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The Rangers Supporters Trust wishes to express its concern at what we consider to be a clear attempt by some online elements of the Celtic support to incite trouble ahead of an Old Firm game which already has the potential to be a powder keg fixture. We, along with the vast majority of the Rangers support, noted with some amusement the recent advert taken out by Celtic supporters in a once respected Sunday newspaper. However, what has followed makes us considerably more uneasy. There is now no question that a hardcore element of the Celtic support are not content with the troubles which have plagued our club over the past few years. For them, Rangers Football Club, and by extension its fans, must cease to exist. Whether this stems from an inferiority complex amongst part of a generation who had to live through Nine-In-A Row, or whether it is down to a more ingrained bigotry, a fierce football rivalry is not sufficient for these people. We are extremely concerned that the rhetoric and hatred spewed out by the likes of Phil MacGiollabhain, Angela Haggerty, Paul Brennan’s CQN website and others, is a deliberate attempt to try to stoke sectarian fires and incite violence at the upcoming fixture. One need only view the reaction of some Celtic fans to the recent blog by MacGiollabhain entitled “The ****** Blood Festival” to see how these people operate. MacGiollabhain himself has never challenged the assertion that he is “tarred with a sickening sectarian brush” and he has willing servants in Miss Haggerty, CQN and several other online Celtic sites. We urge all sane Celtic fans to ignore their bile. We hope the upcoming fixture will be fiercely contested. We hope, despite being clear underdogs, that Rangers will win. We also hope that fans of both teams will be able to travel to and watch the match safely. We hope that Police Scotland, as well as policing the day effectively, will take careful note of those who continue to try to incite violence at the upcoming fixture. It would be an odd legal system that arrested people for singing songs but ignored hate speech and incitement of violence. Should the worst happen, we hope the full force of the law will be brought to bear not only on the perpetrators of any trouble but also those who encourage it online. Rangers and our fans have many challenges to face in the months and years ahead. Challenges which are considerably more important to our long term future than this upcoming Old Firm game. We urge Rangers fans to stay safe, behave in a way which can make us all proud of our club and enjoy their day." - See more at: http://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-concerns-over-upcoming-old-firm-game/#sthash.dvHYDWc2.dpuf
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International Football Club plc ("Rangers" or the "Company") Scottish Professional Football League Limited ("SPFL") Claim. The board of the SPFL has determined that Rangers Football Club Limited (the "Club") is liable to pay the EBT Commission fine of £250,000 levied on RFC 2012 PLC (previously The Rangers Football Club plc) (in liquidation) The SPFL has also decided that this sum will be recovered from the Club by the SPFL withholding broadcasting money and other sums due to the Club but which are paid in the first instance to the SPFL. An appeal has been lodged with the Judicial Panel of the Scottish FA which has confirmed that the decision of the SPFL is suspended pending the outcome of the appeal subject to the SPFL's right to object. The Board is advised that the sum is not due to SPFL and the appeal will be pursued vigorously.
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Wearing an IRA pin badge whilst in Wigan FC tracksuit.
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all done with the test............
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Here's the latest offering from oor Bill....
