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Founder Peter Campbell was born on the 6th March 1857. Peter Campbell was the first Ranger to score a goal for his country. In 1876 Peter and his fellow Pioneer, Moses McNeil, became the first Rangers players to gain representative honours. They were part of the Glasgow side that defeated Sheffield 2-0 at Bramall Lane. Recognised as one of the top players in Scotland, he was one of the first to move south, to Blackburn Rovers, playing there for a short time during the 1879/80 season. Peter came from a more privileged background than his fellow Pioneers. His father John was a harbour master, his mother Mary was sister of Sir James Jenkins, honorary surgeon to Queen Victoria. The family home was “Craigellan”, a large sandstone villa in the lochside village of Garelochhead. Peter’s family were involved in the shipping industry. He was a Ship’s Engineer and was employed at the Barclay Curle Yard on the Clyde .Peter’s engineering certificate issued in 1882 shows his address as being 2 Parkgrove Terrace in Glasgow where he was living with his cousin Captain Bob Campbell. This is one of many locations that we visit during the Founders Trail. Peter retired early from football, to concentrate on following in the family tradition by going to sea and qualified as a marine engineer in 1882. But tragically, in the early weeks of 1883, his ship the “St Columba” floundered in the Bay of Biscay off the coast of France. The youngest of our Gallant Pioneers died aged only twenty-five. Peter’s ship departed on that tragic voyage from Penarth Dock in South Wales. On Saturday 22nd July 2017, after a period of negotiation with Penarth Council, we unveiled a memorial plaque at Penarth Pier to commemorate the life of Peter Campbell and his contribution in the formation of Rangers Football Club. The memorial was funded by our Restoration of Rangers Graves Project. We are fortunate to have something more tangible to remember Peter Campbell by. He was a member of the first Rangers’ side to win a trophy, the Glasgow Merchants’ Charity Cup in 1879. Peter’s medal from that momentous day is proudly displayed in the Blue Room at Ibrox Stadium. There’s an incredible story behind Peter’s medal. Fellow Rangers supporter William Mason contacted us to tell of how one of his friends had found this medal belonging to Peter Campbell in a park in East Kilbride in 1968. A few years ago his friend loaned the medal to Rangers and Peter Campbell’s medal is on display in the Blue Room at Ibrox. This is a permanent reminder of the contribution Peter Campbell made in forming our great Club.

