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Hoping to have an interview with King on our podcast at some point. All sensible questions for consideration can be posted in this thread or privately to me.

Where's Chris? BBC Scotland's Sports News Correspondent did a one minute piece to camera from his home on Friday. He looked distressed, describing the pain of Prague. Neil promised a, "change of culture" but another 4-1 humping ensued at the hands of Sparta. Chris lamented the loss of European football. Chris did not mention Rangers, nor their continued topping of Europa Cup Group D, and ignored the fact that another Scots club had played in the same competition the night before. Chris did not appear on BBC Radio Scotland's Friday evening Sportsound. Studio discussion before the Scot's women international against Portugal, concluded Neil Lennon's future was bleak. However, immediately there was opportunity for ra Sellik legend to turn it all around by defeating Ross County on Sunday. Saturday's On the Ball took the Chris McLaughlin line, did not mention Rangers 2-2 draw against Benfica, and chose not to discuss the Lennon situation at Sellik. Hardly surprising, it's only fifteen months past that Cosgrove was heavily promoting Lennon as the next national manager. I know it's hard to believe that DrStu' promoted a man accused of assaulting and threatening the women in his life, in new, modern Scotland? Chris failed to trap on Saturday's Sportsound too. Big Dick adhered to the Tom English narrative. Tom knows Dermot, he's a tough businessman, and a strong character. Peter and Dermot are very close, Neil has their confidence. We know this because Neil told of the Friday afternoon zoom call. Europe has gone and Lawwell and Lennon can both take a share of the blame. "Celtic are domestic bullies" says Tom, and can continue in that vein, "starting tomorrow against Ross County". Sunday's Sportsound has Jane Lewis, Liam McLeod, Pat Bonner, Billy Dodds, ....... etc. Where's Chris? We hear live commentary of the calamity, a hard earned 0-2 result for the Staggies. Pat is fizzing, Billy names five players in green'n'grey that "have chucked it". A post match interview with Neil revealed, "today's result doesn't help". Over to Grangemouth, still no mention of Rangers Thursday evening exertions, a comfortable 0-4 occurs and events in the Stade de Gadd car park take precedent. Truly it's amazing, we are subjected to any number of descriptions of the grouping of Yahoos kicking over barriers, lobbing missiles at both Police and exiting players/staff, and vitriolic chanting directly aimed at Neil Lennon. A minority, young and entitled, have not known anything other than success. Anything and everything other than, the Green Brigade. Tom English, Richard Gordon, Michael Stewart, Stuart Cosgrove, .... etc have all lionised and eulogised this mob on numerous occasions. They have congratulated them on their displays, their witty banners, their noise, their created atmosphere, and their political aims and aspirations. They have nurtured the Green Brigade and even after Sunday evening's events, still cannot name them. Monday's Sportsound has Kenny MacIntyre, Tom English, Craig Levein, and Gary Caldwell. A further two Sellik Podcasters are invited on to the show, Sean McDonald and Stephen Wray. Tom loves the Podcasting duo, "ah the lads are spot on". Wait a minute, both want to see the back of Neil, like yesterday. Both are wary of Peter Lawwell, both mention his considerable remuneration, and both think an interim manager is necessary. I was waiting on Tom's, 'ah know Dermot' speech, but like Chris, it failed to appear. We can only assume Chris remains standing atop the Hinshelwood grassy knoll, he has issued a total of two tweets in four days reference the current Sellik situation. What is the point of a decade's worth of full throated consummation of every cheesy green'n'grey cock presented, if Chris cannot give us, the License fee payers, those crucial interviews with the main players? It would appear ra Sellik now agree with Rangers, Chris McLaughlin is not worth talking to.

The bheasts would be better off paying for us to go to Dubai for a winter training camp!

