andy steel

I kind of have to pull for England as my English bro-in-law gets tetchy if I don't. Mais, actuellement...allez les bleus!

Looks good. Interesting how the Rangers online world is splitting into echelons, a la the newspapers: FF and R< are ike the Sun and the Record, complaining about each other but quite similar (tho I've never been on FF so could be totally wrong!)), while Gersnet occupies the higher brow but still 'street' ethos of the Herald. What will RS be, The Times (all right wing but beautifully written) or The Guardian (earnestly liberal and beautifully written)? Whatever, its always good to see a new forum and I wish it all the best.

Stupidity, wrote Flaubert, is the need for answers. Its an interesting thought, but it's made less impressive by human nature; whether it be stupid or not, most of us want answers. Why are we here? Does she love me? What's for dinner? Perhaps if we qualify Flaubert's thought to suggest that expecting answers from a position of powerlessness is stupid it would be easier to agree with him. For those of us who have stood by and watched the unfolding shambles that our club has become over these last few years, the desire for answers is only matched by the realistaion that, as nothing more than fans, we're not going to get them. Or at least, only when it suits certain people. Prospective owners make confident claims, which may or may not turn out to be true (in the case of Craig Whyte, I doubt there is anyone who is still making up their mind on that one), former board members hint darkly at worse days ahead, and media types suggest that they have information which, if only they could tell us, woul clear things up. All that is certain is that we, at the bottom of the pile, will be left in ignorance. Those in power rarely feel the need to keep those without informed, be they politicians, businessmen or aristocrats. Being given a taste of control seems to lock that part of the brain which requires us to treat others with a measure of respect. Reading James Farrell's superb trilogy of Empire analysis this week (The Siege of Krishnapur, Troubles and The Singapore Grip, all highly recommended) emphasised this connection - once a person gets power, decency tends to be overpowered and excused by expediency. There is an anecdote in The Singapore Grip which may interest some Rangers fans. A character recounts the tale of King William crossing a river following the Battle of the Boyne. A boatman asks the King how went the day; 'What's it to you? You'll still just be a boatman' replies the Original Orangeman. Which sums us up at the moment: we'll still just be fans, regardless of how the battles for the club go. Holding the reins of power has become a tired topic for us, as the club passes from the dodgy ownership of Murray to the outright criminal one of Whyte to the...well, we don't know style of we don't know who , with funding from we don't know where. Hardly surprising, then, that we should seek answers, even if we know that being outside the charmed circle we're not likely to get them. We never were part of any 'establishment'. Well known blogger Gerry Hassan is in the unfortunate habit of peppering his politcial blogs on power with 6th form stuff about why Rangers fans are so angry these days; his belief is that it is our loss of power within the establishment that is infuriating us, while those cheeky chappies across the city, always marginalised, feel less angst about being persecuted. I don't know how many fans Gerry has spoken to who feel this way; speaking for myself I can safely say that, should I ever have stepped confidently up the marble staircase, proclaiming it my right as a memebr of the establishment, I'd have found myself sitting on my arse in Edmiston Drive before you can say downtrodden proletariat. I'm not angry because some notional power has been taken away from me, and I'm only too aware that, as a boatman, whoever takes over will continue to treat me with contempt and disdain. All I ask is that we move on from shadowy, off the record briefings and claims of business confidentiality, and let those who put their hands in the pockets know what is going on. How many other businesses, I wonder, would treat their customers with such off handedness, and still expect them to turn up? Push people too hard and eventually they will hit back. King Billy's boatman may have felt like kicking him overboard, but knew if he did it'd be the end of him. At the moment we are, rightly, concentrating on ensuring a future for the club while economically targetting those who are trying to ensure we suffer as much damage as possible while weakened. But a point in time must come, surely, where we can turn inward, and deal with those inside our club who have treated us in such a high handed manner. They would do well to remember that even a boatman can have his day.

Given the length of time you've been posting on football forums, you know the answer to that.

Whenever I see Jela score for Everton on MoTD, I cry a little inside. Quite happy to see him score tonight, mind.

Your E30 doesn't go to Gersnet, unlike the license fee.

Serves you right for breaking the boycott!

I went to the u-21 game in Paisley & it was one of the poorest games I've seen. Full house, too. Only Scott Allan, a late sub, looked like a player.

They did a last day 'no' to Leeds, didn't they?

Harsh on Samaras - thought he worked his socks off, and if he'd taken one of his two good chances would have been clear MoTM for me. I also don't blame the Greek goalie - he saw cheating swine Lewandowski clear at the back post and felt he had to do something. Anyone to blame it is the Greek right back who was AWOL. Russians very impressive, from front to back. Czechs poor but still 1000 times better than us. Two great games, though, I hope it carries on like this!

Still be good games. If the Poles are shown up as anti-Semitic racists, about bloody time. The hardest thing to take about the sanctification of Boruc was knowing that back home, the sort of abuse he was whining about was dished out to Jews (the few that remain) and immigrants without comment.

Sensible enough move, buys him kudos with his fans who are - and this is quite a coincidence - just about to renew their season books.

It seems anyone who is entertaining public doubts about Charles Green are part of and are . Why do so many feel the need to belittle those with a different opinion? It doesn't make you a better man, it really doesn't.

I agree, but even that requires funding. I would like to know for sure that we have the funds in place; I don't think that's too much to ask, after the Whyte fiasco.

For me, the most vital issue is not getting the CVA thru, it is the funding with which Mr Green intends to run the club for the foreseeable. How much is it likely to be? Who is putting it up? What are their bona fides? Getting a CVA thru only to discover the Emperor has no clothes doesn't sound like moving us forward. I don't pretend to know anything about finance, or have any secrets from contacts, all I want to know is where the cash is coming from and whether its legit. After Whyte, I don't think we will be able to survive another screw up. So, while I appreciate Mr Green can hardly give us chapter and verse, I'd have liked something on the funding and I'm frankly a bit stunned that there's not a word about it.

It was, but I don't think anyone cares that much, do they? I just lost interest in the thread, that's all. Apologies all round.

I'm sorry, CG...I just don't care anymore.

Is that it?

Let me know what's bothering you about it and I'll do my best to explain.

McCoist has had, and will have, enough to deal with as it is without trying to organise a pre-season along lines he never once tried during his 30-some years in the game. How's he supposed to invent a pre-season out of thin air? Give Ally a break, jeezo.

Bold: Correct Underlined: A million percent incorrect

Seriously? My God, in Scotland words are a very big deal; no-one needs remind Rangers fans of that. But how the flipping flip am I supposed to defend things like the Sectarianism Bill on the grounds that all it asking for is good manners, when the chief of the SFA considers that no big deal? I may make an exception to my 'not trying to get anyone sacked' mantra for Regan. Can he actually be for real?? PS: And anyway, whatever can we be hitting back at him for? Has he done something? Guilty conscience, eh.

Where do you work? Bank holiday payments ceased about 5 years ago in retail. If I had the chance to refuse a day off or double time I'd be chuffed.

I didn't see alot wrong with Leggo's piece, other than that bells peal, not peel. Too many unanswered questions for my liking. But maybe we may know more soon.

That's very depressing. Are they wilfully ignoring the bits they don't like or are they just plain thick? However, I'm trying to be nice.