The Immortality Project – or – Death and Denial – Guest Post by Humble Pie
Death has a tendency to put everything else into perspective.
My family recently suffered a bereavement. It wasn’t a sudden death but it was still far too quick and far too soon for any of us to get our heads around. As our loved one’s illness progressed, each of us, in our own way, began to prepare for the inevitable. In the end, whilst it was not unexpected, it was nevertheless very traumatic, for everyone concerned.
Grief is a strange and often debilitating set of emotions. Even now, a few months on, when the intense sadness and tears have given way (mostly) to disbelief, we still find it hard to fully comprehend what has happened. We might never completely ‘come to terms’ with that fact, however, we do accept that it DID happen, much as we all wish that it hadn’t.
Many of you will be familiar with the Kubler-Ross model of the five stages of grief; Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. Well, I am aware of having experienced each of these stages over the last year, as well as a couple of others which I wasn’t prepared for (a lot of personal reflection, a little guilt and a not insignificant amount of pain).
It seems to me that the Rangers supporters have been purposefully ensnared in an interminable cycle of the first two stages of KR; alternating between the denial of the death of Rangers and anger at what they feel has been done to their beloved club then back again to denial. This, as any first year psychology student will tell you, is a very unhealthy state of mind which, if not addressed, can quickly lead to physiological and behavioural problems.
At its lowest level, for example, people throughout the ages have continued to set places at the dinner table for their long-dead loved ones. They know in their hearts that the person has died but are comforted by the familiarity of doing the same things that they have always done. However, in extreme cases people have even kept and maintained the actual cadavers of the deceased, dressed them, talked to them and watched TV with them, in a state of absolute denial.
In archaeology, accepting and recognising the inevitability of death through conducting ceremonial burial services is considered to be one of the very first signs of a civilised people. You see, grief is a uniquely human and cathartic process i.e. it can produce ‘a feeling of being cleansed emotionally, spiritually, or psychologically as a result of an intense emotional experience’.
In short, grief is ultimately a good thing which leads you through a series of natural psychological steps towards acknowledgement of an unalterable situation, allowing you to take stock, re-evaluate and start to move on with your own life in a positive way.
That is what should have happened with the fans of the old Rangers.
Instead, this ‘never-ending cycle of the undead’ was positively encouraged by those many unscrupulous individuals who saw a way of making a fast buck from maintaining the ‘Then, Now and Forever’ illusion. Worse still, this resurrection fantasy is being facilitated by the very people whom we have entrusted to stop this kind of thing from happening in the first place. If only the SFA or the MSM had told them the truth, they might have had a chance to actually face up to the situation.
Unfortunately, these two bodies were so complicit in Rangers demise, so right up to their necks in the brown smelly stuff, that they were too afraid to face the inevitable anger which would have rightly come their way. So, they made up grim fairy tales to feed to the bereaved souls about non-existent ‘holding companies’, the ethereal ‘club’ which transcends death and by suggesting that it is ‘all a matter of opinion’.
Ernest Becker, in his 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning book ‘The Denial of Death’, posits that “human civilization is no more than an elaborate, symbolic defence mechanism against the knowledge of our own mortality”. This fear of death acts as an emotional and intellectual response to our basic survival instincts.
‘By embarking on what Becker refers to as an ‘immortality project’, in which a person creates or becomes part of something which they feel will last forever, the person feels they too have become part of something eternal; something that will never die, compared to their physical body that will die one day’. When this ‘immortality project’ is threatened it leads inevitably to fear, depression, loss of identity and sense of purpose.
In that case, the initial reaction of the fans to the imminent demise of Rangers was entirely predictable and understandable. “No way, this can’t happen to us, we are the people”. However, as soon as the full realisation of their club’s inexorable slide into liquidation began to sink in, came the expected anger. But towards whom should their righteous wrath be directed?
“Who did this to us, who are these people?” they cried. “Not I”, said Sir Murray of the Mint, “for I was duped”, “Nor I”, said President Ogilvie, “for it was never my role”. “Nor I”, said Mr Smith, “for I never knew nothing or nothing”. “Not us”, squealed the media monkeys in unison, “for that’s what we were told”, “Nor us”, said the SPL “it was nothing to do with us”.
“Who then?, we demand to know who these people are”, howled the horrified hordes. “T’was the Whyte knight”, they all concurred, “he alone caused this calamity”. “And the bampots”, sneered the slimy slug. “And the taxman”, puffed the pundits. “And the unseen hand of Mr Lawwell”, whispered the bilious bears from the safety of their den.
There were even those who tried to warn them, not least Hugh Adam, Phil Mac and RTC but they didn’t want to know. Even when their very own Messrs Green and Traynor spelt out, in no uncertain terms, that liquidation meant the death of their club, still they chose wilful ignorance. The MSM, with access to the same information, encouraged them to keep their heads firmly ensconced, ostrich stylee, on the banks of that ironically blue and white river in Egypt. Which just goes to show ‘you can lead a lamb to knowledge but you can’t make it think’
The point though is that the Rangers fans have heard the truth and once you have heard something you cannot unhear it. Even if you reject it, even if you deny it, it gnaws away at the back of your mind, infecting your subconscious.
Almost a year ago, I posted the following on TSFM. http://theinternetbampot.wordpress.com/2012/09/ in which I postulated that the SFA were too frightened to say anything which might imply that The Rangers were a new club.
Looking back at that post, I am amazed at how little the landscape has changed.
A year on and it has become apparent that the corporate cancer that destroyed Rangers has continued to metastasize in its new host. Charlotte’s revelations may have shown us that the rabbit hole goes much deeper than we first suspected. However, in my humble opinion, the information provided has only succeeded in ‘poisoning the well’ and deflecting attention from the main culprits in this disaster. Layer upon layer of complexity has been added to an already opaque story and the majority of her utterances appear designed to engage the more enquiring minds on this forum and consume their excess mental energy.
I know that some people are bored with this ‘debate’ but, to my mind, the single most important step for the redemption of Scottish football is the fan’s acceptance that The Rangers, who currently ply their trade in the SPFL First Division, are a new club. Once they have accepted that then everything else that they perceive has happened to them will begin to make sense. They will see that rather than everyone having a fly kick at them when they were down, most were actually trying to help them. It will also dawn on them that the very people who have been telling them that there is an anti-Rangers conspiracy against them are actually the same ones who are screwing them over.
