A Blog for Scottish Football Monitor by Stuart Cosgrove
At the height of summer of discontent I was asked to contribute to a BBC radio show with Jim Traynor and Jim Spence. ‘Armageddon’ had just been pronounced and if the media were to be believed Scotland was about to freeze over in a new ice-age: only a cold darkness lay ahead.
To get the radio-show off to a healthy and pretentious start I began by saying that Scottish football was experiencing an “epistemological break”. It was an in-joke with Jim Spence, who I have known since we were both teenage ‘suedeheads.’ I was a mouthy young St Johnstone fan and Jim was an Arabian sand-dancer. But even in those distant days, we shared a mutual distrust of the ‘old firm’ and in our separate ways wanted a better future for our clubs. We both grew up to become products of the fanzine era, Jim as a writer for Dundee United’s ‘The Final Hurdle’ and me as a staff writer for the NME. Without ever having to say it, we had both engaged in a guerrilla-war against what Aberdeen’s Willie Miller once characterised as “West Coast Bias”.
The term ‘epistemological break’ was shamelessly borrowed from French Marxist philosophy. It means a fundamental change in the way we construct and receive knowledge and although I used it on air as a wind-up to test Spencey’s significantly less-reliable Dundee schooling, deep down I meant it.
Social Media has proved to be one of the greatest disruptions in the history of the football supporter – greater than the brake clubs of the 19th century, the football specials on the 1970s; or the fanzine movement of the post-punk era. The pace of change in the way we send, receive and interrogate information has been so dynamic that it has wrong-footed administrators, asset strippers and sports journalists, alike. No matter who you support we are living through media history.
2012 had just witnessed an unprecedented summer of sport. The Olympics provided a snapshot of how sudden and pervasive the shift to social media has become. Over 40% of UK adults claim to have posted comments on websites, blogs or social networking about the Olympics and in younger age-groups that figure tips conclusively to a majority – 61% of 16-24’s posted Olympic comments. Think about that figure for a moment. Well over half of the young people in the UK are now participants in social media and pass comment on sport. The genie is out of the bottle and it will never be forced back. That is the main reason that Armageddon never happened: we no longer live in an age where the media can guarantee our compliance.
On the first day of the 2012-13-season, Rangers were in the deep throes of administration and facing certain liquidation. With no accounts to meet the criteria for SPL membership, one among a body of rules which the old Rangers had themselves been an architect of, the new Rangers could not be granted entry without a wholesale abandonment of the rules. It was not to be.
St Johnstone launched their new season at Tynecastle so I travelled with misplaced hope. We were soundly beaten 2-0 and both Hearts goals were entirely merited. On the day, I did a quick if unscientific survey of two supporters’ buses – the Barossa Saints Club, a more traditional lads-bus and the ‘208 Ladies’ a predominantly female and family-friendly bus. On both buses, over 75% of fans had mobile phones with 3G internet access and the majority of them posted updates or pictures before, during or after the match. They mostly posted via micro-blogging sites such as Facebook or Twitter, many commenting on the game, their day-out and the surroundings. Most were speaking to friends or rival fans. Some were publishing pictures and updating forums or blogs. And when he second a decisive goal went in some were undoubtedly taking stick from Gort, Webby DFC and DeeForLife, the pseudonyms of prominent Dundee fans, who as the newly promoted ‘Club 12’ were suddenly and very temporarily above St Johnstone in the SPL.
By my rough calculations, well over half the St Johnstone support was web-connected. I have no reason to think the Hearts supporters were any different. This small experiment reflects an unprecedented shift in the balance of communication in Scottish football and in the truest sense it is an ‘epistemological break’ with past forms of spectatorship. Social media has been widely misrepresented by old-style radio ‘phone-ins’ and by journalism’s ancien regime. The presumption is that people who are connected to the web are at home, in dingy rooms where they foam at the mouth frustrated by loneliness and mental illness. The term ‘internet bampots’ (coined by Hugh Keevins) and ‘keyboard warriors’ (Gordon Strachan) speaks to a world that is fearful of the web, irked by alternative opinions, and the threat that the new media poses to the traditional exchange of knowledge.
It further assumes that opinion from social networks is naïve, ill-informed, or unreasonable. Whilst some of this may be true, mostly it is not. No one would dispute that there are small enclaves of truly despicable people using social networks and comment sites, but they are overwhelmingly outnumbered by the multitude of fans who simply want to talk about their team and share their dreams and memories.
Social media is porous. By that I mean it has cracks, lacunae and fissures. This inevitably means that information leaks out. It can be shared, released and in some cases becomes so energetic it becomes a virus. It is no longer possible to ‘keep secrets’, to withhold information and to allow indiscretions to pass unnoticed. Newspapers have been caught in a whirlwind of change where views can be instantly challenged, authority quickly questioned and pronouncements easily disproved. Many papers – almost all in decline – have been forced to close down their comments forums. Undoubtedly some of that is due to breaches of the rules, the cost of moderation, and the rise in awareness of hate crimes. But another significant factor is that ordinary fans were consistently challenging the opinions and ‘facts’ that newspapers published.
Talking down to fans no longer works and we now have evidence – Armageddon did not happen. The beast that was supposed to devour us all was a toothless fantasy. In the more abrasive language of the terraces – Armageddon shat-it and didn’t turn up.
In one respect the myth of Armageddon was an entirely predictable one. Tabloid newspapers make money from scaring people – health scares, prisoners on the run, fear of terrorism, anxiety about young people, and most recently ‘fear’ of Scottish independence is their stock in trade. Almost every major subject is raised as a spectre to be fearful of. Most newspapers were desperate to ‘save Rangers’ since they themselves feared the consequences of losing even more readership. It was easier to argue that a hideous financial catastrophe would befall Scottish football unless Rangers were fast-tracked back into the SPL. Newspapers found common cause with frightened administrators who could not imagine a world without Rangers, either.
So we were invited to endorse one of the greatest circumlocutions of all time – unless you save a club that has crashed leaving millions of pounds of debt, the game is financially doomed. You would struggle to encounter this bizarre logic in any other walk of life. Unless Rick Astley brings out a new album music will die. That is what they once argued and many still do. That is how desperately illogical the leadership in Scottish football had become.
Armageddon was a tissue of inaccuracies from the outset. It tried to script a disaster-movie of chaotic failure and financial disaster and at the very moment when senior administrators should have been fighting for the livelihood of the league, they were briefing against their own business.
Armageddon was a big inarticulate beast but it faced a mightier opponent – facts. One by one the clubs published their annual accounts. Although this was against the backdrop of a double-dip recession and fiercely difficult economic circumstances it was not all doom and gloom. The arrival of Club 12 (Dundee) meant higher crowds and the potential for increased income at Aberdeen, Dundee United and St Johnstone. To this day, this simple fact remains unfathomable to many people in the Glasgow-dominated media. The arrival of Ross County meant an exciting new top-tier local derby for Inverness Caley Thistle and a breath of fresh air for the SPL. St Johnstone insisted on the first ever SPL meeting outside Glasgow to reflect the new northern and eastern geo-politics of the Scottish game.
