Why We Need to Change

Over the past couple of years, we have built a healthy, vibrant and influential community which recognises the need to counter the corporate propaganda spouted by the mainstream media on behalf of the football authorities.

The media have, not entirely but in the main, been hostage to the patronage of those in charge of the club/media links, and to the narrow demographic of their readership. Despite a continuing rejection of the media’s position by that readership (in terms of year on year slump in sales) there is an obstinate refusal to see what is by now inevitable – the death of the print media. The lamb metaphor in fact ironically moving to the slaughter.

The football authorities in Scotland, once the country that gave the world the beautiful game, are rigid with fear that their own world will fall apart – because they are wedded to the idea that only one football match actually matters. To that end they will do whatever it takes to ensure that it continues. They have long since dispensed with the notion that football is an interdependent industry, and incredibly, even those who are not participants in that match follow like sheep towards the abattoir.

The argument is no longer that one club cheated and got away with it. The debate that we need to have is one about what is paramount in the eyes of the clubs and the media . Is it the inegrity of sporting endeavour, or box-office?

For out part, independent sites like this have accelerated the print media’s demise, and there have been temporary successes in persuading the clubs to uphold the spirit of sport. However our role has up to now been to cast a spotlight on the inaccuracies, inconsistencies and downright lies that routinely pass for news. News that is imagined up by PR agencies and dutifully copied by the lazy pretend-journalists who betray no thought whatsoever during the process.

Despite our successes, it really is not enough. We have the means at our disposal to do more, but do more we need to change ourselves, because the authorities sure as hell aren’t gonna.

We need to provide meaningful insight into the game that removes the Old Firm prism from the light path. We need to provide news that has covered all of the angles. We need to entertain, inform and energise fans of sport and all clubs.

We need to do that from a wholly independent perspective. None of this refusing to tell the truth about club allegiances. There is no reason why intelligent men and women can’t be objective in spite of their own allegiances (although the corollary absolutely holds true).  Our experience of the MSM in this country is that the lack of arms-length principles in the media has corrupted it to such an extent that they barely recognise truth and objectivity. We need to be firm on those arms-length principles.

In order to do that we have put together a plan (with enough room to manoeuvre if required) as follows;

We will rebrand and re-launch as the Independent Sports Monitor. We have acquired the domains isMonitor.co.uk and IndependentSportsMonitor.co.uk, and those will be the main urls after the re-launch, hopefully later in the summer.

The change in name reflects the reality of our current debate which is not always confined to Scotland or football. It will also give us the option in future of applying the success of our model to other sports and jurisdictions through partner sites and blogs. This should also help in our efforts to raise funds in the future. However any expansion outwith the domain of Scottish football is some time away, and will depend on the success we have with the core model.

Our mission statement will be;

  1. ISM will seek to build a community of sports fans whose overarching aim is the integrity of competition in the sport.
  2. ISM will, without favour, seek to find objective truths on the conduct and administration of sport. We will avoid building relationships with individuals or organisations which would bring us into conflict with that.
  3. ISM will provide a platform for the views of ALL fans, and guarantee that those views will be heard in a mutually respectful environment.
  4. ISM will also endeavour to inform and entertain members on a wide range of topics related to our shared love of sport.
  5. ISM will seek to represent the views of sports fans to sporting authorities and hold the authorities to account.

We have estimated our (modest) costs to expand our role as per recent discussions. The expanded role will take the form of a new Internet Radio Channel where we hope to provide 24/7 content by the end of the year. It will also see a greater news role  where we will engage directly with clubs and authorities to seek answers to our questions directly.  And we will seek to contact the best fan sites across Scotland with a view to showcasing their content.

We have identified individuals who we want to work (initially on a part time basis) towards our objectives, we have identified premises where we want to conduct our business, and we hope to move into those premises during this summer.

To finance these plans there are a couple of stages;

  1. Initially (as soon as possible) we need to pay accommodation and hosting costs for the first year. To do so,  we hope to appeal to the community itself. Our aim is to raise around £5000 by the end of August.
  2. There are salary costs (around £15,000) attached to our first year plan, but these have been underwritten by Big Pink, and equipment costs (est. £3000). These will be reimbursed if the advertising campaign we recently started bears any fruit (we will not know about that for a few months).
  3. It will not be too discouraging if we make losses in the first couple of years, so if necessary we will seek crowd-funding to finance our plans if the resources of the community itself prove inadequate to smooth a path to break-even point.

Our first year may be a perilous hand-to-mouth existence, but I am certain the journey will be an exciting and enjoyable one. We will also need to search our community resources for contacts at clubs; players, officials, ex-players, local journalists etc. Please get in touch if you have any in at your club.

We also hope to tap into the expertise of our community for advice, comment and analysis of developments, and we will be looking for any aspiring presenters, journalists, sound and video editors, graphic designers (and lots of others) to help us find our feet. Any offers of assistance would be gratefully accepted.

We mustn’t lose sight of why we are doing this. It is because we love our sport, because we want to be able to continue to call it that, and because the disconnect we find in Scottish football, that of the conflicting interests of the fans and the money men, will never be addressed as long as the fans are hopelessly split.

The ultimate goal is to allow sport – not our individual clubs – to triumph over the greed and corporate troglodyte-ism of those people who run it. I am confident that we as a community desperately want to be able to make a difference. That is why I am confident we can achieve our aim of becoming a significant player in the game.

 

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Tom Byrne

About Trisidium

Trisidium is a Dunblane businessman with a keen interest in Scottish Football. He is a Celtic fan, although the demands of modern-day parenting have seen him less at games and more as a taxi service for his kids.

3,978 thoughts on “Why We Need to Change


  1. Despite all the distractions, does anybody know when Jim White will be jetting back to the most exclusive real estate in the southern hemisphere to ask if the retail negotiations went well, or if Uncle Mick spun his tank turrets around and said, “Do one!”


  2. So, Douglas Park has left the board at Ibrox because he has something more important to do. I wonder if he’s ever left a company board so soon after joining before!

    Campaigns for months, perhaps longer, to gain a position of influence, then leaves the board of the football club he ‘loves’ within a few months. Yeah, happens all the time. Thought he was a ‘Real Rangers Man’…!

    Didn’t King claim in that sham interview that he was coming to the UK to ‘renegotiate’ the SD deal in the following week? He was apparently here last week. No announcement on how that went. Then Park leaves. Coincidence?

    Douglas Park seems to be the only one involved with real money that wasn’t gained through some ‘get rich quick’ scheme. Someone who runs a business that does much more than buy and sell money or schemes to make money. A proper business run along similar lines to, say, a properly run football club. He will have grown up watching his father build a major company, and learned about the pitfalls and signs of impending failure, continuing that learning process once he was in charge. He will know when it’s best to cut your losses and, not run, but gradually move aside, leaving someone to watch over his interests until they are returned or about to be irretrievably lost.