Rangers were not relegated to div 3, The Rangers applied as a new club and were granted entry into the bottom tier of Scottish football. They are not banned from European competition, merely ineligible as a new club without the requisite financial ‘history’. Any reference to ‘rulings’ from ECA, ASA, the BBC Trust and any internal or so-called ‘independent’ enquiries are completely irrelevant, as none of these bodies are the final arbiter in this case. Scots Law is clear that there is no distinction between club and company after incorporation, when the company dies the club dies with it. That is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact.
Sooner or later The Rangers fans are going to realise this fact and when they do, there will be hell to pay. Until they do, their new club can never become truly cleansed. Only then can they move on and only then can they join together with fans of other clubs to root out the real cancer at the heart of Scottish football. That’s why the MSM and the SFA are still petrified to say anything. In the meantime the real creators of this disaster are sneakily positioning themselves further and further away from the scene of the crime.
I am sure the majority of us would happily accept a new Rangers, cleansed of its financial, emotional and supremacist baggage. A club that all decent Rangers fans could support without feeling any guilt about Rangers downfall or that they were being taken for mugs. The prospect of a new dawn in Scottish football, where sporting integrity took primacy and clubs lived within their means was very real. However, as usual the SFA couldn’t miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.
The truth is that Scottish football is in the state it is in, not because Rangers died but because those with the power and mandate to effect the prognosis sat back and did nothing. I am sure that they believe that ‘time heals all wounds’ and that the longer this injustice is allowed to stand the more likely it will be accepted by the man in the street. No doubt the authorities feel it is in the national interest to ‘let sleeping dogs lie’. However I cannot accept this. I believe that it is vital that we are able to face up to reality so we can move on for the benefit of all football supporters.
Scottish football is at a crossroads right now, I think we all feel it. Rampant corruption has become so mainstream that many of our fellow supporters have began to accept this as the norm. However, it just doesn’t sit right with me and I suspect that many regular contributors and readers of this blog feel likewise.
We have quite lost our way and we live in a society which spends vast amounts of money paying people like Jack Irvine to ensure that we stay lost. The mainstream media treat us like little imbeciles and demand that we conform to their assumed ‘professional superiority’. The PR machine plays up to our stereotypes and feeds our fantasies while the poorest people pay to swallow their poisonous propaganda and relentless trivia.
So what can we do ? Clearly, battering out a few blog posts and strongly worded letters to the various authorities involved has been rewarded by the square root of FA.
How can we make this an opportunity for growth rather than contributing to the destruction of Scottish football ? It is not good enough to tear down a system unless we have a better system to replace it. However, I believe that it is not the system itself which is broken. It is that those charged with administering the system are hopelessly corrupted, hugely conflicted and unable to apply their rules without fear or favour.
By their incapacity and inaction (wilful or otherwise) the SFA have facilitated a motley crew of various spivs, chancers and con-artists to glean the last few meagre pickings from the bones of the emaciated loyal supporters of this new club purporting to be the once mighty Rangers. They have permitted these ne’er-do-wells to collectively appropriate many tens of millions of pounds from the Rangers fans, the creditors and the public purse. They have already allowed this corporate malignancy to spread to a new host, ‘The Rangers’, and the absence of ‘moral hazard’ makes it more likely that the disease will continue to spread.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “‘Nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”
Someone else once said, “The wages of sin are death, but by the time taxes are taken out, it’s just sort of a tired feeling.”
I sense that we are all beginning to get tired of this. It is time to stand together, all football fans, face the facts and direct our anger against the officers of the SFA who have allowed this sham to develop into a catastrophe.
I have no doubt that my humble opinions expressed here will raise the ire of many deluded souls. However, I am comfortable in the knowledge that the only people who get mad at you for speaking the truth are those that are living a lie.
RIP Big Man.
Excellent post, Humble Pie.
Sorry my friend, although I revel in the demise of Scotland’s shame, it cannot be related to real loss.
I do hope they die though.
Something in me wants Third Rangers v Third Lanark in the Third Division
Am I bad?
Careful folks the thumbsdowners are out in force tonight 😀
We know they died and Scottish football is not in a state s a result of this. Scottish football is becoming a real embarrassment as a result of the attitude of the SFA and SMSM and pundits alike (apart from a couple ) in their absolute refusal to admit that the club originally from Govan is dead.
This is a huge issue and till the day that everyone accepts that fact (and more important can actually say those words on radio or TV and print them in a paper) IMO we will never move on.
Why has this been so difficult to accept?
What are people scared of? Can Scotland as a country not accept this?
Does the truth mean nothing?
Sporting integrity in Scotland?
In fact maybe no club died and nobody got liquidated, there that seems much easier to say.
Me, I say they are dead.
Excellent post. The difficulty now is the persistence of immortality. Having failed to acknowledge the logic and reason of the death of Rangers, an amorphous, immortal, non-corporeal entity has been imagined. This entity is a delusion but one given so much credence by all bodies in Scottish football and civic society that it cannot easily be killed. When the present SEVCO genesised masquerade collapses then another phantom will emerge. This phantom will be subject to neither the rules of football nor the laws of the land.
We have entered a twilight zone of mass delusion accepted as reality. Should reality ever emerge to reclaim sanity from the present madness expect the equivalent of a religious cult’ s violent collapse when reality destroys their delusion.
With every passing day the delusional become more convinced of their divergent reality. Expect either a further and deeper descent into lunacy – we have already travelled further than even I an arch believer in human gullibility could have ever imagined – or a brutal and violent awakening to the truth by the deluded.
Well said HP.great post
A lovely piece Humble Pie, poignant and peppered with amusing phrases.
I am not the only one reticent to announce the death of Rangers though I did undertake Fifa’s recent exercise to say it out loud and this may yet prove cathartic. There is a reason for this reticence which might be explained by the same psychological processes that give rise to the five stages of mourning that you list.
Even when your most vehement foe suffers catastrophe there is still an empathy borne out of a tribal solidarity. Admitting Rangers dies means that we are accepting our own mortality and will thus have to go through a mirror of the self reflection of the grieving process. Allowing the possibility that the soul of the club survived the fatal event gives some of us solace that if our club suffered a similar fate then we too might find a resurrection that provided a similar immortality.
