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Being reported by BBC & STV that the players have refused to take a 15% pay cut.

Evening times Michael Grant Regan: Rangers meltdown hasn't finished Scottish football, although wider financial concern remains Published on 15 January 2014 WHEN Stewart Regan was yesterday invited to give a state-of-the-nation appraisal of Scottish football as it enters 2014, it was safe to assume the Scottish Football Association chief executive knew which quote might boomerang back at him. It was on July 4, 2012, the day newco Rangers failed in their attempt to be voted into the Scottish Premier League, that Regan came out with the words for which he is always likely to be best remembered. He spoke of Armageddon, social unrest, and the Scottish game withering on the vine if Rangers were consigned to the anything beyond the old first division. They were not of course - instead of dropping one division as Regan wanted they fell into the fourth tier - but the game survives. In hindsight he misread the situation. There was no social unrest and no Armageddon. The game is hardly buoyant, but nor can it be said to be withering on the vine. Or more accurately, its established and long-term decline has not been accelerated by Rangers' implosion. "We're in a different place now," Regan acknowledged yesterday. "From a Scottish FA perspective we've got a television deal and the league themselves have put their own plans in place and protected their own commercial position. So we're in a different place. There's been some very competitive matches, which have resulted in quite an exciting competition at the top of the Premiership, and there's a number of emerging young players that have created quite a lot of excitement. Perhaps we're in a better place than we might have been 12 to 18 months ago. "But the financial state of football generally remains a concern for everybody and not just in this country. You go to some of the smaller associations as I do on a regular basis and talk about the state of the game. Scotland is in a healthier place than a number of smaller countries where they don't have the turnover we do and can't make the distributions we make. Everybody would like more money. It's like asking if they'd like a bigger pay rise, the answer is always yes." The SFA is working on a way to introduce Financial Fair Play rules for clubs to prevent unsustainable spending. A sub-committee of the SFA's licensing group, which includes representatives from the Scottish Premier Football League, is currently trying to draft regulations which might be acceptable to the clubs at a vote. "The game needs some degree of control," said Regan. "You can't argue with the principle behind financial fair play. There's a need to avoid overspending particularly on areas where money is dripping out of the game. You need to be able to cover your costs, pay your bills, not be breaching your banking position or getting into financial difficulties." Those are exactly the sort of difficulties which continue to hover over Rangers, of course. Like all 42 of the SPFL's member clubs Rangers must submit audited management accounts to the SFA by the end of March. The Ibrox club has admitted it is continuing to lose money, must make major cuts, and is the subject of a 120-day internal review under chief executive Graham Wallace, but that is not likely to cause any difficulty in terms of getting an SFA licence to play in 2014-15. "As far as Rangers' position is concerned clearly there is a lot of work that Graham Wallace is putting in place to get the club back to a stronger place," said Regan. "I sincerely hope he's successful. It's good for Scottish football to have the club back on a firm financial footing. "He needs all the support he can get to get that in place. It's a big challenge. We'll wait and see what comes in. We've spoken to Graham in the way you would speak to most of the clubs that have got challenges ahead of them. So we've had an opportunity to talk about some of the challenges he faces. You can't underestimate the work he's got ahead of him. "From a financial point of view, until we get our new Financial Fair Play rules in place, we don't really drill down to the management accounts and we don't drill down into saying what a club can and can't spend its money on. One of the proposals which is currently being debated is putting in place a measure which would restrict the amount spent on wages. That's one of the elements being discussed." Regan downgraded his prognosis for the game from "Armageddon" to "challenging". The SFA's own financial health is robust because of sponsorships which run to 2016 and the UEFA centralised television deal which runs to 2018. "At a club level there are a number of clubs feeling the pinch, and it remains a tough environment. So that's probably one of the biggest concerns." The merger of the SPL and the SFL into the SPFL was a positive, though, as were the introduction of play-offs for the end of this season, the formation of the Lowland League, and the progress made by the national team since Gordon Strachan was appointed a year ago today. "There are some encouraging green shoots. Gordon has made a big impact and turned around what was a very disappointing campaign and given us a degree of optimism for the qualifying draw next month. "Everyone's looking forward to France 2016. When you look at the emergence of young talent there's some very encouraging prospects starting to come through the system. I guess it's the classic school report card syndrome, isn't it? 'Progress has been made, but still a lot of work to do.'"