    With absolutely no knowledge, other than that gained by watching the events at Ibrox unfold over the years, I suspect Park Junior will depart quite soon, though relatively not ‘soon’ for the ever changing boards of RIFC/TRFC, shortly before some major unfortunate event affecting TRFC.

    If Douglas Park was leaving TRFC for reasons other than a ‘falling out’ or serious fears for the future of the club, he would almost certainly make his reasons for leaving much more clear than a standard puff piece. He will be all too aware of how this looks and how it could cause further uncertainty around Ibrox. He was one of the few positives should the club get close to initiating a share issue. His parting statement is not one to fill anyone with confidence, or that he has confidence (though he says he has confidence that it is in good hands) for the future of the club. It is the banal statement of an unhappy company director not wishing to do further damage. Or one not wanting to be seen as ‘walking away’ by people known to do a bit more than make idle threats!


  3. I doubt it is coincidence that Parks has managed to walk away with a shiny new bus contract tucked in his back hipper.
    I suppose that will take the bitter edge off of the lack of etiquette dictated, gushing praise coming from chairman King since his departure.
    Surely a wee, “Thanks for all your help dear friend” wouldn’t have killed him.


  4. Corrupt official says:
    Member: (114 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 11:35 am

    You’re not suggesting Dave will have time between rounds of golf to say goodbye, are you? Some things are much too important in the life of a South African magnate than his beloved football club. Did you see the walls of his den, not one memento from Ibrox?


  5. OOPS!

    Mr Douglas Ireland Park’s Profile
    Director of Park’s of Hamilton (Downtown Garage) Limited

    Born: Available to DueDil Premium and Enterprise customers – start a free trial.

    Nationality: British

    About
    The first position as a director we have on file for Mr Douglas Ireland Park was in 1988 at Heart of Midlothian Plc. His most recent directorship is with The Rangers Football Club Limited where he holds the position of “Company director”. This company has been around since 29 May 2012. Douglas has held 29 directorships, 19 of which are currently active, and 10 are no longer active

    https://www.duedil.com/director/900033360/douglas-ireland-park


  6. Re Douglas Park’s departure from the board.

    Maybe, like that other RRM Jim McColl, he does have bigger fish to fry.
    Perhaps, as per rumours, there are health issues.
    Maybe his son will be up for the fight and keeping things on track at T’Rangers.

    However his departure and the manner of its announcement, 10:30 pm and in such vague terms, seems somewhat at odds with the tone of comments Park made at the time of his appointment six months ago.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/31795082

    So…..
    – Where are the publicly announced intentions of the new board that were just weeks away from the time of the interview on 9 March
    – Where is the openness and transparency promised, e.g what did the detailed investigation into the loss of £70m reveal(especially as Pincent Mason reports and Wallace’s 120 day review were a starter for ten)
    – Has the club really dropped the ‘victim mentality’ given the recent spat with CM of the BBC and the attitudes shown by ‘unofficial rebel rousers’ but clear King/3Bears supporters, SoS

    And of course given all the recent pronouncements where is the extra investment and when will it be coming along – What is the big financial plan?

    To give Park his due he did say it was going to be a long process and that is indeed the sensible approach, however Park’s rhetoric is totally at odds with that of King’s, so far, empty promises.

    Is Park still on the list of investors that DCK was going to rely on to do the 50% match funding or is it just 2 Bears now?

    As far as anyone knows the manner in which things are being managed down Ibrox way could be as much to do with Park’s departure as any other reasons. However given the lack of transparency we may never know. The thing is a shambles as usual and nobody in the footballing authorities seems to be willing to demand a true and transparent picture of exactly what is going on and how T’Rangers intend to see this season out.

    PS Since 2012 Graeme Park is of course a director of 5 of the companies in the Parks empire so is a board director who holds a business contract with the club.


  7. Regarding Douglas Park, I was told some time ago that the man is not well, which likely explains why he has stepped down from the RFC board.


  8. Allyjambo says:
    Member: (1144 comments)

    August 4, 2015 at 11:41 am
    “You’re not suggesting Dave will have time between rounds of golf to say goodbye, are you?”
    ——————————————————–
    I doubt Dave has time for anything if he cant see a coin in it, so no gushing farewell, heralds no more Wonga from Bear 1.
    It may well be simply that a younger, more aggressive Parks junior, is more adept in the slippery shenanigans of modern business practises than the style Parks snr cut his teeth in. Maybe jnr has been straining on the leash.
    It definitely doesn’t signal harmony at the top of the staircase,


  9. Yes, although looking at it the other way, the fact Parks jnr is also a director in the parks empire it doesn’t appear that there is any restriction of actual liabilility going on.


  10. I’m surprised that it seems to have passed by without much comment on here, but Barry Ferguson’s Friday column in last week’s Record was a bit of a belter, and for once, I do genuinely mean it.

    I’ve spent the last season decrying the fact that our manager spends his whole time in the media, giving his views exclusively on another team, and that his actual employers get nary a mention.

    Well, that changed last Friday. Bazza , instead of spouting his usual clichéd nonsense about how being in the presence of Walter was an almost rapturous experience or giving Homer Simpson style ‘It’s still good!It’s still good!’ denials, instead wrote a column about life as the manager of a Scottish lower division club (i.e. Clyde) with only the briefest reference to Rangers.

    And get this – it was well written, fairly revelatory at times (at least for me – given that I have to rely on the Clyde website for news about my club), and for once, INTERESTING! Who’d a thunk it? An article on Scottish football being interesting despite very little mention of Rangers? It’s almost like the DR have stumbled onto some hitherto unknown magic formula!

    He did mention at a fan’s forum recently that he was seeking to renegotiate the contract so that one column a month would be dedicated to Clyde, so I’m guessing that this is the result of his endeavours, and if so, then I must admit that I have a bit of new found respect for him. I’m quick to lambast him for his usual stuff, so it would be churlish not to give him credit where it’s due.

    Long may it continue. Reading about the struggles of trying to impose professionalism on part-time players, or trying to tempt Championship footballers to play under him trumps ‘Scottish football needs Rangers in the Top Division’ every time for me.


  11. AmFearLiathMòr says:
    Member: (72 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 1:13 pm

    I’m surprised that it seems to have passed by without much comment on here, but Barry Ferguson’s Friday column in last week’s Record was a bit of a belter, and for once, I do genuinely mean it.

    I’ve spent the last season decrying the fact that our manager spends his whole time in the media, giving his views exclusively on another team, and that his actual employers get nary a mention.

    Well, that changed last Friday. Bazza , instead of spouting his usual clichéd nonsense about how being in the presence of Walter was an almost rapturous experience or giving Homer Simpson style ‘It’s still good!It’s still good!’ denials, instead wrote a column about life as the manager of a Scottish lower division club (i.e. Clyde) with only the briefest reference to Rangers.