What this ignores however is that death is not only inevitable but essential. Death makes space for new vigorous life. A life unconstrained by the experience of earlier generations; a life that can renew the spirit of reality free from the encumbrances of a previous age.
What about the children I find myself thinking. Can I say to the young kid wearing a Rangers top that his club is dead. Could I be that cruel and thus shatter so many of his heartfelt understandings. Then I realise, as you point out, this was never my task. There is an existing ceremony available to administer the last rites and allow the bereaved to travel the journey of their reconciliation with the new reality. However for the reasons you have given, this ritual was never undertaken.
You have given me reason for pause and self reflection. I thought that to force this particular issue would lead to division and rupture. Perhaps as you postulate it would actually lead to recognition and healing. Maybe Jim Spence’s comment is the beginning of the dawn of this new reality. It is a radical approach but if it benefits the tribe in the long run then we may all have to learn to embrace it.
If Jim Spence is forced to apologise for stating the truth – we may as well just jack it in.
Good stuff HP.
The oldco/newco is a bit like a strange family tree chart. We can see the line that represents Rangers Oldco and those who bore this child in 1872. It died however and had no children but bizarrely from nowhere another line appears in 2012 claiming still to be the Oldco but with different parents.
Bawsman your going to the bad fire
I see our Arbroath friend has made an appearance in Jim Craig’s latest historical footie instalment 🙂
Great post HP, we must keep up the pressure to defeat the cabal of conmen, tax avoiders, thieves, administrators (top), SFA, and the churnalists of the SMSM.
Posted this morning, reposted for the night shift. Its regarding sevconians ideas of conspiracy theories, and probably fits in well with HP’s excellent leader!
Sevco fan’s “web of unseen fenian hand”, http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4172/cfcweb1nujcm8r.jpg
Its quite mind blowing!
They knew then, They know now, They’ll know forever.
Great post HP…..tis strange times indeed we all face …
Very well done HP and thank you.
I was reminded that when an elderly relative receiving benefits dies, the benefits stop.
Unless of course, if the truth of the death is kept secret, then the benefits will continue.
And someone will start to defraud the taxpayer and maybe even the relatives !
I’m sure everyone can work out how this applies to the death of RFC and how pretending they are still alive, brings all kinds of benefits to Scottish Football.
Isn’t that the basis of the thinking of messrs. Regan, Ogilvie & Doncaster ?
Benefits cheats.
Was reminded today of what defines a football supporter….a friend of mine from Deverondale FC wrote this of his friend at Buckie Thistle FC..
……..
Attended the funeral service of a dear old friend today. Joe Jappy was 92 years old and had enjoyed a lifetime’s association with his beloved Buckie Thistle FC. For many years, he looked after all visitors to Victoria Park, as the ‘boardroom barman’. He must have poured the biggest drams in the history of football. You always got a tumbler filled to the brim, with very little room for a mixer ! When you heard the minister tell everyone that Joe got up at 5/6a.m. every home game to do the home-baking for the boardroom, it makes you realise how much work goes on behind the scenes at every football club, but yet very few people have a clue as to what really
goes on. And it’s all voluntary ! Thoughts are with his widow Annie and family at this sad time. RIP Joe. Forever in my thoughts.
http://www.buckiethistle.net/index.php?tid=95&cat_id=0#ontitle
“I know that some people are bored with this ‘debate’ but, to my mind, the single most important step for the redemption of Scottish football is the fan’s acceptance that The Rangers, who currently ply
their trade in the SPFL First Division, are a new club.”
For my part, I am far from bored with this “debate”. It is absolutely fundamental to the future of Scottish football. If we allow The Rangers to persist in the fallacy that it is the same club as Rangers then we have no one to blame but ourselves for perpetuating all that is wrong with the game in Scotland.
Carried over from the previous thread fao Corsica1968 when he’s ready:
100BJD Sept 4, 2013 at 3:33 pm
TallBoy Poppy Sept 4, 2013 at 4:50 pm
Lamp Post Sannies Sept 4, 2013 at 11:30 pm
paulsatim says:
September 5, 2013 at 12:25 am
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That’s some list of accused! I noticed that full names are used when possible including middle names or middle initials… except one they just call Lennon.
No much pain, bitterness, hatred going on there then 😉
Following up on the twitter hint of yesterday, David Low aka @Heavidor seems to believe that SDM received part of the IPO cash via the sale of E. House & the A. Car Park to the enterprise formerly known as Sevco Scotland.
paulsatim says:
September 5, 2013 at 12:25 am
Sevco fan’s “web of unseen fenian hand”, http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4172/cfcweb1nujcm8r.jpg
Its quite mind blowing!
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A descent into madness. A similar chart could no doubt be put together for any club that has been in existence for a century or so, has had international success and local links. Take facts and assumptions, add in a healthy(?) dose of paranoia, a dash of conjecture, put on your blinkers, and away you go. Please nobody do the equivalent Rangers one.
A fine, perceptive piece ‘Humble’. Straight to the heart of the TRFC fans quandary.
paulsatim says:
September 5, 2013 at 12:25 am
Posted this morning, reposted for the night shift. Its regarding sevconians ideas of conspiracy theories, and probably fits in well with HP’s excellent leader!
Sevco fan’s “web of unseen fenian hand”, http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/4172/cfcweb1nujcm8r.jpg
Its quite mind blowing!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That is disturbing stuff, hate and paranioa personified. Do the people involved check under the bed before going to sleep at night, like children scared of monsters grabbing their ankles? I would not be surprised.
It is clearly well-researched, an accomplishment to put together, but very sad and disturbing none-the-less.
Jim Spence getting a lot of grief over his dead Rangers comment last night.
It’s no wonder some of the more spineless hacks toe the party line.
Well done Jim
I believe that in future people will call this ‘TRFC Paradox’
A group of people who previously vehemently denied the doctrine of transubstantiation in relation to the prescence of a deity, fully endorse this dogma in relation to their football team.
John Knox will be spinning so fast he’ll create his own gravity!
Bill 1903,I’m clearly off the pace.Where did Jim Spence make the deceased RFC comment?
