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Yesterday, Ian Black was fined £7,500 and banned for ten matches by the SFA after he bet against his own team three times. Two of those whilst at Hearts and once with Rangers. He wagered a bet against Rangers, but didn’t bet on us to lose.
He actually bet on Rangers to draw at home to East Stirlingshire last season, as part of a £5 accumulator. We won 4-2 that day, with Black grabbing a rare goal. So, in actual fact, he helped bust his own coupon.
A guy having a flutter isn’t the problem with a lot of Rangers fans. The problem is that Black simply put odds before loyalty. We know that he didn’t do it for financial gain, being on the tidy weekly sum of around £7,000 per week at Rangers.
So, one must ask the question: Why?
Why risk your whole career over a silly punt? Bookmakers liaising with football associations is a common practice. Eventually, you will be found out. Especially if you’re gambling under your own name.
Betting against your own team is something that is morally indefensible. Whether you’re a fan or a player of the Club, it is a disgraceful act to commit and totally unforgivable, in my opinion.
Has trust been broken between Ian Black and the rest of the playing squad over at Ibrox? Only Mr McCoist will be able to answer that one.
It does look like that Black won’t be released from his contract though. Something I do agree with. He’s looked a top player in the heart of the Rangers midfield this season and it would be a shame to lose him. Also, everyone should be given a second chance to make things right when they’ve done something that’s out of line. Not just in football, but in life generally.
Just like when Francisco Sandaza screwed up with the infamous hoax call from Tommy, a man from Glasgow who was posing as a football agent and duped Sandaza into discussing the fine details of his Rangers contract.
Plenty of other players have made similar slips, most of which unnoticed. But the faceless coward Tommy saw it suitable to broadcast what he’d done all over the Internet rather than contact the relevant authorities. What most other players don’t do though, is what Black has been proven guilty of and bet against their own side.
Sandaza should’ve been gave another chance too. Like I said, everyone deserves a second chance. After all, the guy got his face rearranged and came within a centimetre of losing his eye in last season’s 2-0 win over Motherwell.
It’s sad that 23 minutes of naivety on his mobile phone in a foreign land cost a decent man so much.
Admittedly, he didn’t have the best goals to games ratio in a Rangers jersey. But he should have still been given another crack at the whip.
It is very unfair of the Club to punish one but let another off the hook. We used to be a club of high standards, not double standards.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________
The Scottish Sun ran a story on Wednesday about Celtic supporter Stephen Girvan and how his dog Magic was kicked in the head by two men and called a “fenian”.
You can view the article by clicking here, but you have to be a Sun+ subscriber to be able to read it. Sorry, I can’t put up a screenshot of it up due to copyright laws.
Anyway, in true Celtic style, Mr Girvan played the victim card. A trait followed by many of his Bhoys across Scotland. He put these bigots to shame and demanded justice for his dog. Celtic legend Frank McAvennie also assisted in condemning this shameful, sectarian act.
The same Frank McAvennie who was once caught on camera singing pro-IRA songs in a Dublin bar, which was owned by Anthony Stokes’ father John. A few years before that incident, McAvennie was also left red-faced, after he was videoed making anti-Rangers remarks.
However, no-one in the right frame of mind condones what happened to Magic whatsoever. Animal cruelty is wrong and must be stopped. Also, the use of sectarian language in public is something that is just unacceptable in the 21st century. Hopefully the two men who committed this cowardly assault can be brought before a judge to answer for themselves.
However, less than 24 hours after The Scottish Sun ran their sickening story, news of Stephen Girvan’s bigoted views and life broke through to us Bears, thanks to brilliant research by Vanguard Bears.
He was caught out on Facebook referring to Rangers fans as “zombies”, “Orange cunts” and other shameful remarks. He even stooped to racist comments about a Muslim man. Girvan went as far as giving his dog Magic a new nickname: “Magic, The Zombie Slayer”. Not the most creative person, is Stephen Girvan.
Once he realised that he was found out, everything that may have been slightly incriminating was quickly taken down. But thanks to amazing research, Vanguard Bears have made everything readily available for us to see.