Last week we were informed that Charles Green and friends will face no further criminal proceedings with regard to their dealings after they bought Rangers. So there we go, another fraud chapter closed. A lot of bears are happy to leave these things in the past – it was a painful time so I understand that. The feel good factor currently on and off the pitch certainly helps to erase bad memories. But for me too many questions remain unanswered and that’s not just confined to Charles Green. This is a subject I’ve attempted to write about before but each time I’ve given up. The depth of content and number of threads involved is huge. The cast of characters (or villains) is legion. Much of the narrative is also simply beyond my understanding and such was the quantity and rate of change that I lost track of much of it years ago. It was also difficult to put thoughts into words without being aware that reality may be disappearing over the horizon. However, the story is very important to Rangers’ history, and should be to all Rangers fans, and I strongly feel it needs more attention. Hopefully it eventually gets the coverage it deserves and will be dissected and commented on by people with the appropriate knowledge and expertise. We need to continue to discuss it, join the dots and improve our understanding of what happened. As such, I’ve thrown some thoughts together that represent my patchy understanding of events and I’m happy to correct any facts that I may have misrepresented or recalled incorrectly. A recurring thought I had during the EBT appeals, the admin turmoil and beyond was that there’s a lot happening here and I really hope it gets revisited and explained at some point. Dark days turned to months, which turned to years and Rangers-related news got buried under further avalanches of Rangers related news – which often had to be seen to be believed. At the time there was a feeling that a lot of it didn’t feel right; be it the source and trajectory of the stories, the points to prosecute on and some of the stops along the way. It didn’t feel natural or normal. Added to this it was the issue that it was never presented or discussed in the right manner – many of Scotland’s sports media simply weren’t up to the task and I don’t think we even got half the story, but then we were probably never going to be given the whole story from some. Indeed, even when you thought that an ‘external’ journalist may have the dispassionate background to approach the issue, it quickly became clear they too lacked objectivity. Where incomplete information exists then people will fill the gaps with their own explanations as to how something came about. Likewise, where a given explanation is lacking or insufficient then a more plausible explanation is preferred. The Rangers story is riddled with examples of that, where anomalies in actions or procedures occurred that had no real precedent and we can be pretty sure wouldn’t be allowed to occur that way again. We were told what to think throughout the whole saga and there were a couple of reasons for that. One, the Rangers Tax case (RTC) site planned and drove much of the story. Two, the media willingly went along with that anonymous narrative and many happily improvised and weighed in once the avalanche had started. This bit isn’t up for debate - we know that the RTC website was full of people who wanted to damage Rangers (and may well have had contributions from folk in the media itself). They dubiously obtained a lot of information about Rangers tax business from within HMRC. Through a lot of hard work, planning and no lack of ingenuity, RTC were then able to shape their ill-gotten information into a weapon to damage the company and club. It was also delivered in such a way that guilt was automatically assumed and that to anyone listening it would seem like a steady stream of shocking revelations. However, it’s probable that this scheme was years in the making and shaping before it was unleashed. And that leads to a question. Murray’s actions with EBTs weren’t a secret, they were in the accounts, and the way he was running them wouldn’t have been unknown to people in the right circles. Someone saw this as an opportunity. How much work or influence was required to make things happen? One thing we have learned from the behaviour of the media is that some are no friends of Rangers. But more than that, some do forsake their professionalism to have a dig at Rangers. It happened with alarming regularity throughout the Rangers story. It happened at reputable broadcasters too, and those free of the commercial pressures of tabloids, and often without any apparent consequence for the perpetrator. In fact, such was the mood and feeding frenzy at the time that some appeared to be outdoing each other for hyperbole, including straight-out lying. Knowing this, it is not too much of a leap to imagine that similar minded professionals in place at other organisations would willingly help out when the call or opportunity came. Hence, more unknowns and with it even more questions. Did the first information come from within HMRC or someone connected to Rangers? Or did the request come from outwith and someone reciprocated by providing the private documents? Either way, one of those seemed to happen. Which means someone held and collated the information. Other persons were involved and contributed. Knowing this, then furthers actions and scheming is probable. Were other friendly helpers then searched out at different places of influence? Did they voluntarily answer a call to arms? Were points of weakness identified that could be leaned on or manipulated? Were people put in place at other governing bodies who could then help out later when the call came? Would there be people with sufficient stake in the game, sufficient power and political nous to pull some of these levers? If possible, then this would certainly explain why some seemingly improbable coincidences started to mount up, why the media was happy to keep to script and why not too many awkward questions were asked, and still haven’t been asked. Most doubters could get a pass at the time because few probably knew what the hell was actually going on. Now before I disappear down the rabbit-hole all together some of what occurred may well have transpired eventually to some degree. Rangers had a tax related liability (though manageable/solvable) and yet it seemed there was little or no negotiation on this. Further, David Murray had lost interest it’s claimed wanted to sell Rangers to maintain his other family business interests – pressurised by a bank that were exposed themselves by their own crisis of 2008. Add to this Rangers is a polarising figure; its success and associated envy means we have plenty who wouldn’t mourn our fall, as a fan-base we aren’t without this self-awareness (nor our faults). However, without negative interference I’m certain that another route could’ve been found that would have not been remotely close