So right Davythelotion,John Knox and other notable reformation figures would have been aghast at this,shall we say quirk in our culture which allows for so much glossing over of the facts.However John Knox did not have to deal with the horrors of 21st century capitalism.The rangersness of too many prominent,waspish figures and institutions will not cave in lightly to that seemingly problematic of notions,the truth.
Humble Pie
” Scots Law is clear that there is no distinction between club and company after incorporation, when the company dies the club dies with it. That is not a matter of opinion, it is a matter of fact. ”
whenever I talk to Rangers fans about old club, new club, they always state legal rulings that they say supports their claim of Rangers being the same club. Lord Nimmo Whatsit etc
My basis question is ……..Is there any legal ruling on them being a new club.
A few posters have said that the reason no-one takes matters to court is a fear that this will be revealed.
Is it not legal rulings we should be looking to to decide this matter and not Uefa, Sfa, Msm etc
If Rangers fans were shown a legal ruling would this not help them to move throught the stages of grief.
Bill1903 says:
September 5, 2013 at 8:25 am
5 0 Rate This
Jim Spence getting a lot of grief over his dead Rangers comment last night.
It’s no wonder some of the more spineless hacks toe the party line.
Well done Jim
——–
Aye, the truth hurts. I didn’t hear the actual comment on the podcast, so it’s probably gone in the edited-down version. Pity really. Very relevant to HP’s new blog too. But Mr C. Graham is leading a wee band of Flat-Earth society acolytes on twitter.
Respect to @bbcjimspence.
I hope redlichtie will be along shortly to tell us that Scottish football needs a strong Jim Spence 🙂
Excellent effort HP.Stand up open your windows and shout ” Im mad as hell and I aint gonna take it ” its very therapeutic.
The Rangers are dead and Im Sparticus !
paulsatim says:
September 5, 2013 at 12:25 am
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…..and they had the audacity to say that Celtic supporters were paranoid?!?
Linking Opus Dei to the Media, Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities is beyond belief.
The only thing that surprises me is that there is no little line to link Celtic, Opus Dei and PL to the lollipop men and woman of Glasgow.
There are some obvious psychological traumas taking part in the minds of the delusional hordes who accept this ‘drawing’ as factual.
The creator of this piece would have received a bit more credibility if he had used pasta shapes, non-toxic crayons (for obvious reasons) and a Dymo name creator. He should have put a little message on the bottom e.g. To Mummy and she might have stuck it on the fridge door.
If anyone knows the creator of this dross could they tell him to stop constantly opening his wardrope door because Narnia isnt real.
Re The web of the unseen Fenian hand
This bloke is Scotland’s answer to David Icke, fruitcase. His followers will be running round in Orange shell suits.
Scottish football needs a “cleansed” Rangers free from the baggage of the past.
We hear this from many quarters but are we sure of what we really want or are we hypocrites. We are derided by those of a blue tint as “wanting Rangers money but not wanting Rangers” Are they right? Do we really want a new club plying their trade in G51 or do we just want the perceived pot of gold that they would be able to bring. I ask this not to be scurrilous but to genuinely gauge opinion. What if this new club turned out to be another south sea bubble, languishing in the lower reaches of the premier division and battling to survive relegation every year?
We all assume that the new club would regain the prominence of its previous incarnation and would be title challengers but what do we base that on? Would they necessarily be the second biggest club in the land with access to funds that other clubs other than Celtic could only dream about? What if the fabled support turned their back on this new “cleansed” club? What then?
Much is made about the need for Rangers to return to the top echelons of Scottish football because that’s what TV wants. Surely what TV should want is a competitive league no matter who the competitors are. Or are the TV Company’s merely interested in a game that is steeped in bigotry and hatred. If so, what happens when the bigotry and hatred are taken away – what then becomes the attraction.
There is a siege mentality at work over at Ibrox. It has served them well both this and last season, but like any siege those under fire soon tire of the struggle and give in. Season ticket sales are down on last year despite the recent influx of “better” players. That the siege mentality has been created by the jingoistic rhetoric used by the spivs is undoubted. The rise in supremacist chanting and the almost slavish fascination with all things military is disturbing but is this the driver behind the ST sales. After all it can’t be the quality of the football on offer as that has been dire in the extreme. If we take away this mentality what would we be left with, a club that struggles to stay afloat with a dwindling fan base. Is this what Scottish football needs?
I genuinely don’t believe that Rangers would ever command a great following without their baggage. If the baggage is removed a large number of their current support would stop attending and would not be replaced. Rangers would quickly join the ranks of Dumbarton, Huddersfield, Preston North End. Clubs that once were successful and famous but no longer.
What if a newly (re)formed Rangers did not live up to the billing? Is it possible to reform Rangers or would that be like asking the BNP to stop being racist. Would Scottish football be a better place without any manifestation of Rangers.
So I ask the question again, what do we really want?
Mirrenman @8:49
If Rangers fans were shown a legal ruling would this not help them to move throught the stages of grief.
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Sadly,even if there was a statement from the Grand Master,the Queen,or even God, many of the loyal would still be in denial that it is a new club.Therein lies the problem
This fits in here nicely, having relevance to tomtoms recent post about Rangers joining the ranks of Dumbarton, Huddersfield, Preston North End. Clubs that once were successful and famous but no longer and also to Rangers recent charitable status.
“The first game of season 1883/4 saw Dumbarton FC lose 4-2 to Rangers in a game in aid of “the Daphne Disaster Fund”. The Daphne was a 500 tonne steamer which had turned on its side during its launching at LInthouse on 3rd July 1883, tragically killing 146 of the 200 workers still inside its hull. Dumbarton Football Club agreed to play a fixture in aid of the disaster fund and did so at their own cost, but the Rangers committee insisted on taking their expenses. On being heavily criticised for their actions, Rangers officials remarked rather sourly it was all very well for the big clubs like Dumbarton to play for nothing.” (Source – The Official History of the Dumbarton Football Club).
Jim Spence needs backup. Who will be the next headline name to speak the truth out loud?
Where are you Mr Cosgrove?
Regarding “The web of the unseen fenian hand” diagram…
Although a lot of work and man hours have obviously been spent collating the information, it is inaccurate and fatally flawed…
I attended The University of Strathclyde and I don’t even get a mention…
WTF!!!
tomtom says:
September 5, 2013 at 9:32 am
So I ask the question again, what do we really want?
