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Christian Nerlinger has delivered a blow to Rangers chief executive Graham Wallace by rejecting the chance to become the club’s new football operations officer. The German, who played for Rangers between 2001 and 2004, held talks with Wallace about returning to Ibrox and filling a role similar to the one he previously held at Bayern Munich. The pair met twice in recent weeks but Sportsmail understands that, after careful consideration, 41-year-old Nerlinger has decided to decline. The appointment of a new football figurehead was one of the key recommendations of Wallace’s 120-day business review of the club. Had Nerlinger accepted, he would have been responsible for player identification and recruitment. Rangers boss Ally McCoist would have welcomed assistance in that department but any new appointee would essentially have assumed some of the manager’s duties. Ultimately, McCoist is understood to favour the establishment of a new scouting system, an area that has been neglected during the attempts to recover from financial meltdown. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2690180/Christian-Nerlinger-turns-chance-Rangers-football-operations-officer.html -
Assuming Hampden wont be ready after the commonwealth games. But theres a shocker Celtic Park gets it. Why not have it at Murrayfield and get 67000 through the gates.
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Dont know if this has been covered or not , but who exactly is paying for this tour , we are taking a playing squad of 25 plus management and backroom teams , there must be the bulk of 40 plus in the party , yet we are playing basically junior teams by Scottish standards , so given we are struggling financially , the question is who's footing the bill for this little extravaganza
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....and beat Celtic to one last Premiership title before I go. Kenny Miller has revealed his wish to retire as a Rangers player, ideally with the parting gift of one last top-flight winners’ medal as he plans to plunder more prizes before hanging up his shooting boots. The 34-year-old is back with the club for a third spell this summer and would like to make his return signing the 10th and final move of his nomadic career. Miller flew out to Los Angeles on Saturday as Ally McCoist’s squad embarked on a four-game North American tour that will take the striker back to Canada, where he starred for Vancouver Whitecaps in a previous pit-stop. For Miller, though, there is no place like the football home that he regards as Ibrox. Yet this is no comfort zone for the former Scotland international, who stresses his ambitions stretch further than helping hoist Rangers into the Premiership next May. He would love to finish his playing days with his current employers and, feeling fresh into a new pre-season, has no interest in setting a time limit on that. So he still has a top-flight title challenge within his career compass and a desire to add to the three Scottish Premier League medals he won for Rangers back in stint two under Walter Smith. Miller’s motivation on the first step towards that goal is to contribute sufficiently to a successful promotion campaign against former club Hibernian and Hearts so that he earns the optional year on his new Rangers contract. He’ll then take aim at bigger prizes. ‘You never know because if they kick me out of the door at Rangers after a year, I’d imagine I’ll still want to play on,’ said Miller. ‘But it would be my intention to finish up here. I’ve got a year with a year option, depending on games. So it’s pretty much on me. ‘As long as I’m fit, playing and performing then, hopefully, it will turn into another year. It’s going to take a good season this year for us to get there and then obviously some serious competition next year to get back challenging. ‘But that’s the aim for me anyway — to be back at the top of Scottish football where we belong. To top things off would be to win the league back in the Premiership. ‘Rangers shouldn’t go in to any competition thinking of accepting second best, so that’s what we’ll be aiming for next year if we get there. ‘I hope to be around for that. I want to play as long as I can. I feel strong and fit right now. Of course, only time will tell if the performances follow but, if I do that, then there’s no reason why I can’t be around for a bit longer.’ The highlights of Miller’s 67 goals in 147 appearances so far for Rangers were in SPL and Champions League competition. The second tier of the Scottish game, though, is nothing new to him. As an Easter Road teenager, he played seven games either side of a loan spell at Stenhousemuir as Hibs bounced back at the first time of asking in 1998/99. Franck Sauzee, Russell Latapy, Paul Hartley and Mixu Paatelainen were among the heroes of Alex McLeish’s team that year as crowds flocked back to Leith to see a team canter to the First Division title. Not since that campaign has there been such a buzz about the division now known as the Championship. As Miller recalls the year that one of the traditional top-flight teams had to claw their way back up, he admits he can’t wait to sample the curiosities of a season like no other as three giants of the game collide in an unfamiliar environment. ‘I made my debut the season Hibs got relegated and made a few appearances while the team was promoted,’ he said. ‘It was a big season for me. They brought Latapy and Sauzee — that pair must have sold 5,000 tickets alone each week, given the standard of players they were. ‘Hibs had a fantastic season. To draw those players to the club was phenomenal and what they went on to do was amazing. ‘A winning team on the pitch can create a fantastic atmosphere within the club and the crowds were up. I can see big crowds and huge games in this division. It’s going to be a fantastic season and one I’m really looking forward to. ‘To come back to Rangers not in the top division is incredible in itself but for Hearts and Hibs to be there also is phenomenal. I never thought I’d be back playing against them in the Championship. ‘It will be a competitive league and a big challenge for us. But it’s a challenge I feel this squad probably needs after the last couple of years. ‘No disrespect to the opposition Rangers have been facing but I feel the challenges coming our way this year will really raise the standards of the players we’ve got.’ Miller and strike partner Kris Boyd were reunited last weekend as both players got off the mark on a two-game Highland tour. The next phase of pre-season will involve the long-haul journeys to which he was accustomed as a Vancouver Whitecap. After games on the west coast of the United States against Ventura County Fusion and Sacramento Republic FC, Miller returns to British Columbia for a game against Victoria Highlanders a week tomorrow, before the final game with Ottawa Fury on July 23. He called Vancouver home for two years after joining the Major League Soccer side from Cardiff City midway through their 2012 season. Under the Scottish coaching team of Martin Rennie and ex-Scotland international defender Paul Ritchie, Miller helped guide Whitecaps to a first-ever appearance in the MLS Cup play-offs that year. However, he admits there were facets of professional life in Canada that he found difficult to embrace. ‘If you are a guy like myself who if he doesn’t win the weekend is ruined, then that side is not there so much,’ explained Miller. ‘You see others who don’t have that. It’s not that they don’t care — far from it — but just not as much as I did. ‘In Scotland, you lose and you don’t want to go out. It’s straight home on a Saturday, a Chinese and the X Factor. Here we live, breathe and eat football. Across there, it’s not quite as life or death as it is for us. I found that mentality towards it a bit hard to get used to. ‘This is not any slight on anyone I played with. It’s just the way they are brought up. This has been my life since I was four. Ever since I could walk, I had a ball at my feet. ‘I’d argue till the cows come home that it doesn’t mean as much to them, whereas it’s a way of life for us. That’s what I’ve come back to at Rangers. ‘Vancouver is a beautiful place and there are amazing cities to live in or visit for players going to MLS. ‘There’s a more relaxed lifestyle, so I can understand why people want to do it. I’d just say it’s a very different attitude to football. ‘I was grateful for the opportunity as it was something I’d always talked about trying. I enjoyed some aspects but not others. I was fortunate that there were British guys as coaches, we had good people in charge. ‘Being so far from home and away from friends and family is always tough, though. ‘Towards the end, I had an eye on moving home somewhere — and Rangers was always that No 1 option.’ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2690178/Kenny-Miller-exclusive-I-want-finish-career-Rangers-win-one-Premiership-title-I-go.html
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Now that the fixtures have been announced we can review options for the The Second Semi Annual Gersnet Dinner As a reminder - The official result of the official poll for the second Official Gersnet Dinner was a draw: Early Season - August/September 4 votes 40.00% Autumn – October/November 4 votes 40.00% In the posts on the thread some specific dates were highlighted: Frankie (who was unable to attend the first dinner for the same reason) has weddings on the 8th and 9th of August. JC said that he is doing the deed on the 24th August and then off for a European road trip for 10 days so anytime after about the 6th Sept suits him fine. SC said not Aug 20 – 23 or the weekend of September 19th when he’s getting married. There was a suggestion that we should avoid the September weekend as well, which is the following weekend of 27/28 September. Personally I'm not convinced that the September weekend is a big issue any more especially as we have an attractive fixture that weekend. GS commented that if we have something reasonably early we can perhaps then have crimbo drinks. STB pushed September/October time from the start. Whilst it does seem reasonable to go somewhere in between the two winning time zones, which would argue for September or October (at the same time as accommodating GS’s comments about leaving the way clear for Crimbo Drinks - which someone else can organise thank you very much!), the recently announced fixtures have not been kind to us in that respect with only two home games over the two months: 27 September 2014 v Hibernian (September weekend, see above) 18 October 2014 v Raith Rovers As I said before, I didn’t say anything before the poll because I didn't want to influence the voting in any way but I will be away from 12 October to 1 November and apart from ruling me out of 18 October, effectively that means that I cannot organise anything for after 4/5 October until about mid November, say the 15th/16th, which is the weekend Scotland play RoI (Friday 14th). (However, whilst I would like to be at the dinner, I don’t have any problem with someone else assisting or taking over if it is decided to go with the 18 October.) We then have two home games in November 2014: 8 November 2014 v Falkirk 15 November 2014 v Alloa Athletic (may be postponed if Rangers have players in the Scotland squad) which dates are within the poll result. Given these limited options and despite the original lack of support in the poll for any dates in 2015, I think it’s best to have a new vote including the options in 2015. Comments and suggestions welcome.
