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HOOPS TO INVESTIGATE SECTARIAN CLAIMS Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell revealed he will be having private discussions with St Mirren after the Saints' PA announcer claimed the visiting fans had been singing sectarian songs in the first half of the Hoops' 3-1 Bank of Scotland Premier League victory at Love Street. A Thomas Gravesen hat-trick gave the Hoops all three points with the Paisley side having only a John Sutton header to show for their efforts. However, at the interval, with the visitors 2-0 ahead and cruising, the announcer, alluding to the songs and chants from the away support, urged the home fans to "please keep the good name of St Mirren intact by not responding to sectarian songs being sung". Afterwards St Mirren chairman Stewart Gilmour distanced the Paisley club from the announcement but supported the message: "He did it off his own back but I have no problem with it. "I'm just glad to say that it is not a problem with St Mirren fans." Lawwell responded by issuing a statement: "This is the first time that this has happened and it was unauthorised by St Mirren or Strathclyde Police. "Celtic will be taking the matter up privately with St Mirren." On another controversial issue, Gilmour also explained the decision not to have a minute's silence for Remembrance Day before the game by saying: "Yesterday was the 11th and we were given no instruction from the SPL." The game itself was more straightforward with Celtic deserving their win although St Mirren manager Gus MacPherson claimed the corner that led to Celtic's third goal via a Gravesen header should have been a goal kick. He said: "It was an easy decision, it wasn't a corner yet it leads to a Celtic goal. "By all accounts Gravesen's header was over the line from the corner but it wasn't a corner, it was a goal kick. "We see that so often, when a corner or free-kick doesn't go your way, it leads to something. "But we will look at the marking and that could have been better." Celtic manager Gordon Strachan retorted: "I had no idea if it was a corner, I just let the referee make decisions. "Kenny Miller got rugby-tackled in the box we just get on with it. "We have had many decisions against us this season but we don't come out and cry about it." Strachan admits he "had a quiet word" with goalkeeper Artur Boruc whose carelessness lead to a spell of panic in the Celtic rearguard in the second-half. The Pole had to make a double save from Sutton and then Billy Mehmet after he had crashed a clearance off Sutton but the incident led to a spell of pressure which ended with the Saints pulling a goal back. The Celtic boss said: "I had a quiet word, nothing dramatic. "Artur changed the mood of the game. We didn't want to let them get into it but when the ball went back to Artur - it wasn't very good. "It woke the crowd up, re-energised St Mirren and from that they got more free-kicks and with the number of big guys they have got, it's going to be a problem." http://www.sportinglife.com/football/scottishpremier/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=soccer/06/11/12/SOCCER_St_Mirren_Quotes.html

Just when we thought that we had endured the ââ?¬Ë?season from hellââ?¬â?¢ and that things couldnââ?¬â?¢t get any worse, along comes ââ?¬Ë?season from hell IIââ?¬â?¢ and things are going from bad to worse with little or no sign of improvement on the domestic front. Another terrible performance and defeat at the hands of the worst DUFC team in living memory. That is 1 point we have managed to gain from them so far this seasonââ?¬Â¦. Our new manager came with a real pedigree and whilst some of the hype was a bit over the top, we all rightly thought that this was man to revitalise Rangers and lead us to domestic dominance and gain credibility on Europe. He may eventually achieve this, but this cold windy winters night, that possibility looks as far away as a long hot Scottish summer. The most galling aspect to ââ?¬Ë?season from hell IIââ?¬â?¢ is that PLG was given videos of our horror season and we all thought that once he studied them, he would identify our glaring weaknesses, identify players who would eradicate them and build on the few positives that AM left us. Well, instead of eradicating the mistakes, we are making the same mistakes as last season and compounding the situation by making even more elementary mistakes game after game. I am sitting here trying to put into more eloquent terms just how bad we are. However, I am at a loss for words, so will go with my gut-instinct and say that we are utter pish. Think that is a tad harsh? Well, we are currently only 3 points above 9th placed St Mirren. Yip, that is correct, we are 3 points away from being 9th in the SPfuckinL. Now, those of you who know me will know that I have said for a while that things are going to continue to get worse as long as Mr Murray, Mr Bain and Mr McIntyre continue to run, or is that ruin the club that we love. This is a view that I still hold, although it has be ridiculed by some of my Rangers supporting friends who still think the sun shines out of our esteemed Chairmanââ?¬â?¢s arse. I will reiterate that there will be no long term improvement until Murray and his associates are removed from our club. They have no interest / love for Rangers, they are in this for personal gain. There is no long-term goal, no long-term plans and no investment from them, so how are we supposed to improve both on and off the field? They do not care that we are targeted by the authorities whilst the real bigots are allowed free reign to sing their vile and repugnant songs, they do not care that we have no youth policy or that we are ââ?¬Ë?unattractiveââ?¬â?¢ to the youth of today (the future supporters that we need to survive). They only care about themselves. I read a great line either on FF messageboard or in the fanzine where the posters wrote ââ?¬â?? ââ?¬Ë?Everything I loved about Rangers is in the pastââ?¬â?¢. That sentiment is hard to argue with and sums up the current state of our once great institution. To make matters worse (if they could get any worse) we are light years behind our greatest rivals. Even though they were minutes from being closed down a few short years ago. Whoââ?¬â?¢s fault is that, step forward David Murray. All the fun, excitement, passion, camaraderie that went hand-in-hand with following Rangers has gone. We have been force-fed Murrayââ?¬â?¢s lies and down-grading speeches and accepted them. We need a vision and someone who is willing to see that through. That person is currently not on the board at Ibrox and until they are, we are in for a long, hard and sad time ahead. Cammy F