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I don’t really care what happens to “Rangers”. That’s up to them to sort out, but I doubt if I will live long enough to see the “baggage” being dumped, That “baggage” is a goldmine for those who don’t mind getting their hands dirty in the pursuit of easy money. Charles Green is just an extreme example, there are plenty more of that sort who will cheerfully pick up the “baggage” and wring a few more millions out of it. The recent unseen Fenian hand stuff is fairly mainstream among the bears, and that type of mindset makes it oh so easy to extract their cash. Critical thinking was never the bears’ strong point.
What I want, first and foremost, is the game in Scotland thoroughly cleaned up. The first essential step on that road is the removal of Ogilvie, El Presidente, recently handed another two years in office by all our clubs, in a process that the North Korean Politburo could only gaze on in a mixture of awe and envy.
However since Ogilvie evidently has the uncritical support of ALL the clubs, I don’t know how the process of cleaning up Scottish football is going to start. Perhaps someone has an answer? I gave up on Scottish football the day that Ogilvie was anointed, because that was the day, for me, that all hope for a clean, straight, well administered Scottish game died.
So what I want is a thorough cleansing of the filthy pigsty that is currently the SFA. But sadly, I see no prospect of it ever being done.
Great post HP, and condolences for your recent loss.
Something I’ve noticed through work with children in care through to adults with learning disabilities, allied to my 33 years experience of ambitious people working for BoS, is that people who regularly lie to get what they want, seldom recognise the truth, except when they can use it to get them what they want. The same can be true of people who are happy to accept the lies, especially when the lies were what they wanted to hear. We can see this here, with the various proprietors of Rangers/TRFC consistently lying to gain an advantage over their rivals while using all sorts of smokescreens to hide the truly disastrous state of the club from the fans, aided by their acolytes in the MSM and SFA and the various league bodies, who all seem happy to ignore the lies of the past, while avoiding the truth of the present. Within these bodies are some of those who were lied to, and were happy to accept those lies, however improbable they were, and now find it impossible to accept they were lied to – for reasons both professional and emotional. For reasons, again both professional and emotional, they are now unable to face up to the facts/truth. The supporters, of course, bought into the lies/myth, and, for many, their whole lives will come crashing down if they ever accept the truth. For many, from the various bodies, as well as the supporters, the denial will go on for ever.
tomtom on September 5, 2013 at 9:32 am
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Along with the failed business model of the old club and the failing one of the new you need to look at the failed development model from the SFA.
All roads lead back to the national association.
I truly believe the game is bigger than any club but the game needs to be developed and encouraged.
We talk a lot about inaction from the SFA on umpteen issues around governance but spend very little time on talking about the inaction and inertia around developing the sport.
This is a crucial topic. To digress, the general health of the nation really does have an awful lot to do with introducing kids to sport and physical activity and setting down good habits that can be followed throughout their lifetime. A generation of kids whose default position is sitting down and exercising their thumbs, does not bode well for the future.
I do not believe football fans will ever stop wanting to watch and play football in one form or another. Access is the key. Although it is difficult to change, circumstances sometimes dictate where you need to go to watch the beautiful game, the madejski being my only viable option.
tomtom on September 5, 2013 at 9:32 am
Excellent point tomtom, striking to the heart of the matter.
I’m quite clear, and make no apologies, that I’d be delighted if they died completely.
As fan of a diddy club, all of whom suffered in the space race that saw the old firm carve up more and more of the pie to the detriment of the rest of Scottish Football, I’d be delighted to see the main perpetrator fall permanently to the dust (whilst holding their odious baggage)
No qualms about wishing that.
tomtom says:
September 5, 2013 at 9:32 am
Good post, tomtom. I’m not sure that what I/we want is a new, baggage free Rangers playing in the top league, but I do know we don’t want the old one, or the one currently plying it’s trade from Ibrox. I do know that I don’t want the even more bile ridden entity we have now playing in the ‘Premiership’. Given the choice between TRFC with baggage or no ‘Rangers’, I’d choose no ‘Rangers’.
Tomtom at 09:32
What do we want
____________________
What we want is ALL clubs to be treated equal.
What we do not want is a club whose support is based on bigotry and not football ethics.
If they changed their ways (no laughing) they would be welcomed to be part of Scottish football.
Can you imagine football without their watp attitude. They cannot and more worrying imo neither can Scotland on the whole.
Really sad reality.
I keep hearing TRFC supporters saying a lot of their money went on start up fees ❓
Why would they have start up fees if they are the Same Club ❓
As for new signing more board members =more money out the door
I have came to the conculion that they have taken up the mentality of The Light Brigade 🙁
They all knew what was waiting around the corner for them But hay we’rethe light brigade CHHAAARRRRGGGGEEEE!!!!!
wildwood says:
September 5, 2013 at 10:34 am
tomtom on September 5, 2013 at 9:32 am
Excellent point tomtom, striking to the heart of the matter.
I’m quite clear, and make no apologies, that I’d be delighted if they died completely.
As fan of a diddy club, all of whom suffered in the space race that saw the old firm carve up more and more of the pie to the detriment of the rest of Scottish Football, I’d be delighted to see the main perpetrator fall permanently to the dust (whilst holding their odious baggage)
No qualms about wishing that.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I have a friend who has the same views as those expressed above.
Ronnie Esplin @RonnieEsplin 6m
Paul Murray to release statement through Press Association in next hour or so. Response to stock exchange statement from #rangers yesterday.
Long time since last post, (previous name ismellafix) but have been reading diligently in order to keep up to speed.
Excellent post by Humble Pie, just wish one mainstream journalist had the cojones to spell it out so simply in terms even the most IQ challenged could understand. I am equally angered by the Sevco Friendly Agency’s silence on this matter, as this simple fact clarifies so much and kind of makes sense of a lot of what has happened, albeit there have been countless events which defy coherent explanation.
One thing in HP’s post I would like to comment on, which in my experience finds the Sevco fans struggling to answer in the old club/new club debate;
“Rangers were not relegated to div 3, The Rangers applied as a new club and were granted entry into the bottom tier of Scottish football”
From recollection, I believe it was actually Sevco Scotland who applied to join the SPL. The ensuing vote being 10-1 against with the Kilmarnock abstention. So in effect the new club Sevco applied to join the league, but the old club RFC PLC had a vote on their inclusion, which was the only vote in favour. How can a club on the outside looking to join the league be the same as the one on the inside, voting on their inclusion? I may be wrong on the name of the applicant to the SPL but it definitely shows that the two different clubs were separate entities and effectively in existence at the same time.
