that their purpose in life is to play the game, not the galleries, then perhaps the rest of us might be able to get on with the business of helping Scottish football back towards a state of good health rather than constantly being forced to rubberneck by these ceaseless attention seekers. And yet no sooner had Lawwell pressed the button on Friday (successfully diverting attention away from an awkward internal debate about paying his employees a living wage in the process) than Rangers responded with a blast of their own. You could almost hear them inside their Ibrox bunker working out the strategy, above the clicking of a PR guru’s Cuban heels. “Right, where’s that statement slaughtering Celtic and Lawwell. That’s genius. Punters will love it.” Talk about stage-managed rabble rousing? It’s almost as if the current remnants of this Rangers board are being given PR advice from the very same strategical experts who presented Craig Whyte to the world as a billionaire and told him how to go about winning friends and influencing people. Oh, wait a minute. They are. Yes, the very same people who said the Daily Record was lying when it first revealed what Whyte was up to with the club’s season tickets – a full seven months before his ruinous business plan tipped the club into administration. Whoever said motivation doesn’t grow on trees clearly hasn’t gone for a stroll down Edmiston Drive since Whyte stuffed the taxman for £15million under the cover of dark arts. That’s the truth of the matter. Whyte plunged Rangers under and his scandalous behaviour has left a black mark on the very soul of this football club which continues to operate at Ibrox, in blue shirts with the same badges and crests. Whyte was a near-death experience all right but Rangers live on. The real nature of the problem facing Rangers today is not that they have ceased to exist (they are still here after all) but rather they have become unrecognisable from their former selves. And to that end, Lawwell had a point. Like Bremner’s Tony Blair, today’s Rangers are a flimsy impersonation of the real thing. But none of that is the business of Celtic’s chief executive, who would surely be better off concentrating on his own club’s continued dominance, especially now that BT Sport are doubling the value of a ticket into the Champions League. Lawwell was right when he said Celtic are now a stand-alone club. They have proved they do not need Rangers in order to survive and to prosper. The less of UEFA’s loot they have to share, the stronger they will become. Rangers, for their part, face a struggle just to keep HMS Ibrox from sinking for a second time. Let them both get on with it, preferably as far apart from one another as is possible in this twisted little world. In the meantime, just don’t mention the Old Firm.
