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Rangers 1 - 0 Dumbarton: Back where we belong


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http://plzsoccer.com/news/083103/9907/

 

By Peter Martin

 

Congratulations to Rangers for winning the championship. I welcome the addition of the Ibrox club to the Premiership next season.

 

Managers, players and fans up and down the country are all also looking forward to the return of Rangers to the top flight. Even SPFL chief executive Neil Doncaster is licking his lips at the prospect of Glasgow’s big two locking horns once more.

 

It’s four games a season, it’s a stronger more competitive league and a more sellable asset to broadcasters and sponsors all across the globe.

 

What’s not to like?

 

Just ask the Police, the emergency services and parents up and down the country worrying about the safety of their family members as the madness and poison of the relationship between Rangers and Celtic returns.

 

On one side you have a set of fans who don’t even recognise the existence of this ‘new’ Rangers before 2012 and that is the first bit of agro that will resurface as this Scottish cup semi-final approaches.

 

Throw into the pot the ‘we are the people’ knuckle draggers who have everyone’s name in a black book who ever said a thing against the club who bumped creditors for lots of money and you have another bit of fuel for the fire.

 

Bigotry, hatred, Accident and emergency and let’s not forget greed and self interest are just a few of the elements that will all come back into play in the forthcoming trailer on April 17th before the big movie next season.

 

It is one of the most famous derbies in the world, not for the technical ability of the players or the high standard of football on show. No, this has an attraction to a global audience because of the hatred built up over a century in the west of Scotland.

 

The return of Celtic v Rangers allows a group of unsavoury characters; rich, poor, intelligent and thick to use the game as a platform to peddle their bigotry and sing songs about apparent battles between protestants and catholics, that most know nothing about from history.

 

Make no mistake, if a law prohibits them from singing certain songs, they then hijack other ‘pop’ songs to try and get the message over in a more clandestine method to stick two fingers up at authority.

 

Throw into the melting pot the new ‘conspiracy’ theories from one side that everyone has it in for them including the SPFL and the SFA and it’s all set up for a battle royal next season in the race for the Premiership title.

 

Get ready also for Referees allegiance being called into question, media bias, written letters to Uefa claiming one side said this and one side said that and we are back where we started over four years ago.

 

In the four years of Rangers absence from the top flight, every club in Scotland did not fold and disappear, they cut their cloth accordingly and survived, even if a few had some cliff hanging moments, they survived.

 

St Johnstone, Inverness, Ross County, Kilmarnock, Aberdeen and Hearts have all won silverware and stopped Celtic winning everything in sight.

 

These clubs have also had a bigger say in the direction of Scottish football for the future, is that about to be challenged again when the big two get together to try and block any proposal that jeopardises their future income?

 

Will we also see Rangers and Celtic resume their quest to head down south or across Europe at a moments notice?

 

The fans will also demand money is spent and lots of it, forgetting about the past mistakes very quickly, if success is not delivered.

 

The phone-ins will gather pace with cries of ‘we should be buying this one and that one and paying them £30,000 a week because we are a big club.’

 

Yes, this is just a taster of what is about to return next season.

 

I have many ‘normal’ friends who are looking forward to the return of Rangers v Celtic. They are looking forward to the games, the goals and friendly banter.

 

They go home to their wives and their children, some, in what you would term mixed marriages and preach a message of understanding, acceptance and tolerance. One nation, many colours.

 

Yes, I am looking forward to Rangers return for footballing reasons. It’s not more important than life or death, it’s just a game.

 

In the words I have written, which paragraph and category do you fit into when the ‘old firm’ get back together?

 

 

 

Peter and Roughie ‏@peterandroughie 20m20 minutes ago

 

@gersmandan @GoodCopBabcock for the benefit of the numpty and others who haven't read the piece. My wife is a Rangers fan. Go fish elsewhere

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Bigotry,sectarian etc. would have us believe that war on the pitch is about to occur.

Interesting since the large percentage of the players are from outside not just Scotland but definitely the West of Scotland, so all this crap talked by the media will only relate to the behaviour of the fans.

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Gers’ return to top ends phoney war

 

By DAVIE PROVAN

 

CONGRATULATIONS to Mark Warburton and his players for clinching promotion.