Everything thereafter, inclusion in SFL3, transfer of membership, lack of status for the first game v Brechin etc. have only muddied the waters, as was probably the intention of the parties with a vested interest in perpetuating the myth.
Another frustration I have with those interested in robustly promoting the truth, is the continued use of the “R” word. We complain they are pretending to be the same club, and yet only too often we refer to them using the same name. I appreciate the MSM, League Bodies and SFA may still refer to them as their beloved club, but I think those wishing for the truth to be accepted are merely weakening their case and strengthening the resolve of the deluded, by using the “R” word. Consign it to history along with the cheating club that died and only use it in reference to that disgraced entity. Refuse to use it when describing the new club, it works for me especially when debating with the five star fraud topped sevconians.
Sevco then, Sevco now, Sevco forever!!!!!!!!!!!!
Quiz Time folks. Who said, and I quote verbatim:
“”We very much hope the verbal assurances they provided to us – and the public statements made – are adhered to and that the club will therefore be financed and managed with appropriate governance and can go forward in a sustainable manner. WE WISH THE NEW RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB EVERY GOOD FORTUNE.”
My caps obviously but someone who clearly understood the situation then.
Loving the web of the Unseen Fenian Hand. BTW, I haven’t had time to go thought it all, but is the Un seen Fenian bit the fact that they don’t have any “Fenian” entry in their web?
It also got me wondering how one might join such a shadowy orgnaisation as Opus Dei and through extensive diligence & research (Googled “how to join Opus Dei” and got the answer in 0.19 seconds) is found this: http://www.opusdei.co.uk/art.php?p=48 Seems a lot of hasslethough so tbh I think I’ll give it a miss…
What I find interesting is that there were several other statements from people closely connected to the whole saga who saw the situation for what it was worth, ie The Club and the Company were one and the same, and always had been.
Now, reading the LNS verdict on the link to the Twitter picture yesterday this creates a hitherto unknown scenario whereby a football club isn’t really anything. Notwithstanding the fact that this interpretation wasn’t available or offered to Gretna, Airdrionians or Third Lanark, can someone please, for my benefit, and the benefit of others on here who disagree with LNS completely articulate the counter argument to his Lordship.
Following the same theme who also said
“Rangers FC as we know them are dead. It’s all over. They are about to shut down for ever…They’ll slip into liquidation within the next couple of weeks with a new company emerging but 140 years of history, triumph and tears, will have ended… No matter how Charles Green attempts to dress it up, a newco equals a new club. When the CVA was thrown out Rangers as we know them died.”
Surely everyone must use the correct terminology for the truth to prevail
. . . We must always use the name Sevco (even though Sevco have changed their name) and that way,
Everyone will be using the same ‘hymn sheet’ so to speak.
If “we” use the name – “rangers” (sic), then we are condoning the lie and the cheating and tax evasion. . .
That ‘Hidden Fenian Hand’ diagram is utterly brilliant! Are we absolutely sure that the guy who created it isn’t having a laugh at The Rangers fans, and also a little bit at us in the hope that we’d take it seriously and not as the obvious wind up that it has (HAS) to be?
My favourite? Well to be honest, it changes every time I look at it, given that it’s such a rich tapestry, but the line from Celtic to the SPL and it’s crimes is a particular corker. Apparently, Celtic alone formed the SPL and then invited unsuspecting, hardworking protestant clubs into their parlour (no doubt whilst standing behind them with cape raised up in classic ‘vampire attack’ mode).
Also, having attended Strathclyde Uni for 4 years, I’m surprised to find that I wasn’t at a seat of education, but in actual fact, a hotbed of fenianism. Maybe I’ve misunderstood it, maybe they just meant that educated people are naturally anti-Rangers, hence the pulling in of Glasgow Uni and Edinburgh Uni as well. Bloody students, eh?
Re: the unseen fenian hand – here is an easier map for the Sevconians to follow:
http://doroteos2.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/doom-gloom-430×238.jpg
From today’s Daily record By Gregor Kyle
Former Hearts captain Marius Zaliukas joins Rangers on trial
5 Sep 2013 12:10
THE former Jambos captain, without a club since his release from Tynecastle at the end of last season, has joined Rangers for training at Murray Park.
FORMER Hearts captain Marius Zaliukas has joined Rangers on trial as Ally McCoist looks to add to his defensive options.
The 29-year-old centre back has been without a club since his release at the end of last season and missed most of the second half of the campaign with a serious ankle injury.
Zaliukas was injured in a collision with Dundee United striker in Hearts’ 3-1 defeat at Tannadice in February, but made a farewell appearance as a late substitute in Hearts’ final game of the season against Aberdeen.
After moving to Tynecastle from FBK Kaunas Zaliukas made 220 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals and lifted the Scottish Cup as captain following the 5-1 win over city rivals Hibernian.
A move for Zaliukas casts doubt on a move for Bosnian Boris Pandza, although the club stated on their official website that discussions with the defender have been ongoing for several weeks.
The story on the club website also confirms that Ally McCoist is still looking to add another striker to his squad.
______________________________________________________________________
McCoist has brought in 8 players already this season and he wants to add another two just to ensure he can progress from Scotland’s third tier.
I wonder how his pay-cut talks are going 😯
I see a photo in the papers today of a billboard proclaiming, ” Scotlands most successful club “.
Its an argument so easy to refute its embarrassing. Every one of us has come across an Ibrox afficionado who clams up at the slightest hint of dissent.
I think we should post on here, on a regular basis, the list of creditors shafted by Rangers. And a list of directors involved in the theft.
As has been pointed out, these are not matters of opinion, only fact.
thirdmanrunning
First quote was Lord Walter of Cardigan and the second was the ‘current’ director of communications at Sevco, James Traynor.
A jolly good read, thank you HP.
Tin hat on.
I’m not for the total disappearance of the tribute act, I’m all for sticking it to them for the foreseeable, if only to force some reality upon the deluded.