Rangers: Manager Ally McCoist instructed to cut wage bill By Alasdair Lamont Senior football reporter, BBC Scotland Rangers manager Ally McCoist has been told he will have to make cuts to his playing budget. McCoist has been in discussions with Graham Wallace recently as the chief executive undertakes a comprehensive review of the Ibrox finances. Wallace told shareholders at the annual general meeting in December savings would need to be made. And the players' wage bill at the League One side currently stands between £6m and £7m per annum. A spokesman for the Rangers board told BBC Scotland: "The CEO Graham Wallace outlined his strategy at the AGM and nothing is going to deflect him from getting Rangers back on an even keel. "Graham and Ally are reviewing the football budget, as part of the overall business review and it would be inappropriate at this time to discuss any figures." The news comes on the day that three million shares worth around £750,000 were traded in Rangers International Football Club plc. The share price dropped as low as 24p early in the day before rallying slightly to close at 28.5p. That is a fall from the 90p price at the launch of the share issue just over a year ago. Earlier this week, McCoist signed off on a pay cut of around 50%, which he agreed to in October. And consultant Philip Nash has been brought to Ibrox to help oversee the financial overhaul.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-harsh-treatment-hearts-3015628?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=tw IS the treatment of Hearts fair? Absolutely not. Must it continue unabated and without mercy? Sadly, there can be no other way. What we are currently witnessing at Tynecastle is unedifying, bordering on inhumane. Gary Locke has been forced into a position where he has no choice but to flog the life out of his youngsters who are now dropping to their knees in the utter exhaustion of fighting what has been, from the outset, an impossible task. They are only half way through but Hearts are goners already. And the more squeamish may very well feel like looking the other way for the second half of this season as they stagger and stumble towards their own demise. This is heartbreaking cruelty in every conceivable way. But Scottish football must not be allowed to avert its gaze. Not for one single second. Rather, it should be strapped into a seat and forced to sit through every gory moment of this collapse. Scottish football has done this to Hearts and now it must watch every last consequence of its actions, no matter how harrowing it may become. Promising young players may be left broken in spirit and body. They may be cast aside and unable ever to fully recover from the traumas of this campaign. So be it. Locke too may never be the same again given what he has had to endure in this, his first ever managerial post. Already his credentials for the job are being debated and dissected. In some cases, he has been dismissed as some wet behind the ears, lame duck of a boss who has neither the know-how nor the work ethic to save Hearts from their fate. This picking on Locke is savage and unnecessary and almost wholly unfounded. After all, how can any reasonable assessment be made on Locke’s qualities or otherwise as a manager when he has been placed in a position which leaves him almost entirely unable to manage? Unlike his peers, he can neither buy new players nor even loan them, which means he must make do with what little he has on the books. And yet, so sparse is his squad that Locke is not afforded even the most basic managerial prerogative of choosing a starting XI. He has no choice but to count heads and send them out. No matter if these players are suffering from loss of form or even fitness. Locke’s only option is to run these youngsters into the ground until the time comes when either Hearts are unable to fulfill their fixtures or, in order to keep up the pretence that they are still a functioning football club, filling up maroon shirts with school children and sending them out to be humiliated by grown-up professionals. All in the name of sporting integrity. Under these circumstances it is simply not possible to judge Locke’s managerial merits one way or the other. He is not managing Hearts. He is merely enabling them to keep up this pretence until the club has taken its last breath in the top flight. Anyone who cannot acknowledge that their fate was predetermined before he had given them his first team talk must be a fool. Yes, Locke is learning on the job and will have made mistakes along the way. Of course he will. But by depriving him of so many of the fundamentals of football management, we make his human error almost redundant. The truth is, there was never any hope for Hearts. That was part of the deal. When this club limped over the line last season to stay in the top division at the expense of Dundee, they knew administration was on its way. We all did. It’s all been a charade ever since. The new rules which were drawn up to deal with insolvency events were designed not just to punish offenders but to throttle them. It had to be this way because of the appalling blood lust with which Rangers had been treated the previous year. Had level heads been applied to the financial meltdown at Ibrox then Rangers would have been helped back up from the gutter in which Craig Whyte left them. Instead, they were trampled down and kicked to the kerb. The urge to maximise the damage Whyte had done quickly became overwhelming and, in many cases, it was led by downright malevolence. Neil Doncaster, the chief executive of the then SPL, wished to apply some logic and reason to the debate for no other reason than it made business sense to protect Rangers. Perish the thought, maybe even to help them in their darkest hour. But he was shouted down by the baying crowd that had gathered around him. And now, as a result of this mob mentality, Hearts are paying the heaviest of prices for the roguish actions of their own former owner. There would be uproar among Rangers supporters in particular if it were any other way. This residual need for revenge is understandable. They believe their club was wronged and so they will demand parity across the board. Even if it reduces Scottish football to a bloodbath. In fact, so bitter have some of them become that they would wish it to be so. They make no attempt to hide their delight at the suffering of others and nor should they be expected to as Rangers is their only concern. But if Scottish football is to correct itself then it must transcend this kind of small-minded tribalism. For the greater good, it must also be prepared to accept that mistakes have been made and that, now they are being repeated, the youngsters of Hearts are being brutalised. With more than half a season gone, they have still not unshackled themselves fully from the 15-point penalty with which they set out. Twenty-two games into this mission impossible, with just 16 more to go, Hearts are marooned on minus two. Locke is unable to call for reinforcements. It’s about to become unwatchable. But watch on we must. And maybe when it is over – when Hearts have been crushed, lying there, limp and lifeless on the floor – then Scottish football will have cause to reflect and to confront itself. To ask itself how it got into such a dark and mean state of mind. To look inside itself in search of empathy and common sense. And then to find a better way for the future before more vulnerable clubs and more innocent young players are forced to suffer as Hearts have this season. Yes, there must still be stiff deterrents in order to keep the game safe from the next Whyte or the next Romanov. But there must also be a realisation that the current penalties are draconian and hurting all the wrong people. While Whyte and Romanov escape unscathed, the players and supporters they left behind continue to pay for all of their sins. And while so many old scores are being settled, Scottish football continues to hate itself to death.