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Article submitted to Gersnet by Dan Teelsey http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/282-the-world-turn-d-upside-down The World Turn’d Upside Down written by Dan Teelsey Listen to me and you shall hear, news hath not been this thousand year: Since Herod, Caesar, and many more, you never heard the like before. Holy-dayes are despis'd, new fashions are devis'd. Old Christmas is kicked out of Town Yet let's be content, and the times lament, you see the world turn'd upside down. What’s known as the English Civil War produced, like all wars, many odd and unexpected results. Wars are often the mothers of strange children: we hardly associate Hitler and his motley collection of unimaginative halfwits with Neil Armstrong and ‘one small step for man’, but without the V2 technology, which went to the States with Nazi scientist Werner Von Braun, it would certainly have taken the USA longer to get to the moon. Few would link the Falklands War to Scottish independence, but without that conflict Mrs Thatcher may not have gained her second victory, and the excesses of monetarist economics which pushed so many to vote ‘Yes’ could have been avoided. One aspect of the English Civil War – which was fought in all corners of the soon-to-be-Union, but let that pass – which seems a little quaint today is the struggle over whether Christmas should be celebrated in a sombre, ‘respectful’ fashion, as was suggested by Parliament, or in the traditional, carousing, festive spirit familiar for centuries. Parliament’s position was mocked in a folk ballad of the times, ‘The World Turn’d Upside Down’, which noted that what was good enough for the Magi – ‘The wise men did rejoyce to see our Saviour’ – ought to be good enough for the people of England, and that if celebrating wars – ‘Kill a thousand men, or a Town regain, we will give thanks and praise’ – was acceptable, so to was celebrating Christ. The song’s mix of sardonic satire and brilliant title have seen it remembered, even if the rationale behind it is increasingly lost in the mists of time. In Scotland, the echoes have been heard until recently, with workers right up until the 1950’s working on Christmas morning – here the day was not that far removed from Parliament’s idea. Only recently has Christmas taken a place alongside Hogmanay, the traditional Bacchanalia of the North, although since nowadays so many people are slaughtered on a regular basis the one-off appeal of a blow out at Ne’er Day is somewhat diminished. Diminished, too, is another icon of that Presbyterian settlement which obtained over Scotland for so long. The Rangers are a pale shadow of what they once were, on the pitch, in the boardroom and in the stands. Replace the word ‘Christmas’ in that quote above with ‘Rangers’ and you get the picture: the convulsions which have racked the club since they entered into dispute with HMRC are reaching ridiculous proportions. Many organisations come into conflict with HMRC over one thing or another, but surely few can have reacted to it with quite such incompetence and drawn out sickness. Maybe it’s the shock at being kicked in the balls by bodies which, perhaps, Rangers fondly imagined were on the same side as them; maybe it’s surprise at finding themselves quite so isolated when the chips were down; maybe it’s merely impotence as the entrepreneur culture which so many lauded comes home to roost with a vengeance. Whatever the reason, there are people in West Africa who have shaken off Ebola quicker than Rangers have gotten over their fever: their world turn’d upside down, right enough. Some, it is true, are taking the fight to the club, with what they would doubtless be horrified to read as an enthusiasm comparable to the activism of the ‘Yes’ campaign in Scotland’s recent referendum. When online fans who are also shareholders email board members to innocently enquire about standard procedures, the replies (or lack thereof) have revealed quite a lot about those wearing the blazers. Only this week, internet poster ‘Govan Derriere’ revealed that, after several weeks of trying, he had finally obtained a response as to when the AGM would be held this year. Hardly the most explosive of questions, you might feel. Before 31st December, in line with the law, came the terse response from Mr David Somers, apparently Chairman of Rangers. One wonders if he treats shareholders in his other companies with quite such disdain and one concludes that, no, he probably doesn’t but considers football fans so much dirt on his shoes. An odd attitude for a Chairman of a football club, you might think. However that may be, ‘Govan Derriere’s’ questioning landed quite a few blows on Mr Somers’ credibility, a rare case of a fan hitting the shit. What strange days these are, indeed. As a lapsed Rangers fan with more to worry about than a football club falling to bits I should really be getting on with other things, but the fascinating freak show which unfolds almost daily on Edmiston Drive is hideously addictive. Adding yet another group to the notoriously splintered Rangers fan base – that of pissed off former attendee who can’t quite seem to shake off the habit of 30 years and who keeps returning to pick over the bones – is probably not helpful, but then again I can’t see how it can makes things any worse. I suppose Rangers fans can only hope that their club will still be around in 300 years, and that someone will have come up with songs which reflect this period, to be sung in the stands of Ibrox. Maybe this civil war will result in unforeseen results, one of which at present would be the sight of a healthy Rangers. The titles and the music are unlikely to be very uplifting, though. Perhaps they could nick this old one off Jim Morrison: it seems very apt. Strange days have found us / Strange days have tracked us down / They're going to destroy Our casual joys / We shall go on playing / Or find a new town [video=youtube;-NSz-9qqgKE] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NSz-9qqgKE
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Here's the latest from McMurdo.........