European football meant new income streams for Motherwell. Of course times were tight, football is never free from the ravages of the economy and some clubs predictably showed trading losses. But the underlying reasons were always idiosyncratic and inconsistent never consistent across the board. Inverness had an unprecedented spate of injuries and over-shot their budgets for healthcare and so published a loss £378,000.
Meanwhile Dundee United published healthy accounts having sold David Goodwillie to Blackburn. Celtic reached the Champion’s League group stages with all the new wealth it will bequeath. St Johnstone – led by the ultra-cautious Brown family – had already cut the cost of their squad, bidding farewell to the most expensive players Francisco Sandaza and Lee Croft. The club also benefited from compensation for their departed manager, Derek McInnes and player-coach, Jody Morris. Paradoxically, Bristol City had proven to be more important to the club’s income than Rangers. Again this was not part of the script and proved unfathomable (or more accurately irrelevant) to most in the Glasgow media.
Hearts failed to pay players on time due to serious restraints on squad costs and internal debt. They were duly punished for their repeated misdemeanours. Motherwell and St Mirren despite the economic challenges were navigating different concepts of fan ownership. By November most clubs – with the exception of Celtic – were showing increased SPL attendance on the previous season. Far from the scorched earth failure that we were told was inevitable what has emerged is a more complex eco-system of financial management, in which local dynamics and a more mature cost-efficient reality was being put in place.
It may well be that Armageddon was the last desperate caricature of a form of media that was already in terminal decline. Flash back to 1967 when Scottish football had a so-called ‘golden age’. There was European success, we tamed England at Wembley and names like Law and Baxter brightened dark nights. Back then access to knowledge was a very narrow funnel. Only a small cadre of privileged journalists had access to the managers and players, and so fans waited dutifully for the Daily Record to arrive at their door to tell them what was happening. That system of ‘elite access to knowledge’ was in its last decadent throes nearly thirty years later, when David Murray would dispense wisdom to his favoured journalists. We now know they drank fine wine and ate succulent lamb in Jersey and the most loyal attended Murray’s 50th birthday party at Gleneagles. One journalist was so proud of his invite he danced round the editorial office mocking those who had not been invited. This was the early height of the Rangers EBT era but it is now clear that difficult questions went unasked by either journalists or by football administrators.
Although it may not suit the narrative of this particular blog my first realisation that David Murray’s empire was living on leveraged debt was from a small cadre of Rangers fans. It was around the early years of the Rangers Supporter’s Trust (RST) and they were determined to shake more democracy from the Ibrox boardroom. Whilst real fans of the club argued from the outside, the press took Murray at his loquacious word. He was in many respects their benefactor, their visionary – their moonbeam.
By the 1990s onwards, football journalism had ritualised and festered around the inner sanctums at Ibrox. This was an era where relevance meant being invited to a ‘presser’ at Murray Park, having Ally’s mobile or playing golf with ‘Juke Box,’ ‘Durranty’ or ‘Smudger’. Many journalists, showing a compliant lack of self-awareness, would use these nicknames as if conveyed closeness, familiarity or friendship. It is desperately sad that careers have been built on such paltry notions of access and such demeaning obsequiousness.
Around this period I had become a freelance radio-presenter and was presenting Off the Ball with my friend Tam Cowan, a Motherwell fan. We both wanted to fashion a show which saw football not trough its familiar narratives, but through the lens of the ‘diddy’ teams, a term so demeaning that we tried to reclaim it. Refusing to peddle the inevitability of ‘old firm’ power we sensed that journalistic compliance at Ibrox was now so ingrained that it was ripe for satirising. This was the main reason that Off the Ball branded itself as ‘petty and ill-informed.’ It was a self-mocking antidote to those journalists that could ‘exclusively reveal’ breaking stories from ‘impeccable sources,’ which usually meant they had heard it on the golf-course, from Walter, a man who needed no surname.
Many fans are astonished when I tell them how the journalism of this era actually functioned. On Champions League nights, journalists from opposing papers gathered together to agree what to write. Circulation was in decline, money was tight, agency copy was on the increase and foreign trips were under-scrutiny. No one dared miss the ‘big story’. So sports journalists who commonly boasted about their toughness and who ‘feared no one’ were often so fearful of returning home having missed an angle, that they agreed by consensus to run with variations of the same story. Celtic fans may wish to recoil at the image – but journalists would go into a ‘huddle’ at the end of a press-conference to agree the favoured line.
So the summer of 2012 witnessed an ‘epistemological break’ in how knowledge and information was exchanged. But let me go further and taunt Jim Spence one more time. It was the summer we also witnessed an ‘amygdala-crisis’ exposing the way the media works in Scotland. Amygdala is the nuclei in the brain that manages our tolerance for risk and is the key that often unlocks creative thinking. Many people in relatively high places in the media – a creative industry – demonstrated that they could not conceive of change, nor could they imagine what football would look like if Rangers were not playing in the SPL. They not only resisted change but lacked the imagination to think beyond it. A common language began to emerge that tried to ward off risk and an almost a childlike fear of the dark. ‘Scottish football needs a strong Rangers,’ ‘But there will no competition’; ‘other clubs will suffer’; ‘Draw a line in the sand’; ‘It was one man – Craig Whyte’, ‘They’ve been punished enough’ and of course, the daddy of them all – ‘Armageddon.’
The biggest single barrier to change was the lingering and outmoded notion that Rangers subsidised Scottish football. As a supporter of a club that had spent seven economically stable years in a league that Rangers have never played in made me deeply suspicious and I was in the words of the we-forums ‘seething’ that St Johnstone were portrayed as somehow ‘dependent’ on a club that was already fatefully insolvent. Because so little is known about the experience of the fans of smaller clubs, they are often misrepresented. For seven years my friends and I, travelled home and away in the First Division, often narrowly missing out on promotion as rival clubs like Gretna, Dundee and Livingston all used money they did not have to ‘buy’ success. It remains an incontrovertible fact that St Johnstone FC has been among the most consistent victims of fiscal misdemeanour in Scottish football. That is the irreducible issue. Several clubs have very real reasons to loathe financial mismanagement, rogue-trading and those that gain unfair advantage on the back of unserviceable debt.
Social media has allowed these smaller incremental versions of history to be told when the established media had no interest in telling them. Blogs can dig deeper than the back pages ever can and fans are now more likely to meet on Facebook than on a supporter’s bus. Many players now bypass the press completely and tweet directly with fans. Rio Ferdinand’s recent attack on racism in English football has been conducted entirely via social media, over the heads of the press. In the Rangers Tax Case context, restricted documents are regularly shared online, where they can be analysed and torn apart. Those with specialist skills such as insolvency, tax expertise or accountancy can lend their skills to a web forum and can therefore dispute official versions of events.
Not all social media is good. Open-access has meant a disproportionate rise in victim culture. The ‘easily-offended’ prowl every corner of the web desperate to find a morsel that will upset them but that is a small price to pay for greater transparency and even the most ardent bore is no excuse for limiting the free exchange of information.
We have witnessed a summer of seismic change. A discredited era that largely relied on ‘elite access to knowledge’ has all but passed away and information, however complex or seemingly unpalatable, can no longer be withheld from fans. The days of being ‘dooped’ are over.