    And get this – it was well written, fairly revelatory at times (at least for me – given that I have to rely on the Clyde website for news about my club), and for once, INTERESTING! Who’d a thunk it? An article on Scottish football being interesting despite very little mention of Rangers? It’s almost like the DR have stumbled onto some hitherto unknown magic formula!

    He did mention at a fan’s forum recently that he was seeking to renegotiate the contract so that one column a month would be dedicated to Clyde, so I’m guessing that this is the result of his endeavours, and if so, then I must admit that I have a bit of new found respect for him. I’m quick to lambast him for his usual stuff, so it would be churlish not to give him credit where it’s due.

    Long may it continue. Reading about the struggles of trying to impose professionalism on part-time players, or trying to tempt Championship footballers to play under him trumps ‘Scottish football needs Rangers in the Top Division’ every time for me.

    ===============================

    Credit where it is due AmFearLiathMòr that sounds like a positive development.

    Although it does leave me wondering what his contract did say before he (well actually his agent I’d assume) negotiated this concession? Was it contracted that he had to put his name to wall to wall TRFC guff on a weekly basis?


  12. John Clark says:
    Member: (1044 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 1:43 am

    “Wilson betrayed what I consider was the kind of hubristic attitude shown by the old dead club under SDM, when he opined that what you do when a journalist is off message is ‘you call him in’.”
    ———————————–
    Richard Wilson’s remark did hearken back to an era of journalism that is now past. His argument was that he wished to have the institutions removed from the fracass and that it be dealt with on a personal level. As you point out, this could end up in a David V Goliath scenario where an individual journalist is made to quake by the deep voices billowing around the marble halls.

    I think in this instance the BBC are correct to stand by their journalist. As a meagre consumer of MSM I am unaware of the rounded flavour of Chris McLaughlin’s output on this matter. I just seen the one tweet posted up on here. So perhaps I do not have the full context of the furore.


  13. I don’t usually copy and paste, but here are the latest comments of “John James” following the resignation of Douglas Park. It can’t be long now until one of the King brigade has a quiet word in J.J.’s ear.

    “The announcement was made at 10.30 p.m. so as to avoid the tabloid first editions.

    The timing is cynical and indicative of a board who are under financial siege. Mr Park was in the position long enough to reacquire the coach concession which many might speculate was his primary motivation.

    The conclusion to draw from this is simple. There will be no more soft loans or investment from Mr Park. Mr Park’s son will act as his proxy to ensure that his loans, due in December, are repaid.

    When our criminal chairman initially approached former chairman Somers he stated that he was part of a consortium of eight investors who were prepared to underwrite a shares issue with £16M. King, naturally, was lying. He wanted approval to pitch the idea to other prospective investors. He refused to name his co- investors as at that time he had no assurances from anyone other than Mr Letham. George Letham did not have sufficient liquidity to pony up £2m. His £1m loan was borrowed from his bank.

    King was, at that time, attempting to gain the position as chairman without spending one rand. When the share price dipped to its lowest point of 18p, Kingco acquired shares. It is my considered opinion that someone other than King actually paid for his shares. I believe that if you had a look at the trustees of the Oasis offshore trust, George Taylor will be the prime beneficiary. As part of King’s SARS plea bargain, he was ordered to repatriate all his offshore interests. Failure to do so would result in an 82 year prison service. King is merely the snake oil salesman in this crooked board. The largest shareholder is actually Mr Taylor.

    Mr Taylor will do no more. Mr Park is out and Mr Letham has, at best, circa £600,000 to his name. King is now on his own and as everyone now should know he’s a busted flush. I do not believe that King contributed £1.5m to the £4.5m crisis loans.

    I expect the Level 5 spin will be other interests, with an off the record poor health narrative. Messrs Jack, Lindsay and Williams will have been briefed to promote Mr Park’s son’s credentials and how his board presence will be a boon. Phrases such as ‘cut from the same cloth’ will be the PR order of the day.

    However, make no mistake this shyster board have now lost their banker of last resort. Everyone can clearly envisage how bad things are. King had hoped that the so-called 3 bears would pony up the £8-£10m deficit when push came to shove.

    Promotion this year will be pushing against an open door. With HMFC in the Scottish Premiership and Hibs having done nothing to shore up the worst defence in our division, W&W will prevail.

    The spotlight is now fixed on King. By voting for a convicted criminal as ‘our’ chairman, the shareholders have ensured that no-one in the city will loan RIFC any funds at even punitive rates. We might as well have appointed Asil Nadir of Polly Peck.”


  14. John James says
    “Mr Taylor will do no more. Mr Park is out and Mr Letham has, at best, circa £600,000 to his name. King is now on his own and as everyone now should know he’s a busted flush. I do not believe that King contributed £1.5m to the £4.5m crisis loans.

    I expect the Level 5 spin will be other interests, with an off the record poor health narrative. Messrs Jack, Lindsay and Williams will have been briefed to promote Mr Park’s son’s credentials and how his board presence will be a boon. Phrases such as ‘cut from the same cloth’ will be the PR order of the day.

    However, make no mistake this shyster board have now lost their banker of last resort. Everyone can clearly envisage how bad things are. King had hoped that the so-called 3 bears would pony up the £8-£10m deficit when push came to shove.

    Promotion this year will be pushing against an open door. With HMFC in the Scottish Premiership and Hibs having done nothing to shore up the worst defence in our division, W&W will prevail.”

    Ok JJ, with Park now out, Taylor will do no more,Letham worth £600k and King a busted flush…………how can they last till the end of the season to push open this open door to promotion??


  15. Cosmic haggis.

    Financial gravity notwithstanding I can’t help but feel that the answer lies in whom is holding the door open!

    And in other unrelated news Neil Doncaster is about to reveal a commonwealth games rerun. With stadium rentals paid up front.

    On a more serious note, are the buddies not even worthy of a mention?


  16. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (334 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 1:14 am

    Thanks for replying Big Pink, the clubs wouldn’t be allowed to be so cynical and we’d not be having this conversation, and tsfm wouldn’t exist if we had proper journalists.

    This story is screaming out to be told.


  17. Corrupt official says:
    Member: (115 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 10:34 am

    Despite all the distractions, does anybody know when Jim White will be jetting back to the most exclusive real estate in the southern hemisphere to ask if the retail negotiations went well, or if Uncle Mick spun his tank turrets around and said, “Do one!”
    ==============================
    The EPL starts on Saturday, so Scottish football will put back on the shelf and forgotten about. “Its rightful place” from Sky’s perspective.
    Jim White will have forgotten all about the SA trip by the time he starts planning the 24 hour transfer window live ZZZ-fest.

    I’m sure that David Tanner can fill in perfectly adequately with a gushing live report from across Edmiston Drive with the “Football Rangers Club Ltd” gates in the background.