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Looking forward to reading and reviewing this book in the coming few weeks: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Born-Under-Union-Flag-Bissett/dp/1910021121/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1404410171&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=Born+Under+a+Union+Flag%3A+Rangers%2C+Britain+and+Scottish+Independence I know Ally and Alan (and the other contributors) have worked hard on this so it should be an interesting read and useful accompaniment to the Referendum debate. -
Did I hear the orange bloused presenter say Rangers were relegated and stripped of titles ? Could have misheard the last bit. Otherwise what a waste of time. Pity it hadn't been Forlanss or Bluedell or BH or some other articuLate bloke with a bit of expertise to argue the case. According to Haggerty Rangers didnaemwin the tax case, so they didn't . Fair enough. The HMRC appeal was for the most part refused. Slight difference but largely the same outcome. But, she says, there will still be money due to,the taxman so we'll all have to putmthatnin our pipes and smoke it. I reckon this dame has a future on Radio Bahgdad.
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RST statement: The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is deeply concerned with last nights BBC programme, Scotland 2014. It is yet another example of the ongoing perceived anti Rangers bias from our national broadcaster. Firstly, reading from a prewritten script, it was stated that Rangers had been stripped of titles. This is clearly not the case. The Rangers support have fought hard to ensure our titles remained. It is incomprehensible that the BBC can get such a simple fact wrong, especially from a prewritten script. Secondly, the selection of Angela Haggerty as a guest is perplexing. Her association with Phil MacGiollaBhain, a man regarded as being tarred with a sickening sectarian brush, was mentioned on the show. Surely this should have ruled her out of appearing on the show? Furthermore, why was a Celtic supporter with no qualifications in complex tax matters appearing to discuss the first-tier tribunal. Whilst the need for balance is required, that does not warrant a Rangers side and a Celtic side. This issue surrounds Rangers, therefore for balance to be achieved it should have been a Rangers representative, as there was, and perhaps a tax expert. Not a Celtic supporting blogger. Can the BBC justify the involvement of Ms Haggerty on this issue? It was also of concern that Angela Haggerty stated "HMRC will continue to fight this". Is this a case of leaked information from HMRC, or is it just wishful thinking? The BBC should clarify this immediately. The RST will follow this statement up with a direct complaint about this substandard reporting on Rangers FC. This unfortunately appears to be a consistent theme from an organisation which was once highly regarded for its journalistic impartiality. Journalistic impartiality and basic professionalism appear to be sadly lacking at BBC Scotland where Rangers FC is concerned.