to the extremes and damage we actually experienced. My view has flipped back and forth on many of the incidents over the years, from desperation to downright denial and back again, but the one point that has crystallised is that the sale to Craig Whyte was the key to inflicting maximum damage. If you could control that then the events that could cascade from there would be crippling. Again, Murray’s situation was known. His desire to sell was known. The impasse with the HMRC was known. The information RTC had and how that could be used was known. Again, not a leap of faith to suggest some people could make big gains from bringing Rangers down and would do something about it. After all, a network of experts and willing, connected contributors was already in place. In my view, once Whyte was in then liquidation was inevitable. And during his nine months in charge things went from bad to worse for Rangers. Once in the hot seat he had access to all sorts of private documents and information. The opportunity was used to cause more havoc with HMRC through non-payment of PAYE. Meanwhile the club lost key staff who warned against his purchase. Selling sentimental heirlooms like our Arsenal shares was probably a happy accident for him and others. According to current director Alastair Johnston, who was also chairman at the time of its sale, Whyte “should have been charged with murder, murder of an institution.” Prosecutors, instead, charged him with fraud relating to his takeover of the club but a jury acquitted him last year. With last week’s announcement about Green et al, Craig Whyte is one of only a few to face a jury but he’s clearly far from the only villain. So once again the questions pile up. Administration - despite what people say there’s not much anyone, especially Rangers supporters, could’ve done to prevent this course of events. Police Scotland also felt Duff and Phelps were part of the plan. Liquidation would be the Holy Grail and effectively checkmate. Whyte’s tenure had stripped the club of any personnel on the inside who could actively defend it and effectively left it prone and unconscious. Open season. With Whyte at the controls and HMRC the major creditor the club’s fate was sealed. And so it went. It would then have been known that liquidation would’ve resulted in suspension of the SFA license. Was the referee strikes of 2008 a ruse to get the rulebook poured over, amended and put people in place? Rangers were then voted out of the SPL (not voted in, whatever). The lack of leadership in the face of the “no to newco” campaign was laughable and should be an eternal embarrassment to the SFA for its treatment of a member club. As was the behaviour of the media – where every point of discussion or action appeared to default to the maximum punishment. The course of justice was shelved given guilt was assumed and the possible censures discussed freely across the nation. Five way agreements were formed, changed, challenged and formed again. Legal or not. A distinct memory for myself was the lack of Rangers fans brought into the media to discuss their club’s affairs and travails – and yet others were – I believe STV once managed a panel of Celtic fans yet never extended Rangers fans the same courtesy. It was something to behold and some of the “experts” allowed airtime and column inches should have seen Editors fired, especially with hindsight. And on and on… The other clubs merrily voting to be part of their own Christmas dinner based upon a handful of their more vocal fans. TV companies, sponsors and fans deserting Scottish football. The curious case of the SFL and SPFL's panicked rush to merge should be a story on its own. Bizarrely as Rangers fans were ordered to show contrition to help heal wounds they had caused, scabs continued to appear and be picked at. Internet forum accounts of directors. Penny shares. Family businesses. Bank representatives. Detestable shareholders. And the seemingly anything-goes world these people inhabit. Board members wreaking havoc and embarrassing everyone but themselves. Mike Ashley’s involvement. And with it, onerous contracts with tentacles reaching years into the future. Again, whom did these benefit? Neither party directly involved apparently. Outside the Rangers circus and the world kept on turning. Focus on Rangers meant that other stories got scant mention or simply a free pass. The 2014 Commonwealth Games. Claims of State Aid against Lennoxtown. Other clubs’ extra-curricular tax affairs. Hearts’ CVA. The Penn State scandal and its Scottish parallels. None were given the gravity or wide-ranging debate of the Rangers story. Mention them now and you’re just a bigot! For fans concerned primarily with football it’s initially unsettling to think that people were so driven to put that time and energy into RTC and the associated spin-offs that remain now. But then the rewards were huge. Rangers lost hundreds of millions of pounds. Not to mention the humble tax-payer – the supposed real victim – won’t receive anything like the sum they could have had if a more common sense approach was taken to negotiation ten years ago. Back on the pitch, we lost a full team of title winners, we lost the right to fight for at least four top flight titles and to compete in Europe. Of course, the converse is also true and one team has benefited from our plight. Each year we pay £40m to compete for the title but it’s easier to remove the competition, right? The other SPL teams thought they could reap the rewards too but ultimately haven’t (and were never really going to) and Scottish football is poorer because of it. Yes, Aberdeen might have had a triumphant few years as vice-champions but Hearts, Hibs and Dundee Utd certainly don’t have their troubles to seek. Was a Scottish Cup worth it for some well-connected St Johnstone fans? In saying that, I have the feeling that those involved with RTC and behind the scenes would’ve done what they did for no reward, just to satiate their hatred of Rangers. Don’t believe me? There’s plenty of willing combatants still out there throwing mud at our club. Just remember to donate… All the above is only the tip of the iceberg as far as I’m concerned. Volume after volume could be written on each aspect of the story, the characters involved and who is to blame. Myself? I’m fairly satisfied with the conclusion that pressure was applied in many places throughout the timeline to allow the chips to fall the way they did. Maybe there are simple explanations and maybe we caught some bad luck, but then again maybe not. We need to examine what we know and decide what this means if true? Because let’s be honest, no-one else is going to do it for us and others would rather we just forget it ever happened. In conclusion, Rangers’ fans need to keep asking these questions. We may not like all the answers and sometimes the mirror doesn’t reflect well either but it’s our story, and we shouldn’t be afraid to tell it. We need and deserve the truth.