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September 6, 2014 / billmcmurdo The Ibrox boardroom wars are still rumbling on, with the board doing more damage to themselves than the rebels can inflict. I am dubious of the so-called latest revelations – that Sports Direct magnate Mike Ashley was sold the naming tights to Ibrox for the price of 8 AAA Sony batteries. My feeling is this is an attempt to get the directors to release the real figure but if it turns out to be true, it is a massive hit against the beleaguered board. If the deal was made based on projections of Sports Direct selling boatloads of RFC merchandise, then it was still a poor one. The ball is now in the board’s court to reveal the true price of re-branding Ibrox. I have always backed the present regime but it is increasingly hard to muster confidence in their ability to steer the club through this difficult year. It doesn’t help that the board is hopelessly split, with CEO Graham Wallace having been “Matherised” i.e. converted to the rebel cause. Truth be told, Wallace has failed to provide the leadership and bring stability to matters behind the red brick facade on Edmiston Drive. The grand plan of the Fans Board has not galvanised the fan base but has been a monumental waste of time, effort, money and energy. Wallace’s alignment with those who have choked the sale of season tickets so necessary for the club to progress is a cave-in of epic scale. That said, the board’s feeble response to this has not helped engender confidence. I championed another contender for the post of CEO but was more than happy to support Graham Wallace when he took the reins. Now it is all a cod and the vultures are circling, ready to swoop in for the kill. It looks like the next phase of the Ibrox Civil War will be a head-to-head between Mike Ashley and Dave King. Question marks arise over the ability of either to invest substantially – both may be curtailed by football rules and in King’s case, he could be blocked by regulation here and in South Africa. Ashley will no doubt be turned into the antichrist by a Rangers-hating media here in Scotland. There is a consortium of people who are desperate to get hold of Rangers and if they cannot get control of the club on their terms, then they would rather see the club go under. King is their champion and this means he is their weakness. You get the feeling that when and if he is ever asked to actually pony up the money, he will not produce. Should the consortium prevail, with or without Daddy King’s involvement, Rangers will probably never be as dominant as they were at the peak of the SDM years but they will challenge Celtic for the Premiership. Success in Europe will be a pipe dream. Ashley and others are Rangers’ best bet of going to a higher level. Their vision and collective financial clout exceeds by far the grasp of the consortium. It is all about a clash of ideologies and visions. The problem for this board and investors like Mike Ashley is that they are trying to fight a battle based on AIM regulations against people who are not bound by these. The battle for Rangers is a street fight, a rammy, not a game of bridge in a gentlemens’ club. It’s time the board at Ibrox realised this. “Ground on which we can only be saved from destruction by fighting without delay, is deadly ground.” SUN TZU
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I log in here every day (Mon-Fri) to catch up on the latest going's on with our club, most days I don't even post or join in with the chatter. But of late, and especially these past few weeks, I click on my favourite with a fear ........ "what now" I think as my browser loads. It is absolutely gut wrenching to see these thieves/liars/sharks/snakes still involved with our club, and others (Ahmed etc) STILL trying to cream some extra blue pounds from us. I long for the day the club is ours again, or at least in safe hands with a safe custodian. As right now, the club we see before us isn't ours, same club but the soul is missing.
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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.