Press Release - 1st December 2020 Club 1872 can today announce that former Rangers Chairman, Dave King has agreed to sell his entire shareholding in Rangers International Football Club (RIFC) Plc to Club 1872. The sale, when complete, will make Club 1872 the largest, single shareholder in RIFC Plc. The structure of the deal gives Club 1872 three years to complete the purchase - with the opportunity to purchase the entire shareholding prior to December 2021 for a price of 20p per share which is below Dave’s cost. Club 1872 will aim to create over 20,000 legacy members of the organisation, each of whom will retain a lifetime vote on the shares held in RIFC. It has also been agreed with the RIFC Board that both Club 1872 and Dave King will have the right to participate in any impending share issue of RIFC. This means that, should Rangers require it, they will continue to be supported by Club 1872 contributors’ donations to Club 1872 for the term of the agreement and that the combined shareholding need not be diluted as long as Club 1872 has funds available to participate. Dave King said, “During regime change and throughout my Chairmanship I have advocated for increased supporter influence at the shareholder level and I provided opportunities for Club 1872 to participate in every share issue that was undertaken. I did this partly to express my appreciation to those supporters and supporter groups who actively assisted me in securing regime change and partly to ensure that all supporters (whether shareholders or not) retain an influential voice in directing the affairs of their Club. It is my sincere hope that “Never Again” will supporters become as disconnected and disempowered as they were at the time of my re-engagement with the Club over 6 years ago. After completion of my service as Chairman I took time to consider how I can create a final legacy by giving supporters - including future generations - substantial shareholder influence for the first time in the almost 150 years history of our Club. The time to launch a “Never Again” campaign is now. I made it repeatedly clear that I reinvested in the Club somewhat reluctantly and only because without my support it was proving impossible for local Scottish supporters to martial sufficient financial resources to save Rangers from the impending doom that was unavoidable at that time. In addition I committed to investing further and doing whatever else it took (e.g. getting rid of Sports Direct/Mike Ashley) to see Rangers competing for Scottish titles and in Europe. That is firmly the case now. As I look forward I must recognise that my family is based in South Africa and I cannot be certain as to what approach they would take to owning shares in the Club when I can no longer influence this. After considering the possible options I concluded that the only meaningful way I could deliver enduring supporter influence in my absence would be to allow supporters - via Club 1872 - to increase their influence at shareholder level by acquiring my shares over a period of time that is considered to be achievable by Club 1872. I do not intend to profit from my efforts over the last 6 years to save our Club, even though the Club is now substantially more valuable partly through my efforts. I am happy that supporters get this increased value as without them we would not have achieved the full recovery that was completed with the recent fund raise. I have agreed therefore to transfer my shares to Club 1872 at my historical cash cost of acquisition (which includes professional fees) and to allow Club 1872 a period of three years to build up the supporter backing that will be necessary to achieve this. My all-in cost is 23.7p per share and I am willing to put a pricing structure in place that accommodates 20p as the initial price to be consistent with the present share issue and, at Club 1872’s request, I have included an option for Club 1872 to buy all of the shares at 20p which would result in a loss to me. In my view the shares are presently worth in excess of 50p if properly valued. I have coined the term “Never Again" as I truly believe that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to make supporters - in perpetuity- the number one shareholder in the Club. Fortunately, the present Board supported me in my vision to see an increased shareholder influence for our fans but we cannot be sure of the fondness for this by future directors. The time to achieve this is therefore now. Through my engagement with Club 1872 and its present board members (who are all dedicated volunteers) I have developed great trust in the individuals and the organisation. I have personally witnessed the strong benefit to the Club of having a collective voice for supporters at the shareholder level. It has been beneficial to have in Club 1872 a supporter group that is willing to challenge the Club when it feels necessary to do so and is also willing to support the Board when key resolutions that protect the Club need to be passed. Club 1872 did that extremely well during my period as Chairman to the extent that I have absolute confidence that Club 1872 is the right vehicle for me to work with to advance supporter shareholder ownership - both now and in the future. I would urge Rangers supporters to join Club 1872 today and ensure that the events of 2012 can “Never Again” be repeated." Club 1872 Director, Laura Fawkes said, “This is a huge moment for both Club 1872 and the Rangers support. We are very grateful to Dave King for his faith in Club 1872 and the Club 1872 Board and for his ongoing commitment to ensuring that the ownership structure of Rangers remains a very healthy mix of wealthy individuals and the wider supporter base. As Club 1872 Directors, we are very proud to present this opportunity to the Rangers support. We now need over 20,000 Rangers supporters to take up the baton, join Club 1872 and ensure that the events of 2012 can never happen again. It would be a seminal moment for both Rangers Football Club and the supporters if we could achieve the position of being the largest shareholder in Rangers in time for the 150th anniversary of the club in 2022. The rebuilding of the Club, largely overseen by the Rangers Board under Dave King’s Chairmanship, has been remarkable - from the position in 2012 to once again challenging for domestic titles and in European competition. Club 1872 can continue to assist with that process whilst ensuring that the wellbeing of the club remains at the centre of decision making in the longer term. We fully understand the financial pressures that supporters are under in the current economic climate, and the huge contribution they have already made to Rangers this season through season ticket sales and merchandise. But, if they can dig deep one more time and join Club 1872 today as legacy members, then over the next couple of years we can together ensure that the club will remain in safe hands for generations to come."

