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Resign from where? He's not employed by the BBC, or any other TV station, he's a freelance director and film maker. He's basically self-employed, this will have no bearing at all on his employment prospects, indeed it'll probably guarantee him commissions from Channel 4. He's a perfect example of the middle-class, politically engaged, professional Celtic fan, conflating apparently progressive issues with football and left of centre ideology. It's such pretentious bullshit. As the screengrabs show the lack of self awareness and simple hatred of 'others' confirm he's as intolerant and narrow minded as any other bigot you're likely to meet.6 points
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Steven Gerrard: ‘If I text, call or see him, Jürgen’s always got time for me’ Donald McRae The Rangers manager on why his club is like Liverpool, his craving for pressure and what he thinks now about rejecting Chelsea @donaldgmcrae Thu 15 Nov 2018 12.00 Steven Gerrard likens football to a drug. ‘It gets you. Football grips me.’ https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/nov/15/steven-gerrard-rangers-liverpool-jurgen-klopp-chelsea-interview “It’s a serious business,” Steven Gerrard says with familiar intensity when he is asked about laughter and football. The former Liverpool captain and enduring icon, who is carving out an impressive new career as the manager of Rangers, considers a memory that belongs to his mother. In Make Us Dream, a feature-length documentary about Gerrard’s 27 years at Liverpool, from the age of eight, his mum remembers how he laughed often as a little boy. Since then there has been glory and pain, loyalty and agony. I know Gerrard pretty well and, in 2015, just as his emotional final season as a Liverpool player approached the end, we spent a memorable few months working on his autobiography. He was much warmer than his slightly morose public image – and he smiled a lot when recalling the sweetest times. But, with Gerrard also facing his darkest days, laughter was limited. Steven Gerrard: ‘There’s a showboating mentality in academies. My teams will be physical’ “It really is a serious profession because so many lives are affected by what happens on the pitch,” he says. “I’m serious because I care. I lived my time at Liverpool to the full and the lives of everyone around me were affected. Lots of people think being a footballer is the best job in the world. You should be smiling all the time. Of course I loved it but that intense pressure is powerful.” Make Us Dream captures Gerrard’s riveting highs and lows, his searing commitment to Liverpool and the emotional toll he suffered. He looks relaxed now, in Soho a few hours before the first of two premieres this week, in London on Wednesday and Liverpool on Thursday. Yet, having escaped the Liverpool hothouse in 2015, he is immersed again in a fevered atmosphere at Rangers. “You crave those feelings of pressure,” he says. “It’s a drug. It gets you. Football grips me.” Liverpool and Glasgow are similar in their footballing passion and for harbouring two fierce rivals. “That’s one of the reasons I went for it. Rangers are like Liverpool in many ways. The city, the people’s love for the club and the pressures are the same. I did it for 17 years as a professional, and loved it, and I hope this starts a new journey.” Before discussing how Rangers and management grip him, Gerrard lingers over his Liverpool days. He won the Champions League, in a miraculous Gerrard-inspired comeback from 3-0 down to Milan in the 2005 final, three League Cups, two FA Cups, the Uefa Cup and 114 caps for England. Gerrard scored many incredible goals, hit countless wondrous passes and made ferocious tackles. His skill and commitment, as a local kid, meant he was adored by Liverpool’s fans. But some burnt his shirt and called him a traitor when he nearly joined Chelsea. In the end his love for Liverpool meant he stayed. “The most important thing is the final decision was the right one. Nine out of 10 people might argue I would have made more money, won more trophies, blah, blah. But them people are not me. They’re not in my city and they don’t have that connection with my club. That’s why I’m the one in 10.” Gerrard almost helped Liverpool win an elusive Premier League title in 2014 – only for his infamous slip against Chelsea to derail that exhilarating challenge. A year later he told me he thought about the slip every day. “It’s still regular,” he says when asked if it’s the same in 2018. “I don’t know whether it’s every day but I think about it a lot. I don’t think it will ever go away. But I wouldn’t be the player I was or have the hunger to be a manager if I didn’t care.” Few players are as emotionally driven as Gerrard. But a strong manager needs to hide his emotions and almost become an actor. “It’s a good word to use. But I’m not going to change. I will always wear my heart on my sleeve. I always want to be