Hey guys! New article today looking at how Murty has taken a strong, one dimensional attack into one that's dangerous from every angle! I used a new metric tracking attackers runs in successful attacks! I think it's interesting to see how our attackers move depending on which flank we attack down! As it's a new idea, let me know what you think! https://www.rangersobserver.com/views/2018/3/5/analysis-graeme-murtys-revolution-of-movement-and-dynamism

I really respect the author of this article as he's positioned the questions very well, and suggested some areas for further focus. I also really appreciate the intent of those who take steps to get answers to what went on. Having said that, for me it's now a case of doing two things. The first is to take steps to ensure it doesn't happen again, and hence why I pay into Club 1872. The second is to put our energies into returning our club back to the top of Scottish football. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of energy these detractors had to put in to cause the problems for our club, and I personally don't want to waste any energy trying to unravel it all. The best way to return the favour is for us to win 55. I know we are all angry with what happened but I'm not sure what will be achieved by wasting our time tying to work out leaks, etc. I think the fact remains that an extremely well orchestrated group of people tried to kill us and failed, because we are the people.

This really is an excellent bit of writing so please give it the time it deserves and share widely...

While others more than played their part, it was HMRC which devastated our club. Good luck getting information out of that body.

Couldn’t agree more Frankie. It’s an engrossing piece of writing and very enjoyable. The way it’s been written highlights how much there is to know, and how little we do know? We need to dig and dig. Chase after and look for answers. Those who wished to destroy our club should not sit easy.

Fantastic piece. One that I hope others will follow up and assist. We have to own our history here and tell the story from our point of view. Otherwise the void gets filled by those who hate us.

There's only one good thing about that - it's not Beaton!

Further suggestions on trusted social media accounts that John and Murphy will be fit for Sunday which is great news.

Well written piece that leaves many interesting questions hang in the air. A bit like a very short and partial summation of what has been talked and typed about these past few years. The whole affair reminds me of one of the classic topics that have countless strands. often with imperfect information, that only serve to produce more questions and never, will you see the whole truth and full answers because too many powerful, interested people or/and authorities will make sure you won't. Corporate irresponsibility, Poor decision-making, Chasing loses, Running awy, Opportunism, Organised chaos, Organised fraud, Greed, Brazen bastards, etc., etc., etc., etc.,............ The author could probably write a book on it that made 'War & Peace' seem like a short story. Or countless short stories on individual strands, some of which IMO, are more interesting, have more available material and are plausible+. It's all left a very bad taste in the mouth, not least from the failure of a law and justice system to be any better than Scottish fitbaw hacks.....and that is somewhere very low.

Cheers Frankie. And thanks for the help. Hopefully everyone keeps pushing on this.

The petition is to put them in the corner, not ban them.

I disagree....I feel they are under more pressure. Even if we beat them in the 2 OF games, it's still not enough to win the league - They HAVE to drop point in order for us to win. I believe the 2 team talks will have a completely different air about them - ours will be positive, pushing for the win & the 3 points....there's will be more focused on not dropping points - ie. don't lose. That can have a notable effect in the players minds. Ceptic (under Brenda) are not used to having teams breathing down their neck, and they MUST keep winning their games to keep the league title - they can't afford to drop anything. Our situation is a wee bit different - there isn't much difference between 2nd & 3rd, other than bragging rights. While we don't want to drop any points, it's not going to be as critical to the final outcome of the league.

A piece of spin in yesterday's Times, once a newspaper of record. The source: that ever reliable disparager of Rangers, and all things Rangers, Mick Grant. 77, 824 Empty seats at Celtic Park (sic), Pittodrie, Fir Park and Ibrox over the four weather affected Scottish Cup Quarfter Finals. Where is the spin? Well, permit me to put my own, more accurate birl on match attendances. From the same newspaper: The Piggery: 18 255 Pittodrie: : 8739 Fir Park: : 7564 Ibrox : 33 968 Therefore -and the real story, Grant, you snivelling anti-Rangers masturbator- is that three SC 1/4 Final ties attracted, between them, 34 558 paying customers, while Rangers drew 33 968 to Ibrox, at 4.15pm on a Sunday, only 590 fans less than the other three combined. But, hey, let's conceal that uncomfortable fact.