You can view the terrific work of SuL and B72 by clicking here.
Also, I had a conversation in private on Facebook with Mr Girvan last night about his actions and tried to give him a chance to explain himself. I have uploaded screenshots of it to my Twitter feed, so go over there and check that out if you like. You can also write to him through Facebook by giving here a hit.
More double standards, but this time it’s from the green half of Glasgow. From the ones you actually expect it from. People like the knuckle-dragging scum that is Stephen Girvan.
Let’s oust these dinosaurs from Scottish society once and for all.
Together we can beat animal cruelty and bigotry.
Over the last year-and-a-half, it hasn’t been easy being a Rangers fan. From the inevitable move into administration last year to the latest developments within the Ibrox boardroom, it certainly has been a complete roller-coaster of a ride.
Coping with the rigmarole of being a Rangers supporter may be hard at times, but as many Bears will tell you; it is never boring. There’s always something new to speak about. Always something fresh in the Scottish tabloids for fans to go on a frenzied rant over.
The people that annoy me are those pessimistic fans who believe that every Scottish journalist and media platform has an anti-Rangers agenda. I wish I could say it was the journalists who agitate me, but sadly I’m a speaker of truth.
Yes, I personally believe that certain journalists such as Graham Spiers and Jim Spence are committed to destroying Rangers’ reputation, but that doesn’t mean all of their associates are. Nor does it mean people in the same profession are just as twisted as them. There’s a few bad apples but the tree isn’t completely rotten.
I believe that some Rangers fans actually want these journalists to write bullshit about the Club, just so they have something new to blab about over Twitter or on the fan forums.
I suppose you’ve got to fill your days somehow…
It pains me to say it, but that’s how pessimistic some of our own support are. Sad, but true.
Then comes the unnecessary in-fighting between Rangers fans over the ownership of the Club. Picking what side of the boardroom they support then bitching at the other side. Aye, that screams of maturity.
The men on the Rangers board are appointed by the owners of the Club. The people who put the money up to buy the Club and save us from extinction. Money always talks.
That’s not me in agreement with the current regime. I’m quite unhappy with all the uncertainty currently surrounding Rangers. If I could buy the Club tomorrow, I would.
For the meantime though, we just have to put up with this power-struggle between shareholders. It’s not pretty, but nothing lasts forever.
However, to the people who are constantly moaning about the state of our Club and it’s management: If you feel like you could do a better job as chief executive than Craig Mather with your Internet degree, then by all means, feel free to put an offer in to Charles Green for his 7.79% shareholding. It’ll set you back over £2.6 million.
It would be a small price to pay to shut some folk up, in my opinion.
“Shall I get a job or a girlfriend? Nah, I’m going to sit up until 5 in the morning scouring the message-boards and ranting on Twitter.”
Yeah, losing sleep over a guy in a suit who means absolutely nothing to you. That’s normal…
Remember, money talks. There’s those who have it and those who don’t. Those who don’t have it, don’t matter. Not just in football but in many walks of life. It’s sad, but it’s true.
Eighteen short months ago, us Rangers fans were shoulder-to-shoulder. Devoted to keeping our Club alive and willing to take on anyone who wanted to see us dead.
Have a look on your favourite social media site today and you’d never believe that.
Whether you’re in Glasgow or all the way down under in Australia, the bad news and the worrying antics of certain board members is constantly thrown in your face.
There will be brighter days at Ibrox. Sooner rather than later, I hope.
As always, I’m a football fan. Not a business expert or a stock market genius. Just a working-class football fan with a undying love for his favourite team. I just wish more of us were the same.
So while they all moan about who’s in charge over at Ibrox, I, along with many other Bears, will be more interested in how the team is getting on in our journey up the leagues.
We’ll be watching Lee McCulloch and Nicky Law bang them in all season long whilst they are on their laptops in a demented state over something they know nothing about.
Where will we be?
In the stands. Where the REAL supporters are.