Many years ago as a young Marine on leave, I had ventured over to Ibrox to visit the club shop for some mementos to adorn my bed space. No matter where I was serving in the world there was a little corner which was forever Rangers. For the younger Bears amongst us, there was a time the club shop was not so much a mega store but a glorified broom cupboard with barely enough space to swing a cat. The sole staff member was serving a guy about ages with myself, who I immediately recognised as Ian Redford. After Ian had left the shop the female member of staff apologised for the previous customer taking so long “That guy took ages “ she said. I informed her who “that guy” was and she looked suitably embarrassed. Yesterday, along with 42,000 other Bears, we paid our respects to Ian Redford as our club observed a minute's silence in respect of his passing. Bears of today paying appropriate respect to a club servant of yesteryear. Elsewhere in Glasgow however, BBC Scotland with it's cabal of Rangers hating individuals and no doubt well rehearsed guests, were plotting their latest flouting of the BBC Trust ruling regarding Rangers. I’m sure there was much back slapping, mutual praise and schoolboy giggles following the latest BBC Scotland assertion that “Rangers are dead”. Of course the theft of evidence in the Rangers Tax Case, nor an EU preliminary investigation into alleged state aid involving Celtic Football Club and Glasgow Council raises not a murmur of journalistic curiosity, after all, “Rangers baiting” requires far less effort – especially when it is broadcast from a platform paid for by the public. Sometimes “vile” just isn't descriptive enough. When the Rangers Tax Case Blog won the Orwellian Award it was cited as “Bringing you the story that Scottish journalists seem unable to do” Thats the funny thing about history – it seems to have a habit of repeating itself. Freedom of Information is truly an enlightening thing.

.........to hide the problems at Rangers HUGH believes that lifting the transfer ban at Hearts would be an act of compassion to prevent young players from being overexposed to the harsh realities of Premiership football. NO-ONE likes us, we don't care is a slogan that works when you're looking down on the rest from a position of power in the top division But the message is beginning to come across as a sign of weakness when Rangers are lining up a series of targets for their anger while living in the third tier of Scottish football. Stenhousemuir's John Gemmell lost the moral high ground when he tweeted his disgust over Ally McCoist's complaints about festive season fixture congestion. Exhibiting the early stages of Tourettes Syndrome is never a good way of going about winning your argument. Also, Gemmell's done nothing in the game and the man he was attacking is a former European Golden Boot winner. Having said that, there was, in between the foul and abusive language, a case to be made for supporting his argument that Ally was whingeing without good reason. Then Ian Durrant got in on the act by having a go at unspecified people within un-named clubs who were having ago at Rangers when they should've been concentrating on their own team. Who ? When ? Where ? Durranty said the criticism Rangers received when they drew with Stranraer at Ibrox on Boxing Day was over the top, making it look as if Ally's side had lost the match. He'll need to include the Rangers support among those who've displeased him then, because they were the first ones to slate the team for their performance when they booed them off the park. Previously it was the allegedly rough treatment of Ian Black that was the problem. Is it not more the case Black was signed to be Rangers' enforcer in the middle of the park and turned out to be less of an intimidatory presence than was advertised in the brochure ? Rangers' historical reputation was partly forged on having genuinely hard men who lived and died by the sword without complaining that somebody had kicked them back. But convincing the gullible you're being singled out for unfair treatment works for some, like those Rangers fans who're getting ready to complain in case Hearts are allowed to sign players while under a transfer embargo when their club wasn't allowed any relaxation of the rules. The thing is Hearts can't lodge an appeal against their embargo when the SPFL Board meets at Hampden tomorrow. Their case isn't even on the agenda for discussion. Going into administration isn't regarded as misconduct, so there's nothing to appeal against. If Hearts came out of administration tomorrow they could sign players straight away. In the meantime, the club can make multiple appeals to have individuals registered with them while the process to exit administration goes on. It's a course of action Hearts should take as quickly as is humanly possible. Sam Nicholson suddenly appeared on tea-time television on Thursday night. I only know his name because a caption appeared underneath him as the kid spoke about Hearts and his place in the squad as one of the teenagers the club's been forced to rely on. And for the first time I could sense the inadvisability of exposing fragile youngsters to a grown up's environment on a regular basis. The sanctions imposed on Hearts have done their job and the club will be relegated at the end of this season. They've taken their medicine with fatal consequences for their league status. A vestige of dignity while the club is in its death throes, and fulfilling their remaining fixtures, is what's being asked for. I'm told a fourteen year old was played in goal by Hearts at a recent Under 18 match because there was nobody else. Someone's going to get hurt here, and mental scarring is going to be as prevalent as the physical kind. Hearts brought all of this on themselves through business mis-management, and nobody's denying that. But if any player wants to sign for them this month in the certain knowledge he'll be in a lower division next August, assuming the club is still in existence, he should be allowed to do so. It's not preferential treatment. It's showing compassion to the terminally afflicted.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/former-football-star-ian-redford-3009308?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter FORMER Rangers and Dundee United star Ian Redford, who was once Scottish football's most expensive signing, has been found dead aged 53. Police today confirmed that they have recovered the body of the former midfielder in Irvine earlier today. Redford, whose autobiography was serialised in the Daily Record last year, signed for Rangers for a then-Scottish transfer record of £210,000 in 1980. Over the next five years at Ibrox he made over 200 appearances for the club, winning the Scottish Cup and playing his part in three League Cup victories. He then returned to his native Tayside to join Jim McLean at Dundee United in 1985 where he played in their UEFA Cup Final defeat. The talented goal-scoring midfielder, who was called up on several occasions but never played for the national team, played for Ipswich Town, St Johnstone and Brechin in his latter years before finishing his career as a League Cup winner with Raith Rovers in 1995. More news to follow at dailyrecord.co.uk and in tomorrow's paper.