It has been a privilege to participate in the summer of discontent and I yearn for even greater change to come. Bring it on.
Stuart Cosgrove
Stuart Cosgrove is a St Johnstone fan. He was previously Media Editor of the NME and is now Director of Creative Diversity at Channel 4, where he recently managed coverage of the Paralympics, London 2012. At the weekend he presents the BBC Scotland football show ‘Off the Ball’ with Tam Cowan. He writes here in a personal capacity.
nowoldandgrumpy says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 18:39
0 0 Rate This
CL going to sue to SFA
What???
readcelt says: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 16:36
It’s a long way from happening but suppose Hearts were liquidated. Surely their history would be one of the most valuable assets? Along with a bag of scotch mist and Nessies eye teeth.
==================================
I think Hibs could be interested in buying Hearts history. At least it would get the monkey off their back re 110 years without a Scottish Cup win. 🙂
http://scotslawthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/charlkes-greens-16-points-how-many-will-be-in-the-rangers-prospectus/
So who will be first in the MSM to say it is because DeadRFC are not in the SPL?
In regard to Hearts financial problems.
(I should have said)
angus1983 says: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 18:19
I wouldn’t like to see Hearts go down the tubes, whatever the reason.
Is there a HFFF that can be contributed to? Allyjambo, do you know?
=============================
Last time round (in 2004) when Chris Robinson was looking to sell Tynecastle and move to Murrayfield, a “Save our Hearts” campaign was started up, and eventually bought a share in the club when Vlad took over, That share in the club was subsequently diluted as Vlad issued more shares in several Debt for Equity swaps. I’d expect something similar to develop.
However, the share offer seems to be the way that the “emotional card” is playing out. To that end the Jambos Kickback forum is taking contributions to buy shares in the name of the forum for those who cannot meet the lowest contribution figure of £110 to the club scheme.
http://www.hmfckickback.co.uk/index.php?/topic/119854-jkb-collective-share-purchase/
————————
Sadly, I think administration (at best) is inevitable and that anyone putting money in at the moment is throwing good money after bad. I think that any available funds would be better utilised as part of a CVA asset purchase, should it be feasible, which is the way I am currently viewing the situation.
CL ? Who he and why is he suing SFA?
Ah Craig Levein get it, got it good 🙂
Ordinary, does this help you or have I got the wrong end of the stick. Again!
http://investor.lasvegassands.com/
INVESTOR RELATIONS
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Donated a few quid to Hearts forum. At least I can believe I tried to do something. All the best to them, even if my cash ends up in Lithuania. 🙂
angus1983 says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 18:19
———————————————————————————————————————————-
Being a Celtic fan, Hearts are never been exactly a favourite–and i’m sure that’s reciprocated with most Hearts fans–however, I don’t wish to see HMFC put out of business and i’m sure with the right actions–the financial situation can be bettered–or more immdediately, raising of sufficient funds to pay the HMRC bill. It’s not a comparable situation to the mess at Ibrox (in spite of Campbell Ogilvie..) and there has to be a feasible scheme to raise £ in relation to the HMRC costs.
If the overall debt is simply to large to shed sans an administration event–when compared to, for example, Motherwell. The Hearts community surely has to be wider and, within, a larger pool of £ from punters, local investors and sponsors etc. Yes, i know it’s not cheap living in Auld Reekie–but i feel Hearts will survive–even if it ends up with the administrators running affairs for a while–but considering, and as pointed out by jim larkin–as far as I know, HMFC are still owed almost a million pounds for Wallace.
Minty single-handedly killed Airdrie all for the sum of about 30-odd grand–the club folded when the soon-to-be de-knighted egomaniac Murray had the debt ‘officially’ called in–for years RFC (and CFC to a lesser extent) bought cheaply from Scotland, either keeping them benched or selling on–but keeping them from the opposition team–a very good and very promising Hibs side a few years ago were a good example of this–the best players were quickly taken by the Glasgow sides and Hibs were back to being mince–yet again–my own team are themselves notorious for this–maybe it’s purely bias–but i aways thought Celtic’s signings were genuine, in the respect they were signed to actually play for Celtic–as opposed to buying them so just so they do not play against Celltic–which is exactly what RFC did for yonks–and were cheating beyond belief all the while..but i digress…
I do not imagine there will be Scottish league football at Ibrox next season. What is happening over in Glasgow’s south-side really is something else–Charlie and his Chocolate Factory, a bunch of corporate MIH/RFC crooks are all hiding from the public, quite evidently, and the lot of them are finished–i’d love to see them go to jail, fraudulent behaviour transcending into actual criminality is a matter of complex legal technicalities at times (unlike a straight forward benefits cheat caught red handed driving a taxi, which is quite apparent and easily proveable) and as such, i think the Mint won’t be going to jail, or others.
Charles Green–i thought was an outsider (to the MInt and his bunch) however the more things pan out and with the (amazing) investigative skills of some on here–well, it might just be the case Minty knows the lot of them, and seemingly, knows them quite well too, it is interesting the links being suggested…but will it really make much difference to affairs? I’d love to think so–but i’m not so sure–any ideas would be grateful as i’m unsures of the implications of whats been suggested.
Sands casino operation were one of the major contributors to anti Obama pressure groups during the recent election. Not directly to Romney but via various WATP type organisations. Fact. Cant see any connection to our subject though.
Leslie deans on radio shortbread tonight basically saying that Romanov isn’t entirely to blame
club was £21M in debt when he arrived and debt is a touch over £23M now
of course, Leslie did say Romanov had written of millions on top of that and had brought many many players that should have been no where near teh club
neepheid says:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 20:29
scottc says:
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 at 20:18
Thanks for the figures. Looks like Celtic are the big losers, but with CL money they won’t struggle this year. Otherwise very healthy figures. Could you get overall averages, and then averages overall excluding Rangers and Celtic?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sure. Sorry for the delay.
2011 average all matches was 4910, this year 4630
Excluding Celtic and Rangers last year, average was 2627, this year excluding Celtic and The Rangers it is 2803, so nearly 200 up.
Looking at just SPL teams, last years average was 13869, excluding the OF it was 6870. This year average is 9411, excluding Celtic it is 6970 but everyone has not yet visited everyone so it’s not an entirely fair comparison yet.
I knew this would happen. The list of European creditors has dissapeared off of the official site.
From memory apart from Rapid Vienna.
Clubs in Sweden Italy and France are owed money.
In point how about our own clubs -Hearts – Dundee utd.
Rapid got a reaction by hiring a lawyer and threatening Chuckles (not that they will get paid) the rest should be on the ball with a class action on Rangers. At least kick up a storm that Fifa notice. Absolutely ridiculous.
My last post was all over the place–kind of lost the plot somewhere but my nerves are a jangling with the barca game–point was that i hope HMFC can survive and emulate what Motherwell did. Surely that is acheivable?
