Hibs supporters statement

[ian1964 10,448]

The Hibs Club has watched events in Scottish football this summer with increasing concern:

 

For Hibs and their fans this summer should have been solely about a much needed rebuilding process.

 

Instead we have watched with increasing concern as the whole Scottish game has been tarnished by the financial collapse of Rangers.

 

As Hibs fans we know only too well how men concerned more with profiteering than the wishes of fans can risk the very existence of a football club.

 

So it is with increasing dismay that we have watched Scottish football tear itself apart in its attempts to protect a business model that operates more for the benefit of TV executives than ordinary supporters.

 

We believe that the new Rangers â?? if they can satisfy the usual standards demanded for SFA membership â?? should start out again in the Third Division.

 

We welcomed the â??noâ? vote passed by the SPL, including our own club, but we have watched with dismay as the SPL clubs have stood silently on the sidelines as their own Chief Executive â?? with the help and approval of a now entirely discredited SFA â?? has tried to bully and threaten lower division clubs into submission.

 

Not only do we find the tactics used by Neil Doncaster and Stewart Regan abhorrent, we also take issue with the doomsday scenarios they have offered as evidence.

 

While TV money and corporate sponsorship are undoubtedly important we do not believe that all of them would vanish if the Rangers newco was not guaranteed a place in the SPL within 12 months.

 

We would also argue that additional benefits â?? including a return to more regular 3pm Saturday kick off times â?? would offset some of the lost revenue.

 

This, however, is an issue that should go beyond finances.

 

It is essential that Hibernian â?? like all clubs â?? are part of a fair and equitable league structure with governing bodies that are consistent and reasonable in their treatment of all clubs.

 

We do not believe that is currently the case and we would call on all SPL clubs â?? including our own â?? to urgently address the damage being done to the game by Neil Doncaster and Stewart Regan.

 

We have long felt that reconstruction of the league structure was a critical factor in strengthening the Scottish game.

 

The proposals that are currently being discussed destroy the prospect of a strong Scottish game and are aimed solely at rebuilding a strong Rangers.

 

These attempts at craven gerrymandering for the sake of one club are an affront to all the commitments to â??sporting integrityâ? we have heard over the last few months.

 

Many Hibernian fans feel cheated. While the financial sacrifices made at Easter Road have not always found favour with many of our fans we do appreciate that these decisions have been made in the interests of long term stability.

 

We now find our voices ignored as rules are broken or rewritten to favour a club that has spent money it could not afford to buy success.

 

It is heartbreaking for us to hear members speak of not going back to Easter Road or of turning their back on the Scottish national team.

 

These are not hollow threats. They are a symptom of the disillusionment many fans feel at a game that seems to constantly betray its paying customers.

 

While we have sympathy for ordinary Rangers fans left bewildered by current events we have also been saddened over the last few months to hear Ally McCoist attempt to destroy a disciplinary process that had been created to help move the game forward.

 

Other comments from high profile Rangers figures such as Sandy Jardine have seemed to be nothing more than vindictive threats against other clubs. These have left us shocked and angered.

 

Now we find ourselves in the unacceptable position of watching Charles Green attempt to sign players while footballing debts to other clubs â?? debts that are as important as any projected TV or sponsorship income â?? remain unpaid.

 

Yet this apparent lack of contrition is being ignored as the Scottish football authorities unite to do what they feel is best for just one club.

 

We would hope that the European and global footballing authorities are watching these developments with interest and will move to censure the Scottish governing bodies.

 

Hibernian Football Club is our passion. We want to see a strong Hibs on the pitch and off the pitch. We want to see a sustainable Hibernian at the heart of our community.

 

22 years ago we united as fans to save Hibernian.

 

Today we find ourselves united in calling for Scottish football to end the current uncertainty, withdraw the the current campaign of bullying and threats aimed at our friends in the Scottish Football League and allow Rangers to rebuild their devastated club from the Third Division.

 

Fans of other clubs have been accused of â??hatingâ? Rangers.

 

We are defined not by hatred of any club but by our love of Hibernian.

 

A strong Hibernian in a strong Scottish game will forever be our one and only aim.