https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/112897/response/281577/attach/4/s2dFCAFE96193D99AAF47385CA3967C7DC8%201.pdf

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-25653860 A man who sent racist tweets to former Rangers players Maurice Edu and Kyle Bartley has been jailed for six months. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-25672182 A Rangers fan who made sectarian threats to a journalist in a podcast has been jailed for six months.

http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl-lower-divisions/rangers-to-hold-talks-with-cypriot-athos-solomou-1-3263212 RANGERS will hold transfer talks with Cyprus international Athos Solomou next week, when the player and his agent arrive in Glasgow. The APOEL Nicosia full-back, 28, is due to fly to Scotland to discuss a move to the League 1 leaders and is free to sign a pre-contract agreement, with his APOEL contract expiring in June. Rangers monitored Solomou, who has both Champions League and Europa League experience, throughout last year and most recently watched him in APOEL’s Europa League group match against Eintracht Frankfurt last month. Ibrox officials will now hold face-to-face discussions with the player and his agent next week. They must decide whether to pay a transfer fee and sign Solomou immediately or agree a pre-contract for a summer move. Both parties will also discuss wages and contract terms. Solomou is a versatile right-back who can also play on the right side of midfield and is a regular in the Cyprus international squad. He was involved in APOEL’s run to the Champions League quarter-finals in season 2011/12, where they were eliminated by Real Madrid. He has played all of his career in Cyprus with Apollon Limassol and APOEL, winning both the domestic league and cup. After 11 years in his homeland, he is keen to move abroad and Rangers are favourites to secure his signature. Not sure what to make of this to be honest.

From the Insolvency Service. http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/IESdatabase/viewdisqualdetail.asp?courtnumber=05763437 Intriguingly he's still listed as a Director of Sevco 5088 Ltd https://www.duedil.com/company/08011390/sevco-5088-limited/people

Hopefully he gets a chance with Rangers next year as McCulloch is getting too old for the top divisions.

@RangersStandard: Big story going up on the site tomorrow morning. Nothing for Rangers fans to be concerned about though. Brace yourselves. ''Dotting the i's and crossing the t's. Should be up within the hour. Impatient bunch aren't you? In all seriousness we need to get this spot on so please bear with us.'' ''With all due respect, we "know something you don't" because we spent the time going out and finding it. We are not keeping anything to ourselves but we do this in our spare time and need to ensure we are covered legally when breaking a story as opposed to giving opinions. I'm sure you understand that? Taken from FF.