real, honest and authentic. I’m not a good actor. I am who I am. If it’s not going to work in management I’d rather go down being me.” I’ve had to learn how to manage people individually and not just as a team. That’s what I’m really enjoying Rangers are third in the Scottish Premiership, two points behind Celtic. They beat Motherwell 7-1 last Sunday and are in contention to qualify from their Europa League group. “I’m quietly satisfied,” Gerrard says. “We’re in a nice position but there’s lots of hard work ahead. The challenge hasn’t got any bigger or smaller than when I walked in.” As a player Gerrard showed empathy for many of his teammates and that attribute helps him as a manager. “You have to know your players as people. I’ve had to learn how to manage people individually and not just as a team. That’s what I’m really enjoying because it’s about managing the individuals. If you get that right the team will be fine. The players have given me absolutely everything. Even the games we’ve lost hasn’t been through downing tools or not emptying everything for the club.” Does it hurt more to lose as a manager? “It’s the same. You take it home with you. It’s a nasty feeling and a horrible taste in your mouth. If you win it’s fantastic. That’s why we love it.” Gerrard’s smile resembles a grimace when I ask if it’s possible to enjoy being a manager. “It’s the same as playing … you only enjoy it when you’re winning.” Gerrard says: ‘I wasn’t expecting the Rangers offer. Do I think it came a bit early? Probably.’ Last season Gerrard coached Liverpool’s Under-18s. “I learnt a lot preparing and delivering sessions, speaking to players one-to-one, using different formations. It gave me a year’s driving lessons. I wasn’t expecting the Rangers offer. Do I think it came a bit early? Probably. But when it’s a club as big as Rangers you only get one opportunity to manage them. So I had to reflect. Where am I strong? Who do I need to help me in areas where I lack experience? The staff Rangers put around me have been absolutely brilliant.” The steel that defined his playing career is already clear in Gerrard the manager. Last month, after Rangers lost to Aberdeen in a League Cup semi-final, Gerrard said he would buy better players if his squad squandered further opportunities. At the next press conference Jordan Rossiter, a young player who has struggled with injury, was asked about those comments. “I’ll answer that,” Gerrard interrupted. “It’s a warning. That’s for me, not him. He’s been injured for two years. At a big club, we expect big players to step up on big occasions. If that doesn’t happen [we] will find better players.” Was Gerrard making a calculated point? “It was off-the-cuff. I don’t plan any press conference or speech. Obviously I have an idea what I am going to say to the players or what’s coming my way from the media. But I’ve always tried to be honest and open. I always protect my team and myself and I wasn’t out to belittle anyone. I just felt the question was for me.” Gerrard has learnt a lot from Jürgen Klopp at Liverpool. “I was like a sponge, watching and learning. I watch him on TV and see how he handles situations. I could never be Jürgen with his charisma and energy. But if I can take a few things from him it will be such a help. And if I text, call or see him, Jürgen’s always got time for me.” What was the most valuable lesson he gleaned from Klopp? “Jürgen’s really good at switching off. When the game is on he’s very emotional but once it’s over he can park the emotion. That’s why he’s so good at handling the pressure. After cup finals and a big setback he’ll be the one to start the party. Tomorrow is a different day and that’s a big lesson I have to learn. I have to live my life outside football while still being a manager. It is difficult but I’m trying.” Gerrard admires José Mourinho but what has he made of the Manchester United manager’s surly attitude this season? “I think of one word: winner. He’s a winner. When winners feel that stuff around them is affecting their chances of winning then maybe the behaviour changes. But he’s still a world-class manager and he’s already won things at United. It wouldn’t surprise me if he won more trophies at United. I think it’s him doing things on purpose, to galvanise and get that siege mentality. It would be foolish to write him off.” How does Gerrard escape the consuming demands of management? “My family help me switch off. Having three girls and a baby boy is perfect for taking my mind off football.” Yet the whole family is touched by football. Gerrard grins as he mentions his son: “Lio, who is 18 months, is ball crazy. There’re balls all over my living room. And the girls are coming to the premiere in Liverpool. That’s what I’m looking forward to most because growing up I don’t think they really understood what their dad did. They were thinking: ‘Why are you always packing bags and in a different mood every day?’ Now, Lily is 14, Lexie is 12 and Lourdes is seven. “Lourdes is watching me on YouTube every other day – the goals, the interviews and me walking around the pitch with her. She’s most interested in seeing herself. But the two older girls really follow Rangers. They’ll always be Liverpool fans but they’re fascinated by Rangers and trying to get their heads around the fact their dad is the manager. They understand my moods now whereas they were probably confused when they were little. The movie will help them understand even more.” Gerrard says: ‘It’s a silly question if you ask do I want to be Liverpool manager one day. I think everyone on the planet knows the answer to that.’ For Gerrard, “playing football is the easy bit. But you soon learn it’s affecting other people’s lives. It’s about more than just turning up and playing – which is what you do at a kickabout in the park when you can laugh and joke.” Did Gerrard lose that innocence when he became Liverpool’s captain at 23? “Younger. The crowd make you realise you’re playing football for them as well. It hits you right from your debut – which for me came at 18 [in November 1998].” Yet there is always space for dreams in football. Does Gerrard still imagine himself as Liverpool’s manager one day? “Anything is possible. Do I want to be the Liverpool manager right now? No, I want to be the Rangers manager. I want to be successful at Rangers. It’s a silly question if you ask do I want to be Liverpool manager one day. I think everyone on the planet knows the answer to that. But I love Jürgen Klopp and I believe he can help Liverpool win the Premier League. I know what it will mean to the fans because they suffered so much in 2014. So we’re in a great place – and I say ‘we’ because I’m a fan and always will be. But I’ve got two teams in my heart now. Rangers and Liverpool.” It seems the right time for levity and to ask Gerrard if he’s got used to Rangers’ blue shirt? “I don’t have to wear it, do I?” he says with a dry little laugh. “But it’s blue, red, white and black. I like it.”4 points
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Well I don't know about the rest of you but I've attended literally hundreds of matches where coins were thrown at players or officials. It would be ridiculous to pretend it doesn't happen. It happens at lots of matches, not just matches involving Rangers or Neil Lennon. There is probably a correlation between the intensity of the match, controversial decisions and on-field behaviour and the quantity/regularity of things thrown from the crowd, but I doubt anyone has studied it fully. Some people in the crowd throw stuff. They shouldn't, they could really injure someone, not always the person they intended too either. But it's happened for decades and it's surprising to see people suddenly up in arms over it, did these people not attend matches before this season??3 points
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Sincerely, I hope whoever is the current stock buyer, remembers the demand within the Rangers support for Pilums, Dorys, javelins, and white phosphorus grenades. The opposition expect to have such weaponry hurled at them, and we should NOT disappointment them. Thus, the remit is an easily transportable weapon on the Underground, that have Stewards' clearance at the ground, and when thrown are invisible to the sixteen cameras inside Ibrox.2 points
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As I pointed out this empty unit and suggested a store many weeks ago , I should get a share in the company .2 points
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BBC, ITV, & CHANNEL 4 DIRECTOR JOHN MACLAVERTY IS AN ANTI-BRITISH RACIST & ANTI-PROTESTANT SECTARIAN RANGERS HATING BIGOT https://themanthebheastscanttame.wordpress.com/2018/11/07/bbc-itv-channel-4-director-john-maclaverty-is-an-anti-british-racist-anti-protestant-sectarian-bigot-part-1/2 points
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While I agree with that the biggest problem is that nobody actually cares other than Rangers and Rangers fans1 point
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I have been hit by a coin thrown at Ibrox………………………….by the BHEAST fans!.1 point
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I remember Hibs fans (or people posing as Hibs fans for the day) assaulting Rangers players and staff after a cup final screened world wide. Nothing happened, so what?1 point
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A good interview and I'm looking forward to watching the documentary.1 point
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Count themselves lucky in my day they through Lanliq bottles (empty one's ) .1 point
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I’m getting “congratulations- from primark etc every time I log on. Only get it on Gersnet.1 point