So we’re now four matches into the new Scottish League One season and I think all Bears are in agreement that we couldn’t have got off to a better start. Three clean sheets and eighteen goals is quite a remarkable tally, despite the level we are currently playing at.
New signings Nicky Law and Jon Daly have been a big hit amongst the Ibrox legions. I was quite critical of Daly in an earlier blog I wrote during pre-season, but I hope the big Irishman continues to prove me wrong.
Nicky Clark started for The Light Blues against East Fife yesterday and scored within seconds of his debut. He looks a bright, young spark in the new-look side and hopefully there’s many more goals to follow.
It’s also been refreshing to the Rangers support that faces like Kal Naismith and Darren Cole have left the Club. Naismith has moved on to Accrington Stanley to ply his trade in English League Two. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the guy, but hopefully he’s found a level of football that matches his ability.
Cole was gave his jotters after failing to show up for a friendly featuring our reserve team. A severe breach of contract was commited and Ally had no choice but to show him the door. Questions must be raised as to why he was given a new contract in the first place, given his long injury history.
From the Champions League to the local Jobcentre… Now, that’s quite a journey.
Our Nando’s generation is being torn up player after player and for the Club, that can only be a good thing.
Our pitbull in midfield Ian Black has also been in the news after he allegedly broke several rules over betting in football. 160 times he placed bets through an online Ladbrokes account. Three of those bets he wagered upon were against his own team. Something that is morally indefenceable.
It is not yet known if he was a Rangers player when he placed those three bets. And due to the incompetence of the SFA, we may possibly never know.
However, everyone is innocent until proven guilty. But if there has been any wrongdoing on his behalf then he must go. We are a Club of high standards and holding on to him if he is proven guilty would be hypocritical of everything Rangers FC stands for.
It’s a shame really, given his wonderful start to the new season. He looks like a different player in comparison to last season. This silly SFA charge has taken the attention off his booming introduction to the new season.
Whilst things have been great on the field, the same can’t be said for off it. Our boardroom is in chaos, leaving our devoted supporters baying for blood.
Rangers bloggers and fans of the Club are constantly bitching amongst themselves and throwing around personal, petty insults about each other.
Every RFC-related forum also seems to have it’s own wee agenda in the works.
Some bloggers and organisations have made complete fools of themselves and at the same time, others have launched needless, scathing attacks on fellow Bears.
I was recently speaking to a girl named Joanne Taylor (@JoTaylor_rfc) on Twitter and she made the very good point that we’re supposed to be football fans. She couldn’t have been more right.
We should be leaving the finances to the people who have been hired to take care of them and to the shareholders of the Club, who for obvious reasons would hold an interest in the balance sheet of Rangers FC.
All I care about is the team winning trophies. And a lot of people share that very same view.
I visit Ibrox to watch my favourite football club play. I have done since I was a wee boy growing up in Glasgow’s East End. I don’t buy a season ticket every year to chant poppycock or to protest about current or former board members. It would be a complete waste of money, in my honest opinion.
I go to Ibrox in the hope that the eleven blue jerseys on the field that day can walk back down the tunnel with all three points safely in the bag.
These people on the board at Rangers don’t pay my wages at the end of every month or put food on my table, so I really couldn’t give a toss on what they say or do. It doesn’t affect my personal life and if it ever does start to worry me or possess my every thought, then I’ll be in trouble.
I can understand though, to an extent, why some fans are so interested in the behind-the-scenes malarkey over in Govan but I personally couldn’t give a shit.
I never knew so many of our fans had business degrees and whatnot either. On a plus note, Caledonian University will have a great alumni.
Some of these folk seriously need to get a life and tune out of the Internet once in a while. Perhaps even get a girlfriend or a job instead of being glued to the web 24/7.
Or an equally better thing to do would be to go to Ibrox, sit in the stands with your scarf on and actually support the football team without bringing up all the boardroom rigmarole.
I blog occasionally as a hobby. I like to write and for those reading, I aim to please, regardless of whether or not you agree with me. I don’t do it to throw around personal insults to fellow Bears or to boost my over-inflated ego, to give me a big head or to make me think I’m worth more than I actually am.