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We are looking to put together a meeting of all the different groups of the Rangers Support. All the fans groups, representatives, forums, magazines, podcasts, radio shows, fanzines and anyone who wants to come along We would like to make an attempt to bring civility back to the Rangers Support and thrash out a ‘code of conduct’ for how fans interact with each other online and in real life. It has been a hard time for the support as different views about what is best for the club are prevalent but this isn’t about protests, boycotts, supporting the board or anything else. It is purely about Rangers Supporters meeting and finding a way to give each other the respect a Rangers Supporter should have with one another. This is not about who is right and who is wrong – it is about the support moving forward and people with differing views being able to speak to each other. List of Groups we’d like to see there include: Sons of Struth Vanguard Bears Union Bears The Blue Order RST Rangers Media Follow Follow Gersnet Do The Bouncy No.1 Fanzine 72 Magazine WATP Magazine Rangers Supporters Assembly Rangers Supporters Association Copland Road Organisation Rangers Fans Fighting Fund Rangers Chat Heart & Hand Podcast We Welcome The Chase Podcast Aye Ready Podcast Any RSCs that are interested And apologies for anyone I have missed but everyone who has Rangers at heart is welcome. We would like to have this meeting at 1pm Saturday 31st May in The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, G51 2SL. If you are willing to come along could you contact us here or email info@theloudentavern.co.uk There is no hidden agenda here, we are just trying to help the support. We have enough enemies out there. Check out http://www.rangersfirst.org – Do something positive to help the club and the support We Are The People God Bless The Rangers The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium - More than a Pub Official Partner of The Rangers Football Club *We are responsible for The Louden Tavern: Ibrox Stadium, 111 Copland Road, Ibrox, G51 2SL solely and are not involved in the operation of any other premises
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The Blue Order is confirming that we are reluctantly not renewing our season tickets for the 2014/15 season. It is, however, our intention to buy tickets for home and away games on a match-by-match basis so that we can continue to give our full support to our team. Unfortunately, until further notice, we are unable to accommodate any new requests to join TBO or for seat transfers into our section however we would welcome others to congregate with our group in BF5. As part of the Union of Fans umbrella group, TBO have been at the forefront of recent protests against the board and we strongly urge Rangers FC to engage openly with concerned supporters and potential investors to safeguard the club's future.
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http://fotowrzut.pl/tmp/upload/BFHB9PZE6Z/1.jpg
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It would be an interesting debate as there are some parallels with the way that the F word and H words are used in Scotland (although there are obvious differences in both cases). I wonder if they would be interested in having a H word debate but guess that abuse of white Protestants don't feature highly in their priorities. http://www.kickitout.org/join-spurs-legend-garth-crooks-for-free-y-word-debate/
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"The Union of Fans and it's representatives would like to take this opportunity in wholeheartedly thanking the many volunteers who helped distribute the Blue Cards for today's display in support of new investment from Dave King. We would also like to thank the overwhelming majority of the support who took the decision to participate and show their support in the display. (To the naked eye well over 80% of those in attendance). In the main the cards were very well received and even those of dissenting voices were civil in either not taking cards or as is their right, not participating in the display. Once again your support & participation is very much appreciated. Union of Fans" ** Blue Card thread locked again* or I would have put this there. *I can hear conspiracy clogs whirring into action even as I type
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While looking how Albion Rovers would welcome the news about their Quarterfinal at Ibrox, I stumbled upon their Squad Fund page ... Reflecting on our stay in SFL 3 last season, Division One this campaign, various cup games and all, has it actually been determined how much money has been handed down to the ailing lower league sides due to our predicament? I would reckon that e.g. Albion Rovers' would be safe from nigh anything thanks to next month's QF tie, as we hand half of our money to them under cup rules? Enforced stay or not, I wonder whether the former SFL 3 sides, nor the Division One teams have anything to complain about?
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http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/item/5579-club-statement Now that's a statement we can all agree with. Let's hope club means what they say rather than offering a sop to concerned fans.
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Scotland's claim to be fighting the cancer of sectarianism and hatred took a severe dent at the weekend. Perhaps sadly, the decision not to hold a one minute silence prior to the Ross County vs Celtic match, came as no surprise to many of us. Its embarrassing, unedifying and sickening to hear a one minute silence being disrupted and dishonoured. But there is something worse, far worse in fact - not holding such a ceremony at all. Because in failing to do so we have acquiesced to the morons, the bigots - we have handed them victory on a plate. Let the moronic and shameful actions of bigots within the Celtic support shame all the devils in hell - rather that than our country is forced to fail to remember the fallen whose sacrifice ensured our freedom from evil and tyranny. This morning I wrote to Ross County asking for an explanation into such an omission on Saturday and in particular who made the decision to dispense with the one minute silence - was it from someone in the club or from outside the club? The Ross County support have previously made their club aware of the importance of Remembrance Day and its significance within their support. http://www.north-sta...oldiers-667.htm Furthermore this is an issue which must ascend Old Firm rivalry and the often tit for tat churlish and pedantic tribalism. It is time for the Scottish press and media to stop avoiding the issue and to speak out - ignoring it will not make it go away. It is untenable and unacceptable that men who laid down their lives in order to defeat that which is unacceptable cannot themselves be remembered and honoured due to the actions and behaviour of some in our society which is in itself – wholly unacceptable.
