Tannochsidebear

I have always been, and will always remain, totally opposed to us leaving our domestic league behind and joining either an English league, or any make-up of a Euro league as our bread and butter. We are a Scottish club, have a long and proud history in the Scottish game, and our loyal fans are mainly based in this country, as should be the case. The money coming from Sky which has moved our neighbouring league from just a bit better than us to a different planet from us, is what is obviously driving people's greed to try to get a slice of the bloated pie. If the EPL were allowed to bring in one or two teams to their league from outside England, why would they choose us, and not Ajax, PSV, or Lyon? All these clubs will also be looking enviously to the EPL's riches and would probably jump at the chance of earning that type of TV money that they cant get near in their own countries. OK, we are England's closest neighbour geographically, and obviously we are all British, but British is not recognised in football, the home nations are all independant, so France and Holland are both just across the channel from England, and could have the same argument to join the EPL. I am not worried about how we would do if we joined the EPL, as we would soon find our feet, have a foreign mega-bucks owner and pay nearly �£1000 for a season ticket to watch players we will still complain about not being good enough despie their �£100Kpw wages. This is about our identity, and our place in the world. I accept that in the current way of things commercially, we cannot compete for players or squad depth with the rich clubs from the big 4 leagues. So do we cry about this, or find our place in the big scheme, of things, do things as well as we can with our running of the club, maintain our position as our country's premier club, and try to get as far as we can in European competition, in whatever tournament that may be. That is not giving up or being unambitious, but a reality check of the way the game has gone, and we must adjust our own vision to be able to make the most of what we have got. If we can improve our own running of the club, and the club can put pressure on those to ensure the game in Scotland is run professionally by those at the SPL and SFA, then we might just get somewhere, but that somewhere IMO, is not outwith the domestic game in Scotland.

I didn't think Beefy could get any higher up in my estimation. My all-time favourite cricketer, and only now I find out he is a blue-nose as well. Might be worth a purchase of said mag now.

Have not seen this elsewhere and just came across it on their website. The link is here: http://www.thebluenose.co.uk/news/assembly-news/recent-media-articles-20091007240/ The cut and paste job is here; Recent Media Articles News - Assembly News Two recent media articles have caused much concern for Rangers fans. The first was an article by Michael Walker in the Daily Mail on 2 October and the second was an article by Graham Spiers in The Times on 5 October. Colleagues in the Rangers Supporters Trust have liaised with the Assembly and the action taken is fully supported by the Assembly. In the case of the Daily Mail, there has been direct communication with Michael Walker to the effect that he has been "sussed" and Rangers fans will look elsewhere for objective reporting. Walker has responded stating he made efforts to contact the Assemby (no record of any contact) as well as Ally McCoist, The Police Service of Northern Ireland, Strathclyde Police, Nil by Mouth and a Celtic Supporters Group but only had responses from Souness and Strathclyde Police. He stated he did not get the balance right in his article and "..should have made reference to the tiresome and offensive nature of some of Celtic fans' chanting..". He stated he would be in touch if he returned to the same subject. Doesn't excuse the tone of his article but at least he conceded he did not get it right! In the case of Spiers, given his previous record, the matter has been referred directly to the Club with a strong plea that "enough is enough" with this individual. There seems little to be gained by going public and crawling over old ground - there is clear evidence that this guy is out to damage us. Whatever happened to the notion that these guys are there to report on the match? The Assembly Committee will continue to try and improve media handling as we recognise how important it is to many fans. Our aim is to have a positive media relationship and promote the many good things that our fans can be proud of but we will work together with fans to tackle negative media where appropriate. A fairly good release from the Assembly, taking further thier commitment at the recent fans forum that they would, where appropriate, defend the fans more from media attack. Thoughts??

You are missing the point MF, that the organisations you put up are professional businesses, not voluntary organisations. Most voluntary organisations have a single purpose. They are unified in a single ambition. The Rangers family is a broad church, with many opposing views within, and to try to unify them all under one umbrella organisation is almost impossible. Take just one issue, away tickets for SPL games. If there is only one organisation, fighting for the interests of ST holders, RSC's, The Blind Party, Corporates, and not enough tickets for all to get what they would describe as a "fair share", how do you tackle the subject and keep them all onside? Currently, we have the association fighting for some RSC's, the Assembly having to fight for the Corporates and all RSC's worldwide, and the trust probably would back ST holders as they have only individual members and not RSC's as members. And that is just one of dozens of issues. Dont get me wrong, I would love there to be one strong unified body to represent us properly, but the problem is that at the moment, and with the greatest respect to those working really hard in all the organisations, none of the bodies are in any position to unify the fans, and all of them are struggling to get a small number of fans to support them. They all have to really up their game to win the fans over, and they will never win all the fans over, as the decisions they take and the policies they make that will please some bears will alienate others, probably in equal numbers. So give me your answer to the dilemma MF, i'm all ears!!