  18. Not quite sure i agree with assesments of Hibs. Stubbs is being forced through injury or match fitness issues to field a side that is miles away from his best eleven. When you add in the disruption caused by the targetting of one of their best players, i dont really see how a view can be taken at this time.

    Stubbs did very well last season , and has now added proof of ability to improve players to his resume. I suspect good clubs will be prepared to loan talented young players to Hibs , trusting Stubbs to give them good coaching in a positive environment.

    All judgements seem to have been made on the basis of the final 50 minutes against Rangers at Easter Rd. I understand that Bartley, Scott Allen, Keatings, Carmichael, Boyle, El Alagui, Malonga , Forster and McGinn , either did not play at all in that match or made only a very limited appearance.

    Thats 9 first team squad players , of whom at least 5 would be expected to be regular starters. Rangers may well win the league this season, but at this stage the investment value seems to me to be with Hibs. Rangers odds are prohibitively short.


  19. I’ve just caught up with reports of Craig Houston’s rantings on the radio last night. I afforded myself a chuckle or two as he said something along the lines of HMRC having pursued Rangers and lost, which of course went uncontested by messrs English and Wilson.

    Quite apart from the fact HMRC won in respect of five of the recipients of the tax avoidance scheme implemented by “Sir” David Murray, doesn’t the chap know that an appeal has just been heard in respect of the rest, and that the fat lady, far from having sung on the matter, may just have been starting to tune up?

    Having read Easy Jambo and John Clark’s reports I must say that I am far from convinced that we will see the right outcome this time.

    Nevertheless, should justice finally be done, I wonder what Mr Houston and his ilk will say then?


  20. Matty Roth says:
    Member: (223 comments)

    August 4, 2015 at 1:45 pm

    Credit where it is due AmFearLiathMòr that sounds like a positive development.

    Although it does leave me wondering what his contract did say before he (well actually his agent I’d assume) negotiated this concession? Was it contracted that he had to put his name to wall to wall TRFC guff on a weekly basis?

    Funnily enough, the answer was in the DR phone-in a day or two later. Somebody phoned in to mock him for finally talking about Clyde, and the guy doing the reporting said that he was employed for his insights into Rangers, as a counterpart alongside Chris Sutton.

    It still bothers me that he’s in an awkward position, though – he’s a manager of one team making comment exclusively on another team. He’s leaving himself open to ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ type accusations if he’s too forthright, or at least, he would be if he was actually saying anything worth reading about the goings on at Ibrox, rather than bland, anaemic nonsense. (and of course, he could always turn round and go ‘I don’t write it, they just use my name.’)

    However, last Friday was an encouraging start.


  21. The Merry Ploughboy is on the other side of Mr Houston’s fence relates to early 20th Century Irish uprisings and is at the political end of what Celtic supporters of the old school call political. The Queen reference is not sectarian but looked at literally rather a disturbing image for the queasy in the body of the Kirk as they say

    If I recall correctly there are no religious references of any kind in the song which might nullify any sectarian imputation.

    Having said all that the whole singing of such songs at football matches bemuses me particularly when those who would most likely to be discombobulated by it are not likely to visit Inverness on football business this season and perhaps after.


  22. “The Light Blues made a third offer believed to be in the region of £285,000 for the midfield playmaker late last night after having two previous bids of £175,000 and £225,000 rejected by the capital club…” From the DR.
    ========================================================

    So why has TRFC bothered with a minimally uplifted 3rd bid – even after Hibs have strongly intimated publicly that they will not sell Allan ?

    So Allan is still not sold.
    He is pi##ed off, and his form may dip.
    Allan signs a pre-contract at the end of December.
    TRFC get the SMSM to loudly declare that he is wasted at Hibs anyway, and will thrive at Ibrox.
    Allan is dropped from the Hibs team for the rest of the season.
    TRFC has nobbled a key player in their main rival’s first team.
    TRFC also gets the lad for nothing.
    Both Hibs and the player lose out this season.
    But TRFC is the winner.

    Just doesn’t seem right, and I wouldn’t want to play for a club which behaves like that.


  23. StevieBC says:
    August 4, 2015 at 8:11 pm

    You forget it is all about class and dignity 🙂

    Put up a decent amount of the over-investment money or take a telling then p!ss off leave the poor lad alone until next season and do your talking on the pitch to win the title.

    Said for ages there would be no war chest but they would have enough money to try and weaken opposition squads. As you say even if they don’t get their man this time round some damage may have been done.

    However give the boy Allan his due, he turned in a good shift when he came on at the weekend. So hopefully his professionalism will shine through if he stays at Easter Road..


  24. jimlarkin says:
    Member: (331 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 5:04 pm
    ___
    Thanks for posting this link http://www.highland-news.co.uk/News/Court-bans-Celtic-fan-from-matches-over-sectarian-song-at-Inverness-stadium-04082015.htm

    Occasionally,I get annoyed by the stupidity of some people who ought to know better!
    And have expressed my annoyance in the following email to the ‘Highland News’

    ” to editor@highland-news.co.uk

    Dear Editor,

    “Court bans Celtic fan from matches over sectarian song at Inverness stadium
    “Fagan, of Drakemire Drive in Castlemilk, Glasgow, admitted on April 11 at the stadium engaging in behaviour likely to incite public disorder singing foul and abusive language in support of a terrorist organisation.’

    Now, ‘Foul and abusive language’–fair enough

    ‘.in support of a terrorist organisation’….on the face of it, yes.

    Unacceptable by any measure, certainly.

    But ‘sectarian’?

    Your sub who used that word in the headline to the report clearly is very,very ignorant.

    Or worse, a wicked trouble-stirrer.

    Let him cite the actual charge brought, and report on the verdict.

    Do not let him prefer charges that were not preferred by the prosecution.

    And buy him a dictionary, if you think he knows how to use one!

    Yours sincerely,
    (name supplied)


  25. I’m a bit amazed we have not brought up the doping thing from the ST given our wish to expand.

    You can extrapolate what you like from this but it took 2 steps to link the Barca Medica director; Fifa and Maradonna’s claim of doping.

    http://www.fifa.com/development/news/y=2013/m=5/news=barcelona-medical-services-get-fifa-approval-2080976.html

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1390382/Diego-Maradona-claims-Argentina-took-drugs-1994-World-Cup-qualifier.html

    Its inevitable.

    Athletics pays pennies compared to football.

    Its in there waiting to explode.


  26. ianagain says:
    Member: (643 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 9:25 pm
    ‘..I’m a bit amazed we have not brought up the doping thing from the ST given our wish to expand.’
    _______
    At least in athletics the ‘authorities’ try to make some system of dope-testing work.

    In Scottish football, where the corruption is ‘money-doping’, such minimal financial checks and tests ( such as questioning how much a club was really paying its players) were not carried out even under the Presidency of a man who knew that one club in particular was paying its players in two different ways, and not declaring the second way!
    I think we should concentrate on our little local corruption, while,of course, being aware that financial doping is not confined to our game.