Add me to the 'Morelos must start' chorus, he's better than Cummings and will cause any defence problems. I'd be amazed if Celtic don't come and play it tight and sit back trying to hit us on the break. In the end a draw is fine for them, we need the win so we'll be the more expansive side. That will suit them. The pressure remains on us, we need the result more than them, but they've got the experienced players. I like Docherty and Goss but Celtic's central midfield is considerably more experienced and that counts for a lot in these games. I expect a lot of niggles, verbals and confrontations, Brown will want to make this a battle, that's his type of game. He'll want Docherty and Goss forgetting about their game plan and trying to do him instead, a trick he learned from Lennon a long time ago. Discipline is the key for us this weekend.

Indeed all credit to Andy Halliday, but stiil much rather see DJ in that position.

I agree with you that the defence needs some work in the summer, but the balance of the midfield just wasn't there. I think the midfield is now able to cover much more than it did earlier in the season and that in itself should turn those losses into wins. We could have cruised to the title this season and we all know it. I wonder if 'they' realise that too. There are two positions we need sorted though. Definitely a quality centreback is needed as the number one priority, and someone who can challenge for the number 10 role would help us too. I don't know if Dorrans and Windass slug it out for that spot, but Murty seems to want pace there and GD isn't blessed with much of that.

I agree with pretty much everything he says there. This article doesn't put any pressure on us, but it does to them and he knows it. Nice work Clint!

They only asked for expressions of interest, no agreement to fund it has been reached. I for one don’t think they should.

Pete, there is no such thing as ‘Special’ Projects, it’s just projects and all are subject to Member approval. Also, members can choose where they want their money to do.

Great post, Gaffer! Never let them forget it either.

Sounds like the rantings of a raving lunatic

There are so many holes in that story that it’s ridiculous.

Dare I suggest that this has the makings of another Gernset project, like the we deserve better series of a few years ago? Also an excellent subject matter for discussion on the pod once it gets up and running.

What would be handy is a council building full of workers with a remit to work on this for a few years.

I would agree that they were the ultimate root of the problem..... Murray wanted to sell, but no-one would buy with the EBT case hanging over everything. Reports noted that Murray had offered circa £11m to HMRC to settle the tax penalty - this was rejected as they were determined to pursue "the bigger fish". As a result, HMRC will receive significantly less than that £11m offer, and to date has there been any "big name" wins for HMRC in their battle against EBT's??? Also, the "public coffers" have had to shell out an awful lot more in their pursuit of RFC, than was actually owed.

Sometimes when the dice are loaded, having the information isn't enough. #GaryWebb

Boabie. Here's where i think it shows how politically naive and disorganised we are as a support in general (not a bad thing btw, as it should be football and not a tribal dog fight, but that now the environment we exist in). There's plenty of guys wanting to help out and do something but no way of making a real difference or anything happen. For example, look at the recent referee displays, we cant even muster a story in the press putting forward our point of view and setting a narrative. My thoughts is that somewhere out there is a Bear who has access to a smoking gun and wouldn't even know it e.g. proof of certain people meeting up. The next question is would we know how to use that information?

Yes indeed! After his obligatory howler and helping hand at the piggery last week that would have been horrendous. So we have the delights of “the Gollum” to look forward to. We should train with 10 men and bargain on someone being injured in the first 30 mins. No chance he will chastise the Lego muncher.

He probably had just turned 15 when the first discussions were had between the boys. Fellow Founder William McBeath was voted in as our first ever President in 1874 at the age of 17.

They're under-pressure, I agree about that. I also agree it's the first time they've been put under any pressure since Rodgers took over so it'll be interesting to see how they deal with it. However, I still think we've got more pressure on us. If we lose the league is pretty much done and the good work of recent weeks will start to be questioned again, Murty's job will be scrutinised as will his suitability to take us forward. That's the reality of being the Rangers manager. We need the win more than they do. There is also the growing sense of optimism in our support. We're actually looking forward to this match, there's a belief we can win it, that's not been present for a year or so, that also brings pressure. When we last played them at New Year we expected very little and were all pleasantly surprised by the performance. This time it's different, we expect at least the performance of last time.