NTHM, i didn’t think Romanov was/is so generous–and i generally assumed his ideology re Hearts was to make some £ selling non-EU Lithuanian players on the more-western European markets…Hearts being the perfect tool for this purpose–but he made the mistake of thinking a few decent Lithuanians would storm the SPL–but Vlad had underestimated the player pools of the Glasgow sides…and the various other factors that manifested in Vlads head–factors now mostly quite probable in retrospect…
The HMFC community has to act collectively and find a way of ‘interfacing’ with the Hearts owners–do not make the same mistakes as the peepil of Glasgow’s south-side, and indeed Airdrie. The supporters associations and fans org’s of Hearts must work with Romanov et-al, Romanov cannot give anymore obviously and his business plan (which maybe only i imagine…) didn’t work, so he really has to get out unless he has a better plan than before–which doesnt seem to be the case–and if and when administration occurs, there has to be capable people around to work with and take the club from admin.
I think that is where matters are at the mo to be honest–prob been for some time but i have not exactly been privvy to HMFC affairs until very recently, in respect to the HMRC case anyway..
It’s half time, the hoops are 1-0 up and it’s too much–my girlfriend has just about had enough of the mania sitting beside her and my prize tv is close to being murdered–will Celtic achieve greatness? Will my TV remain in one piece?? We shall see….
Some might see a certain irony that under a blog entitled “Why the beast of armageddon failed to show” we now hear dire warnings of possible imminent financial doom from Hearts.
But this isn’t a story about the impact of Rangers absence from the SPL, but instead of a financial time bomb unique to Hearts that has been ticking away for years. The club have spent more than they could afford in the Romanov era with the negative cash flow only sustainable so long as the owner was prepared to fund it. What I have difficulty in understanding is why, if he had decided he was not prepared to maintain this largesse, steps were not taken sooner so that Hearts could cut their cloth, in particular wages, to a sustainable level? This smacks of a sudden last minute panic, especially given that Hearts have just had the windfall from a successful Scottish Cup campaign. Just how much is the shortfall forecast to be this season? Surely they need to be absolutely transparent about how much is required from the fans to stabilise the situation? Is this sum a one off or short term fix with more required within a few months?
I’m also puzzled as to why administration is not a preferable option? We have seen with other clubs such as Dundee and Motherwell that this does offer a potential route to longer term stability. With the majority of debt owed to Romanov / his bank, surely 75% of the creditors would be amenable to a CVA?
Ultimately (and I realise that there is an element of heresy to what I am about to say on this Board) but in same shape or form a club will continue if the fans are there. But where that club will play may be problematic. Would permission be given for Tynecastle to be sold for a non football use or could permission for say a supermarket development be blocked?
I have sympathy for their fans. This has clearly been a risk for years but what could they have done to avoid it once Romanov acquired the club?
383 Dundee Utd fans at Fir Park
3894 overall
How come we know that?
We must obviously be the richest (in counting peeps) club in the land.
Or Someone else is telling lies.
(And no we dont have a wee man counting them all)
A wee reminder of the timeline
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SFA to reject McKay?s Ibrox deal
12 Sep 2012
Rangers to face Motherwell
3 Sep 2012
Rangers 5 Elgin City 1
2 Sep 2012
Rangers 3 Falkirk 0
30 Aug 2012
McCoist to invest in Rangers
29 Aug 2012
Goian vows to return to Rangers
28 Aug 2012
Rangers face highland fling
27 Aug 2012
McCoist fumes after Berwick draw
26 Aug 2012
Reasons for Scottish football to be cheerful
23 Aug 2012
Faure to sign for Rangers
21 Aug 2012
Lennon admits Celtic were pedestrian
19 Aug 2012
McCoist expects 46,000 at Rangers
17 Aug 2012
Could Celtic’s future now lie in England?
16 Aug 2012
Black unfazed by boo boys
16 Aug 2012
Dundee United still owed money by Rangers
15 Aug 2012
McCoist takes duo on trial at Rangers
13 Aug 2012
Peterhead 2 Rangers 2
11 Aug 2012
Rangers duo charged
10 Aug 2012
A tale of two clubs
10 Aug 2012
Ashley set to invest in Rangers
10 Aug 2012
Rangers 4 East Fife 0
7 Aug 2012
Rangers sign Kyle, Sandaza and Cribari
7 Aug 2012
Alex McLeish fights back
6 Aug 2012
Murray: Rangers are no cheats
6 Aug 2012
Levein refuses to close door to Rangers
6 Aug 2012
Smith compares SPL to League of Ireland
3 Aug 2012
Strachan: minnows shouldn’t have voted on Rangers
3 Aug 2012
SPL to investigate Rangers EBTs
2 Aug 2012
Regan receives death during Rangers saga
31 Jul 2012
SFA calls on Green to explain comments
30 Jul 2012
Green’s ‘bigotry’ comments dismissed
30 Jul 2012
McCulloch plea to Rangers players
30 Jul 2012
Rangers make heavy weather of cup victory
29 Jul 2012
Temporary measure for Rangers and SFA
27 Jul 2012
Rangers go to the wire over SFA membership
26 Jul 2012
Lomas fumes at being put on pause by Sky
25 Jul 2012
Rangers newco close to SFA deal
24 Jul 2012
Kennedy fails to buy Rangers for fourth time
23 Jul 2012
Four days to save Rangers
22 Jul 2012
Paul Stretford ‘assisting’ Rangers newco
22 Jul 2012
Ally McCoist hits out at SFA
21 Jul 2012
Southampton Davis bid accepted
21 Jul 2012
Rangers accept 12-month transfer ban
20 Jul 2012
Brechin City prepare for Rangers’ visit
18 Jul 2012
Celtic ‘should have 14 titles in row’
17 Jul 2012
McCoist faces action for SFA comments
17 Jul 2012
Green set for SFA transfer talks
17 Jul 2012
Sky may pull plug on SPL
16 Jul 2012
Regan’s plan to relegate newco ‘not debated’
16 Jul 2012
Dundee replace Rangers
16 Jul 2012
Five SPL clubs – and Regan – are on brink
15 Jul 2012
Rangers email puts SFA chief in spotlight
14 Jul 2012
Goian eyes Rangers exit following relegation
14 Jul 2012
SFA and SPL may deliver twist
13 Jul 2012
Rangers to start in Third Division
13 Jul 2012
SFL votes Rangers into Third Division
13 Jul 2012
Decision day for Rangers at SFL vote
12 Jul 2012
SFL vote hangs in balance
11 Jul 2012
Rangers placement money withheld
11 Jul 2012
Proposals to Scottish game revealed
11 Jul 2012
Green ‘purchased players’ contracts’
11 Jul 2012
SPL up ante to get Rangers deal
10 Jul 2012
SFL clubs unfazed by Doncaster’s scare tactics
9 Jul 2012