  27. I take it King has come and gone on another jetting in & out visit,anyone in the smsm catch him for a local interview ,I haven’t seen or heard of anything ,surely JW could have updated his Sky bosses with a follow up home scoop at minimal expense, or am I being silly and I missed a scoop in the DR that Keef managed to secure with Dave and how the re negotiations went with Big M, if anyone can update I would appreciate this


  28. Bartin Main says:
    Member: (4 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 5:22 pm

    ——————————————————-
    I would like to interview the 2 Davids.

    David Edward Murray and
    David Cunningham King

    Mr Murray, if you had the chance to go back to 2001 would you change your mind about EBTs in view of what has taken place in the last 14 years?

    Mr King if you could go back to 2000 would you change your mind about buying that painting in view of what happened in the following 13 years?

    Same question to both of you , was it worth 10 years of your lives?


  29. Goosey Goosey—what part of “F*** the Pope” don’t you understand? Part of the everyday repertoire down Ibrox way—but—there’s too many of them to do anything about it. The Queen, like the Popoe, has many very admirable qualities, not least a sense of duty. I, for one, would admonish anyone doing this. But a year football ban for an eejit of an 18 year old? Seems a bit over the top. Looking at it, the cops seem to be the disgruntled party here. If he was with a crowd why did they single him out, instead of arresting half a dozen? That’s not policing, that’s bullying.


  30. JC

    Hopefulywith HMRC’s narrowing in on the input vice the loan end of the argument as you documented in detail, we may well indeed get a verdict in that regard.
    Then a greater number of questions around e Presidente and others arise.
    Will it appear before CW “an others”. What do you think?
    I’m thinking myself its being held.


  31. Bartin Main says:
    Member: (4 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 5:22 pm
    ‘…Having read Easy Jambo and John Clark’s reports I must say that I am far from convinced that we will see the right outcome this time. ‘
    _______
    A long time ago on this blog ( or maybe it was on the RTC blog…)I voiced a criticism of old Lord Denning for his observation to the effect that it was better that innocent men should be found guilty rather than that English law be seen to be fallible.An extraordinary thing to say, but I think he was then in his dotage.

    I thought of that occasion when I heard Mr Ghosh remark to their Lordships something to the effect that to lose this appeal would bring chaos to the Public Finances.

    And part of my brain said ” well, worrying about the implications for the Public purse has nothing to do with determining whether this particular EBT scheme was legal or not, ”
    and ,like you, Bartin Main, I was inclined to be a wee bit concerned.

    Thinking about it since, however, I’m moving to the view that the Courts, and particularly the Appeal Courts, have a well-established function in teasing out what Parliament intended by its legislation, even if the Parliamentary draftsmen did not quite get the form of words as accurate as they ought to be.

    And my hopes rose, because it is clear that Parliament would never have intended that it should be legally possible to avoid paying tax simply by getting your employer to give your salary to someone else, and then for you to get it from them, however convoluted the mechanism adopted!

    And I then really got the point that Mr Ghosh kept making; ‘pay him, not me’ so that I don’t pay tax.

    I’m now feeling a bit more confident that their Lordships will agree that, even if the draftsmen didn’t frame the legislation as was intended, the mind of Parliament was clear: if you get earnings, how you get them paid to you is largely neither here nor there, they are taxable, end of..!

    And I hope that in their written judgment they mention Dr Poon and declare that her approach was the correct one!

    And a wee side-swipe at Lord D for not seeing that her approach was the correct one would be a wee bonus ( but, mind, pay that bonus “to him, not me” 😀 )


  32. StevieBC says:
    Member: (813 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 8:11 pm
    ‘.So why has TRFC bothered with a minimally uplifted 3rd bid – even after Hibs have strongly intimated publicly that they will not sell Allan ?’
    _____
    I think, StevieBC,that there are some seriously disturbed and disturbing people involved.
    The parallel with guys who say ‘ she doesn’t really mean ‘no’ springs to mind.

    Such is their perverted view of their ‘rights’ and ‘entitlements’ that they will authorise their people to do any shameful bullying, that goes far beyond any ordinary business competitiveness.

    I cannot believe that our 41 other club chairmen/women/CEOs can have anything but disgust and contempt, however much they keep it secret, for the fundamentally rotten, unsporting behaviour of the newest club in Scottish football.

    They must now, however belatedly, realise what a cuckoo they have allowed into the nest, and take the steps necessary to clip the wings of the upstart and restore some semblance of decency to the SPFL.

    There is more to life than the occasional few extra bob through the turnstiles: things like personal integrity, fair play, comradely trust, and honest-to-God decency.


  33. And, just before I go to bed , at Mrs C’s insistent command from above( be still, my beating heart!), I do welcome the fact that the Barry boy and the DR have recognised the incongruity of the manager of Clyde being contracted to write solely about the new club.
    But did Clyde employ Barry knowing of that contract? ( I can’t actually remember when Barry was appointed, and I canny be ars.d looking it up at this time o’ night-Mrs C awaits! 😀


  34. Folks,

    I don’t mind when people have grown up discussion about the nature of sectarianism – the ability to have that discussion is an indication of the maturity of the blog, but anyone who feels the need to rush to tell us that the screaming of profanity at or about an 80-odd year old woman isn’t offensive to them should be doing that somewhere else.

    My personal views are not in concert with the Royal lobby, but I am dismayed that anyone who frequents this blog could endorse or excuse lumpen behaviour. On a practical level, it is a sure-fire way to upsetting people un-necessarily.


  35. Hearing a snippet that Richard Gough is to join the Rangers board. No idea which one!

    Would explain why he is in town. Not just to promote season tickets (today’s herald)


  36. Alex Thomson on bans

    http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thomsons-view/normal-ban-journalists-football/9763

    Sadly, many of the journalists who are not banned hardly make a good case for being sword bearers for truth and clarity. A main topic in the English broadsheets for the past few weeks, for example, has been the relentless plugging of new EPL football strips, dressed up as news – advance ‘leaks’ of new kit, spurious controversies over gaudy colours or the low-cut line of football tops for women, tables comparing which new kit is the best, and so on. All of which is just serving the PR needs of the clubs who sign big deals with kit manufacturers. Those journalists are not going to be banned any time soon I suspect.


  37. John Clark says:
    Member: (1049 comments)
    August 4, 2015 at 11:34 pm

    There is more to life than the occasional few extra bob through the turnstiles: things like personal integrity, fair play, comradely trust, and honest-to-God decency.
    ==================================

    I couldn’t agree more John, and it is a sentiment I often think of in other aspects of life. Perhaps I’ll get a rap on the knuckles for expressing a political view on the blog, but the UK Government elected in 1979 has ultimately ensured that human greed for money will always take preference over the virtues you mention. Successive Governments have never changed that, and what happened in 2008 should have been the catalyst for change in my view.