Watched a bit of the reserve game against St Mirren at lunchtime. Ashikodi and Carcary were again standouts with Stanger also looking good on the way to bagging himself a brace. Ashikodi also scored two and has now tallied up 6 goals in 4 games. Maybe he's worth a shout on the bench? Carcary seemed involved in all the attacks. The defence emualted the first team by being a bit shaky and Klos doesn't look interested at all. He also looks a bit on the heavy side. I think the defence consisted of Lowing, Gilmour, Ponroy and Donald. N'Daiye and Furman also featured. You've got to wonder why the likes of Svensson, Bardsley, Rodriguez, Sionko, Sebo and Rae weren't given a run out to keep them match fit and increase their sharpness...

3 points seperate us (3rd) and st mirren (9th) not looking good at all

Gus McPherson making a big deal about the awarding of the free-kick that Charlie Adam scored from. What did he have to say about the St Mirren penalty award ? Hee-haw.

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

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=i%2Dm-a-really-lucky-bhoy-%26method=full%26objectid=17916282%26siteid=66633-name_page.html spot the mistake.

Still Nothing each , St mirren sound as if they are having a real go Mon the stewart kean loyal

Got 2 out of 3 last week, Had West Ham, Villa to draw at the goons but Spurs let me down away to Bolton. This week: Fulham to beat Sheff Utd 4/5 Arsenal to beat Man City 4/6 Dundee Utd to beat St Mirren 7/4

Neil Lennon has been entirely 'dropped' from the Celtic squad, and once again Stephen McManus has been given the captain's armband. 2 stories have emerged from Chick Young: 1: He was escorted from the stadium in temper 2: He actually just has a hamstring injury. Also interestingly the top 3 sides with 100% records (and Celtic) all play each other today - so some things have to give today which can only play into our hands.

Couple of newsbits I took from the official site, thought they were interesting. SENEGALESE midfielder Makhtar N'Diaye could be on the way to clinching a contract with Rangers while manager Paul Le Guen continues to search for a striker. Mahktar N'Diaye in action against HamiltonN'Diaye seemed to impress manager Paul Le Guen with his performance in tonight's 4-0 win over Jomo Select, playing most of the match in a central midfield position. Le Guen knows him from old having worked with him at Rennes four years ago and he wants to make sure he is up to the job. The manager said: "It is possible he could win a contract. I thought he did well in the match with Jomo Select. He has been working hard and I will make a decision at the end of the week." Le Guen is still on the hunt for a frontman. He said: "I am still looking for a striker." Wasn't overly chuffed when we took this lad on trial in the first place, but if he's impressing a guy who seemingly has high standards, then fine. As long as he isn't asking for big wages. It would give us decent options in the central midfield position with Fergie, Hemdani, Clement and now him, so it seems. PAUL LE GUEN has revealed that Charlie Adam could have a big future with Rangers after the youngster grabbed three goals in tonight's comfortable 4-0 win over Jomo Select. Adam spent all of last season in the First Division helping St Mirren to the title and his future was unsure. However, Le Guen has involved him heavily in the pre-season programme so far and reckons he could have a role to play in the season ahead. Le Guen, who was generally satisfied with the team performance, said: "Charlie was the man of the match, of course, and I was very pleased with him and his goals. "I know he was on loan last season, but he has talent and he has worked very hard so that is pleasing. He can be a part of my squad for sure. "Overall I felt it was a good performance from the players. They all did well. I was happy with the new players. I knew they would be fine because they are sharp and fit." This I'm happy with. I've always been a fan of wee Charlie, and God knows we need a player with a decent left peg. All being said, it wasn't great opposition he got his hat-trick against, but 3 goals from midfield against anyone is not to be frowned upon.