Rangers quintet await international clearance
9 Jul 2012
Carlos Bocanegra ‘to explore options’
9 Jul 2012
SFL chief hopes for Rangers resolution
8 Jul 2012
Lennon calls for show of support
6 Jul 2012
Lennon: Rangers absence will ‘bite’ Celtic
6 Jul 2012
Friday the 13th could be unlucky for Rangers
6 Jul 2012
McCoist happy to start from bottom
5 Jul 2012
Rangers’ fate to be decided on July 13
5 Jul 2012
‘Arrogant’ Murray sinks Rangers
4 Jul 2012
Regan issues dire warning
4 Jul 2012
‘Rangers will play in whichever division the SFL sees fit’
4 Jul 2012
Timeline: Rangers in crisis
4 Jul 2012
Celtic 1/33 to win SPL title
4 Jul 2012
SFA ‘would have blocked Rangers into SPL’
4 Jul 2012
SPL clubs reject Rangers
4 Jul 2012
Everton sign Steven Naismith
4 Jul 2012
Stoke sign Rangers’ Jamie Ness
3 Jul 2012
Rangers may wait to discover fate
3 Jul 2012
Two more clubs against Rangers
3 Jul 2012
Lafferty reveals he made up with McCoist before leaving
2 Jul 2012
Mitchell gives Rangers boost
2 Jul 2012
McCulloch holds no grudge over exits
1 Jul 2012
Whittaker and Lafferty leave Rangers
30 Jun 2012
Celtic concerned over SPL power shift
29 Jun 2012
St Mirren oppose Rangers entry into SPL
29 Jun 2012
Rangers chairman calls for end to ‘blood lust’
29 Jun 2012
Rangers’ remnants return to training
28 Jun 2012
Stoke to make Ness move
27 Jun 2012
Rangers fans protest outside Ibrox
27 Jun 2012
Kyle Hutton commits to Rangers cause
27 Jun 2012
Jardine blasts ‘greedy’ wantaways
27 Jun 2012
New Rangers owner hits out at wantaway players
27 Jun 2012
Rangers player exodus continues
26 Jun 2012
Lee Wallace pledges future to Rangers
26 Jun 2012
‘Ibrox Globetrotters? is real prospect
25 Jun 2012
Rangers rejected from SPL
25 Jun 2012
Police probe Whyte’s takeover
25 Jun 2012
Police instructed to open criminal investigation into Rangers FC
25 Jun 2012
Rapid Vienna report Rangers over Jelavic
24 Jun 2012
Rangers pair reject contract transfer
24 Jun 2012
Duff and Phelps put under report
22 Jun 2012
Lloyds concern over Rangers season ticket plan
22 Jun 2012
Hearts to vote against Rangers
21 Jun 2012
Rangers bid for Bury rejected
21 Jun 2012
Rangers ready for life in first division
21 Jun 2012
Walter Smith statement in full
19 Jun 2012
Smith group withdraw interest
19 Jun 2012
Deadline set over Rangers future
19 Jun 2012
Rangers could be reborn, then gone, on Fourth of July
18 Jun 2012
Rangers would have to start in Third Division
17 Jun 2012
Murray seeks peace amid ‘phoney war’
16 Jun 2012
McCoist ‘steps back from brink’
16 Jun 2012
Rangers excluded from SPL fixture list
16 Jun 2012
McCoist ‘to stay at Rangers’
15 Jun 2012
Murray believes McCoist will stay
15 Jun 2012
Rangers’ new chief Green pleads for unity
14 Jun 2012
Green completes Rangers purchase
14 Jun 2012
McCoist faces uncertain future
14 Jun 2012
SFA asks Fifa to rule on ?newco? players
13 Jun 2012
Green seeks ‘amicable conclusion’
13 Jun 2012
Rangers fans ‘should have say in club’s future’
13 Jun 2012
Rangers read last rites as liquidation looms
12 Jun 2012
Worst day of my life, says Goram
12 Jun 2012
Rangers on brink of liquidation
12 Jun 2012
Rangers fans ‘open to SFL move’
12 Jun 2012
Rangers administration timeline
12 Jun 2012
Rangers administrators’ statement in full
12 Jun 2012
Charles Green statement in full
12 Jun 2012
Rapid Vienna to oppose Rangers CVA
11 Jun 2012
Green: Rangers fans can trust my takeover
10 Jun 2012
SPL threat to Rangers ‘newco’
8 Jun 2012
Green blasts ?destructive? King
7 Jun 2012
‘Unfit’ Whyte threatens to sue for defamation
7 Jun 2012
Green ‘will not sell’ Rangers’ assets
7 Jun 2012
Rangers fiasco ‘paints Scottish football in bad light’
6 Jun 2012
Thompson seeks amicable resolution
5 Jun 2012
SFA set to sue Craig Whyte
3 Jun 2012
Rangers? court triumph could backfire
31 May 2012
Celtic’s plan to play Real Madrid approved by SPL
31 May 2012
Emails between Whyte and Grier published
31 May 2012
Rangers EBTs next on agenda
30 May 2012
SPL decides against fixed penalties for newcos
30 May 2012
McCoist is cautiously optimistic
29 May 2012
Rangers creditors left in dark
29 May 2012
Rangers risk fresh sanctions
29 May 2012
Rangers embargo unlawful
29 May 2012
Green urges creditors to approve CVA
29 May 2012
Green getting Rangers ‘bargain’
28 May 2012
Rangers’ CVA proposal ‘to be sent out on Tuesday’
28 May 2012
Rangers given licence to compete in SPL
27 May 2012
Greenhas funds to rescue Rangers
26 May 2012
Clark ‘welcomes’ fresh Rangers probe
25 May 2012
Rangers start legal proceedings against SFA
25 May 2012
Celtic, Rangers and a season that shook Scotland
25 May 2012
Rangers get last-chance deadline
24 May 2012
Rangers’ administrators in firing line
23 May 2012
Shiels celebrates new deal
22 May 2012
Edu backs Bocanegra and Bedoya to make an impact
22 May 2012
Hateley fears Rangers exodus
21 May 2012
Caution urged on Rangers players
19 May 2012
Rangers can win league, says possible owner
18 May 2012
Rangers suffer another setback
17 May 2012
Rangers suffer appeal blow
17 May 2012
Rangers seek to overturn transfer ban
16 May 2012
Lennon hails ‘great rivalry’ with Rangers
16 May 2012
Souness urges Green to ‘love’ Rangers
15 May 2012
Green pledge to keep Rangers’ fans up to speed
14 May 2012
St Johnstone 0 Rangers 4
13 May 2012
Rangers deal agreed… at last
13 May 2012
Rangers close in on takeover deal
13 May 2012
Blue Knights see red as they bow out
11 May 2012
Blue Knights withdraw Rangers offer
11 May 2012
Rangers given SFA appeal date
11 May 2012
Cost of City?s attempts to buy success is a timely reminder of Murray?s madness
10 May 2012
Craig Whyte agrees to sell shares
10 May 2012
Naismith: Rangers players frustrated
10 May 2012
Rangers hopeful of deal by Thursday
9 May 2012
Naismith believes he has a Rangers future
9 May 2012
Ng back in Rangers race after Miller calls time
8 May 2012
Rangers to benefit from SPL delay
7 May 2012
Rangers forced to await sanctions
7 May 2012
Rivals reluctant to punish Rangers hard
6 May 2012
Brown: Rangers should be punished
6 May 2012
Rangers fans get taste of grim times ahead
5 May 2012
McCoist keen to ‘look into Miller’s eyes’
4 May 2012
A white knight? Haven?t we been here before…
3 May 2012
Bill Miller promises ‘fiscal discipline’
3 May 2012
Blue Knights ‘surprised and disappointed’ to lose out
3 May 2012
Rangers takeover: administrators’ statement in full
3 May 2012
Miller granted preferred Rangers bidder status
3 May 2012
Bank of England offers Premier League financial advice
3 May 2012
Rangers 5 Dundee United 0
2 May 2012
McCoist buoyed as Rangers get league lifeline
1 May 2012
Rangers wait on as SPL postpone newco ruling
30 Apr 2012
What happens next at Rangers?