Not very well based on their inability to hold an AGM at any point since they were formed.

I'm in favour of fan shareholding and fan ownership. I'm not in favour of £13m of the fan's cash going to an existing shareholder, when it could be going into the club. If it's the difference between us winning a league title and Dave King realising most of the cash he's apparently "lent" us, I'd go for the league every time. Even if this is successful, what happens the next time there's a share issue and C1872 can't afford to invest? Their shareholding gets diluted and their position as largest shareholder disappears very quickly. The fans' cash should go to the club and not a shareholder!

If you think this is going to happen (barring a billionaire sugary daddy appearing) then I've got some bridges to sell you.

Why on earth are they travelling to Dubai given the current public health uncertainties? Baffling. What isn't baffling, is the SPFL conspiring to do their bidding.

SPFL's official stance on this is that they have, for 22 years, deferred to the wishes of the home team when these situations arise. Seems to me that the SPFL have simply opened the doors for every other club to play around with their fixture list however it suits. The inmates are running the asylum.

Chris Farlowe?

So the SPFL have sanctioned this, allowing a club to indulge in non-essential foriegn travel during a global pandemic and at a time where the country may be in lockdown. Go figure...

The real problem isn't Celtic but the SPFL who clearly served the interests of one club against the wishes of another.

It's impossible not to agree with this but I suppose the money for these shares has already gone to the club and it's only voting rights that are being traded. If you want voting rights then it comes at a price. My own view is that Club1872 would be better buying new shares with the fans' money and leaving Dave King to find another buyer for his offload. £13m (if that's what it is) should never be used to bail out a fellow shareholder, even if it is Dave King. You have to question who exactly is the beneficiary in this deal but it's certainly not Rangers. That's the risk every shareholder bears. It's just part of the game and Club1872 shouldn't be any different.

when fergus did this exact thing at celtc he offered to build a training complex with the cast if enough people subscribed. They didn't and he never but he at least offered. i guess the obvious question is what happens if tens of thousands don't sign up and would he incentivise them to do so in a similar fashion to the above.

Would Rangers not benefit more by any cash that C1872 raise going to it, rather than to a shareholder? Was it always your plan to recoup a majority of your investment from the fans' organisation? Do you think any of the other investors in the club will look to recoup their cash in a similar manner? @FrankieI've added more and will continue to do so as I think of them.

Unfortunately I agree. It's a golden opportunity to take charge of our club but infighting sabotage and lack of foresight await. What I will say is there is a new level of optimism and whole generation who know nothing of previous depressing nonsense. I will put my share in and hope enough others embrace it.

True, but previously there was also a 3 week winter break. This time around they play us on the 2nd, then Hibs on the 11th. 9 days between. And the quickest, direct flight between Scotland and Dubai is apparently 7 hours 20 minutes. That will take a but out of them just on the travel alone. Maybe it is wishful thinking on my part, but with just 9 days between games and half a day spent in the air, I don't see how this actually helps them this season.