I have too much going on in my own life to give a toss about the movements or dealings of a guy in a suit and too busy to constantly document or highlight it over the Internet.
But each to their own. Whatever floats your boat.
Yes, I believe it’s a supporter’s right to be informed, but I, like many of us Bears, are football fans. Not business admirers but just admirers of the Beautiful Game.
Sure, I chat about the boardroom upset with friends and read about it in the tabloids. One thing I don’t do is let it warp my mind completely. We all have our own problems and worries in life.
No, I don’t agree with the 100% bonuses paid to Charles Green and Brian Stockbridge for the team winning the Third Division last season. But it’s done now. There’s nothing we can do about it. We can try our best to ensure it doesn’t happen again, but it ultimately boils down to the valid point that businessmen are only interested in making money. There’s nothing wrong with that either. After all, those are the guys with the money to put up.
It’s about time some of us stopped obsessing over the bureaucracy of football, grew up and starting paying some attention the actual football team who we supposedly love.
When we were in administration, the unity between our fans was just about the only thing that wasn’t broken over at Ibrox.
In just over a year-and-a-half, it’s all went to buggery. What on Earth has happened? Look at yourselves and ask that question.
Don’t let social media and pettiness destroy our amazing fanbase.
We are the World’s most successful football club. Our fans should be acting in a much more dignified manner. Leave it to Timothy to fight with his fellow supporters.
Also, I’d like to offer my sincere condolences to the family of the Rangers fan who tragically passed away at Ibrox during our 5-0 win over East Fife.
Hopefully this sad incident taking place will put a lot of stuff into perspective for certain people.
In just two short weeks, the waiting will be over and our new season will be upon us.
Some of us will be on the road, clocking up the miles and a lot more of us will be tuning in to BBC Alba’s coverage of our Challenge Cup First Round match then almost instantly get pissed off with the Gaelic commentary.
Either way, we’ll all be watching the most-supported club in Scotland after enduring the annual anguish of pre-season.
Our summer preparations have been spot on and the players are looking fitter by the day.
There’s still one or two things that need to be ironed out though.
Such as making sure Ally ties down Boris Pandza and Bilel Moshni to contracts. The latter looks like he’d be a terrific signing for Rangers on account of his impressing displays against Brora, Elgin and Bristol City.
We need to snap him up before someone else steals him from under our nose. Ticks all the boxes in my opinion.
Also, McCoist has said that he’d like to bring in another striker. But do we really need another attacker at Ibrox?
Jon Daly, Nicky Clark and Andy Little are accomplished centre-forwards. McCulloch is deployed upfront quite frequently too. It’s just a shame that Little is wasted out on right-wing a lot.
Young Barrie McKay looks certain to be a cracker in years to come too, if he gets the head down and sticks into his training and development.
However, if we do sign another striker, it will have to be one for the future and not another thirty-odd year-old pro looking for one last big gig.
We look to be an attacker down though, with Kal Naismith’s likely exit to Accrington Stanley. I’m sure my fellow Bears will be very pleased about his departure, if it comes. As will I.
Also, we have sold over 32,000 season tickets. Not bad for a 3rd tier club, eh?
Fans are a lot more optimistic this pre-season after the torment of administration and later liquidation last year.
The feel-good factor is back at Ibrox and we’re all actually looking forward to seeing the new-look team in full-swing.
One or two Bears also think that we could mount a serious challenge in the cups too. Perhaps even lift one. A realistic prospect, given the quality of our recent signings.
The buzz generating around Ibrox in current times is amazing and hopefully it’s here to stay with us throughout the season.
Our campaign kicks off with a trip to Livingston FC’s Almondvale Stadium to face Albion Rovers in the Challenge Cup First Round.
Not a glamour fixture by any means, but still our first step into Stage Two and getting that wee bit closer to our rightful place at the pinnacle of Scottish football.
But for the time being, let’s enjoy making more new friends, giving smaller clubs a wee financial boost and most importantly, storming to another league championship.