SHIELS has played just 15 minutes of first team action in two months but agent Sam Morrow insists the player is not looking to move on. DEAN Shiels’ agent is seeking talks with Rangers boss Ally McCoist to discover whether his client has a future at Ibrox. The 28-year-old has played just 15 minutes of first-team football in the last two months – despite being fit for all of that time. The Northern Ireland forward suffered medial-ligament damage against Annan in March and came back too early in August, managing only three games before suffering a relapse with his knee. But agent Sam Morrow insists Shiels has been raring to go since November and is baffled as to why McCoist hasn’t picked him more. After last month’s 4-0 win over Dunfermline, the Ibrox boss shot down rumours that Shiels had been told to find another club. Now Morrow wants to speak to McCoist in person after revealing Shiels is desperate to stay with the team he loves. He said: “Dean has been fit for two months now. He has been working hard and doing extra training – he’s champing at the bit to play again. “We’re in the dark as to why he hasn’t featured more often. I left a message for Ally last week but he hasn’t got back to me yet. “I appreciate this has been a hectic schedule for the club and I’m not trying to tell him how to do his job. I’m just looking to have a chat so we can help Dean to stay focused. “You can become disillusioned when you’re not playing. It can be difficult doing all the hard graft during the week and then having nothing to show for it on a Saturday. “In Dean’s case, there is added frustration because he wasn’t left out due to a loss of form but because of injury and it has been a long time since he was playing regularly.” Shiels signed a four-year deal at Ibrox after leaving Kilmarnock in 2012 and has no intention of moving. But Morrow admits his client’s international career will suffer if he continues to be left on the sidelines by McCoist this season. He said: “All Dean wants to do is play for Glasgow Rangers, the club that he loves. “I’m sure Ally will get in touch with me whenever he gets a minute but we’re just looking for a little reassurance from him. “There were rumours the other week that Dean had been told he could leave if he could find another club but that’s absolute rubbish. I saw Ally has confirmed that too. “His position is different from fringe players who haven’t been getting a game for other reasons. I’m sure that it’s just a matter of time before Dean is playing for Rangers again. “He’s a talented boy and it’s just over a year-and-a-half since PFA Scotland shortlisted him as one of the four best players in the top flight. “Dean wants to show the fans what he is capable of and there is also his situation with Northern Ireland to be taken into consideration. “He was a regular starter under Michael O’Neill when he was fit but he needs to be playing for Rangers to be considered.” Meanwhile, Kenny Miller could see his hopes of a third spell with Rangers dashed because of a transfer stand-off with his Vancouver strike partner. The 33-year-old has admitted he would love to return to Ibrox but Miller is unlikely to be allowed to move in this month’s window. The former Scotland star will be needed at his MLS club after Brazilian striker Camilo Sanvezzo was at the centre of a transfer mystery. The 25-year-old – who is believed to be unhappy he earns just a quarter of Miller’s wages – has been pictured undergoing a medical at Mexican side Queretaro FC, despite Vancouver claiming he’s still under contract for another year. Whitecaps are desperately trying to get the ‘transfer’ declared void after president Bob Lenarduzzi said: “It’s unacceptable and inappropriate.” http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-striker-dean-shiels-determined-2999685

"Like many within Scottish football, including supporters and other observers, we are surprised by the parallel conclusion that no competitive advantage was gained from these arrangements. “ (Celtic FC Statement) You curse you're luck. The dice were kind to you and you landed fair square on Park Lane having rolled the required eight, courtesy of a double 4. However at £350 this property is more than you can afford at present. Your next throw sees you roll an eleven where you safely pass go and collect £200 from the bank. You’re opponent meantime rolls a 7 and also lands on Park Lane. You can see from his finances across the table he is unable at present to afford the much coveted property. But to your abject horror he pulls out a Community Chest Card – Glasgow City Council/Celtic FC – and acquires Park Lane for the knock-down price of £175. Furthermore as he passes Go he collects a favourable £600 as opposed to your £200, courtesy again of his “exclusive deal” with Co-op Bank. “Competitive Advantage” ? “Sporting Integrity” ? “Financial Doping” ? “State Aid” ? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/markets/article-2514682/Co-op-Bank-slammed-cheap-loans-Celtic-Football-Club.html I await the social, and moral outrage that Celtic FC, courtesy of their exclusive and extremely favourable banking arrangements, have robbed small firms of credit facilities and overdraft extensions. I await Graham "Selective Amnesia" Spiers tweeting that he is quite comfortable that such arrangements were a form of “cheating” All it needs is for Donald Findlay to be appointed head of the SPFL Investigation into Celtic FC and their financial and land dealings. Whats that term...”what goes around comes around” http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/22037966 Of course, should any type of investigation be directed at Celtic it will cause a considerable conflict of interest for one member of UEFA's Financial Fair Play Board – Brian Quinn, former Celtic Chairman. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/spfl/former-celtic-chairman-brian-quinn-s-uefa-financial-role-1-2386596 At least there will be a plethora of advice readily available for Mr Quinn with regard to dealing with potential conflicts of interest. His old friend, and Celtic Board member Eric Riley was a director at the SPL and the SFA for 10 and 13 years respectively. Furthermore Celtic Chief Executive Peter Lawwell currently sits on the SFA's Professional Game Board. Did someone really say “Rangers are the establishment club” ? Conservative MP Mark Garnier is not going to allow this to go away, as he smells blood. So too do a number of Tories. It has been suggested that the revelations surrounding the Co-op Bank will reach right up to the higher echelons of the Labour Party nationally. http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/nov/22/ed-balls-links-to-co-op-bank Of course its perhaps purely co-incidence that the former Lennox Castle Hospital , with its 48 acres of prime real estate, was sold for £493,000 to Celtic Football Club, thus allowing the Scottish Minister to delegate responsibility for it's sale to the CEO of Glasgow Greater Health Board, as it fell below the £500,000 benchmark. Which leaves me 2 questions. (1) Was the sale of Lennoxtown Castle offered or advertised in the public domain ? (2) Does Neil Doncaster have Lord Nimmo Smith on Speed Dial ?