Seems odd to me that they have only raised this now. A winter training camp would surely have been planned and booked months ago. Sounds like a panic response to recent results and covering their backs should they get a doing on 2/1 and need to flee quickly.

Aye, I know mate - but some of the oldies on here wouldn't have got that so I just said it out straight

This is exactly the reason that it was all hidden - for sporting advantage.

I remember Lambert had the full backing of the Albertz knee, Paul was spitting blood after.

Just sayin'...... Paul Lambert battles for Ipswich future at a ghost club in rapid decline Ipswich have lost five of their past eight League One games and alarm bells are ringing loudly in a season crucial to their future Nick Ames Nick Ames @NickAmes82 Tue 1 Dec 2020 11.25 GMTLast modified on Tue 1 Dec 2020 13.58 GMT https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/dec/01/paul-lambert-battles-for-ipswich-future-at-a-ghost-club-in-rapid-decline Last month the Ipswich goalkeeping coach, Jimmy Walker, tweeted his views on this season’s third tier. “Massive few weeks ahead,” he wrote. “League One is bonkers … and dare I say it … very average. If we don’t finish top four minimum we might as well wrap up.” Using Walker’s logic, Ipswich may be returning Portman Road’s keys to the local council in May. They sit sixth, although several sides below them have games in hand, and have lost five of their past eight matches. The decline of the last decade, which culminated in relegation from the Championship in 2019, is close to spiralling into something far more serious. Ipswich feel like a ghost of a club: an institution that fell asleep on the job and has been outstripped by a long line of smarter, brighter rivals. Should Ipswich fail to win promotion their world will be shrunk by the new League One salary cap, which may level the playing field but presses the pause button on those with higher designs. They should be equipped to avoid that but the current run is no outlier. Their past 39 league games, taking in a catastrophic nosedive from top spot into mid-table last season, have brought 50 points and gathering unrest about the regime of a manager who had swept in promising so much. Listening to Paul Lambert in February 2019, three months after his appointment, it was hard not to feel the tide would turn. Ipswich were going down but the blow was softened by Lambert’s realisation that a litany of disappointments had fractured the bond between town and club. He forged a relationship with Blue Action, a prominent supporters’ group, and succeeded in harnessing an atmosphere that should have helped propel Ipswich back up the leagues. That appears to have soured beyond repair. Last Wednesday night a group of Blue Action members arrived at the training ground with a banner reading “Cheers for the beers but it’s time at the bar”, referring to Lambert’s occasional laying-on of drinks for supporters. It was a turning point in the fanbase’s attitude towards Lambert and the situation deteriorated on Saturday. Paul Lambert and his assistant, Stuart Taylor, have struggled to find a way of taking Ipswich forward. Photograph: Richard Calver/Shutterstock While Lambert was offering his thoughts on a 2-0 defeat by Charlton, commenting that “the fans are the most important people at any club”, news broke on social media that he had banned the popular local journalist Phil Ham from press conferences. Ham has edited TWTD, a vibrant and influential independent supporters’ website, since 1995 and has been a club sponsor for a number of years. TWTD’s news operation runs alongside a message board and, before last month’s match at Lincoln, one of its posters revealed Lambert’s starting lineup. An irate Lambert ordered Ham’s exile upon being informed and has doubled down despite attempts to resolve the situation. It is a terrible look and at odds with Lambert’s earlier conciliatory approach; the widespread reaction suggests it has carried him beyond the point of no return. Noises from around Ipswich’s camp have indicated a paranoid environment, with communication a particular issue. Lambert was particularly unhappy when local media discovered in August that five younger players, including the highly rated Armando Dobra, had been omitted from the squad photograph. He is entitled to feel frustrated about leaks but the fog of suspicion feels suffocating. Such tittle-tattle usually becomes irrelevant if a team are winning. Ipswich plummeted in 2019-20 because they were unable to maximise a far more talented squad than most in League One. Their owner, Marcus Evans, bet heavily on Lambert with a five-year contract in January, effectively meaning the manager was off the hook when Covid-19 intervened. Evans requested during the summer that Lambert minimise squad rotation while instilling a more attractive playing style; he then informed the players of those edicts in what, given his traditionally hands-off approach, was an extraordinary intervention. The season began well with Ipswich’s two outstanding talents, Andre Dozzell and Teddy Bishop, coming to the fore. But problems that have dogged them throughout Lambert’s reign soon resurfaced, most crucially an absence of wit and aggression in the final third. Lambert can plead some mitigation. An inability to keep players fit predates him and casts a huge shadow. Kane Vincent-Young arrived from Colchester but has been out for 13 months; the centre-forward James Norwood was a high-profile signing from Tranmere but has rarely been fully fit since last September. Eleven first-team players are on the sidelines and the situation is too established to be dismissed as coincidence. It is not the ideal time, then, to lose your fitness coach. The club confirmed on Monday that Jim Henry had left and would continue on a “consultancy” basis. Henry had been seeking a return to Scotland but it is understood coaching-related disagreements among Lambert’s staff have brought that forward. There are no plans to replace Henry, so Ipswich will muddle on. That is exactly what they have done for most of Evans’s 13-year tenure. Even the official supporters’ club was moved to warn “the seeming stagnation of our club must not be allowed to continue” in an otherwise cautious statement on Monday. Perhaps they had confused “stagnation” with “accelerated decay”. At least it was something: the club’s supporters’ trust has been dormant for nearly four years, reflecting the organisation it should be scrutinising. In the end, though, Evans is the only person who can begin arresting Ipswich’s decline. They are in deep trouble and are running out of chances to wake up and put things right. Anyone choosing to take the club off his hands could still peruse an inviting prospectus: a rich history, a genuinely excellent academy and, more importantly than ever, one of the most progressive women’s setups in the country. For now Evans hopes Lambert will turn things around and the Guardian understands there is no prospect of a new manager being sought unless Ipswich fall well away from the top six. They visit Oxford on Tuesday in an effort to stave off that eventuality; by Walker’s measure a performance anywhere above average should, at least, begin to brighten the feeling of crushing sadness. Topics