 

Rangers’ return to the big league will end the phoney war.

 

Four seasons of sham that damaged every top-flight club in the country and left our Premiership resembling the Dog and Duck League.

 

When the sporting integrity gang had Rangers’ fate in their hands in 2012 they threw the baby out with the bath water.

 

While they could have kept Gers in the top tier with a points penalty, they buckled under pressure from the mob.

 

Remember them? The keyboard gladiators who threatened to boycott their own clubs unless Rangers were booted into Division Three?

 

What a shower.

 

They told us Rangers wouldn’t be missed. That crowds would hold up all over the country. Remember the Sell-out Saturday nonsense?

 

What happened to those who promised they’d turn up every week to counter-balance Rangers’ absence? Switch on the telly these days and all you see are rows of empty seats.

 

Be in no doubt, Rangers deserved to be punished.

 

Craig Whyte’s reluctance to pay tax was always likely to see Gers in bother. Previously, Sir David Murray’s EBT scheme gave them an obvious advantage in attracting top players, despite Lord Nimmo Smith’s take on it.

 

But when the time came to pass sentence, every Premiership club went down with the accused.

 

In the absence of four Old Firm games, the television deal became null and void, sponsors ran for the hills, crowds nosedived.

 

This week SPFL chief Neil Doncaster tried to put a positive spin on Rangers’ exile. He reminded us lower league clubs have done well out of Rangers travelling support.

 

He’s right, but when did lower division outfits become a priority?

 

More important are the clubs trying to sustain full-time football. Clubs who draw the biggest crowds, represent Scotland in Europe and provide players for the international team.

 

Most have suffered through Rangers’ demotion.

 

None more than Celtic who are down £10million a season.

 

When Hoops fans are bored witless by the lack of competition, how does Peter Lawwell put bums on seats?

 

Yeah, I know Aberdeen are still in this title race, but most Celtic fans live to beat Rangers.

 

Sure, they’ll celebrate if Ronny Deila’s side win this championship, but it won’t be half as sweet as edging out Rangers.

 

Celtic fans who live for ten-in-a-row will disagree. This one-horse race sees the champions rolling towards number five.

 

But at what cost?

 

When Celtic had Rangers on their shoulder they spent every penny they could afford. That investment allowed them to punch above their weight in Europe.

 

But where they could scalp Barcelona not so long ago, they’re now cannon fodder in serious European competition.

 

As for ten-in-a-row? Nobody in the serious football world will blink if Celtic reach that number.

 

While the whole of Europe sat bolt upright on the night Lionel Messi took second-best in Glasgow, a decade of Scottish domination won’t register outside our own parish.

 

Either way, life now begins in earnest for Warburton, below left, and Deila, below right. The Gers boss is reluctant to predict a Rangers title win next season. Privately, you can bet he sees Gers running Celtic close.

 

That would require decent investment from a board who’ve still to show us the colour of their money.

 

The jury is still out on the depth of Dave King’s pockets. But he knows he has a manager with good judgement of the transfer market.

 

With chief scout Frank McParland familiar with the English market, Gers should get value this summer.

 

If the board sanctions a handful of new faces, they will be in good shape to challenge next season.

 

Across town, Deila should be raising a glass to Gers’ promotion.

 

Currently in charge of a much stronger squad than Warburton, the Norwegian is still in pole position.

 

If Celtic turn up at Hampden next Sunday they’ll have more than enough to see off Rangers for a place in the Scottish Cup Final.

 

But this summer Deila needs his board to react to Gers’ renaissance.

 

I don’t buy the idea Rangers need two or three seasons to close the gap. One look at Leicester’s progress in 12 months should act as a warning to Lawwell and Dermot Desmond.

 

In the meantime, let’s savour the prospect of Scotland’s powerhouse clubs going head to head again next season. It’s been far too long.

 

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/columnists/davieprovan/7062594/Gers-return-to-top-ends-phoney-war.html

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Originally Posted by pete View Post

I think Killie will win tomorrow v St Jnstn and DU will lose to Calley putting them back in serious trouble.

 

Hope you're right!,get to the bookies for a bet on that!

 

Kilmarnock 3 St Johnstone 0

Dundee Utd 0 Inverness 2

 

I hope somebody took us up on this.

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