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Anybody saddened to see this cease to be as of Wednesday 30th October? The telly service was full of sports news including footy latest news covering individual clubs on both sides of the border which had dedicated pages on Rangers as well. The BBC text service in comparison hasn't had much to say about Rangers since our drop to the lower leagues and only report on the negative stories that emerge, never ever do we get a match report from them, not a mention either of tonights Ramsdens Cup semi-final match at Ochilview whereas over on Sky you get team news followed by a full match review after the game. I'll miss Sky Text...but thankfully we do have 'Gersnet where anything you want to know about Rangers can be found.
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Bit of a tongue-in-cheek affair with one or two misleading facts, but the crux of the message is relevant and I haven't seen it posted since it was published on Sunday afternoon, so............ Rangers in danger of getting red card over governance By Kate Burgess You wouldn’t run a football match the way that Rangers Plc is being managed. Indeed, you couldn’t under the laws of the beautiful game. Even before Rangers International Football Club has completed its first full year as a public company, it has lost all but one of its original eight directors and is on its third nominated adviser, or nomad. That is the nearest thing the Alternative Investment Market has to a referee. The board substituted the captain and manager before the half-time whistle blew. Now their replacements have gone. Last week, Craig Mather, chief executive, and another director quit after the company postponed its first shareholder meeting. This followed a court ruling that four board candidates, including the former chairman, should not have been barred from standing for election. The company has until Christmas to hold the vote. Meanwhile, RIFC – whose shares have fallen from 75p at float to just under 50p – has neither chief executive nor chairman and just two directors. One is Brian Stockbridge, finance director. The other is James Easdale, bus operator and local businessman, who with his brother controls about 24 per cent of RIFC’s shares and was brought in as a non-executive amid another board ruckus in July. The company acknowledges that it must strengthen the board “to meet the standards required of an Aim company”. However, if a team spent as much time fighting among itself and scored so many own goals, fans would boo it off the pitch, or worse. It won’t be so easy to kick RIFC off Aim. The London Stock Exchange, which oversees Aim, is a hands-free regulator. It largely leaves nomads – who are paid by companies – to decide whether a business is fit to be public and its governance is “appropriate”. Even now, when Rangers’ governance has gone beyond normal measures of appropriateness, the LSE has not rushed in with a red card. Yet. But the nomad will have to justify to the LSE the “appropriateness” of any board candidate. It will be tough to find someone who meets the LSE’s criteria and is willing and able to broker a long-term peace. But if it cannot, then the RIFC’s shares are likely to be suspended. And if the warring continues, the company’s Aim quote will be cancelled, stranding shareholders – including thousands of Rangers fans – with untradeable equity. The most elegant end to this tawdry tale would be to find a buyer to take RIFC off the public market. Then at least fans will have a chance of selling out at something like a fair price. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5320d384-3754-11e3-9603-00144feab7de.html#axzz2iI2Yanan
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We are under investigation from glasgows finest as to armed forces day daily record page seven the police report is now complete amazing the speed of the investigation when you think that the same police are dragging their heels into those who wronged our club .
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Lifted from FF: ''Thats two younger lads now both under 19 had police come to their doors early morning to arrest them for singing said song. I was also told by a polis up in Ayr that FoCUS are watching out for people singing this now due to the YCV reference''. Just a heads up.