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League Cup draw on Thursday Wednesday 9th July 2014 by SPFL The draw for the first round of the Scottish League Cup will be made at the Bet Butler Stadium, home of Dumbarton FC, on Thursday 10 July at 2pm. The 30 clubs who competed in the Scottish Championship, League 1 and League 2 in 2013/14 are involved in the draw, which is seeded and will be conducted by Danny Lennon and Kenny Shiels. Ties are due to be played on Saturday 2 August but the game involving Rangers FC will be rescheduled due to Glasgow 2014. Seeded clubs Dundee Hamilton Academical Falkirk Queen of the South Dumbarton Livingston Raith Rovers Alloa Athletic Cowdenbeath Morton Rangers Dunfermline Athletic Stranraer Ayr United Stenhousemuir Unseeded clubs Airdrieonians Forfar Athletic Brechin City East Fife Arbroath Peterhead Annan Athletic Stirling Albion Clyde Berwick Rangers Montrose Albion Rovers East Stirlingshire Elgin City Queen's Park Dates for ties 2014/15 First round Saturday 2 August, 2014 Second round Tuesday 26 August, 2014 Wednesday 27 August, 2014 Third round Tuesday 23 September, 2014 Wednesday 24 September, 2014 Quarter-finals Tuesday 28 October, 2014 Wednesday 29 October, 2014 Semi-finals Saturday 31 January, 2015 Sunday 1 February, 2015 Final Sunday 15 March, 2015 http://spfl.co.uk/news/article/league-cup-draw-on-thursday-78/
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A look at Europe's "second best" youth academy and how we can learn from it http://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/2014/07/08/fk-partizan-belgrade-youth-school/
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Remember, the Donegal based fantasist has been all over the on going Rangers situation these last five years, like a rash. He has published a book, received the funds to publish another two(a novel and a revisionist history of the Irish in Scotland). He was welcomed on phone-ins, eulogised and lionised in turn, because he told the usual suspects what they needed to hear. Cosgrove and Spence were supporters, Radio Snyde's objective host of ra show, Jim Delahunt often introduced Phil as, 'a journalist who has built his own most substantial platform'. I wonder what their collective and individual take on Phil's ill-disciplined pronouncement on yesterday's Appeal result? "The sequence of events that ended in June 2012 with the club established in 1872 lying in a lifeless heap at the bottom of the marble staircase was almost entirely created by important people at the top of said staircase". Of course, the Ibrox Disaster analogy is most attractive to Phil et al. Again, please allow me to remind Gersnetters of Channel Four's Alex Thompson's YouTube sequence of John Greig's effigy stepping off the plinth and walking away, the strapline being, 'we don't do walking away'. Thompson was invited on to BBC Radio Scotland by Channel Four's Director for Diversity, Stuart Cosgrove to be coached through an apology for offence due to ignorance. It was an east 20 minutes for Alex as Stuart prompted him to a laughing conclusion. Two days later and a further two articles from Thompson had Rangers supporters continually referred to as, 'Daleks'. Notoriously, Dalek have problems with stairs. A further reminder, Alex Thompson, the journo that patrolled the back streets of Baghdad, was brought to the Rangers story by constant pleading from Dearest Phil, Cosgrove, and Roy Greenslade.
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Become a member Sons of Struth was formed out of frustration that we felt no one spoke for us and we wanted a voice. We certainly found one. If it was not for the thousands that joined our protests then our voice would not have been heard. We now want to give those who helped us be heard a platform and to be involved in shaping the future of SoS As a member of SoS you will receive updates on future activities be invited to put forward ideas for future activities be polled on concerns we may have for our club and on future activities have access to a members only forum have a say in the future of the group be part of the most active group of fans in the last 12 months Membership is FREE http://www.sonsofstruth.co.uk/join-sos.html
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Hoofin.....up and running. Brazil to beat Croatia in the opener.
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How long do we wait after the 120 days ???? review? http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-ally-mccoist-admits-3813756 McCOIST is seeking clarity on what the operations officer role would entail and whether he'll be allowed to appoint someone else to head up the club's scouting network. ALLY McCOIST has admitted he’s in the dark over Christian Nerlinger being lined up as chief football operations officer at Rangers. And the Ibrox boss wants clarity on what that new role would entail as he still doesn’t know if he can bring in someone else to head up the club’s scouting network. Chief executive Graham Wallace claimed an operations officer was needed in his 120-day business review back in April. And former Gers midfielder Nerlinger is said to be on the radar, having held a similar position at European giants Bayern Munich. But when asked about Nerlinger, McCoist said: “I haven’t heard anything regarding that. I spoke with Graham on Wednesday and nothing has been said about Nerlinger or any director of football so I don’t know anything about it. “I would expect to know something but it has gone quiet. I don’t know what has happened. My priority is to win the league but in terms of infrastructure we desperately need a chief scout. In an ideal world Graham and I would sit down but I don’t know what the plans are with the chief football officer. “I don’t know whether that would be his department in terms of scouting. “Do I have someone in mind? Absolutely. But let’s be honest – there is a financial aspect as well. “We need somebody to scout talent. Whether that is the chief football officer’s gig or the chief scout’s gig is up for debate. But if we want to get back to a top standard in Scotland and hopefully get back into European football we need to have people assessing players.” McCoist has snapped up Darren McGregor, Kris Boyd and Kenny Miller so far this summer. But he also wants to land former Hearts stopper Marius Zaliukas and Cardiff midfielder Don Cowie. The Ibrox boss said: “Marius has trained with us after being released by Leeds and we are going to have a chat. I think there’s still a few quid knocking about in that budget and that will be put to the test in the