I detest what has become of our game. I am scunnered by our politicians and legal system. The sectarian issue is a national embarrassment. But I will never tire of watching them reap what they have sown in a football sense. Lets face it, unless they call it a day themselves, the agenda is to keep it going at all cost, and unless it costs us all again, let them be and enjoy their struggle.
C’mon the thirds
@RonnieEsplin
Statement from Murray/McColl et al will be on Press Association wires soon. Interesting response to club’s statement from yesterday.
1:54pm – 5 Sep 13
Oops, still waiting @torrejohn 😉
Galling fiver says:
September 5, 2013 at 1:38 pm
5 0 Rate This
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No need for the tin hat Galling fiver, many people share the same sentiments as you.
I am in the camp where I am happy to see them talk themselves up then plummet back down a la Forfar and QOS. I will be happy to see them squirm in the lower divisions of Scottish Fitbaw for many years to come.
I will be happy to see the crowds diminish to the extent they will have to groundshare because the income doesnt match that needed for weekly running (I know, I know).
I will be happy to see them get ‘easy’ draws in cups only to be pumped out.
I will be happy to see teams like Albion Rovers, Brechin, East Fife draw them in cups and remark that they are “glad they didnt get a difficult team and thank the heavens we got Sevco. We do we get in the next round when we beat them”
I will be glad when it dawns on them there superiority complex has disappeared quicker than one of their spivs.
I will be glad to see a change of ‘Spivship’ every six months and the instability it causes.
Call me sadistic but I am soooo glad that I am watching them die by a thousand cuts. Lets hope this is only cut number 54. One for every dubious title they claim.
arabest1 says:
September 4, 2013 at 4:31 pm
andypandimonium says:
September 4, 2013 at 12:19 pm
9 0 Rate This
Good to hear that Mr Lunny is alive and at least has a pulse. He has today charged daft Gavin Gunning with the heinous crime of aiming a petulant wee kick at a Celtic player on Saturday. An advocate of the devil may be minded to observe that a 3 match ban for such an offence is a tad draconian when so many on field assaults are allowed to go unpunished or by the brandishing of yellow; but if Mr Lunny is about to bring the same level of scrutiny and punishment to the rest of the contents of his inbox, the Govan gangsters should be in for some interesting reading in the days and weeks ahead.
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Re Gunning I have little sympathy for him in this instance, he really should know better with his experience
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I agree the player’s reaction was petulant and unwise but also that greater misdemeanours regularly go unpunished. In the 80s it’s the kind of thing where the ref would just tell the boy not to be so bl00dy stupid and get on with the game. The modern game combined with modern PC fascism has everyone making a UN emergency out of every minor confrontation leading to a circular tit for tat arms race of pettiness
I also can’t help but feel this will be categorised as a “pro-Celtic” decision to be filed away and retrieved by the media to provide “balance” the next time a Sevconian gets away Scot free with an onfield transgression, regardless of the fact this course of action benefits Celtic in no way whatsoever and only serves to penalise Dundee Utd for a future fixture
Scottish Football is run, in it’s entirety, by the SFA & the SPFL.
Each has a Chief Executive Officer, Mr Stewart Regan for the SFA and Mr. Neil Doncaster for the SPFL.
The old/new titles would be resolved at a stroke if either of these gentlemen made a simple statement of fact on the matter.
That neither has, or will, is due to the near certainty that to do so would result in the loss of their jobs.
There can’t be a fan in Scotland who doesn’t know this.
So, the charade goes on. When it will stop, nobody knows.
It’s just a waiting game now.
But with a smile.
After all, RFC is dead.
Sir Lady Haggerty @AngelaHaggerty 2m
War of words as PR guru Jack Irvine warns Twitter leaker @CharlotteFakes of ‘serious consequences’ http://po.st/KnzcF1
Well done HP, great article.
On the Jim Spence thing. I propose we all for a week call ourselves ‘ Spartacus ‘
The dead club is really dead!
Signed
Spartacus.
Bored hearing about the board, just have confidence all will turn out ok.
http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/666098122?-11344:801
Aye Ready. Well no actually
Also good to see Mr Whyte’s wee smiley rather confident face again.
There is a general thread in this forum that there is an anti Celtic bias in the media. No doubt from where Celtic fans sit that is how it appears. But I admit to following a more northern tradition that saw both components of the Old Firm (RIP) as two cheeks of the same erse.( I am afraid my fellow fans are a course bunch). So it will astonish Celtic supporters but only reinforce other supporters to see bias in the recent actions of Mr Lunny. No doubt Gunning transgressed, but I think two comments can be made. First what of the team of officials. What is the consequence for them?
Secondly, were there no activities by Celtic players that deserved closer scrutiny and action? I note DU supporters echoing recent calls by Aberdeen supporters for scrutiny of Celtic offences. But no. Lunny only follows the media outcry – and that is very selectively and traditionally biased (in the sense of pandering to the mass circulation -no pun intended.), Pawlett of Aberdeen – hung out to dry last season. Players like Brown ‘competitive’… Mulgrew V Aberdeen totally ignored.
Let’s see Lunny watching matches and reacting – not looking at tabloids and the TV equivalent and following their populist agendas.
senior says:
September 5, 2013 at 2:32 pm
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I’m Spartacus(thethird) 😆
Holly Molly…more twists and turns than Tommy Burns!
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http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/new-twist-battle-rangers-boardroom-2253473
New twist in battle for Rangers as boardroom contenders deny ‘vote of confidence’ plan
5 Sep 2013 14:09
A STATEMENT from businessman Jim McColl and his group of investors has denied claims made on the club’s official website yesterday.
The battle behind the scenes at Ibrox has taken another twist
THE ongoing power struggle at Rangers has taken another twist after potential new board members denied agreeing to a “vote of confidence” in the current incumbents as condition of entry to the Ibrox directors’ box.
Rangers confirmed on Wednesday they would consider a request to add former chairman John McClelland and three other men to their board of directors.
A group of disgruntled investors led by billionaire businessman Jim McColl also proposed appointing former director Paul Murray, Sandy Easdale – the brother of current non-executive director James – and accountancy expert Frank Blin as directors.
McColl, chairman of Clyde Blowers, and his group had previously called for an extraordinary general meeting in a bid to have chief executive Craig Mather, finance director Brian Stockbridge and Bryan Smart removed from the board, but it appeared that they had signalled their intention to withdraw that request in the event that the quartet led by McClelland were admitted to the board.