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As I see it, the SFA are not accountable to the fans. They don't seem to acknowledge the drop in support for the Scotland team because of their support for the tartan army and their maltreatment of Rangers. Sure, the TV money will keep the game going for a while but if the apathy being built up within the Rangers fans' support spreads to the other teams' support then what does that do to their TV audience. There will be no thriving game in Scotland until the muppets are out from under this cabal and are indeed accountable and in tune with the fans. p.s. does anyone feel that they can see the weight of Lieswell's hand in this latest fiasco?1 point
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What must the other referees be thinking? In one way it's great to see your bosses stick up for you in public, but on the other hand it must make them wonder how many mistakes they can get away with. It hardly encourages improvements in professionalism if these mistakes are not only covered up, but result in changes to the laws, just to save face for the referee. This was a mistake. We didn't need a statement from the SFA to explain it. Everyone knew it, so much so that even the usual characters in the media kept fairly quiet. Even their bias couldn't stretch so far as to support that decision. Are our referees and their bosses unable to say quite simply "we got this one wrong"? If they said that, or even if they said nothing, this incident would have blown over (especially because of our result at the weekend). Now there's an entire tank of fuel been thrown on the fire because every fan will now be watching for every gesture. If shushing (sp?) another player is now not allowed, what other gestures will also be punished? Can a player still swear at another player? Can they use diving gestures if they think the player has gone down too easily? Can they punch the air in delight? Can they shush their own fans? Can they tie their scarves to the posts of the oppositions' goal? Maybe we should get a list of what's acceptable now. Its pathetic and whoever thought of this strategy to deal with referees' errors should be sacked.1 point
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So what's this then? Oh wait a minute I remember now. Just a bit of fun. Completely different thing from 'gestures'1 point
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Can't remember a game ( other than a closed door game) where something wasn't thrown, so I'm not sure why it's only now getting the coverage outwith big games.1 point
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Sorry Craig I was thinking in my own head about his statement about coaches who had never kicked a ball and not really reacting to what you said. You are right if he does this with professional coaches then he is going down a one-way street in the wrong direction.1 point
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The other clubs are pissing themselves at us. it won't be a precedent you don't need to worry about that it is just a Rangers thing. Another Andy Halliday moment.1 point
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Just when you think our game can't stoop any lower, we get this. This is utterly embarrassing to our league. Rather than admitting to a mistake (which everyone knows it was) we set one of the most stupid and dangerous precedents. How many bookings will we see from now on under this new "law"? This is incredibly stupid and although we think little of our ruling body, I doubt any of us thought they'd come up with this nonsense. Other clubs need to abandon their anti Rangers stance for once and support an appeal against this. I won't hold my breath though.1 point
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Far too much mutual ill-feeling has gone under the bridge for many Rangers fans to give a damn about international football. I honestly lost all interest years ago and only notice internationals because of frustration at the absence of Rangers games every few weeks.1 point
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Another nobody getting headlines by jumping on the "bandwagon".1 point
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Windass would probably go far in the game if he had Miller’s attitude and footballing guile.1 point
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I won't be buying it. I'll just miss the games, if necessary.1 point