Warning to posters. This morning we received a letter from Peter Watson, solicitor advocate of Levy & McRae acting on behalf of Mr & Mr Easdale. The letter asked us to remove posts from 3 separate individuals (NOT POSTS FROM SONS OF STRUTH) We would like to remind posters that this is an open social network page and as such is available to be viewed by any members of the public and posters should take care regarding defamation and The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications Act 2012 https://www.facebook.com/SonsOfStruth

A Rangers fan who posted a threatening message about Celtic manager Neil Lennon on Twitter has been cleared of committing an offence. Christopher Hay, 22, was the first person to be charged under the Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communcations Act in 2012, after writing a message on his social networking site the day the act came into force. Chip shop worker Hay, from Kirkintilloch posted "I seriously do wish that someone would kill that ugly ginger c***, I should've planned my parcel bombs better, next time it'll work #w*****". The comment was posted during the high profile parcel bomb trial at the High Court in Glasgow. Hay claimed it was a "throwaway comment" made by him and not intended to be seen by Lennon. He denied intending to cause fear or alarm or being reckless as to whether he did or not, at his trial at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was found not guilty by sheriff Stuart Reid. While the sheriff branded the comment "an offensive and threatening communication" he said that after considering all of the evidence, that there was not the necessary criminal intent needed for Hay to be found guilty. The court heard that during a police operation, the post was spotted using keywords on a search facility of Twitter. A designated officer who had to search for offensive messages during the trial of Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie, spotted the message and traced it to Hay. When interviewed by police Hay admitted posting the comment on his social networking site. Although he posted the message, he claimed it was never intended to be seen by anyone except his 23 friends who "follow" and view his posts on Twitter and that he claimed were "close friends". The court heard that Lennon's name was not mentioned in the comment and it was not directed towards him by copying it on to his official Twitter site but was written about him. Hay, a self-confessed Rangers fan, claimed: "I had no intention to cause fear or alarm to anybody. It was an absolute throwaway comment, I didn't intend it to go futher." Nobody re-posted the message on their web pages or commented on it. Hay told the court: "It was a moment of madness". When asked why he wrote it he said: "I have no reason in particular why I sent it. I can't even think why I would write such a thing." Procurator fiscal depute Stephen Ferguson asked: "If Neil Lennon or someone close to Neil Lennon were to see that how do you think they would feel?" Hay answered: "They wouldn't be very pleased about it. Taken aback by it, it's not very nice, not something you want to see." Muirhead, 44, and McKenzie, 42, from North Ayrshire, sent devices they believed were capable of exploding and causing injury. The men were found guilty in March 2012 of conspiracy to assault Lennon, former MSP Trish Godman and the late Paul McBride QC and were jailed for five years. http://news.stv.tv/west-central/259433-christopher-hay-cleared-over-offensive-post-celtics-about-neil-lennon/