30 Apr 2012
Rangers’ end could herald a welcome new start
29 Apr 2012
Commons: Rangers’ relegation would be devastating
29 Apr 2012
Celtic 3 Rangers 0
29 Apr 2012
Blue Knights told to increase offer
28 Apr 2012
McCoist: you can’t win anything with kids
27 Apr 2012
Thompson straight bats talk of life without Rangers
27 Apr 2012
Kennedy and Blue Knights submit Rangers bid
27 Apr 2012
Ticketus end interest in Rangers
27 Apr 2012
Smith seeks suspended sentence
26 Apr 2012
SFA panel admits ?rushed? decision on Rangers
26 Apr 2012
McCoist ‘disgusted’ by threats from supporters
26 Apr 2012
Trio who ruled on Rangers threatened
25 Apr 2012
SFA surprised by Rangers ruling
24 Apr 2012
Rangers woe resurrects Dundee hopes
24 Apr 2012
McCoist: sanctions could kill Rangers
24 Apr 2012
Rangers suspend Lafferty
24 Apr 2012
Whyte banned as Rangers face oblivion
24 Apr 2012
?Deadline day? comes and goes again
23 Apr 2012
Rangers owner hit with lifetime ban
23 Apr 2012
Rangers takeover delayed – again
23 Apr 2012
Decision day looms for Rangers
22 Apr 2012
Momentum building behind Bill Miller’s Rangers bid
21 Apr 2012
McCoist admits he is angry about Rangers
20 Apr 2012
Rangers need new owner by Monday
20 Apr 2012
Lennon will calm down, says Mjallby
20 Apr 2012
Kennedy’s Rangers offer is rejected
19 Apr 2012
Rangers players ‘free to leave newco’
19 Apr 2012
Scotland player of the year nominees announced
19 Apr 2012
Kennedy re-enters race to buy Rangers
19 Apr 2012
Kennedy returns to Rangers frame
18 Apr 2012
McCoist reveals takeover concerns
17 Apr 2012
Kennedy eyes beleaguered Rangers
17 Apr 2012
Blue Knights withdraw Rangers offer
16 Apr 2012
Whyte to be tried in his absence
16 Apr 2012
Rangers bidders add conditions to offers
13 Apr 2012
Rangers directors demand Whyte resignation
13 Apr 2012
SPL delays decision on voting reform
12 Apr 2012
Withey breaks silence about Rangers crisis
11 Apr 2012
Rangers postpone bid announcement
11 Apr 2012
SPL proposes new Financial Fair Play rules
11 Apr 2012
Rangers arrange money-raising Linfield fixture
11 Apr 2012
Ng: I can help Rangers make history
10 Apr 2012
McCoist reveals Miller talks
7 Apr 2012
Whyte blames HMRC for cash woes
6 Apr 2012
Rangers £134m debt revealed
5 Apr 2012
Rangers set to pursue three bids
5 Apr 2012
Rangers receive four ‘final’ bids
4 Apr 2012
Blue Knights confirm their ‘final’ Rangers offer
4 Apr 2012
Kennedy weighs up new Rangers bid
3 Apr 2012
Rangers administrators to put proposals to vote
3 Apr 2012
Craig Whyte reveals security concerns
2 Apr 2012
Randolph lucky to escape red
2 Apr 2012
McCoist adamant ‘Rangers won’t die’
31 Mar 2012
Rangers bidders set to learn fate next week
30 Mar 2012
McCoist to meet prospective owners
30 Mar 2012
Old Firm and Gang of 10 locked in battle
29 Mar 2012
Walter Smith backs Blue Knights
29 Mar 2012
Bain drops Rangers legal action
29 Mar 2012
Rangers rule out Kennedy after bid deemed too low
29 Mar 2012
McGeoch in firing line
27 Mar 2012
Celtic still have winning mentality, insists Rogne
27 Mar 2012
Dutch blamed for Rangers’ problems
26 Mar 2012
Lennon charged over Ibrox incident
26 Mar 2012
Celtic forced to delay party
26 Mar 2012
Withey puts St Mirren board in turmoil
26 Mar 2012
Rangers crash Celtic party
25 Mar 2012
Rangers 3 Celtic 2
25 Mar 2012
Lennon: my sending-off was a joke
25 Mar 2012
McCoist: Old Firm victory was for fans
25 Mar 2012
Celtic can clinch title at Ibrox
24 Mar 2012
No ruling on Rangers’ Ticketus deal
23 Mar 2012
Neil Lennon: I won’t gloat
23 Mar 2012
Dangers of swimming with sharks
22 Mar 2012
Kilmarnock set to frustrate Celtic again
22 Mar 2012
Fourth Ibrox bidder is UK-based consortium
20 Mar 2012
McCoist hoping for injury boost
19 Mar 2012
Bidders add twist to Rangers horror story
18 Mar 2012
Rangers administrators weigh up bids
16 Mar 2012
It?s too late to send in the clowns at Rangers
15 Mar 2012
Rangers braced for SFA sanctions
15 Mar 2012
Ogilvie ‘aware’ of Rangers EBT scheme
14 Mar 2012
Kennedy would be reluctant buyer
14 Mar 2012
Sir David Murray: my ‘huge mistake’
14 Mar 2012
McCoist and Smith throw weight behind Fighting Fund?
13 Mar 2012
Rangers FC… in Kenya on brink
12 Mar 2012
McCoist ?has spirit to hold it all together?
12 Mar 2012
Rangers on brink of ?complete decimation?
10 Mar 2012
Regan: Whyte used ‘smoke and mirrors’
9 Mar 2012
Here’s hoping McCoist has last laugh
9 Mar 2012
In full: Duff and Phelps statement
9 Mar 2012
Rangers players agree pay cuts
9 Mar 2012
Advocaat: defends £36m Gers spree
9 Mar 2012
Rangers duo accept 75 per cent wage cut
9 Mar 2012
Levein praises Celtic and Rangers managers
8 Mar 2012
Whyte ‘not a fit and proper owner’
8 Mar 2012
‘Rangers demise would be disaster’
8 Mar 2012
Rangers future lies in hands of players
8 Mar 2012
Rangers liquidation ‘inevitable’, claims director
7 Mar 2012
Only quick sale can save ‘perilous’ Rangers
7 Mar 2012
In full: Dave King statement
7 Mar 2012
Paul Murray plays down liquidation fears
7 Mar 2012
Senior Rangers players ‘hold up’ deal
6 Mar 2012
Rangers redundancies begin
6 Mar 2012
Rangers’ company secretary goes missing
6 Mar 2012
Rangers could be stripped of honours
5 Mar 2012
SPL investigates Rangers payments
5 Mar 2012
Withey ‘key’ to Rangers deals
4 Mar 2012
Rangers 1 Hearts 2
3 Mar 2012
Rangers need to save £1 million a month
2 Mar 2012
No relief in sight for Rangers
1 Mar 2012
Adam disowns Rangers’ plight
1 Mar 2012
Papac fears for Rangers players
29 Feb 2012
calumcrofter says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 18:32
7 0 Rate This
The fact that Stuart Cosgrove has contributed confirms that TSFM, like it’s predecessor RTC, attracts mature comment. Sometimes speculative; sometimes wishful thinking; always reasoned.