next week or so.” All of Rangers’ summer targets are tried and tested in the Scottish top flight and McCoist claims in the absence of a proper scouting department he is left with no option but to go for players he knows well. He pointed to Sporting Lisbon’s capture of Dundee United kid Ryan Gauld as an example of clubs casting their net wide and admitted Rangers are “light years” away from being able to work like that. He said: “Ian Durrant, Kenny McDowall and myself watch French football, Dutch football, absolutely everything on TV. But we can’t go to watch players unless they are in Scotland because of the situation the club is in. “That is the beauty of having a scouting department. If you have scouts they can go and watch games, they can recommend players and then you can go and look at them. “At this moment you are actually just watching games off videos. It is not ideal. “I met Peter Houston about four weeks ago (when he was scouting for Celtic) at the airport and said: ‘Where have you been?’ He said: ‘Watching six games.’ “Our best opportunity is to watch on the telly. If you have a chief scout and a department, you have the potential to do a Sporting Lisbon. “You can get a boy at 18, 19 and say: ‘Right, it looks like we are not going to play you for 18 months but we are going to develop you’. “That is the ideal world. We are light years away from that.” -
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/486397/Rangers-gaffer-Ally-McCoist-happy-to-sign-experience Rangers gaffer Ally McCoist happy to sign experience RANGERS boss Ally McCoist has defended his signing policy after reuniting the ageing strike force of Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd. Published: Thu, July 3, 2014 Miller and Boyd. The duo have a combined age of 64, but while McCoist insists his team isn’t the ‘Dad’s Army’ of the Championship, he was quick to stress the Ibrox side would not have made it out of the lower leagues with a bunch of kids. McCoist, whose side face Buckie Thistle in their first pre-season friendly tonight, said: “I can understand people being sceptical with players coming back and the ages of these players, but, at the same time, we are not in a position to plan longer term. “Finances are dictating that the job is to get out of the division until the time comes when we can again spend money and bring players in. “A year ago, Kenny was scoring at Wembley for Scotland, and Kris was unbelievable at Kilmarnock last term. “I was really impressed with their desire to come back, do well and be part of our journey. “They’re tremendous pros and the younger ones will learn a lot from them. “When you are reaching 30, a fear goes through you that you’re nearing the end of your career and there’s a desire and a determination to look after yourself and play for as long as possible." He added: “We’re not ignoring kids and it’s nonsense to suggest otherwise. But you can’t flood your team with kids and then expect to get through two divisions. “There’s never been a case in recent Old Firm history where five or six kids have come through the ranks and into the first team. “But, if the younger lads coming through are good enough, they will play. Guys like Lewis Macleod and Fraser Aird have come in and stayed in. “Others, like Calum Gallagher and Robbie Crawford are there on the fringes and we’ll continue to give the younger ones a chance. “But it’s crazy to think we could have put seven or eight in the team and come through the leagues.” McCoist confirmed that former Hearts defender Marius Zaliukas, 30, is on his radar as he looks to add to his squad. He said: “Marius has come up to train with us for a couple of days, “I’ve always liked him as a centre-back, If we can bring him in then great, but we haven’t even spoken contracts or money.”
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I thought this was worth sharing. First time poster so bear with me. I was extremely fortunate to go on holiday 26 years a go and meet a superb guy from Linwood who invited me a geordie englishman up to Ibrox, what he started was a love affair. I have had the pleasure of supporting Glasgow Rangers ever since and if i may I would like to share with you all a story that I heard this afternoon. 26 years is along time, I have heard and witnessed some truly majestic occasions and I am not ashamed to admit suffered as well but throughout I remain and I will always remain a Rangers man. I live in Blyth Northumberland and I am a teacher in Newcastle, on bus duty today a colleague approached who said one of the kids had said that I was aRangers fan, he had wanted to speak to me for a while. He asked if I knew my history of Rangers, had I heard of a former player called Willie Woodburn? Legend is used very loosely in football but without a doubt Mr Woodburn fits into that category. His wife's grandfather is / was Mr Woodburn he shared this story A few years ago during pre season it was Mr Woodburns birthday there was a family gathering in one of the lounges at Ibrox, very sadly Mr Woodburn was beset with health issues and quite deeply affected by altzeimers, after lunch the family were allowed down the tunnel to the edge of the pitch, the pitch had signs up as well as being roped off. Now bearing in mind Mr Woodburns age and health complications he proceeded to climb over the rope, everyone was waiting for an official but none came to order them off. My colleague was asked to go with him in case he fell, he did but kept his distance as for the first time in a while he felt that he looked alive, well and rather cruelly all there. Mr Woodburn went to the centre of the pitch where he stood for a few moments with his arms out, he said two words as he wept "I remember" Mr Woodburn left the pitch and never spoke of that moment, my colleague today left me an emotional wreck what a story. The first thing I did was ring my pal Dave who now lives on Rothesay to share like I have done with you Thanks for reading god bless Willie Woodburn and god bless Glasgow Rangers
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If Ally first wins championship, then the SPFL at first attempt? I make it about a 98% chance Rangers will win the championship this season, then about a 33% chance they win SPFL season after. So just about 2/1 Ally will do the unthinkable! Kris Boyd really is a master signing. Maybe Commons is better (2 guys called Kris!) but that's it. I'm sure you'll think…yippee then eat large quantity of humble pie. You know, I'm better in my job than I was 2 years ago. Maybe the experience in the lower divisions will have done Ally the world of good.