Michael Grant BACK in 2012 when old Charles Green was figuring out which buttons to push to endear himself to a deeply sceptical Rangers support, so that he might clean out their wallets a few months later in a share flotation, he had no qualms about fighting dirty. He'd been in Scotland for about five minutes but that didn't stop the verbal diarrhoea that led to him spouting off about bigotry, about Celtic, about the Scottish football authorities and about the world in general having it in for Rangers. Plenty saw through him and knew his game, but there were enough who bought into it and made the mistake of embracing him as some sort of champion. Perceptions changed and the shares were snapped up. Now, as then, there is a polarised club - board in one camp, most of the supporters in another - which soon will be in need of a life-support machine being switched on again. This time the sale of season tickets will dictate whether Rangers survive financially or collapse again, possibly into another administration, because of unsustainable running costs. A rumbling, low level mood of resistance and unrest exists among the supporters even if the outcome of last month's annual general meeting left them unsure of what to do next. Thousands don't like this board but don't know what they can do about it. There is no consensus for an organised boycott of season tickets but there are plenty of committed, ordinary fans who are just quietly fed up with the way the club has been run and are prepared to stop going next season. If you were Sandy Easdale, or David Somers, or maybe even Graham Wallace, you might have read what Ally McCoist said about the fixture schedule at the weekend and thought "yeah, that's a good line, that'll go down well". McCoist made some pretty unlikely and strange remarks about the Scottish Professional Football League's allocation of fixtures and the fact Rangers had been made to play four times in 11 days, and three in a row away from home over the festive holidays. "Different initials but the same old story with the way our club has been treated," said McCoist. He won't welcome the comparison, but that sounded exactly like Green. On Saturday the Stenhousemuir striker John Gemmell took to Twitter. For all its attractions and advantages, social media encourages a depressing tendency to lapse instantly into personal abuse, especially on Twitter, and Gemmell used the sort of language that would have once led to him having his mouth washed out with soap. Take away the infantile insults, though, and it was easy to agree with Gemmell's underlying point. Since when did playing four games in 11 days, all within an hour's travel, amount to an excessive or unfair demand to place upon any set of footballers? The idea that Rangers have been "singled out" or "treated differently" simply doesn't stand up to scrutiny. A dozen other clubs have played four games in 11 days. Some have played four in 10 days. A team cannot claim to have been picked on for unfair treatment if it turns out loads of others were in exactly the same boat. Four games in 11 days is a busy schedule, no doubt. But no more than that and the festive programme is always busy because it gives a greater number of people the chance to attend games while on holiday. Rangers have successfully requested the postponement of games this season because they had some players away on international duty, postponements which inconvenienced other clubs just as they feel inconvenienced now. McCoist wanted the game at Stenhousemuir to be played in midweek. Stenhousemuir wanted it played yesterday, as it was. Gemmell made a very good point about that in one of his tweets. Part-time players such as him and his team-mates tend to have a free diary for games at weekends. When they play midweek matches they have either to take half-days off work or else put in a full shift then rush to the ground to be ready in time. Why would they put themselves at such a massive disadvantage, and allow Rangers such an advantage, by moving their home game from a weekend to next midweek? Rangers players have no other obligations pulling on their time, of course, hence Gemmell's sarcastic references to their massages, club-prepared healthy meals and £5000-a-week wages. The difference in how the two sets of players are rewarded isn't an accident. The players at Ibrox are better footballers and that is reflected in their treatment, but sympathy lies with Gemmell for drawing the comparison. Rangers will never be able to paint themselves as a victim when they are the League One club which has it all. It's easier to sympathise with the complaint about three consecutive away games but, even so, fans weren't asked to travel to the ends of the earth. All three games were in the central belt. Nor is three consecutive away games anything unusual: later this month Rangers will begin a run of three in a row at home. What can be said for certain is that McCoist wasn't doing the board's bidding when he piped up. That isn't the way things work at Ibrox at the moment. It was his own, personal view. But a lot of people found it hard to take seriously. And Gemmell, a season-ticket holder at Ibrox, wasn't the only Rangers supporter among them. http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/opinion/rangers-have-to-play-the-game-when-it-comes-to-fixture-congestion.23101970

You can only hope that things will change if enough people point out the bleedin’ obvious: shiny new Glasgow, city of the Commonwealth Games, needs to take a long hard look at itself and try to come into the 21st century. I refer to Glasgow’s bizarre blindness to racism, bigotry and all manner of criminal activity which would scarcely be tolerated in any other British city outside N Ireland. Yet, in and around Glasgow it’s scarcely noticed. But like I say, if enough people call it out things can change. Nobody around the West Coast seemed to think David Limond’s foul online racist bigotry and intimidation of a woman was odd, or wrong, or unusual. Still less, racist. - See more at: http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/scotlands-modern-millwall-celtics-toxic-public-image/6921#sthash.FtpXMgQc.ycectwk8.dpuf'>http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/scotlands-modern-millwall-celtics-toxic-public-image/6921#sthash.FtpXMgQc.ycectwk8.dpuf http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/scotlands-modern-millwall-celtics-toxic-public-image/6921