 

A few men motivated by greed and money currently risk that vision.

 

Fans of Hibernian and every other club cannot stand silently by and let that happen.

 

http://hibsclub.co.uk/2012/07/08/statement-on-rangers-scottish-football/

[the gunslinger 3,366]

everyone is angry with Regan.

[UCF2008 0]

The proposals that are currently being discussed destroy the prospect of a strong Scottish game and are aimed solely at rebuilding a strong Rangers.

 

These attempts at craven gerrymandering for the sake of one club are an affront to all the commitments to “sporting integrity” we have heard over the last few months.

 

It's impossible to pick a single quote from this supporters statement that makes any sense so I've done the opposite.

 

What the hell do they think in this whole process has been done for the benefit of Rangers? Do these deluded fools actually think that Rangers have had ANY control whatsoever over these proceedings?

 

Apparently they do. They think that big bad Rangers and their TV exec cohorts are the problem here.

 

That's got to be one of the most fucking moronic official statements from any club or support in this whole farce so far.

Edited July 8, 2012 by UCF2008

[Guest JCS]

"The proposals that are currently being discussed destroy the prospect of a strong Scottish game and are aimed solely at rebuilding a strong Rangers."

 

That was the line that got me. Not even the MOST vehement of our opponents could justify that comment - purile nonsense.

 

Whilst the anti- Regan/Doncaster thrust of the statement is welcome, the obvious anti- Rangers sentiment strips it of any credibility.

 

Comments such as,

 

"While we have sympathy for ordinary Rangers fans left bewildered by current events we have also been saddened over the last few months to hear Ally McCoist attempt to destroy a disciplinary process that had been created to help move the game forward."

 

Since when have you guys supported a process that is devoid of any natural juctice. A process where those sitting in judgement, sit in secret and are influenced by those who convened the tribunal in the first place!

 

How do you justify a system that is totally alien to the democracy that we live in, where the core legal process REQUIRES that any tribunal sitting in judgement is known in advance. Our legal system, and that of the USA - up to and including the House of Lords and the Supreme Court - requires that the accused is aware of who will sit in judgement. They even post the names of the Supreme Court judges on their website.

 

Yet you stubbornly - and contrary to all evidence - cling relentlessly to the belief that the SFA tribunal was a fair one. Lord Glennie didn't think so.

 

I could merily spend another few hours ripping your biased and ill-conceived piece to pieces but, alas it would make little difference to your warped, bigoted and hate-filled attitudes.

 

"We are defined not by hatred of any club but by our love of Hibernian." Let me dispense with the considered response for a moment and just say - BOLLOCKS!

[andy steel 0]

Too late, pussies!

 

You actually believed that you were creating a revolution...Lenin's dictum about getting 'useful idiots' to do the dirty work has never been so apposite. Alas, what is happening is not aimed at building a strong Rangers, it is aimed at preventing your clatty little club going to the wall, along with several others. Inability to see this is either pretence or stupidity on a scale not seen since...well, since y'all voted us out the SPL.

 

3PM ko's to revive the game, aye right. Hibs have had plenty of those, owing to their being too shite to get on the TV much - haven't seen them hoist the 'sold out' sign too often, have we?

 

As usual, everything is Rangers fault. Even this, this collapse of the game brought about by your own stupidity and hate, is our fault. The hollow pride in your claim that

 

We are defined not by hatred of any club but by our love of Hibernian.

 

would be hilarious, were the bigger picture not so sad.

[Jim1955 12]

Self serving cant and hypocrisy, the whole point behind the SFL1 deal is to protect the other clubs. It has nothing to do with rebuilding a strong Rangers.

[Guest Bluenose80]

 

As Hibs fans we know only too well how men concerned more with profiteering than the wishes of fans can risk the very existence of a football club. - Says supporters who want to boycott their own club

 

We believe that the new Rangers – if they can satisfy the usual standards demanded for SFA membership – should start out again in the Third Division. - Who is this NEW Rangers?

 

We would also argue that additional benefits – including a return to more regular 3pm Saturday kick off times – would offset some of the lost revenue. - How often to Hibs play in front of the tv cameras?