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"we want to hear from Rangers supporters". Since the turn of the year, it has become a constant refrain from Tam Cowan. I suspect those inside the PQ gang hut have realised they no longer speak to or for the Rangers support? Of course, it's important that they are seen to have some communication, the BBC are the biggest broadcasters in the world. They have tried VoxPops with Bears, introduced guests with the most tenuous Rangers links, and regularly claim that some regulars on their shows are Rangers supporters, when they are clearly not ie Wullie Miller. The BBC charter promises to broadcast to all, it's a pledge to license fee payers. The bait laid by Tam Cowan was the ridiculous red card awarded to Daniel Candeias. He wanted to hear Rangers supporters' views? The means is social media, e-mails, tweets, facebook,.... etc. The show's Producer decides what is broadcast. There is no telephone communication anymore because it's a loss of control, and well how many Beeb Scotland Producers are still willing to call up, pretending to be Bears? Anyways, a few contributions were read out, a Bear claiming inside knowledge, and a couple of St Mirren fans; but hey, they have satisfied the license demands by claiming to want to hear from Rangers supporters. It also fails on a more important level. These last four weeks, the name Kenny McIntyre has featured. He is reckoned to be the last Rangers supporting staffer involved with football at PQ. DrStu' has attempted to paint a target on his back on a couple of occasions. We know DrStu' is attracted by purity, and loves the idea of a cleansing. It's all very rational to his mindset, Rangers supporters, "are H-u-ns and typical orange wankers". To be fair to DrStu', he doesn't want to hear from Rangers supporters. On Saturday, Cowan re-introduced his favourite comedy sketch idea, he advocated the BBC Scotland 1979 Ricki Fulton/Gerard Kelly skit of Rangers supposedly signing their first high profile catholic. They pulled it from discussion two weeks back because they heard from Rangers supporters, the sketch was based on a false memory. Tam did not want to hear that Rangers had signed dozens of catholics in their first fifty years, "aye from you Kenny"; he re-framed the sketch as Rangers signing their first prominent catholic. Really, it's all small potatoes because the bait was not intended for Rangers supporters, it was an attempt to draw out Jim Traynor. DrStu' suspected Jim had penned Rangers statement on the St Mirren match and was particularly interested in comments reference Willie Collum which included, "underlying issues". The PQ speculation was sectarianism is at play. The second half of the show had a guest that supported the underlying issue with Collum is his habit of running thirty yards with the red card already in hand ie not taking enough time to arrive at the correct decision. What is it with PQ and their constant need/desire to attack a former colleague? It has become a most unedifying habit. Perhaps, some transparency from Beeb Scotland is required, they want to speak to Jim Traynor. On Sunday, the A Team was assembled in Livingston. Big Dick, Liam McLeod, Wullie Miller, Pat Bonner, and Scott McDonald spun a nil-nil draw into a really good game. The pitch took pelters, ra Sellik's exertions against Champions League level opposition on Thursday night was to the fore, and Dolly Menga MUST be cited by the Compliance Officer. At quarter to three, Rob McLean read out both teams and substitutes involved in the three O'Clock kick-off at Ibrox. The show finished at 3 O'Clock, another Dandy Don, Jeff Webster took over to talk Rugby until Five O'Clock. Rob McLean remained on the PQ naughty step to cover events at Ibrox. There was a few goal updates, and a half-time report; it was hilarious listening as Rob tripped his way through, seriously attempting to avoid mentioning he was watching RTV in the studio. Even Jeff Webster could be heard laughing in the background. BBC Scotland's five O'Clock news and sports headlines told us all where they are at, we received a match report from Livingston, all the English football results, and the newscaster offered, "you can read the match report from Ibrox on BBC Scotland's website". Seven goals from the good guys was just too much of a choker. "we want to hear from Rangers supporters"?1 point
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If only Windass had a heart and a brain, one day it will dawn on him how he f*&ked up the biggest chance he'll ever get.1 point
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I think retired players tend to be more candid, the 'omerta' of the dressing room can be broken then, so they make for more interesting interviews. I was really surprised to hear Durrant say he didn't like Graham Roberts for example, it always looked like that side had no cliques. I guess every dressing room has cliques and groups that get on better, it's managing them that's the skill. As for Kenny Miller I find him fascinating. He's a hugely important player in Rangers modern history, one of a very select group to have been signed on 3 separate occasions, to have played under some of greatest managers and some of our worst, to have enjoyed great success and terrible failure and to have polarised our support like few others. It wouldn't surprise me if he makes it back to the marble staircase again some day. I can't wait for his book.1 point
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http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/16589468.danish-investor-julian-wolhardt-becomes-a-person-with-significant-control-at-rangers/ Hm ...1 point