i don't see how this can possibly be sanctioned without both clubs agreeing. it's bias otherwise.

Bet you septic have an agreement from last year to return to Dubai with a financial cost if they don't.

Apparently, ra Sellik have organised a week's winter break in Dubai. Of course, whether they go does not matter, Peter learned that fact when previously, he told of a post season commercial tour of Japan. It seems the SPFL have once again acquiesced to peter's demands.

Looked very tidy on the ball, box to box, keen to get involved. Looked very assured. He, Kai Kennedy and Leon King are the best of the bunch from the Academy from everything I hear.

A very professional performance and getting the game to bed early allowed us to give some youngsters some game time and give most of our first 11 a rest, either the full game or part, and in advance of our huge game against Liege and then a run of away league games and a LC QF before Xmas, essentially a week off for our key players in the midfield and forward positions should be very beneficial. I liked the look of Dickson coming on and looking really keen and talented, one to watch out for.

Perhaps this will be counter productive for those Celtic fans who want rid of Lennon. Had this happened when fans were in the ground, Banners and chants against the manager/board are often effective. Fighting with the police in the street is less so. You get to the situation that the club cant be seen to give in to such scenes. Lennon may well go but these demos are more likely to delay that event.

I' just like to say a word of thanks to @craig for not fucking up the Celtic result this week.?

Picked up from elsewhere. “Scotland’s 5 games before Jack played - won 1, Drew 0, Lost 4. Scored 7, Conceded 13. 7 games jack played. Won 6, Drew 1, Lost 0. Scored 9, Conceded 4." Rangers have shipped 3 goals this season, 2 v Hibs and 1 v Motherwell. Jack did not play in either of these games.” I have have an inkling @Bill will like this one.

Are there any stats to describe what tedious waste of time an international fortnight is? Because such is the density of boredom around international football that time itself seems to slow perceptibly.