With regard to SC’s treatise on the emerging maturity of “internet bampotery” and comment, on here earlier, to sources of material for Jonathan Watson for ‘Only An Excuse’: Can I suggest that TSFM should create a reference source to CG’s comments, direct quotations,in chronological order.
A page listing statements from coach McCoist’s masterclass would also entertain. I have, for instance, read of the need to use pickaxes over player’s heads in order to place envelopes. I have read that players must learn how to empty balls. I can’t, however, easily access the comments for reference.
A link to pages on this site to the verbatim comment – a sort of TSFM Wiki – would help me and, in all likelihood, academics like Jonathan Watson.
Having mentioned coaching and Ally’s masterclass I have to say that I long for the day when Scottish football brings back, and plays with, Archie Macpherson’s “intelligent ball”. I look forward to watching Celtic v Barcelona later and bet that axes, envelopes and empty balls will have no influence on the match…. maybe fans will once again witness the use of the “intelligent ball”.
…………
Another ‘MacPhersonism’ for 500m gutted fans: “Ohh, Yess”
Happy, happy Birthday Celtic. Thank you and God Bless.
oh I meant to say 99% copied tat 1% truth from the Torygraph
Wow, gotta say guys, and as an Aberdeen supporter. Just watched one of the most incredible games of football from a Scottish side since Gothenburg 83.
Many many congrats Celtic, absolutely awesome, brilliant. well done indeed
Well done the Celtic. At last some good news. From a ‘well fan
My second ever post about Celtic is exactly the same as the first,
” Ya Feckin’ Beezer “
Well played Celtic – happy anniversary!From a Dons fan.
cosmichaggis says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 21:41
4 0 Rate This
Wow, gotta say guys, and as an Aberdeen supporter. Just watched one of the most incredible games of football from a Scottish side since Gothenburg 83.
Many many congrats Celtic, absolutely awesome, brilliant. well done indeed
———–
Aye, the stuff of fairytales! Wonderful.
Fantastic result Celtic. Keeping scottish football on the map. From a dee fan. Enjoy!
A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!!!! Well Done Celtic!!!
Was there a game on tonight? I was wondering why the board was a bit quiet? 🙂
Delighted for Tony Watt. That’s his third goal against Barca, having scored twice in the Nextgen series last season.
cosmichaggis says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 21:41
…………………………………………………..
Armageddon to like this
Aye we lost to dundee utd – robbed
To quote from the old RTC site, Chapeau Celtic. I was on there as MessiAtFirPark, unfortunately we never got to see that, but you guys did, and won. Well done
Brilliant result for Celtic & Scotland. Nothing but praise & it forces Barcelona to play the big boys in at least one of the two remaining games. A real chance to get through to final stages.
Lennon for National manager?
Anyone else thinking Charlie’s press conference tomorrow regarding the 140 years may now be a bit of a damp squib?
Northern Ireland have a manager already
Celtic have just beaten the best football team I have ever seen.A magnificent night for Celtic and for Scottish football.
it’s great when the wee diddy teams come to Celtic park and have a go, really makes a game of it, and a wee consolation goal for them at the end as well. I think that wee fella they have looks a prospect….wouldn’t make it in scotland though, too wee.
🙂
sorry guys, wee bit cheery tonight
Many congratulations to Celtic…………..no one can take this away from you, you are now up there with the Dundee Uniteds of this world.
At least you will be when you win in the Camp Nou! 😉
Excellent comment from Richard Gordon tonight after the CL match at Parkhead;
“I don’t think I can take much more of this Armageddon!”
congrats celtic…..hope we don’t get you in the semis of the league cup
right now…where are we at with the 11-1 voting structure 😉
Brenda says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 21:56
Hi Brenda
You sound like yon judge on Strictly Come Dancing!!!! FAB…U….LOUS!! And they were!
Armageddon sandwich for Mr Traynor please waiter
🙂
jean7brodie @ 22:27
Lol I just can’t believe it so pleased especially for Lenny so deserves this 🙂 and Rod Stewart absolutely overcome, what a night!!!
Brenda says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 22:33
The crowd were fantastic and all credit to them, never heard the likes.overcome! This is the way it should be. Enjoy!
Good to see Scottish football on the map again tonight- a result that will echo around Europe, just like the old days. And especially good to see an 18 year old come on and make his mark, it kind of reminded me of David Owen at Celtic Park all those years ago, breaking my heart, but I did think, now here’s a player. Scored a very similar goal, or is my memory failing?
As regards Hearts, I really hope this is just Romanov brinkmanship again, after all, he’s got it all to lose. But I do feel for the supporters, so I’ll be at Tynecastle for their next home game, 17th against St Mirren, and I might even add to my portfolio of worthless pieces of paper by buying some shares.
At least Hearts are being up front, nobody is pretending this is anything but a donation. No snake oil or vile lies from a poisonous toad who wouldn’t know the truth if it walked up to him in the street and shook his hand (that’s C. Green, by the way, in case you hadn’t recognised the description). Green makes Romanov look like St Francis of Assisi, a difficult task indeed.
I’m not a Hearts fan (quite the opposite, in fact) and I wouldn’t recommend investing to anyone else, but (and here it get’s really boring) my father was a big Hearts fan, and my first ever game was when he took me to see Clyde v Hearts at Shawfield around 1955. So in his memory, and hopefully for the health of the whole game in Scotland, maybe my scraps of money can do a bit of good. Or maybe Romanov will run away with it, but I just want to feel I’ve tried to do something.
would have been fun to be a fly on the wall in the Lowden tonight…………..certainly wouldn’t be the only one 😉
The reason I support Motherwell is I was taken there as a wee kid by a neighbour one Charlie Cox who played in both Hearts an Motherwell League and Cup winning sides of the 50s . For him alone I will be punting some money in.
Congratulations to Celtic for a great result…from a St Mirren fan. Hopefully your coverage on MSM will at least equal the mighty newco’s 7-0 thrashing over Alloa.
“Celtic concede late goal again”
“Celtic fail to score seven”
“Celtic manage aggregate draw”
“Celtic still just second”
“Hearts begin domino effect”
There you go, Jim. Take yer pick.
easyJambo says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 21:59
23 0 Rate This
Was there a game on tonight? I was wondering why the board
was a bit quiet?
Delighted for Tony Watt. That’s his third goal against Barca,
having scored twice in the Nextgen series last season.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey EJ. Good to see you back. Looking forward to your input on the Hearts situation. I just wish it wasn’t necessary. I hope things work out.
Congrats well earned to Celtic on beating the Barca, well done from a dandy 🙂
FC Barcelona @FCBarcelona
Congratulations to @CelticFC for well-earned victory a day after their 125-year anniversary. #FCBLive
Clas act, so are their fans. Stood at the end and applauded towards the Celtic support. They were of course given similar treatment in return.