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well a few weeks with no rangers games and old compo is lost and to make things worse the world cup has wetted my appetite for footie I just hope we at ibrox play a passing and free flowing type of game something that will have the fans begging for more , lets hope .
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Morning Folks, Confessions first, I'm a Hibbie but I come in peace. I wonder what you Rangers people make of the latest SPFL rule fudge to help Hearts out of their troubles ? Now before anyone says , but they are out of administration now, that is not the wording of the new SPFL Club insolvency rules adopted on 1st June last year. Rule E4 on page 37 of the SPFL rules states , " .......for each second or later season, during the whole or part of which such insolvency event or insolvency process is continuing and/or subsisting the club concerned shall be deducted 15 points ..... " Now Hearts may have completed the administration part of their insolvency process, but they are currently being run under a " Voluntary Arrangement " status supervised by BDO and this will continue until all the conditions of the CVA have been met. It is easily checked on Companies House web site. Their insolvency process will not be complete until BDO issue a certificate under the Insolvency Act 1986 of Completion of Voluntary Arrangement. Dundee F C had a similar form issued on 30/10/2013 which completed their insolvency process and is also on Companies House site. Hearts should be looking at a further 15 point deduction next season unless BDO complete the Voluntary Arrangement before the season starts, but this is being ignored by the authorities who don't seem to understand the new rules which were introduced just prior to Hearts insolvency event. Now we could complain, but we would just be accused of being bitter Hibbies ( which is probably true ) but you guys have real grounds for complaint, if the rules are being fudged to help Hearts ( it was all that bad Romanov's fault ) They will get away with it unless a real noise is made in the media and with the SPFL. 15 points off will help yours and our promotion bids and it is how the rules have been written. Anyway, good luck next season, hope you finish second , behind us, we are no use at play-offs. Actually have been missing you at Easter Road.
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According to his mum on the radio this am. "His dad played for Hibernian and the whole family are big Hibs fans." Good luck to the young man - we all have our troubles in life. I only mention this because he was touted as either a bear or a jambo. I always thought he was hertz because he talks posh like Gorgie folk, 'ken?