“I wish for you all, each of you, to have your own motive for indignation. This is precious. When something outrages you as I was outraged by Nazism, then people become militant, strong, and involved.” (Stephane Hessel) Much has been made of the comments at the Celtic AGM, particularly the jibes by an SFA board member, who, in his dual role, also officiates over certain matters at Celtic FC. If such comments were seen as an attempt to play to the gallery, Chairman Ian Bankier’s comment that there was “a tremendous romance attached to the club” were perhaps an attempt to detract from a far greater romantic screenplay which is developing over the other side of the city. For this developing screenplay has all the ingredients to be a box office sell out, and in fact, already has sold out time and time again. Furthermore its ability to capture the imagination and attention of those beyond these shores shows no sign of abating. It can neither be stopped nor controlled because it’s driving force, the Rangers support, will forever be beyond the reach and control of even multi-roled individuals with alarming, and questionable influence. Its a loyalty which cannot be bought, is not and will not be offered for sale, no matter the offer on the table. It has the twists of trickery, the depravity of deceit, the unedifying behaviour of the unscrupulous. Unbridled hatred is there for all to see as well Machiavellian plots which would do The Prince justice. Intransigence, incompetence and intent to injure, to destroy an institution are laid bare before all. These factors should set the scene for what would be an overwhelming victory, an annihilation, an extermination. That no such victory was forthcoming is testament to the screenplay’s heroes. Normal men and women whose love for their football club laid to waste the plotters and their schemes. She may have been kicked countless times when she was down, but time and time again the blue legions would pick her up and brace themselves for the next onslaught. Rangers may have been down, battered and bruised, but most certainly not out. And so the march onwards continues. Relentless. When people speak of the romance of Scottish football they think of the institution which would not die – because her fans would not let it be so. They filled stadiums, broke world records, were the cause of games being postponed. You want romance Mr Bankier ? Look no further than Ibrox. Forget “defiance” or even vengeance. The bad news for all the cowards who swung the boot whilst we were down is that it is something much worse than either defiance or vengeance. Righteous Indignation. It will pursue the plotters, the schemers, and the incompetent. The level of hatred and lack of mercy displayed by many, I can assure you, will be duly reciprocated. And then some. Agencies and individuals cannot hide forever behind anonymity, excuses of “whistleblowing” and “sporting integrity”. In the near future a criminal enquiry will reach it’s conclusion and the long arm of the law will finally get to grips with some of the plotters. The time for Government Agencies hiding behind the excuse of “ongoing criminal enquiries” will be over. If some of them think that Police Scotland are the extent of their worries, then they would be well advised to think again. The failings are already within the public domain and no amount of retrospective action will remedy them. All we are really waiting for is to see the extent and the scope of the Police Scotland enquiry. We will be reviewing such an enquiry through eyes filled with righteous indignation – and only the full extent of the application of the law will satisfy. Rangers are indeed coming, on a tidal wind of righteous indignation, perhaps many in Scotland would do well to brace themselves.

One of my hero's as a kid. Makes me realise how old I am getting.

I think some people have completely lost all perspective. We've played some lovely stuff at times this season scoring barrow loads of goals in the process, we've also struggled in games yet still won the vast majority of them. I don't think anyone is happy with the latter, other than the results, but recognise that he's in a no-win situation until we're back at the top. We've all been puzzled by some of the selections and tactical decisions. But equally, the football is better than last season and some of the changes made etc.. have made a difference. McCoist has shown little so far to suggest he is a world beating manager, but he hasn't shown that he is a totally clueless fool either. I think two points which invariably get lost in these debates is that there has been a clear improvement from the dross last season and that McCoist may not be the answer long term, but that remains to be seen. At the moment he is meeting expectations and that should be good enough for the majority of the support.

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

ALLY McCOIST has hit out at the SPFL for forcing Rangers fans travel to three away games in just six days. The Ibrox club will take on Stenhousemuir in a rescheduled League One fixture at Ochilview tomorrow afternoon. The game follows meetings with Airdrie at the Excelsior Stadium on Thursday and Dunfermline at East End Park on Monday. And with a trek to Forfar looming a fortnight on Monday McCoist is furious with the governing body. He said: "The game against Stenhousemuir shouldn't have been played this Sunday, it should have been played in midweek. "That's our fourth game in 11 days. The way our club has been treated is not on. And then to make matters worse, they're sending us and our fans up to Forfar after that. So we play four games in 11 days, nothing for nine days and then they send our fans away up to Forfar on a Monday night. "So I just think there's something not right about that." McCoist revealed that pleas from Rangers to the SPFL to rethink the punishing run of matches have fallen on deaf ears. Asked if Rangers had any input into the scheduling of the games, he said: "Yes, but it shows you how much they listen to us. "At this time of the year, when money is scarce for everybody, it is ridiculous to ask our fans to travel a third away game and fourth game in 11 days. "As I say, different initials, same old story." McCoist added: "I understand more than anybody that we have to attract sponsors and attract television audiences, "But I just feel once again our supporters are being asked to go the length and breadth of the country. "That shouldn't be the case all the time. It's just as well our supporters are a strong bunch." McCoist is also concerned about the impact so many games away from home in such a short space of time will have on his players. He said: "Four games in 11 days for any set of players is very difficult. "Lewis Macleod went down against Airdrie and and Ian Black has picked up a couple of kicks against Airdrie too. In an ideal world, they would have longer to recover." Meanwhile, McCoist, who will meet chief executive Graham Wallace next week, has admitted he has targeted players he would like in the January transfer window. He said: "If we get the green light to go, then we certainly have possible targets. "We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't." http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/mccoist-spfl-is-driving-us-mad-147205n.23093383

Not because it's not deserved, but because Walter played terrible football too but nobody really seemed to care. It used to annoy me that people had such a short sighted view under Walter. The football he played was never going to get us anywhere in Europe (bar 2 successful seasons over both stints, the second success due to playing 10 defenders in the UEFA Cup) and while it won domestic trophies, it wasn't the type of long term philosophy that was going to see the club prosper, without throwing money at players. In Walter's first stint we hardly developed any youth talent and he left the squad in a mess. Is it the case that the football is so poor now that nobody can ignore it any more? Or is it because we are playing such poor opposition now? The common line under Walter was that winning is all that matters. Well we are still doing that.