From the USA to Australia, wherever you’re watching us from, have a great season.
Together we are Rangers.
The obsession that some fans of one particular football club have over Rangers FC is a fixation that we are reminded of on a daily basis.
Everywhere you turn, there they are. Constantly speaking and writing about us.
They say we are dead, but won’t stop talking about us.
They also wanted a club whom they believed to be dead, stripped of it’s trophies and honours. The same ones that were proven to be fairly gamed.
Even 78 poor, deranged souls had the brass-neck to file complaints with the ASA over that same club’s marketing schemes.
From the SFA and ECA, from Lord Nimmo Smith to the ASA, they have been shot down at every attempt to try and take our 141 year history away from us.
Something must be seriously wrong at their own football club if all they can manage to do is to speak about that team’s arch rivals and constantly troll the Rangers community.
A large number of them can’t even be arsed to turn up and watch their team play. Peter Lawwell even went as low as convincing tabloids to lie about their woeful attendances last season.
Speaks volumes for “the best fans in the world.”
From senior security snooping on Rangers blogs and social media to the thug in a tracksuit actually managing their team, obsession with us runs from the top of that club to the very bottom.
From the t-shirts they wore on the last day of the season to the Lurgan Bigot’s consistent snidey comments about us.
Even one of their own players couldn’t resist having a wee, childish dig at us. Kris ‘KFC’ Commons was surely put in his place when Juventus gubbed them though.
From Facebook and Twitter to newspaper article threads and fixated bloggers. Even radio phone-in shows are a popular choice of Timothy’s.
Trolling the Rangers forums with bogus user accounts is also another one I’ve heard of.
I personally get my email inbox and my Twitter feed crammed up by Timothy wanting to talk about us. As do a lot of Rangers fans.
Very sad, desperate stuff from our chum Timmy.
But whilst we got on with Third Division last season, they went out on a limb and found ways to try and get under our skin.
We, as a Club, will always be better than them though. Because we possess a few things they severely lack in.
Class.
Dignity.
Respect.
Morals.
Pride.
Five things that Celtic FC, their employees and their fans will never have.
They are obsessed from cradle to grave. They crave a football club with all five of the above attributes. Maybe that’s why they won’t shut up about us!
One very true fact about them though: they don’t matter. Not a jot. They haven’t dampened our spirits or knocked us down. Haven’t even made us flinch.
We will never stoop to their level. We’re better than them. Much, much better.
And a few things that we are: We’re still here. Still Rangers. Still 54 titles and going strong. Still the biggest supported club in Scotland and still the world’s most successful football team.
Get it right up you, Timothy.
We are the people, and we’re going nowhere.
The newly-founded Scottish Professional Football League have now appointed a full board of directors, a chairman and a chief executive.
Among the men who possess seats on this new board are well known Rangers-hating figures like Eric Riley, Duncan Fraser and Stephen Thompson.
Their hatred for our club is the sole reason that the SPL crumbled and lasted just one solitary season after the sectarian bile which was spewed our way, forced us to plummet down the leagues into SFL3.
They needed us more than we needed them. But instead of SPL chairmen acting in the best interests of their clubs, they bowed to the bigoted demands of fans and certain board members.
Dunfermline Athletic and most recently Hearts, are two prime examples of the sad state of Scottish football today.
A wee piece of advice to both those clubs: Don’t make the Bear angry and NEVER bite the hand that feeds you.
Neil Doncaster has also been appointed as the inaugural chief executive of this newfangled SPFL.
A stumbling buffoon who helped turn Scottish football into a complete shambles. The bitch of Peter Lawwell and the jester of our national sport.
One can only wonder as to why he’s been given a second chance to screw up all over again.
However, news that Rangers will possess full SPFL membership has went down well amongst the Ibrox legions.
We once again, and rightfully so, have a voice and our voting rights back. As this country’s biggest and most supported football club, we must use it wisely in a bid to oust the bigots from the corridors of Hampden.
“Sink us and we’ll sink you.”
We must keep to that solemn promise and rid our game of the cancers that currently infest it.