    In many ways the old Rangers completely thrived under the political environments of the time. Aside from their banking support, It is often forgotten they were responsible for financial support for Hampden redevelopment being withdrawn by the Thatcher Government in the early 80’s. Rangers had written to the Government saying there was no need to spend the money as they had redeveloped Ibrox. Years later Thatcher visited Ibrox when she was in Scotland, and opined how wonderful it was. They are all welcome to each other, by God they are.


  38. dom16 says:
    August 5, 2015 at 6:54 am

    Gough got a wee mention on SSB re his relationship with King last night and is in today’s Scotsman waxing lyrical about Tavernier going to be worth £4m, even though Gough admits he has yet to see him defend!

    Whether or not a seat on the board is on its way it is all hands on deck on the good ship Hubris.


  39. John Clark on August 4, 2015 at 9:16 pm
    ———-

    Bravo John. The movement to redefine the concept of ‘sectarian’ gathers pace? Attemps to insist the word ‘hun’ is a sectarian term annaw! It would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious.

    I’m with @bfbpuzzled above as to being discomknockerated that these issues even arise in Scottish football. Of course, we’re no mugs and do know that, had the SFA will been there, this type of singing would have been eradicated from football grounds long ago.

    Next bit boringly OT. Avert your eyes now 🙂

    Regarding the terrorist organisation song charge, there’s probably an argument to be made for not singing GStQ at various foreign venues because the local populations have not forgotten that our national anthem, too, stood for a type ‘state terrorism’, on their lands, peoples and natural resources.

    Hoping this stuff will wither as a younger generation embraces the ideal of a new Scotland. Interesting to think that had a few hundred thousand postal votes ticked a ‘Yes’ we might be on the way to seeing a Scottish constitution being drafted as the highest law of the land. You can’t help wondering what that constitution would have looked like.

    Quite a few years ago I attended a new year get-together at an old girlfriend’s place. We were on good terms. I was asked a lot of questions about Scotland by the jolly Danes present (even then, Scotland’s political status was a topic in another country of 5m), I suppose our status seemed like a historic anachronism. To be honest, I had never given it much thought. After midnight my former girlfriend came with a little book and told me she ‘really wanted me to have this’ — it was a copy of ‘Danmarks Riges Grundlov’, the Danish constitution. At the time it seemed an odd present, the Danish was a bit archaic legalese and not easy to read. It was no doubt a response to the Scottish discussion. I felt it was handed over with a sense pride. That struck me as odd, as Esther, like most Danes was not a very ‘nationalistic’ type. But I’ve come to realise that the basis of the low-key, easy-going and quite enlightened society the Danes have created is based on that small book.

    An enlightened constitution for us one day too, perhaps.


  40. Hmmmmm. Will Gough be Dave’s man while he’s back in the estate ? So here we go again, another round of guess who’s next on the Board ? Graeme Roberts ? Terry Hurlock ? I wonder what the World Record is for the most changes to a Boardroom of a fledgling Company ?


  41. DP,
    Re your point about GStQ; I think the same thing could be said about the star-spangled banner, or Deutschland über alles, or a series of other national anthems; but I don’t think it’s practical to change your national anthem every time you do something wrong.

    We all have to take the bad with the good in our histories, and all countries, like people. are composed not of black or white, but various shades of grey.

    I’m just not attached to the idea of national anthems at all. For me it panders to cheap sentimentality and a general watp ethos. As a concept, it seems to me to be bizarre – something we go along with because we always have. But why?


  42. Big Pink says:
    Moderator: (335 comments)
    August 5, 2015 at 9:15 am

    I’m just not attached to the idea of national anthems at all. For me it panders to cheap sentimentality and a general watp ethos. As a concept, it seems to me to be bizarre – something we go along with because we always have. But why?

    BP, despite sharing your sceptical view on anthems I have sung Flower of Scotland at international matches. It’s not the best of songs but it seems to get the tribe going, and football after all is war between tribes minus the shooting isn’t it?


  43. Tris

    The profanities should not have been shouted of that there is no doubt but the 80 odd year old woman is not really what the shouting was about but it might be argued other things entirely.
    However I would guess that the youth has no real knowledge of the issues to which his slogan refers and uses it in a kind of reflex both to show membership of his group and enmity to the other.

    The FTP brigade really should make it clear to which Pope they refer, two live in Rome and there are others elsewhere not only among sede vacente types but for autocephalous churches. I guess that such theological niceties make for poor chants

    The place for such discussions is not inside Football stadiums.

    The word sectarian has lost its meaning it is the term de jour for all kinds of things which share many things in common but not sectarianism.


  44. bfbpuzzled says:
    Member: (248 comments)

    August 5, 2015 at 9:43 am (Edit)

    Tris

    The profanities should not have been shouted of that there is no doubt but the 80 odd year old woman is not really what the shouting was about but it might be argued other things entirely.
    However I would guess that the youth has no real knowledge of the issues to which his slogan refers and uses it in a kind of reflex both to show membership of his group and enmity to the other.

    The FTP brigade really should make it clear to which Pope they refer, two live in Rome and there are others elsewhere not only among sede vacente types but for autocephalous churches. I guess that such theological niceties make for poor chants

    The place for such discussions is not inside Football stadiums.

    The word sectarian has lost its meaning it is the term de jour for all kinds of things which share many things in common but not sectarianism.
    _______________________________________________

    Can’t disagree with most of that, except that I don’t believe that these chants (profanities) are merely symbolic.

    The point for me though is that there appeared to be a rush to defend the ostensibly non-sectarian status of the song in question (which – also ostensibly – applies to almost all of the OF songbook) which became conflated with a defence of the moronic profane ejaculations which refer to the Queen and TPOW.

    I just wanted to make it clear that politics aside, I don’t want this blog contaminated with even a whiff of that.


  45. bfbpuzzled says:
    August 5, 2015 at 9:43 am
    The word sectarian has lost its meaning it is the term de jour for all kinds of things which share many things in common but not sectarianism.
    ==========================================================

    People who behave in a sectarian way but but reject the label, do try to destroy the meaning (hence the h*n nonsense) as a kind of defence.

    Some folk would also argue there is no sectarianism because the folk who sing those songs and abuse people of a certain religion do so out of habit and have no religion themselves – but if your target is chosen because of their religion or because it is believed they follow a religion then I still think that is sectarianism.

    Let’s face it if their religion was followed honestly surely they would stand outside football grounds (such as Celtic Park??) preaching their version of the gospel and inviting them to Church on Sunday – or at least to a coffee morning the following saturday? 😀

    It’s a sad indictment of humanity that when some people lose or only follow a religion out of habit that they hold to the worst aspects of it and lose the best.


