French Article - SoFoot is the French equivalent of FourFourTwo

[ian1964 10,513]

Lifted from Rangersmedia

 

A thunderbolt through the already grey Scottish skies: Glasgow Rangers, up to their neck in debt, have been demoted from the top division and condemned to the fourth, a semi-pro level. A sporting crisis, but not really a human one. Thatâ??s because, even in the fields of Aberdeenshire, the biggest club in Scotland can count on its fans. Which is demonstrated at Peterhead on the first day of the league championship.

 

With a population of 17,000, the small town of Peterhead, on the north-east coast of Scotland, not far from Aberdeen, is best known for its fishing. But not only that. A prison for sex offenders, built in the 19th century, has also put the town on the map.

 

â??Over there, the inmates wear green and whiteâ? laughs Neil, a Rangers fan, before taking a gulp of his favourite drink, a Powerade Vodka. The remark concerns Jim Torbett, a former Celtic youth coach who was charged fifteen years ago for abusing three young boys in the 70s. An event which the Gers fans openly mock on the bus which takes them to Peterhead on this misty August afternoon.

 

Even though theyâ??re so far from the SPL, the Bluenoses save all their favourite songs for Celtic. In Neilâ??s coach, they bawl:

 

â??If I had the wings of a sparrow/If I had the feet of a crow/I would fly over Celtic Park tomorrow/And shit on the bastards below.â?

 

Not the most poetic verse, inviting people to defecate on the fans of their historic rivals, but a classic.

 

A blind starving chicken

 

However, despite the chants, the atmosphere is not totally normal. And for good reason: Rangers are starting their first season in purgatory. After the legal liquidation of Rangers in mid-June by a tribunal in Edinburgh for not very kosher accounting- debts potentially reaching £80M and alleged fraud of the British tax authorities- the club has been taken over by a Yorkshire businessman, Charles Green, for �7M.

 

But the Scottish clubs refused to reinstate the 54 time champions to the top flight. A short while after, the possibility of relegation to the First Division, the second highest league in Scotland, was also kicked back.

 

So the Third Division it was, which is equivalent to the French amateur leagues. A tour of the real Scotland- Peterhead, but also Falkirk, or Elgin, small towns where the sheep run scared. Itâ??s an unprecedented situation for a club who have played exclusively in the top division since its creation in 1890.

 

â??These arenâ??t stadiums; theyâ??re slumsâ? scoffs Neil, describing the places that will welcome him and his friends this season.

 

To be frank, Rangers fans have balls. Their fall has welded them together against new enemies. First it was Celtic, now they want the whole of Scotland. They hate the cops who follow them everywhere around the country. They hate Craig Levein, the national coach, who stupidly announced to the press that he would, from now on, no longer select Rangers players, as they were playing at too low a level to be able to compete in internationally. They hate the SFA- â??Youâ??ve got to write about how much we hate the SFAâ? splutters Neil- as well as the SPL, accused of being far too harsh on the club. They hate their previous board, who are responsible for the current situation. Craig Whyte, the former owner, gets the brunt of the criticism.

 

â??If he was a blind, starving chicken, I wouldnâ??t even throw him a grain.â? blasts David, a bald, chubby man who is chief of the supporter's travelling band. Throughout the support, there is a lot of anger.

 

The support which reigns Scotland feels like theyâ??ve been the victim of a conspiracy of the other clubs who, by and large, seemed to enjoy their fall. Itâ??s a bit funny coming from fans who, for decades, have mocked the Celtic fans for their supposed paranoia.

 

â??Itâ??s like you guys in France, if PSG won the league ten times in a row. In ten years, you would see that everyone would hate them,â? claims Andrew, a diehard Bluenose for all of his thirty nine years on this earth.

 

â??Weâ??re seen as the establishment club. The other clubs are blinded by their hatred of Rangers,â? adds another fan, who believes that â??no reasonable Celtic fan wants to win the league against Aberdeenâ?.

 

The teamâ??s in the shit; so what?

 

It doesnâ??t really matter. With rage in their hearts or not, the Rangers fans haveâ??t left the stands. Thatâ??s not the done thing here. Tuesday 7th August, in the First Round of the League Cup, 40,000 watched on as Rangers played an obscure Second Division team (4-0). This summer, Sam still renewed his season ticket:

 

â??It cost me £411, compared to £617 last year. I also bought them for my 13 year old boy and my ex-wife. Truth be told, if it was £9000, Iâ??d still pay it.â?

 

A mechanic, Sam defines himself as â??British first, Scottish secondâ?. â??Rangers is in my gut; itâ??s under my skin.â?


 

On his right forearm, three lines show his passion: â??Born Rangers, Live Rangers, Die Rangers...Let the others come after us...We welcome the chase...We donâ??t do walking away...We are the peopleâ?.


These last two lines were added a few weeks ago.

 

â??Weâ??re used to dining at the top table, but thatâ??s over now. The teams in the shit; so what? Weâ??re not going to say to them â??Weâ??ll be back when itâ??s all good againâ?â? says Sammy

 

â??I remember when John Gregig was manager between 1978 and 1983. We were challenging for fifth place. Me and my pals were still in the stands.â?