The problem with having just one body to "represent" the rangers fans is that there are so many of us, with so many different areas of being a fan that need continual work to get things done that I fear no one body alone could do that. Could one body really do all the work that the Association does for RSC's in dealing with other clubs to get tickets, dealing with Ibrox to get tickets, and argue the case for more tickets being made available to the RSC's. and at the same time argue on behalf of the Blind Party, the Corporates, NARSA and ORSA, and do the things the trust has done like the media work and charity fundraisers. And all from a voluntary organisation with a few quid to cover expenses!! I dont think so. Up until quite recently I have argued for a single body to do the job, but when you start to work with these organisations and see what they actually all do individually, there is an awful lot going on behind their scenes that takes up an awful lot of individual bears time and efforts, and for most fans out there the perception is that all of them do nothing for them!!

As a member and interested party in all 3 main Rangers supporters groups, the Association, Assembly and Trust, I can see the argument that we, as fans, would be better served by one single, independant, organisation to put forward our wishes and views to the club. I can also see that each organisation has it's own primary function that none of the other 2 get involved with, so there is an argument for all 3 as viable mouthpieces of the fans in their current status. The big stumbling block for all 3 groups is that the current owner and former chairman does not really care what they think, as is his right, and he only talks to them and uses them when it suits his own agenda or needs their help to sell something to the support. There are many issues that these groups should have been working on, and should currently be working on, that they simply do not do. Long before any notion that the Assembly can be better off self-funded, it has to get more active and more recognised as a viable organisation in the view of the majority of the support. It is seen as only the vehicle to quash the RST, or as the umbrella organisation that the club can bat off questions from worldwide fans and RSC's to without having to deal with them directly. "Take it up with the Assembly" is the well worn cry from the marble staircase. Recently, the Assembly has been making noises about trying to change it's outlook. I was at the recent fans forum meeting where the Assembly opened it's eyes to the main issues affecting the Rangers support, and vowed to look to take these issues forward in any way they could. How they get on in the next few months with making a start in these directions will go a long way in trying to gain some much-needed credibility amongst the wider support. The RST is clearly a little in the doldrums. After the in-fighting and split of 2008, it has had a very quiet year trying to regroup. The recent poorly attended AGM was a big disappointment, but they have started to improve in certain areas, and there are noises there also about trying to be more positive and forward-thinking. As "ordinary" supporters we can only wish all 3 organisations every success, and hope that they can make progress in their chosen fields, as the ultimate winner of any good work is the club. With a new chairman and a promise from Murray that he is really going to stay away this time, there is a ray of hope for the supporters organisations that there may be a fresh chance to work with the club for the betterment of all.

And yet no such discussion when Novo is clearly shoved at the back post late in the game, which should have resulted in a penalty to us. It is only laughable when we win the game, as it really is so biased now at the Scottish Beeb it is not only not hidden, but actively pursued, and it is where all this will end I am worried about.

"There is more to it than just signing a new contract." "There are discussions taking place on what direction the club is going." It is these two quotes from Walter that has been the basis for the story. How on earth can you get "Give me transfer funds or I'll quit club" from those two statements. Surely if anyone cared at the club, this story would have been retracted by now, and an admission that they have no foundation for the story, and that they apologise. Bain's reaction is if you dont like it, dont read it. If the story is nothing personal about the ex-chairman, then I dont care.

I heard that statement also, and while it has some merit, to me it is a pretty lame excuse for this trust. They have ambitious targets for membership numbers, and they cannot just wait for the next crisis to boost the numbers. To me they have focused on the negative for far too long, and need to be more progressive and forward-planning and forward-thinking. I understand this has been discussed recently by the board and I look forward to seeing more from this area in the coming period. Like you, all board members deserve, and get, my full respect for giving up their time and putting in the effort to try to make a difference for the betterment of our club, and even when fellow supporters disagree with what they say, or how they say it, the fact they are trying to do something is worthy of some appreciation.

I think that is all true, sadly, especially the highlighted part. I think there is always going to be a fall in numbers when we have a fairly successful couple of years on the park, UEFA Cup final and the SPL title in the last 2 years will be enough for the average bear to feel satisfied. But there is every chance that when the Rangers accounts are released showing a huge increase in debt, coinciding perhaps with a large deficit in the SPL table, and no doubt stories in the papers about us having to sell again in January and not improving the squad, that the RST numbers will increase again with another couple of interviews with DE on the radio and perhaps on Sky and in the papers. Until the RST is no longer seen to be the polar opposite of those running the club, it's fortunes will exactly mirror the club's, however ironic that actually is. Like most other bears, I am hopeful the recent new blood will invigourate the board into some pro-active work, instead of merely more defensive work when we are under attack from the media. A case of watch this space I suppose.