 

It is essential that Hibernian – like all clubs – are part of a fair and equitable league structure with governing bodies that are consistent and reasonable in their treatment of all clubs. - In what way have Rangers been treated consistently or reasonably during this whole mess?

 

Yet this apparent lack of contrition is being ignored as the Scottish football authorities unite to do what they feel is best for just one club. - Which club its certainly not Rangers? (I think we all know which club it really is right Regan)

 

22 years ago we united as fans to save Hibernian. - Yet you're happy to put your club out of buisness out jealousy of Rangers?

 

 

http://hibsclub.co.uk/2012/07/08/statement-on-rangers-scottish-football/

 

So many contradictions in that statement it is laughable I've highlighted the worst ones

[Robert 17]

A response from the RST and, in my opinion, the best statement they have ever made:

It is with little surprise but some dismay that we note the statement made today by the Hibernian Supporters Club. Give the propensity for these statements to appear in groups we feel it is worth correcting some of the inaccuracies contained within it before others make the same mistakes. After all, given the now shattered falsehood that ‘sporting integrity’ was the overriding aim of clubs in the SPL, we should do all we can to avoid another myth being perpetuated by those clubs and their fan groups.

 

It is probably worth noting that we fully agree with the Hibs Club’s opposition to the SFA/SPL aim of placing Rangers into Division 1 of the SFL. However, their assertion that this is being done to assist Rangers is absurd. The Rangers fans have made it very clear that we wish the club to resume playing in Division 3. This has been communicated to both the board and the manager of our club and they are entirely supportive. This is the correct solution and one which means the club will forever be beyond reproach. The tactics being employed by the SPL and SFA in order to deny Rangers the opportunity to do so are outrageous.

 

However, let us be very clear. This ‘solution’ is being cobbled together for the benefit of clubs in the SPL, like Hibernian, who have based their business models around having Rangers in the league. It is being done so that Rangers can be used as a cash cow to sustain these clubs whilst inflicting maximum damage on our club’s ability to compete. If our club are forced into this it will be purely to protect the financial interests of the current SPL clubs.

 

Whilst we have little interest in whether the financial projections for the SPL clubs are accurate, the SPL chairmen clearly feel that they can sustain their clubs with reduced, or no, TV revenue and sponsorship and without the patronage of our away support. We wish them the best of luck.

 

The SFL clubs are blameless in this scenario. They are being blackmailed by the spectre of formation of SPL 2 and should not have been put in this position by the SPL clubs and the SFA. The SFA are also attempting to blackmail Rangers into accepting these proposals using a licence document concocted specifically to threaten our club.

 

That the Hibs Club should use Rangers’ successful court challenge of an unlawful SFA sanction as an excuse to attack our manager says everything about the motives behind their statement.

 

If the Hibernian fans, or fans of any other SPL club, are unhappy with the plan to place our club, against its will, in Division 1, then perhaps they should address their concerns to the boards of the Scottish football authorities, rather than taking it as a further opportunity to attack our club. Indeed, the Hibernian Supporters Club are in an excellent position to do so, given that their Chairman, Rod Petrie, is one of the main architects of this proposal along with Stewart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the club chairmen who are lucky enough to hold privileged positions on the boards of the SPL and SFA.

 

Rangers Football Club has existed and prospered for 140 years. We are in the middle of a very difficult period in our history but are resolute in the knowledge that our club will be here for another 140 years, and beyond. We look forward to being given the opportunity to make new friends in our journey through the Scottish leagues, starting in Division 3. We are sure this journey will benefit the clubs in those leagues and look forward to returning to a prosperous SPL with bountiful ‘sporting integrity’. If we are denied this opportunity then rival clubs should look no further than their own chairman for someone to blame.

 

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/rstsite/

[Gribz 743]

Haha...Hibs. They are shite regardless and havent had a player since Goram and Durie. When they came to Rangers we released their talent.

 

Hibernian is also the local Singapore Scottish team, and it really is full of wanks! I trained with them for 1 day and preferred keepie ups with a few hungry tigers!