 

By the middle of August, 30,000 season tickets had already been sold. Much of this was surely down to an endorsement from club legend Ally McCoist a few days before. Keeping his counsel before, the clubâ??s current manager asked the support to show their loyalty to the club by renewing their season tickets once again.

 


The efforts of Charles Green to cast away the doubts that have shadowed him since his arrival have also been appreciated by the support. The mysterious Englishman has brought in players who you might class as overqualified for semi-pro football. Among those are the Spaniard, Fran Sandaza, who arrived from St Johnstone, and Emilson Cribari, a Brazilian in his thirties with hundreds of Serie A matches behind him. Not exactly blockbuster names, but enough to comfort fans who saw a spring exodus of over 20 players, including stalwarts such as Allan McGregor, Steven Davis and Steven Whittaker. Charles Green also claims to have been in touch with several billionaires, including the notorious Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, in order to reinvigorate the club.

 

â??For the time being, we donâ??t really have anything to hold against himâ? is the point of view most fans seem to hold. Bizarrely, this restructuring of the club has brought about a sense of adventure that has been absent since the journey to the UEFA Cup Final in 2008.

 

â??When I first heard we could end up in the First Division, I told myself â??Put us in the Third Division and weâ??ll rise from the ashes like a Phoenix" We could be the first club ever to win four successive leagues in a row,â? adds Sam.

 

Cans, Cops and Bob Marley

 

Result: Saturday 11th August, there were some 1,500 supporters in dozens of buses making the 250km journey from Scotlandâ??s economic capital to the biggest village in the Highlands, to a stadium that usually only attracts 300 spectators.

 

â??In the car, the journey goes by faster, but you canâ??t drinkâ? explains David, who organises a coach alongside Allan, a banker who lives in London during the week. The match is scheduled for a lunchtime kick off, so the drink is in full flow upon leaving Glasgow at 7 in the morning. Frankly, everyone already knows that alcohol is banned on board. A few kilometres outside Aberdeen, cans of Tennentâ??s and bottles of Budweiser are discarded in plastic binbags at the side of the road.

 

All that remains is some alcohol cleverly filtered into soda bottles. However, the policemen escorting them for the final part of the journey still find a few forgotten litres of booze in the hold. Fines are handed out, which are followed by insults thrown out through the windows:

 

â??You can drink on the way to the rugby, but not to the footballâ? groans a fan whoâ??s a bit depressed at the idea of playing against â??diddy teamsâ? for the foreseeable future. This is what such lower league teams are disdainfully known as in Scotland. It must be said though that things will be difficult in the beginning.

 

â??Utter shiteâ? is how Andrew analyses the game after Rangers earned a draw in the final minutes of the match. The only point of discussion before the match, which probably cost gamblers worldwide millions, was, according to the Scottish Sunday Mail, just how badly Rangers would thrash Peterhead. At the stadium, cameras were everywhere; on the roof of the stands, in the corner of the terraces, even in the playersâ?? tunnel. After long negotiations, the TV group Sky agreed to broadcast Rangers matches despite their relegation. The background team at Peterhead had a job on their hands preparing so many steak pies in cardboard boxes for the hoards of journalists who flocked to the game. However, on the pitch, itâ??s a real fourth tier affair. No soft tackles are made, while the atmosphere is charged.

 

The Gers wanted to experience the rugged side of Third Division life, and they well and truly got it. However, this did not dent the confident- perhaps arrogant- nature of the club.

 

â??Itâ??s a big lesson for us,â? admits one fan afterwards â??but weâ??ll still win the leagueâ?

 

â??Today, the atmosphere was good, but the standard of football was really poor. I think thatâ??s going to be the hardest part, watching this quality of play week in, week out.â? concedes Andrew.

 

Truth is that nobody at the club whose motto is â??No Surrenderâ?? reckon that theyâ??ll spend much time in this division. On the bus home, in a sort of premonitory chant, the lyrics of Bob Marleyâ??s â??Three Little Birdsâ?? resound:

 



â??Donâ??t worry about a thing. Cause every little thing is going to be all right.â?

 

And if promotion is not won on the pitch, the club could still go up thanks to some help from league restructuring: a revamp of the league system, which would see the amount of teams between the fourth and top divisions being reduced, is currently being reviewed in Scotland. Itâ??s another reminder that the people running the game know just how important Rangers are to the survival of Scottish football. Or, as the proverb goes, there are only three great institutions left in Scotland: the Church of Scotland, the Scottish justice system, and the Rangers. Even after drawing with Peterhead.

 

http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=237607

[craig 5,199]

"there are only three great institutions left in Scotland: the Church of Scotland, the Scottish justice system, and the Rangers. Even after drawing with Peterhead"

 

The Tims will be raging

[Super_Ally 0]

Where's that proverb come from:

 

"Or, as the proverb goes, there are only three great institutions left in Scotland: the Church of Scotland, the Scottish justice system, and the Rangers."

 

Quality.

 

Edit: Beaten to it by craig.

[DUDE 0]

Good read, cheers for that.

[Blue Moon 1,150]

A fun article without negative attitude. Pretty much describes the mood of the moment (my mood at least).