  46. yourhavingalaugh says:
    Member: (320 comments)

    August 4, 2015 at 9:54 pm

    I think JW was too busy yesterday doing his run around 92Live with inane interviews to start the season in England. Having wasted money on the jaunt to Jozi and now visits to 92 clubs in one day (am sure JW enjoyed the helicopter rides though) I wonder what else Sky can waste subscriptions on?

    Also, in passing, had a look at the Scotsman online today and looked at the section on lower leagues. Just a smidgeon of hope there might be something to read about Arbroath, Raith Rovers, East Fife etc but instead found headlines for:
    Hibs angered at Rangers….
    Richard Gough on Rangers
    Sammy Cox (I can allow that one MHSRIP)
    Douglas Park
    Motherwell face action over Rangers….
    Jock Wallace .. including quotes from Derek Johnstone
    Ibrox training and quotes from Mark Hateley
    Warburton
    League Cup draw – of course including…..

    It is as if the rest of the teams only exist for one team?

    Scottish Football needs the press to open their eyes. Mind you some of our administrators could also do the same!!

    :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb: :slamb:


  47. Forgive this innocent chap from way up in Tayside** and mods forgive me for potentially stirring up something I don’t mean to. This is out of genuine interest as to the history of all this – as with most outsiders this whole thing is pretty much a mystery. As an aside, why do so many folks – and yes I realise its far from all, but the numbers are clearly significant – from Glasgow etc have such difficulty believe that folks from Aberdeen etc really don’t care about this stuff!?

    I do not know the words to this Merry Ploughboy ditty, I assume I may well have heard it sung from the terraces, but I do not know to what it refers. I can only imagine it has been subverted to take on a meaning not initially penned – please let me know if I am mistaken in that.

    But, any song belted out from the terraces that involves queens, orangemen, popes, fenians or whatever must surely have it’s genesis within sectarianism? Or how would you define sectarianism such that these terms could possibly lie outside that blanket? The dirge of GstQ I guess could be sung with legitimacy but…. with respect I believe the fans of a certain club sing it for one reason only.

    I completely understand the point that I think was being made earlier, that folks are singing this without any real understanding or concept of what it is all about.

    But the original source/genesis/seed for any song using terms such as these must surely lie in what is the largest scourge of the city I love that is Glasgow?

    **Jimbo, since you asked a few days back – no I’m not a native Taysider, I hail from the Granite city itself but after stops at various cities around the UK, including Glasgow, I’ve ended up here. Enjoy living here, Dundee is a long way from the idea that most people have in their heads (including myself) before they spend time here.


  48. John Clark says:
    Member: (1049 comments)

    August 5, 2015 at 12:42 am

    And, just before I go to bed , at Mrs C’s insistent command from above( be still, my beating heart!), I do welcome the fact that the Barry boy and the DR have recognised the incongruity of the manager of Clyde being contracted to write solely about the new club.
    But did Clyde employ Barry knowing of that contract? ( I can’t actually remember when Barry was appointed, and I canny be ars.d looking it up at this time o’ night-Mrs C awaits! ?

    John, he started ‘writing’ the column a couple of years back, but was only appointed our manager in the close season of 2014. I thought at the time that he should give up the column, partly because I didn’t believe it would be right for a manager of one club to write consistently about another, but mostly because I didn’t want us belittled. I feared that it would become ‘Carry On Clyde’, akin to Gordon Parks writing about East Stirlingshire when he was there briefly – ‘Me! The Great Bazza! At this bunch of jokers! Whit’ma like,eh?’

    I needn’t have worried. We barely got a mention, and even then it would only be if he felt he needed to wave his credentials about if he was making some point about management.

    It was his loss as well. As Methill rightly points out above, there is, apparently, no news ever about the lower divisions except for Rangers. There was a point last season where he was under real pressure – we hadn’t scored for umpteen weeks nevermind actually won a game, and relegation from the senior leagues was looking a real possibility – and yet every week, his column was still going on about how magical Ally was and how it would come good for Rangers.

    We weren’t getting anything from the Clyde website, beyond ‘The lads’ll be disappointed with that’ (If Messi signed for us, you can be sure the website would report it in the same dry manner as if Pat Scullion had come back to work in the snackbar under the stand). He could have used his column to talk about what was happening, what steps he was taking to get us out of the mire we were in, and relieve some of that pressure just by communicating, but that didn’t happen. It just gave the impression of someone who couldn’t really give one about us.

    At least this season, it looks as if there is that pressure valve release at least once a month.

    BTW I appreciate that we probably are quite lucky compared to other lower league clubs in that we do effectively have a page in a national paper once a month, but believe me, up until now it’s been a curse rather than a blessing!


  49. Today’s Evening Times online reports, “Three West of Scotland football fans jailed after Edinburgh disturbance”. It goes on to say, “ for the part they played in a large scale violent disturbance with rival fans in the Grassmarket area of Edinburgh”.

    Strangely, there is absolutely no mention in the article of the actual clubs these fans represented, or what particular match they had come to the capital that day to see.

    The writer (Vivienne Nicoll) must be credited with a certain degree of skill in being able to inform the nation of this disgusting behaviour without revealing the affiliation of the culprits. I wonder if this reporter was merely adhering to editorial guidelines?


  50. Billy,

    I think it’s safe to say that the ET have given up any pretence of being a credible paper, so it’s probably par for the course now.

    When one of their sports reporters starts re-tweeting thank-yous from PR companies for printing their guff in his paper, then you know the game is up.


  51. As an aside I was once asked by a schismatic Greek Orthodox Bishop ( yes a protestant part of a sect which split over changes in calendars ) if I could explain the West of Scotland to him and all I could say was no.

    There is a set of subcultures behind the times which are faced with overwhelming existential questions (What are young uneducated men for given what has happened with the industries which supplied ways to dignity and the possibility of a decent life family and so on) Part of coping with that is to cling to old certainties expressed through these repulsive songs and actions. This could be summed as testosterene without a purpose.


  52. http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/hibs-reject-375k-rotherham-bid-for-scott-allan-1-3850123

    So, Rotherham offering Hibs £375,000 for Scott Allan, a mere £100,000 or so above TRFC’s latest bid! And Hibs have rejected it! Though negotiations appear to be ongoing, well done Hibs for holding out against a pretty hostile media based campaign.

    Should Hibs agree to sell to Rotherham, and Allan agree to go, I wonder how the press will cover his spurning of his boyhood heroes. Will they apologise to Hibs and acknowledge they were misled into believing, and reporting, that his current club were being rather cruel, or will they make no mention of this change of heart? That said, I am sure he will choose to wait for a free transfer to Ibrox…


  53. Is the smsm worse now on their portrayal of Ibrox club than it was 10 years ago. I find it totally nauseating the way all other clubs are reported on in comparison to Govan club.


  54. The Evening Times “report” is disgraceful, and is clearly a bend of the knee reaction to the banning of Messrs Spiers and McLaughlin by the bully boys.
    The omission of important fact and detail casts a slur on supporters of clubs from the Solway to the Pentland Firth.