I remember that one too. One of the saleable assets our league has is this rivalry and the atmosphere. I fear we would lose that attraction if they are not at Ibrox and making some noise too. But I'll be honest and say that I particularly enjoy it when we score and you turn round to see them sitting there absolutely foaming at the mouth. Right at that moment, I don't care about anything they've chanted or sung ..... it's all worth it.

The Sheep got into their faces in last seasons Cup Final and caused them real problems. Recently, they sat off them, never laid a glove and made what could have been a difficult game, easy for celtic. Hearts took advantage of a loss of form, got into their faces when they won 4-0. We'll almost certainly look to get into their faces, high press, bal, bla.....and the crucial aspect will be, is as always, taking chances.

The real question should be "Why is a 14-yr old travelling from Falkirk to Glasgow without adult supervision. Also, even though the lad reportedly had no credit on his phone, there are still ways to make a phone call....or did he not have any money with him, which makes it even more shocking....even then, I'm sure he could have asked someone to borrow their phone. Why did he not go to the police office @ Queens st station??? As for the security at the ground- they aren't baby sitters...they deemed the lads ticket invalid, it's not their problem what he does after that.

You could see that Collum would get this game. Madden and Ferguson will get the other two before the season end.

I was at the game in 94 when they were banned and the atmosphere was pretty flat, to be honest. There’s only so many times you can sing ‘Can We hear the Celtic sing?’.

Well done on the analysis. This is what we need more of. I really hated when Caixinha and our players would come out with vague excuses for not performing. The favourite one is always "we just need consistency". If you can't find consistency it's because you're not good enough! This analysis is really good, and it's very exciting that it's Rangers you're talking about and not Man City. I'd be really interested to hear who's ideas are at work here. How much of it is Murty, how much Johanssen. Celtic's defence is pretty poor but they defend by keeping possession. Their possession stats are way higher than ours, crazy high. And I think that's the big reason they concede so few. A big part of our strategy will need to be about winning the ball back quickly and effectively. This probably means getting right on top of Scott Brown and not allowing him to dictate. We'll need to be able to keep the ball well too, moving it around without losing it. Otherwise they will stop us scoring by keeping the ball off us like they have with everyone else.

I was 8 when we signed him and instantly liked him and the way he played. His reaction to events at the Piggery show what a good guy he is - no attempt to play the victim, just a dignified shrug of the shoulders and rising above it. I remember being very disappointed when he signed for Liverpool.

I've made various contributions to the Rangers cause over the last six years, including buying shares that will never recover their value and donating quite a large sum to the RFFF that someone decided should instead be used to build a facility at Auchenhowie. I even allowed the voting rights of those shares to be used collectively by Vanguardbears on a case by case basis. However, I made a conscious decision not to take part in the RF campaign on a regular basis because over the years I had largely lost faith in the ability of supporters' organisation to deliver on their promises - largely due to the antics of the entirely mis-named Supporters Trust. While I continue to back the notion of supporter participation and would like nothing more than to see more shares in the hands of supporters, nothing I've seen in C1872 has changed my mind. I would be delighted to buy more shares in any future share issue, so long as it was my money buying my shares at my risk and under my control. However, like many other like-minded fans, the board won't afford me that option and I refuse to be railroaded into using my cash to buy shares that someone else will own and have decision-making rights over. It's a bit rich to see aspersions cast on non-participants after the conduct displayed by supporters' organisations over the years. It's not apathy, some of us just have long memories. If C1872 is for you then good luck with it but please leave it at that.

There are a number of reasons: 1. Apathy, as rbr says. This covers both those who want someone else to do it and those who don't care about fan ownership in the slightest. 2. The share purchase model - it's basically giving away money. People may be willing to buy shares that they then own but with C1872, they don't have any sort of ownership, and many cases, if you stop putting cash in, you cease to be a member. 3. Economics - many have financial issues, and other priorities of how to use their cash. 4. Lack of trust - the running of C1872 has hardly been smooth over the past while.