However, the group has now stated that shareholders deserve the right to vote on the re-election of any director.
View gallery
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In Pictures: The key players in the Rangers crisis
View gallery
In a statement issued to the Stock Exchange on Wednesday, the club said: “The board considers that any decision on any proposal for the withdrawal of the requisition would be subject to the provision by the requisitioners of a vote of confidence and continued support for the current directors and to all necessary regulatory approvals.”
However, a subsequent statement on behalf of McColl’s group, released through Press Association Sport, reads: “On behalf of the requisitionists we have made it clear to the Rangers board that we are proposing the additions to the board now to enable it to operate more effectively as a balanced unit in the run-up to the AGM in October.
“However we have also made it clear that, in accordance with the club’s articles of association, all directors, both existing and new, have to offer themselves up for re-election at a vote at the AGM.
“We believe that this is fair and gives all shareholders the opportunity of voting for who they want on the board.
“We agreed this position with the board on Tuesday and were therefore surprised to see the statement issued by the club on Wednesday night which seemed to suggest that any agreement was conditional on a ‘vote of confidence’ in the current board members now and on a continuing basis.
“We wish to make it clear that this is contrary to our understanding of the agreement we had with the board.
“Whilst we believe that the proposed changes will make the board more effective and balanced, it is for the shareholders to vote on the re-election of all directors at the AGM.”
Well done Jim Spence
(biggest cahonas in the smsm)?
I’m Spartacus
. . . Rangers are dead !
(Their own lawyer said they died in 2012, as did their old manager – Walter Smith, as did Richard Gough, and so did Jim Traynor – when he was working for the Daily retard, before he got a job working for Sevco and became part of the plan, to ‘convince’ the gullible into believing that Sevco is really Rangers (sic) and get the mugs to part with their money, into the big hands of Charles Green, and bank accounts of . . .Craig Whyte, Imran Ahmad and Imran’s MAW.)
Alexander276 – I agree wholeheartedly, those that break the law should expect to be caught, judged and if necessary punished. however no group should be put under greater scrutiny than another because of any prejudice, opinion or suspicion. of those with the power to investigate or prosecute.
In the real world however…. what is the deal with all the Celtic players and staff getting busted for minor traffic transgressions – Lennie got off his last one, now Izzy is getting busted for letting someone else drive his car?
Celtic left-back Emilio Izaguirre, left, is to stand trial after being accused of allowing a fellow Honduran to drive his car without insurance. Izaguirre, 27, pled not guilty by letter to allowing former Hibs footballer Jorge Claros to drive the car in Edinburgh. He is due to stand trial at Edinburgh Justice of the Peace Court on October 3.
Surely Claros should be the one getting busted?
As an aside, has anyone asked any frields or colleagues in other countires if they know the name of their football associations’ enforcement officer? How weird is it that we Scots know Vincent Lunny’s name, let alone his er, “shot selection”?
Great post Humble Pie. But will the new club’s supporters ever accept that that is what they are? How can there be a grieving process when there was no funeral? The body that died was dressed up in blue and white to play at the same stadium with the same name and the same number of stars. To suggest any death and rebirth is, for them, to fly in the face of the “reality” that has been repeated ad nauseam by the cynical seeking to profit and the fearful seeking a quiet life.
Instead of a cleansing process offering a chance of renewal, we have seen a new source of poison injected into the body of Scottish football. Not content with division sourced in sectarianism, a new source of anger was generated by the emergence from the grave of the undead club, defying rules and precedent. For them they are the same as they were and will be, for everyone else they will be for evermore the Zombies, unable to accept the reality of their club’s birth in 2012. We will sing Go Home Sevco, they will shout angry defiance.
I’m not sure who have been the biggest losers in all this but I for one now treat everything with an ever greater level of scepticism. It may seem a huge leap from this sorry saga to the current Syrian crisis but I suspect I’m not the only one who, even more than before, sees chronic MSM failure everywhere I look. The story of the demise of Rangers and the handling of it by the media together with the emergence of an arguably even more shameful football story, the cover up of Hillsborough, have led me to a extraordinary low level of trust in the media and politicians. Tony Blair for next SFA President anyone?
I am Spartacus and so is my dead parrot.
To the posts regarding a “cleansed” TRFC, I am afraid it is too late – we missed the chance last year.
My family who all went to RFC games have all lost interest now after going to a few games last year – aside from the football being dire, they all said that there are too many idiots now following the club. From what they tell me, the fanbase shifted – many who went for football reasons have stayed away, those who went for ‘other’ reasons have multiplied.
My family are all people who supported RFC for football reasons (and family ties etc – a relative played for RFC at Barcelona in 1972) – all of them accept its a new club – none of them bought season tickets nor shares.
They now follow EPL and the Scottish international team – some went to Wembley – and watch CL games cheering mostly for Celtic’s opposition (maybe to wind me up – maybe not)
If my family members are any indicator, we lost the chance to have a “cleansed” club as soon as CG spoke French.
So, Sevco to sign yet another trialist/player. What kind of message is Ally McCoist sending to the young full time pros based at Murray Park and playing in the reserves or youth teams. You are not good enough to play against any third string part time outfit? Although these guys may be young and inexperienced, they are still full-time professional players who have the benefits of full-time coaching and training at facilities the third division players can only dream of. I have to say I am intrigued as to what kind of coaching they have been given so far, that they cannot get 11 of them to compete with third tier part-timers.
Danish Pastry says:
September 5, 2013 at 8:49 am
Bill1903 says:
September 5, 2013 at 8:25 am
5 0 Rate This
Jim Spence getting a lot of grief over his dead Rangers comment last night.
It’s no wonder some of the more spineless hacks toe the party line.
Well done Jim
——–
Aye, the truth hurts. I didn’t hear the actual comment on the podcast, so it’s probably gone in the edited-down version. Pity really. Very relevant to HP’s new blog too. But Mr C. Graham is leading a wee band of Flat-Earth society acolytes on twitter.
Respect to @bbcjimspence.
I hope redlichtie will be along shortly to tell us that Scottish football needs a strong Jim Spence 🙂
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Scottish football definitely needs a strong Jim Spence! 🙂
PS Apologies for the delay.