For the time being though, we must plough on with our journey back to the pinnacle of Scottish football. Our rightful place.
It’s not rocket science. Scotland’s biggest club should be playing in Scotland’s highest league.
Last season, we trumped every other Scottish club in attendance figures. In fact, we were actually the fifth most supported football team in the United Kingdom.
Not bad for a Third Division club, eh?
Rangers Football Club have a support that most clubs in the world can only stare at in awe and amazement.
Take Gary Locke’s contradictory remarks a while back. Firstly, he wanted to book a friendly match against Rangers to help generate some much-needed revenue for Hearts.
He obviously saw our record-breaking crowds last season and thought that Hearts could be doing with a slice of our loyal support.
But once he discovered that no self-respecting Rangers fan would attend Tynecastle, he claimed that Hearts didn’t need our help anyway.
Locke’s comments reeked of hypocrisy and desperation. He was left red-faced with his tail firmly tucked between his legs.
A friendly against Celtic was never spoken about. Or against any other Scottish club for that matter.
It’s quite obvious that these clubs just don’t carry the support that Rangers do.
Once again, it’s all about the Rangers. But we knew that anyway.
Anyway, let’s all try and look forward to next season. Hopefully we can concentrate on the football and not the bureaucracy that surrounds football.
Remember; comparing attendances isn’t a contest…. Certainly not a close one anyway!
Have a good one, Bears!
This summer’s signings at Ibrox have opened up a lot of debate between Rangers fans over social media and on the forums.
A vast majority of us also want to see the expensive deadwood currently infesting the squad at Rangers to be shown the door pronto.
Players like Kyle Hutton, Kal Naismith, Darren Cole and Ross Perry need to be ousted from Ibrox with immediate effect.
The Four Fuds, as I like to categorise them, are not good enough to be playing in the famous blue jersey. Simple.
Their attitudes towards game preparation and training just reeks of a total lack of professionalism. Something that’s never been acceptable at Rangers.
Also, the Twitter antics of those above four have left much to be desired for by Rangers fans.
Moving on to the likes of Ian Black and Emilson Cribari…
Ian Black had a decent few seasons with Hearts. An average player who’d put a shift in every game.
But to pay him the money that Rangers currently do is absolutely criminal.
Personally, I’d like to see the back of him. But, with the contract that he has at Rangers, I very much doubt he’ll be moving on anytime soon.
Emilson Cribari. Well, all I’m going to say is this: How the fuck did this guy once cost Lazio a transfer fee of £5 million and play in the UEFA Champions League?
Never mind the match-fixing, THAT must be the biggest scandal in Italian football history.
One guy who looks more certain to leave by the day is Neil Alexander. It’s a shame that he’s leaving us, in my opinion.
A good goalkeeper, with international caps and a UEFA Cup Final appearance to his name. He done us all proud and stuck by the Club during the dark days of administration, and then liquidation.
His loyalty and commitment will never be forgotten amongst the Ibrox legions.
But it’s probably right that he moves on. The wage he was being paid was far too high for our level of football.
Anything over £10,000 p/w in the lower leagues is dangerous.
I do wish the best of luck to Alexander though, wherever he ends up.
Cammy Bell will be a great replacement for Neil Alexander in the Rangers goal.
Bell has been capped at full international level and already has a League Cup medal in his back pocket.
His performance in the 2012 Scottish League Cup Final against Celtic grabbed him the honour as ‘Man Of The Match’ and his saves ensured that Kilmarnock picked up the Cup that day.
To the outfield signings we’ve made… Steven Smith and Nicky Law. Two, good decent players in their own positions.
Law will most certainly be in the starting XI every teamsheet. His form for Motherwell in recent seasons and his experience from playing in Europe can only help the team.
Smith is a tricky one though. Taking into account that we have released him once before and his history on the Auchenhowie treatment table, I can’t seem to see where he’s going to fit into the team.
Most fans see him as potential back-up to Lee Wallace but with our state-of-the-art youth academy, do we really need a back-up that’s so expensive in wages?