Lord Wobbly says: Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 23:01
Hey EJ. Good to see you back. Looking forward to your input on the Hearts situation. I just wish it wasn’t necessary. I hope things work out.
================================
I think I’m probably in the minority with the view that it would be better for Hearts to bite the bullet of Administration (preferably) sooner rather than later, than suffer a lingering death lurching from one crisis to the next.
Here is a post I put up in response to Pal McConvilles take on the first of Hearts statements today.
I echo Lord Wobbly sentiment Easy Jambo .All the best.
Fantastic night for the Tic! Just hope the Jam Tarts get things sorted!
Oh I don’t think Celtic fans have anything to worry about regarding media coverage tomorrow.
Not a fan of Celtic or The Rangers, indeed usually quite like seeing them fail in Europe, exceptions being Leeds, Blackburn, Liverpool (even my Rangers supporting Dad roared when Hartson scored) and Man Utd, but I was delighted tonight and especially that a young 18 year old Scot put Barca to the sword. In other news today, interim Scotland boss picks Kenny Miller. Why are we so scared to blood young players in the national side? Get Watt in there along with Andrew Shinnie and Leigh Griffiths, maybe even Jonny Russell and Kenny McLean. We have no chance of Brazil so we should be building for the future. Remember that Georgia team beating us with two 16 year olds and a 17 year old making their debuts? Watt instead of Miller is a no brainer.
Speaking as a Celtic supporter and one who was there with his son, a night we will never forget, can I just say there are a few class acts on here as well.
Thanks for the comments guys, fan-tastic.
I’m sure a lot of people will note that Barca had 85% of the possession, or whatever. Well the wee Scottish team had 66% of the goals, and that’s what counts.
A competitive league from top to bottom, a Scottish team beating Barca (first time anyone has done that in the group stages for three years I am told), and other teams taking on and beating Celtic in the league. This Armageddon is not as bad as we were told.
Armageddon …. dontcha jistluv it?
Watched the game with my oldest and dearest friend tonight.. I’m Celtic, he’s Rangers (no comment on old or new required) We watched the game, drank a few drams and loved the football.. Great night, I love that man and he loves me… we both love football. Both happy..
Statistics that actually matter…
http://harryhood67.wordpress.com/2012/11/07/statistics-that-actually-matter-2-1/
Watched the game in an Irish bar with the wife – seated next to 2 Barca fans.
Unbelievable result – of course – but we had an interesting chat.
These guys where actually from Paraguay – and they raised the question about “Rangers being demoted to the 3rd league”. I of course corrected them, and chatted about social media v. priint media in Scotland.
We chatted about the establishment team in Spain/Real against Barca and the similarities to Celtic and RFC(IL).
What surpised me though was that although they supported different Paraguayan teams – they both ‘hated’ the same team – i.e. the ‘establishment team’ in Paraguay. [Sorry can’t remember which team as I was a bit Lillian Gished at this point !]
Anyway, they were impressed with Celtic’s performance – as we were.
Great night.
mrgreenwhytebrown says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 23:33
9 0 Rate This
Watched the game with my oldest and dearest friend tonight..
I’m Celtic, he’s Rangers (no comment on old or new required) We watched the game, drank a few drams and loved the football..Great night, I love that man and he loves me… we both love football. Both happy..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fabulous. Can we have more of this please?
mrgreenwhytebrown says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 23:33
Thank you for reminding us what football should be about.
A real Max Boyce evening, Still can’t quite believe it. Now, if Scotland can pull off a similar miracle at Murrayfield, my cup will truly runneth over…
Were the Bhoys who shook up the Lisbon….
Huge credit to Celtic and their supporters tonight on an absolutely fantastic performance.
Given the relative youth of the Celtic team, the tactical nous of their manager & coaching staff and the unadulterated positivity of the support tonight they have provided a major boost to the Scottish game.
From a Killie fan, much kudos to all.
P.S. Reagan, Ogilvie, Traynor and co …….. tak yer Armageddon and git it right roon ye!
Chaps can I crave your indulgence one more time and post a wee phoatie.
People can look or not as they choose, I think it will become an iconic image, at least amongst Celtic fans. Like the one after we won the penalty shoot out to qualify a few years back.
Anyway, here it is.
http://i45.tinypic.com/34owvww.jpg
arabest1 says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 22:42
would have been fun to be a fly on the wall in the Lowden tonight…………..certainly wouldn’t be the only one
………
You wouldn`t have lasted long after a dart in your ear
Flocculent Apoidea @ 23.00
think u missed an “R” in there..
As a Celtic fan jubilation tonight one of the best ever. But as a sip my last bottle of brown champagne and consider leaving a voicemail of ill health with me boss, Hearts etc does worry me. Dont get me wrong they deserve the same as T’rangers rules are rules. But this will galvanise the cheats superior you cant live without us etc etc. Now two clubs of spend spend go to the swanny the FM loves them both cover up anyone? Or they must survive bla bla bla reconstruction Jabba u know hel write this tomorrow. Ach who knows hope all Scotland wakes up and all clubs adopt a youth sell on model.
bunnion@23.53
think u missed an “up” there
Congrats to Neil Lennon and his staff and player’s for a team of rookies to achieve the unexpected, deserved a point from the 1st leg but such is life,3 from the 2nd is a testimony to a good manager and his background staff working at the challenge.
Well done The Bhoys, so proud.
Also on the administration of RFC side of things, Anthony Batty might be worth looking into.
I don’t think I have commented since the move from RTC..for various reasons, but just wanted to break the seal to say congrats from a killie fan to the birthday bhoys – for a truly awe-inspiring result and for creating that wee stirring feeling in your gut: pride.
Evening all, delighted with the result tonight as a Celtic supporter, but very worried about Hearts. If it comes to it I hope the same administative gymnastics are gone through to save them as was eventually done with “The Rangers”… but I doubt it.
angus1983 says:
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at 14:53
Wonderful result for Scottish football and a stunning display from the fans at the stadium.
I can assure you I am actually still in an elated state.
As such, I feel I must apologise for again disputing your analysis from earlier today as it just seems a bit pernickety given events tonight.
However, just as Celtic’ doggedly stuck to their defensive duties – I feel I must also continue to support the “reality” I propagate.
I just don’t understand why Charles Green would pay the footballing debts of another club if the SFA were going to stiff him.
There is no way the SFA drove a hard bargain and forced Charles Green to agree to pay historical football debt just so that his team can play in the Third Division.
I simply can’t buy that.
The SFA have always been weak-willed and subservient in this process.
As such I maintain the SFA will officially recognise Rangers as Rangers in the history books when the opportunity presents itself.
I wish I had your faith in the SFA applying its own rules to this farce.
I have been wrong many times in the past on this blog and its predecessor and may well be wrong again.
I was certainly wrong about tonight’s result as I believed Barca would win 2-0 or 3-1.
But while tonight’s improbable result will send shockwaves around Europe, I will be astonished to the nth degree if the SFA officially classify Rangers as a new club without history.
I genuinely hope you are right and I am wrong.