  55. Re the ET report – The Edinburgh Evening News only refers to those jailed yesterday as “Football Fans”

    http://www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com/news/crime/three-football-fans-jailed-over-grassmarket-riot-1-3849332

    Three football fans jailed over Grassmarket riot

    THREE football fans have been jailed for their part in a mass riot in the Grassmarket, with banning orders of up to ten years handed out.

    The trouble flared up between rival fans ahead of the Ramsden’s Cup Final clash between Rangers and Raith Rovers at Easter Road on April 6 last year.

    The atmosphere turned ugly about an hour before kick off, leading to police closing the road briefly with 13 people detained.
    ========================
    It’s a sad day when journalists appear afraid to mention the name of the club these “fans” were supporting.


  56. @easyjambo the 3 sentences you quote and one other in the EEN at least give some context to the events and name the teams inferring the club the culprits supported. Interestingly other than the omission of the 4 aforementioned sentences and with the addition of one saying that had already pled guilty and were appearing for sentencing the Evening Times article is identical to the EEN. They are both cut and pasted with some editing from another source or the ET is a slightly edited cut and paste of the EEN


  57. jimlarkin says:
    Member: (332 comments)

    August 5, 2015 at 3:45 pm

    Who actually banned the journalists ? Was it RIFC, TRFC or the football club itself ? Just as well there no Scottish clubs playing important Euro ties this week with all the new club’s issues to contend with .They’d probably go unreported .


  58. With Rotherham taking an interest in Scott Allan any chance of the SMSM trying to uncover someone ideally placed to give some perspective on what would be better for the lad, The Gers or The Millers?

    I wonder who fits that bill 🙂


  59. AllyjamboAllyjambo says:
    Member: (1145 comments)
    August 5, 2015 at 2:28 pm
    http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/latest/hibs-reject-375k-rotherham-bid-for-scott-allan-1-3850123

    So, Rotherham offering Hibs £375,000 for Scott Allan, a mere £100,000 or so above TRFC’s latest bid! And Hibs have rejected it! Though negotiations appear to be ongoing, well done Hibs for holding out against a pretty hostile media based campaign.
    …………………..
    I wondered when a “big club” would show an interest!


  60. Prohibby says:
    Member: (61 comments)
    August 5, 2015 at 4:23 pm

    Rotherham certainly have a bigger history than TRFC!


  61. just listening to Media Show (bbc 4 radio). Speirs commenting on ban.


  62. If Rotherham (or even Wigan) succeed in buying Scott Allen from Hibs, for substantially more than any of the many offers from Ibrox, then the whole campaign to unsettle this player with a view to getting him to Ibrox on the cheap will look extremely misguided.

    TRFC will have made themselves look like impoverished country bumpkins, compared to giants of world football like Rotherham, and might now miss out on a player they could have signed on a pre-contract for nothing in January, if they could only just have shut up about it.

    Of course King might now suddenly find the key to that huge warchest 🙄 🙄 , and restore the natural order?


  63. Methilhill Stroller says:
    Member: (93 comments)
    August 5, 2015 at 12:32 pm

    Also, in passing, had a look at the Scotsman online today and looked at the section on lower leagues…
    Richard Gough on Rangers…
    ========================================

    That article (or more likely, cut’n’paste Level5 press release) is an absolute belter,
    from Gough’s assertion that Tavernier has suddenly become a multi-million pound player under the Dubyas’ guidance, to the bit Andrew Smith must have forgotten to delete about how to contact TRFC to buy a season book, complete with prices.


  64. I hope to God that both Celtic & Aberdeen win their ties this week.
    Not overly optimistic about Celtic’s chances, and if both teams lose, then we all know what angle the SMSM is going to take. 👿

    There would be more European progress with a ‘strong Rangers’ in the top league…and for the good of Scottish football… :slamb: :slamb: :slamb:

    Fingers and toes crossed anyway for both teams still in Europe !


  65. Radio Show worth a listen. Of course Speirs had to skew one fact:
    “If it wasn’t for MSM Craig White would never’ve been rumbled”…struth!


  66. jw hardin says:
    Member: (20 comments)
    August 5, 2015 at 4:50 pm
    Radio Show worth a listen. Of course Speirs had to skew one fact:
    “If it wasn’t for MSM Craig White would never’ve been rumbled”…struth!
    ========================================================================

    Oh dear.

    Well, if anyone had any lingering doubts about the assertion that Spiers was ‘one of the better’ sports journalists in Scotland, that quote is damning confirmation to the contrary.

    The “Motherwell Born Billionaire” was one of the biggest SMSM misdirections/whoppers, which was immediately debunked by the Internet Bampots.

    Unless it’s Spiers way of being funny [?], but that quote makes him no better than Keef Jackson, IMO. :slamb:


  67. Chic Young – already arguing, Derek McInnes is a better manager (than the last/present manager to win the SPFL premiership) whilst supposed to be commenting on the Qarabag v Celtic game !!


  68. Joking apart, when the Rotheram vs Sevco comparisons start being aired you just know that “turning his back on European football” is going to figure quite strongly don’ t you.


  69. Big Pink on August 5, 2015 at 9:15 am
    DP,
    Re your point about GStQ; I think the same thing could be said about the star-spangled banner, or Deutschland über alles, or a series of other national anthems; but I don’t think it’s practical to change your national anthem every time you do something wrong.

    We all have to take the bad with the good in our histories, and all countries, like people. are composed not of black or white, but various shades of grey.

    I’m just not attached to the idea of national anthems at all. For me it panders to cheap sentimentality and a general watp ethos. As a concept, it seems to me to be bizarre – something we go along with because we always have. But why?
    ————-

    BP,
    I agree with all of that.

    I can’t stand the thought of Flower of Scotland as a national anthem. It’s also an absurd form of conflicted nationalism that has sent hundreds of Scots lads off to Afghanistan today. And as I once mentioned, I had to explain to my daughter why there were almost no Scottish flags in Borås (Sweden)a few years ago when I took her up for a day out to see Celtic’s CL qualifier a few years ago. Lets just dispense with national flags at club matches. And why not have a ‘neutral’ sports anthem at international matches? It’s not war, it’s striving for sporting excellence. Humanity. I don’t remember many national flags when I watched the 1967 Euro final in colourful b&w in a Duke Street tenement :), but the outstanding display in Lisbon put the East End, Glasgow & Scotland on the map for all the right reasons.


  70. The big Rotherham Sevco comparison is found in the interesting tax and contract irregularities history of major figures at both clubs (check the wikipedia entry of the Rotherham manager karma unbound) Also Rotherhams manager is well known for being a Celtic man I believe. Or as it is known a “rabid” Rangers hater – rabid must always be used when one is designating a Rangers hater apparently

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