I can’t see Wallace moving on either. He had his chance last summer if he wanted to. His young family are very settled in Glasgow and I can’t see him wanting to uproot.
Also, he recently signed a new five-year contract, so he seems to be very commited to the Club.
Moving on to the widely unknown lad that is Arnold Peralta.
I’ll be totally honest. I don’t know much about him. I do know that he’s been capped at full level for the Honduras national side. He’s a defensive midfielder who can also utulise at right-back.
He comes to us from a club called CDS Vida and is apparenly a bright, young spark in his country’s national team.
Now, our new strikers.
Nicky Clark looks to be so far the bargain of summer. Over 40 goals for Queen of the South last season has brought a lot of optimism about for the young man.
His dad Sandy had a spell with the Club in the 1980s and he’s a Bellshill boy just like Barry Ferguson and Stevie Smith.
Playing for a club that’s as big as Rangers can only be good for him and he’ll be thrilled to play in front of our record-breaking crowds next season.
Let’s just hope he gets deployed as a striker and isn’t left to rot out on the wings.
Lastly, Jon Daly.
In my opinion, it’s a complete waste of money. An aging striker with no sell-on value and he’s on a wage that could be better spent elsewhere around the squad.
We already have Andrew Little, Lee McCulloch and Kane Hemmings as strikers. Adding Nicky Clark to that group would have made us set for next season.
Daly is just another piece of over-rated, expensive deadwood that shouldn’t be at Rangers.
We should be planning ahead for the future. Players like Kevin Kyle, Francisco Sandaza and Emilson Cribari stifled opportunities for our youngsters last season.
Now Jon Daly can add to the list of reasons as to why they’re getting splinters in their arses on our bench.
Hopefully now though, Ally can find a couple of solid, natural defenders and we should be all set for Stage Two.
Here’s to a bright new season and becoming another step closer to where we rightfully belong!
We are the people.
Yesterday saw the long-awaited league reconstruction vote passed through the corridors of Hampden.
SFL clubs voted 23-6 in favour of amalgamating both the SPL and SFL into one single league body, to be called the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) come June 27th.
A sad day for anyone connected or associated with the Scottish Football League though, as they will be wound up after 123 years of glorious history in just a couple of weeks time.
It’s quite upsetting to see that the SFL have been the real victims in this whole league reconstruction debacle.
A proud organisation that stood by it’s clubs through thick and thin.
A league that gave Rangers FC a home when we were down on our knees and had no other place to turn to.
A board of good men who really did have the best interests of Scottish football at heart and didn’t let bigotry or hate cloud their judgement.
An institution that yesterday sacrificed it’s very own existence for the greater good and progression of Scottish football.
David Longmuir said that there were a few reluctant heroes yesterday. Those were the men who voted for change, without thinking about what impact it would have on their club’s bank accounts.
If only the SPL were so thoughtful.
As most of us already know; in 1998, 10 clubs broke away from the SFL and the SPL was created.
Since then, 15 years have passed and Neil Doncaster still has the same dodgy haircut.
The Scotland National Team haven’t qualified for a major tournament finals in that time and the SPL, which was set up to make Scottish football stronger and more attractive, has made us look like a complete laughing stock across Europe.
The SPL has just been a complete disaster since it’s incarnation. Anyone who thinks otherwise needs a doctor. Pronto.
The people that were running it, have only ever been interested in one thing.
Lining their own pockets.
It’s decline is the result of their own selfish views and interests. Bullying of clubs by the corrupt cabal of Lawwell-Doncaster-Riley hasn’t helped matters either.
How can a football league, the best in the country (apparently), be run so corruptly and with such incompetence by the very men who are supposed to be it’s leaders?
The SPL screwed over the SFL by breaking away in 1998. 15 years later, after they make a complete royal arse of everything, turn to the SFL and propose amalgamation to bail them out.
You couldn’t make it up.
I really hope that the future is bright for Scottish football, though. We must try to move forward as a country.
I’d like to think that the shameless people who have almost destroyed our national game will have no place in the new set-up.