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Posted by Roy Greenslade It will be interesting to see if any newspaper covers the fact that members of Britain's armed forces appeared to join in with Scottish football fans as they sang sectarian songs at a match yesterday. Initial reports suggest not. Some 400 uniformed soldiers, seamen and air force personnel attended an armed forces day at Ibrox, the Rangers ground. After a formal march and band music, a group of soldiers (they were in khaki) were filmed dancing, clapping and singing along with the crowd. Although it is difficult to make out the exact words on the video posted on YouTube, people have identified sectarian songs and chants celebrating the death of the IRA hunger striker Bobby Sands. Rival Celtic fans were quick to point to songs that are supposed to be banned from all Scottish football grounds under a new law passed by the Scottish parliament. One commenter to the YouTube site wrote of it being a "disgusting vile and tawdry spectacle". Another wrote: "Shocking stuff. I hope this vid is forwarded to the footballing and army authorities." Two media reports about the events that have been published - one here on the STV site and another here on the Daily Record site - make no reference to the soldiers' antics. The STV report mentioned that an army band "entertained fans" and quoted Major General Nick Eeles, general officer commanding Scotland, as saying it was hoped to make it into an annual event. The Record did write that "the match-day experience began in dramatic circumstances" but only because two marines "abseiled down the Govan stand ahead of kick-off, before delivering the match ball to the referee." How odd that both outlets missed the story? Or do their reporters think soldiers chanting jingoistic sectarian songs in unison with football fans is unworthy of comment? Incidentally, Saturday was not the official armed forces celebration day in Britain (that falls in the close season). The club, with the full approval of the military, decided to stage its own separate event. http://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade
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http://www.therangersstandard.co.uk/index.php/articles/current-affairs/282-jim-spence-rangers-jibes I won't post the article as there are a few images used at the link for context... Suffice to say, poor Jum gets nailed by an on-form Chris...
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Lifted this from FF, hope that's ok. Thought it was worth posting, seems that the guys who do the Founders Trail are getting abuse from VB. For those who have read the statement from the VB's and the avoidance of doubt i'll try to cover the nonsense that we at the Founders Trail are accused of. We've posted the reasons why many times on RM but the VB's continue to ignore this and are more intent on spreading lies. We as a group took the decision not to take the Founders Trail on to their website as under no circumstances were we wanting the Founders of our Club associated with certain rather obvious elements of that site. The easy thing to do would have been to stop posting on RM but there are many good Bears on there who've taken the Tour with us and we weren't going to deny them access to information relating to our research and subsequent events. We're also accused of A) not mentioning William McBeath on the Tour and B) not giving the VB's credit for the work done at Willie's grave in Lincoln. The fact is we tell William's story in it's entirety during the Tour including at Fleshers Haugh about how he probably organised our first ever match with his fellow ex-pats from his home town of Callander . We visit the location of two of his homes and the old St. Andrews Hall where he received a Gold Badge from his fellow Founders for his part in the inception of our Club. We also as part of our Tour hand-outs, which every passenger receives, have pictures of Willie's grave in Lincoln before and after the work that has been carried out . We acknowledge that ''this fantastic work was carried out by fellow Rangers supporters''. Those who have actually taken the Tour will of course verify this. Those who sit behind their PC's spreading poison in an effort to discredit the Trail and our Founders choose to ignore the facts. Only they know why. We don't mention Celtic during the Tour and we don't mention any website.We aren't interested in inter-website squabbles only spreading the fabulous story about our Founders. The Plaque at Fleshers Haugh and the work carried out was paid for by the world-wide Rangers support and this is highlighted. It belongs to you , the people. We're continually accused of '' Only running the Founders Trail to line the organ-grinder's ( Mark Dingwall) pockets''. Where do you start with this ? it's certainly not listed in our published annual accounts, however our donations to various charities are. If we were robbing Rangers supporters then why is the VB website so keen to be associated with us ? We've asked on countless occasions to be left alone to continue our research and to continue with the celebration of the greatest sporting story of all but they continue to hound us with threats and allegations. What hasn't struck them yet is they're actually doing the work of those whom they proclaim to challenge. Rangers first, at all times.