I dont know all the names BD, but I counted 10 at the top table and then Joanne round the corner. I might be wrong, or I might be double counting Simon as he was re-elected.

A pretty fair summary of events there BD, although my own numbers were 11 board plus 16 (did you perhaps miss Joanne round the corner?!!) The reason I counted was that with the appointment from the floor of the 2 new board members it made it 13 board and 14 members in attendance. I thought they might have had the majority of the meeting, so I did a wee head count. Anyway, pedantics over, I find it interesting that there has been not much discussed on here, RM or FF about the AGM. On doing a search on all 3 forums on Sunday and yesterday, there was nothing about it at all. I started a thread on RM asking if anyone was in attendance and it disappeared without trace. This surprises me because usually when a thread is going about the RST, it turns into a multi-pager with the usual suspects on both "sides" going over the same old stuff, but ask how many went to the AGM to discuss the issues they are not slow to discuss online, and you get nothing. I hear there will be membership consultation to decide the date of the 2010 AGM to ensure a better turnout.

UCB, I assume you were at the RST AGM on Sunday as I understand from your previous posts you were being elected to the board. Given that there were 3 appointments to the board ratified, and one was a re-election, does that make you the young chap going to bring some youth and vibrancy to the board, the former ref who sets Trading Standards on to the club, or have I got this all wrong??

This is where we should be every year IMO, as the biggest and best club in our country it figures that we should be our country's representative in the continent's premier tournament. The "Thursday Cup" or the "Diddy Cup" or the "not good enough for the big cup, cup" or whatever you call it is where our city rivals belong as they are completely second rate at everything they do, apart from cheating, where they lead the world.

Are you sure this is out tonight now Frankie,

Shhhhh, dont keep reminding them by bumping the thread. My entry is in and the fewer that are up against it the better. Oh wait a minute, by posting this I am bumping the thread myself, doh.

On the day of our new chairman's first media address and what do the Rebel print. A non-story, 100% completely made up, taking 2 and 2 and making 1888, hinting that the manager may walk away if he is not given funds. Did they make a big issue of the very in-depth answers AJ gave as to where he sees European football going, his thorough analysis about how the EPL became so strong, his experiences tht will enable him to do the job in a professional manner. No, no, no. They stir it up big style, like only a bunch of Rangers-hating scum could. I hope AJ sees this rag and the way he has been reported and calls them in and bans the scumbags from attending any Rangers media conferences for a month. I thought AJ talked really well and professionally about the job he has undertaken, what he brings to the table, admits there are some problems, but puts the record straight that the bank are not overly concerned as long as we stay within our agreed caveats. The only thing I was personally disappointed about was the fact that he included Bain as part of the "management team" and wants them all to stay. I'm not at all surprised by this of course, but I would hope that as soon as he sees how incompetant he is at his job, he will get rid of him, but that may take time. With AJ not being 100% hands-on, he cannot really bring in a new CEO and leave him to get on with it, especially when the current CEO is very close to the 92% majority shareholder.

Friday bump to remind players to get their predictions in. Might even use a joker this week for our game against sheepy.

FFS, all this Mulder and Scully stuff on here. I am still trying to get my head around tomorrow's line-up, never mind the boardroom stuff!! I'm away for a lie down in a dark room......nurse!!

Decent draw, and a nice stadium, albeit in a horrible city. Packed in the midweek between our CL double header against Unirea, and coming just after a home game against Hibs and before a trip to Tannadice, it will be a very busy period, and the full squad options may have to be used. In that regard a tough home tie for the 58,500 crowd dressed up as empty seats at the Piggery (it is just before Halloween after all) will ensure they either sacrifice the cup, which cannot happen as it is monkey-heid's first chance to win something, or they will need to be at full strength and even then may still lose, hopefully.

Ah, just emailed it using the link before I seen this, sorry! Another excellant prize Frankie, I didn't even know about this event. Should be an excellant night, that is a great line-up of speakers, and a free book as well.

We can now!!

Go on Bougherra, now first place with 37%

Boyd was getting warmed up and looked about to come on just as we scored. We were discussing who we thought would be coming off and how we would change the shape to push for an equaliser. When we equalised Boyd was called back and sat down. We had the momentum and I just felt Walter didn't want to risk upsetting the momentum with a substitution late in the game, despite Miller being an empty shirt all night, and Naismith looking a bit tired in the last 10 minutes. Walter gets it in the neck often enough for his tactics, especially in Europe in his first tenure, but I thought last night he got it spot on, and it was only after the half time hairdryer that the players played the formation they were set out in properly.

I was saying something similar last night once we all calmed down after the goal went in. I thought there were around 20 passes with almost every outfield player getting a touch, the ball was on both flanks and ended with a great finish. I will need to have a look on the tv as I haven't seen it again apart from live at the match.