Also, I hope that fans will get more of a say in the running of our game too.
I won’t hold my breath on either though.
Things should be better once we’re all talking about the football again, and not the bureaucracy that surrounds it.
At least, I certainly hope they will…
For those who don’t know me, I worked in security, largely stewarding at football matches across Scotland last year.
Most shifts were generally the same in many aspects. Fans turned out in their thousands to watch their beloved team play, whomever it may be.
You get the one guy who shouts and screams at every kick of the ball. There’s always the guy who turns up blind drunk and there’s your typical, little sect of hooligans. The smoker in toilets and the plain, crazy one who sings on his own.
Then there is Celtic FC.
Before I continue, I must point out that I was employed by a well-known security firm in Glasgow and not by Celtic FC themselves.
No self-respecting person would ever sell their soul for the thirty pieces of silver that Lawwell offers from his corrupt coffers.
I reported at Celtic Park on Remembrance Sunday 2012 for a shift to steward their match against St Johnstone. I wore a poppy, as most British people do on Remembrance Day to remember and give thanks to our many war-dead. My supervisor ordered me to remove it, and said: “We’re not here to express opinion.”
Now, any person (not just Rangers fans) with two brain cells about them would know that it’s not about expressing opinion and more along the lines of showing respect.
My supervisor also told me that me wearing my poppy would “bring about fears for my safety.”
It would be very naïve to think that Celtic FC had absolutely no say in regards to this matter and left the decision of this matter in the hands of my employer.
The boardroom of Celtic FC was clearly yet again, bowing to the demands of the disgusting minority that oppose anything British.
Yet, most of whom don’t mind claiming money from the state or indeed, using the good, old British passport. Or banging on about how they were the first ‘British’ club to win the Big Jug.
Even their players didn’t wear a poppy on their shirts during the match.
I did, however, see a few paying Celtic fans (not many these days) enter Parkhead wearing the wee red flower. No concerns for their safety, eh?
Typical behaviour from them, to be fair. They consistently get away with it too, as the lazy standard of journalism fails to challenge them and question them on this type of stuff.
Also, according to the LeggoLand blog at the time, Peter Lawwell appeared to have refused a poppy by a Sky production team before an interview leading up to the Celtic v Barcelona showdown in last year’s Champions League.
Needless to say, not many of us were surprised at that, were we?
So, what made Celtic FC exempt from doing what the rest of whole country was doing? Only Mr Lawwell and his board of directors can answer that.
And why they consistently get bullied by a small minority of so-called fans, who quite frankly, any club could do without.
This sort of blatant, sickening behaviour never gets reported though. Journalism is at an all time low in Scotland and there is no signs of it improving anytime soon.
I even once had an argument on Twitter with a Celtic fan who said that he was “delighted that Celtic refused to wear the poppy” and that he “supported most IRA killings.”
We are all probably thinking the same, expletive response to that, so no need to go into detail.
Yet, these people are still allowed through the turnstiles to turn a football stadium into an IRA-theme park.
They conveniently happen to slip under the radar of David Brannan and chums. Maybe he’s too busy reading Rangers blogs and snooping on opposing fans through social media.
Don’t call him and ask though. You won’t get by the receptionist. Very dignified club, is Celtic.
Rotten to the absolute core.
Any football club should be ashamed to have these so-called fans who behave and speak in such a manner.
However, it won’t stop me turning out every year with a poppy on my chest and a heart full of pride.
Our troops will be always welcome at Ibrox and we will always be delighted to greet them there.
For we are the people.
And Scotland’s number one.
P.S. Don’t worry, I complained to every superior of mine at the company I worked for. Never once got a dignified or honest answer. Says it all, really.
P.P.S. Shortly after I first published this story on my old blog, I was dismissed by Securigroup Ltd. Celtic’s security team told them that they didn’t want me near their stadium due to my blogs and that I was being “borderline sectarian”. Securigroup are just another organisation who are bowing to the demands of Lawwell’s Celtic. Beware of them, Bears.
William Cahill's Blog 