ian1964 10,409 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 ..........gets Rangers fans all fired up to renew Old Firm rivalries. IT was a terrific quote. Nauseating so far as its sentiment was concerned, but a marvellous sound-bite never the less. It was the one Dave King delivered about some Rangers fans who couldn’t, or wouldn’t, put shoes on their children’s feet because they wanted to use the money to buy their season ticket for Ibrox. This was portrayed as evidence of the extraordinary degree of passion some fans have exhibited for the club. It’s nothing of the kind. Putting football before your family’s needs is not and never will be a badge of honour. Indeed it is a source of everlasting shame and there shouldn’t be the slightest hint of dubiety about that. But Dave wasn’t indulging in some emotional flight of fantasy, dreamed up one night while he was lying on a sun lounger as dusk fell on his exotic garden and swimming pool in Johannesburg and thinking about his place of birth. These people really do exist. I was once abroad in the company of an old friend who had a long and illustrious career with Celtic. We had been covering one of the club’s European ties and having a post-match refreshment before turning in when he was accosted by a fan. One who proudly told him his children hadn’t had a holiday in any of the previous three years so that he could travel the continent to support his team. The supporter had managed to turn denial where his family was concerned into some kind of imagined virtue He may have expected the Hoops hero to offer heartfelt words of praise but it was all the ex-player could do to maintain self-restraint after the interloper had invaded his company to spout his ?nonsense. Here’s the thing, though. ?Rangers’ survival as a viable concern is essential to the future well-being of the game in this country. The written media have done their usual first-class job of turning Celtic’s latest title-winning exercise into more column inches than would have been devoted to the Second Coming. But the reality is we need, heaven help us, the return of the rivalry that brings out those whose distorted sense of family values is an affront to decency. That also means unleashing the younger element upon us as they represent another part of the baggage that comes with re-establishing the Old Firm. Rangers and Celtic will play an Under-20 league match at Murray Park on Tuesday afternoon. That’s because the number of police who would’ve been required to enforce security if the game had been played ?in public view would’ve been financially inadvisable in times of austerity. It would have been interesting for normal folk to monitor and contrast the clubs’ youth development set-ups. Particularly at a time when 17-year-old Liam Henderson is scoring in a match against Partick Thistle that confirmed Celtic as league champions. But the youngsters’ match would have been hijacked, as those in authority well know, by the flare throwers, the singers of questionable songs and the rest of the misfits who would leave a family audience in fear of their safety. The match would’ve become an irrelevance to both sets of fans while they hurled sectarian insults at each other. It was the business of using rivalry as a basis for thuggery that put King’s policeman father off football when Dave was growing up. But one day, and it’s not too far off now, we’re going to have to deal with a first-team Old Firm derby that troubles society at large while helping enhance the product known as the SPFL Premiership. King knew exactly the right button to press when he started his propaganda campaign to win control of Rangers by instilling the fear of Celtic winning Ten in a Row in the minds of his club’s fans. And that’ll prey on their minds longer than Rangers’ captain Lee McCulloch’s talk about next Sunday’s Ramsdens Cup Final being a “massive” game. The match with Raith Rovers is a by-product of a club fallen on hard times. Nothing more and nothing less. Only those who would contemplate denying the weans shoes to buy a season ticket will think otherwise. Now the Ibrox board have countered King by saying that fans will threaten Rangers’ viability as a going concern if they decide to withhold season-ticket money The fans are now trapped between two sides, each trading on their innermost fears. And gullibility. I was speaking to a fan on the radio the other night who told me Celtic qualifying for the Champions League group stages next season would be a greater achievement than winning the European Cup in 1967. It was breathtaking nonsense, and a moment to ponder whether some fans actually understand history. Celtic were the first British, not Scottish, winners of the competition. Idolising Neil Lennon's perfectly all right, but distorting the truth while tarnishing Jock Stein's memory isn't. Neil would surely be the first to agree. No-one's dismissing his achievements. But there must be a sense of perspective. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,234 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 I was speaking to a fan on the radio the other night who told me Celtic qualifying for the Champions League group stages next season would be a greater achievement than winning the European Cup in 1967. It was breathtaking nonsense, and a moment to ponder whether some fans actually understand history. I'd assume Nurembourg Hugh missed the point. That fan was not equalling the historical achievement by those "Lisbon Lions", but the fact that the current Celtic side is still rubbish compared to teams of the past (even Lennon's) and that it might take a feat as monumental as that of 67 to even reach the group stages ... should some adequate opponents bar their way to the golden pot. For should that come to pass, the Yahoos might end up in the reds sooner than expected. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Apart from his addiction to sensationalism, that wasn't such a bad effort from Shug. He does raise a valid point about the next Old Firm game. Maybe we should just play them to home crowds and forget opposition fans for a while. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RANGERRAB 3,254 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Apart from his addiction to sensationalism, that wasn't such a bad effort from Shug. He does raise a valid point about the next Old Firm game. Maybe we should just play them to home crowds and forget opposition fans for a while. People need to realise Scottish football changed forever in the summer of 2012 when certain individuals were doing their utmost to put Rangers out of business altogether. Not to mention the attempts at title-stripping & cheating accusations. People who should have chosen their words wisely chose not to. In the fullness of time they may well regret this as we return to the top division again next year if everything goes to plan. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ser Barristan Selmy 222 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 What's he going on about regarding fans getting season tickets instead of shoes for their kids? He's getting enraged about stuff he's making up. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Cooper 0 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Nuremburg sh*ting himself at the thought of the King stepping in and blowing his beloved hoops away. See right through you Shug. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
the gunslinger 3,366 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 What's he going on about regarding fans getting season tickets instead of shoes for their kids? He's getting enraged about stuff he's making up. dave king said it. he said that it may be easier for him to spend 30 million than for some people to buy a season book. the truth is only a yahoo would actually do it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Nuremburg sh*ting himself at the thought of the King stepping in and blowing his beloved hoops away. See right through you Shug. I don't personally think he's as bad you make out, SC. His output as a hack is sensationalism at its worst and in the context of what it has contributed to the Scottish game, it is extremely divisive and deplorable. Hacks like Shug are very much responsible for the anger and bitterness amongst today's younger fans. That anger and bitterness has yet to bring its destructive force to bear on our game but mark my words, it's only biding it's time. The level of "sports journalism" in this country is abysmal and hacks such as Shug have almost certainly contributed to a near total loss of understanding and appreciation of the game of football. That truth hurts, but they are systematically destroying the game they rely on for their bread and butter. That so many throughout Scotland look towards our media for news, opinion and direction, and that it is severely lacking is a very sad state of affairs indeed. But no, using a Celtic banner to cover Shug's shortcomings lets him off extremely lightly. The offences that he and his ilk are responsible for are far, far greater. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheTinMan99 0 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 It's rather sad that the U 20's have to play behind closed doors. It's good experience for them to play in front of crowds, so it's not a major shock if they suddenly get in the first team. Anyone starting any pish at an U 20's game should get barred for life. It's a bit pathetic. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete 2,499 Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 It's rather sad that the U 20's have to play behind closed doors. It's good experience for them to play in front of crowds, so it's not a major shock if they suddenly get in the first team. Anyone starting any pish at an U 20's game should get barred for life. It's a bit pathetic.Everyone should have done there utmost to play this game with supporters present. it would have been easier to police than a real old firm game. This could have released a lot of tension but now they are throwing it on to a real OF game with 50.000 + for the first confrontation. Crazy! This was a safety valve to release pressure and they have failed to take it. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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