Frankie 8,150 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Been on a much-needed holiday so was no surprise to come back to further debate about the recent 'articles' by Michael Walker and, of course, that fearless crusader of all things bigoted (as long as they are blue), Graham Spiers. Of course, ill-informed and imbalanced media comments are nothing new so while I was annoyed as the next bear about these articles, I was more interested to see the Rangers Supporters Assembly finally wade into the media debate. Looking around online their suitably succinct statement seems to have been received reasonably well which is certainly good news given many fans still harbour (valid) doubts about the quality of that organisation. Nonetheless, I'm sure these same cynics welcome the Assembly's efforts to be more pro-active in this regard. Utilising the Trust's experience in this field is also agreeable. I hope this is further evidence of an improving Assembly willing to act on mandates from interested fans. As ever though, it needs to be considered how to reach offline supporters so they are made aware of the Assembly's stance. To that end the club should be looking to help - even if asking them to ban Graham Spiers is unlikely to yield their agreement. Nevertheless, would it be possible for the Rangers News or a forthcoming match-programme to publish such Assembly statements? I'd also love to see them on the Jumbotron screens home matches but perhaps that is less feasible. Certainly, if the club are serious about combating unfair media coverage then, while making martyrs by banning journalists may not be realistic, helping the supporters publicise the worst of the offenders' work is something they can do to apply pressure. The club have stated a few times that if fans are not happy with media coverage, then don't subscribe to the platform involved. Of course that applies in many cases but our chances of success would improve if the club helped disseminate the information. Unfortunately the 'don't buy' mantra doesn't apply to the problems we've seen at the BBC in recent years but out of small seeds.... Unfortunately, with Sir David Murray still the majority shareholder, even the appointment of a new chairman isn't likely to warrant a large-scale change of tact in the way the club defends itself and its fans. However, the Walker and Spiers issues are open goals for the club to show they really care about their fans' image. With the club-funded Assembly speaking out - an organisation the club are quick to highlight as representative of all Rangers fans - the remit has been given more strongly than ever for the club to do more. The upcoming club AGM will be an opportunity to see exactly how Alistair Johnston feels about an issue which remains one of the most important to many supporters. The media challenge is one that unites most fans of otherwise different opinions and backgrounds. Do the club intend leading from the front and finally joining with us in addressing it? To conclude, the media debate may not be the biggest off-the-field challenge facing Rangers FC but it will give us an interesting insight into whether Alistair Johnston is his own man or a pawn for a regime which continues to allow hostile mischief-makers to say and do what they like. Moreover, this will be an interesting gauge to see if the Assembly are capable of creating the necessary pressure to force the club into change. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 As ever though, it needs to be considered how to reach offline supporters so they are made aware of the Assembly's stance. To that end the club should be looking to help - even if asking them to ban Graham Spiers is unlikely to yield their agreement. Nevertheless, would it be possible for the Rangers News or a forthcoming match-programme to publish such Assembly statements? I'd also love to see them on the Jumbotron screens home matches but perhaps that is less feasible. I think that's a good idea and if the club aren't willing to ban these cretins then at least it shows they back the fans stance. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 The only real option would be barring him from Ibrox which would make him a martyr in some eyes. But it would open the debate on speirs to why his endless articles are so biased. That i would like to see. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 If the only arguement for not banning him is the martyr one, then it's not a very good one. He's already 100% strictly and only anti-Rangers. He doesn't ever turn his accusing eye towards any other club, fans or issue. He can't get any worse. All he can do is carry on the same. By banning him, we can at least make it harder for him to carry on. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Chances of Graham Spiers being banned from Ibrox = Zero 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super_Ally 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 Chances of Graham Spiers being banned from Ibrox = Zero There's a lot of things that we probably can't affect even with a concerted campaign. But that's no reason to keep bending over and taking it up the ass. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted October 13, 2009 Share Posted October 13, 2009 There's a lot of things that we probably can't affect even with a concerted campaign. But that's no reason to keep bending over and taking it up the ass. Nobody is suggesting that. All I'm saying is that I think there's zero chance of him being banned. It's practically written in stone because no matter how much bile he writes about Rangers & the Rangers fans, he's still given the green light to enter, sit down at Ibrox and be his offended self. I don't see it as being a question of whether he'll be banned or not, I see it as a question of what course of action if any, will actually be taken. There's something in my head telling me that the club actually want him there, crazy as it may sound. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankie 8,150 Posted October 14, 2009 Author Share Posted October 14, 2009 Chances of Graham Spiers being banned from Ibrox = Zero Agreed. However, that's not to say the club can't take other action behind the scenes to help pressurise his employers. In some ways the club's own championing of the Assembly could see them hoist by their own petard here. If the Assembly is as truly representative of the support as the club have maintained, then the mandate has just been given for the club to address the media debate in more a more forceful fashion. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gisabeer 409 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 If the only arguement for not banning him is the martyr one, then it's not a very good one. He's already 100% strictly and only anti-Rangers. He doesn't ever turn his accusing eye towards any other club, fans or issue. He can't get any worse. All he can do is carry on the same. By banning him, we can at least make it harder for him to carry on. Has he ever written an article on any other club? If so id like to see it. Ill probably frame it and put it on a wall, in the toilet i suspect. I think we should start an organised campaign against him. Hell hes being doing it to us for long enough. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted October 14, 2009 Share Posted October 14, 2009 Has he ever written an article on any other club? If so id like to see it. Ill probably frame it and put it on a wall, in the toilet i suspect. Not sticking up for Britney here, but believe it or not, he does indeed write articles about a wide variety of footballing matters & issues. He does mostly write articles about Rangers & Celtic since they're the hottest topic in Scottish football, but it's only occasionally that he starts sh*t stirring the bigotry & sectarian subject. He writes a quite a lot of articles about the SFA & the Scotland manager & team as well. I only know what he's writing because I took it upon myself to find out by digging through the Times website & I can say with 100% certainty, that the idea that all the guy does is have a go at our particular club & fans is completely false, absolute nonsense in fact. It seems like we only make a big deal about him being anti-Rangers once or twice a year when he manages to get one of his more controversial pieces published and we inevitably perceive it as deliberately trying to damage our club, which is probably the correct conclusion to come to in most instances to be fair, since the likes of him rattling on about bigotry & sectarianism problems as if they were only a problem on one side of the OF, certainly isn't doing our club & reputation within football any good. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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