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Article submitted by Andy Steele: SDS Survey: No Issues? No Chance! News that a survey by fans' body Supporters' Direct Scotland has found that while the vast majority of fans felt the game in Scotland had no issues with racism or homophobia, it had a big, big problem with sectarianism. This highlights not just the issue of social attitudes and football, but, sadly, the problem people have with perceiving themselves as part of the problem. One can assume fairly safely that for such a result to be obtained a good proportion of respondents were either non-Old Firm fans, or if Old Firm fans, Celtic supporters. I would be willing to place a hefty wager that the only fans who feel strongly that there is little sectarianism in Scotland would be those supporters the others consider to be the problem: Rangers fans. One must always, in such debates, pander to the thin skinned and establish that yes, one does think there is an issue and yes, Rangers fans most of all need to deal with it. A major issue, though? I don't see it in my day-to-day life, though I may of course simply be lucky or blinkered. Having established that denial is not on the agenda, though, I'd like to examine the other two aspects mentioned, homophobia and racism. If Scottish football has no issue with racism it is because the game is played, watched, commentated on and written about in what is a virtual monoculture. The BBC can count Kheredine Iddeshane, who to guess from his name may be of middle east extraction, and STV Rhaman Bardwan, but that's about it. The sight of players from non-European backgrounds has diminished of late, while managers and chairmen are exclusively white. No racism? Well, maybe if we understand that creating an almost exclusively European ethnic identity for the game will go a long way to excluding those from without such a background, it may expain why there's 'no racism': there's no cultural mix in which it might appear. Perhaps, if we actively created an environment which encouraged diversity, and focused on policing the resultant mix effectively, we may find we're not quite so tolerant as we might like to think. Or we may not - who knows? Casual racism has certainly been part of my west of Scotland experience: I am inclined to believe that 'no issue' is a complacent and boastful conclusion not based on evidence. But since many have called long and loud for such an approach to sectarianism, it seems only logical to apply it to these other areas as well. And what about homophobia? 'Get fucking up, ya poofy cunt' is, for the student of English, a fascinating sentence, but it's hardly indicative of a tolerant atmosphere. You'll hear it, and variants thereon, at every ground every week when an opposition player is apparently injured, though: 'no issue'? When 'Off the Ball' described a poor flag as 'poofy' I actually, for the first time in my life, got off my arse and complained. I got a reply: it was drivel. Credit where it's due, though, the programme presumably realised they were out of order and have since addressed the issue interestingly and humourously. What the incident that riled me shows, though, is that many of us are actively discriminatory without even realising it: Stuart Cosgrove was no more actively trying to put down homosexuality than I am actively trying to create a Protestant theocracy when I sing 'No Surrender' at Ibrox. The effect, nevertheless, can be non-inclusive. My singing of that song is based on the fact that it creates a great atmosphere first and last, and not in any way because I care about or know about Irish or religious history. Others, though, hear my singing and feel excluded or offended by it. What to me is a noise is to others an insult - if Tom English, easily the best analyst of the game at the moment, is freaked out by it I have to think twice. That's not to say I will agree with him, but it gives pause for thought. Plainly all these issues are hyper-sensitive with absolutes thin on the ground, but there's simply no way we have absolutely 'no issue' with racism or homophobia. I suppose the point I'm trying to make is that in our game, all three of these issues exist to varying degrees, but only one is taken seriously and, conveniently, it's the one that can be blamed on someone else. Sectarianism deserves to be taken seriously, but so too do other forms of bigotry: not least sexism, which in Scotland remains rampant. I find women as sexually stimulating as the next man, assuming he's straight, but that's no reason to objectify them or base a professional appraisal on their chests or backsides: that's still the default position of far too many men. We've plenty issues which could do with being addressed both in the game and in the country, but the first step we take will have to be from our own front doors. Blaming everything on Rangers and Rangers fans while insisting the rest of the land is a paradise of tolerance and diversity is doing no-one any favours: a more honest appraisal of our own prejudices would reveal some or all of these issues, far from being non-existent, might be visible in the mirror tomorrow morning as you shave. http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/252-sds-survey-no-issues-no-chance
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Anybody at this tonight ?
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http://www.redandblackshirt.com/
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All over twitter this evening.
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Don't think we've had a discussion on Boyd before. Certainly haven't had on whether I have been pro-Boyd. Long time posters on here will know I was his biggest critic. However this season I think we've seen a different player and I cant believe I would ever say that if we are being linked with him Id like him to return - mainly due to the position we are in. I still think he is a poor 'footballer' as such but he is a good poacher / scorer. 18 goals this season has kept Kilmarnock in the league until the final day and I wouldn't bet against him scoring today against Hibs. Looking at some of his goals from highlights and pictures I think we have got a guy who has matured late and realised what being a professional is all about. Ive no doubt his ventures in England, Turkey and USA (all of which were poor) has developed the 'person' Kris Boyd. I thought we wouldn't see him play again but to be edging towards a Scotland call up shows the hard work he has put in and he also looks far more fitter and stronger. Perhaps he thought he had made it when he came to Ibrox first time around and being part of Fergusons gang made him feel untouchable. If we was still a top flight team challenging for titles this wouldn't even be a thread but if we ever needed someone WANTING to prove his worth and banging the goals in the championship it might be Boyd now. If Ally could only find some tactical knowledge then playing Templeton, Macleod, Shiels and Law in creative positions then Boyd would score 20+ goals in the championship. But then again if Ally had tactical knowledge we maybe wouldn't need Boyd as Clark, Little and Daly may have got high tallys this season also and we'd be happy with them going into next season. I reserve the rights to retract this statement.
