BEARGER

He has resigned for family reasons, severe illness in family.

Rangers head of communications David Graham has left the club Scottish Express Sport can reveal that that that man who revolutionised dealings with the media in his short spell at Ibrox has stepped down from his role. He was brought in during the summer of 2020 to take control. Graham, who is a former DUP Councillor and leading Orange Order member was appointed to the Rangers board in December last year as Director of Communications. Rangers have told us tonight: ‘We can confirm David Graham has resigned from his position of Communications Director at Rangers.’ It is understood that there are personal, family reasons behind the decision. When he was apppointed he said: “Rangers is proud to be a modern, diverse football club where people from all backgrounds, cultures and communities can unite to celebrate and support a common cause. “If you see the ground-breaking work the IFA have done to make Windsor Park as inclusive as possible, we’re going to learn lessons from Northern Ireland, we’re going to build and continue to have Rangers at the forefront of the football conversation as the world’s most successful football club.

David Graham has resigned from club, so I have been told. Anyone heard anything or reason?

Copied from elsewhere. Guys just a reminder that for the first time Samaritans have been given the opportunity to collect outside the ground tomorrow. We have volunteers from Lanarkshire, Ayrshire, Glasgow & Stirling representing their branches from 1-3pm. Some volunteers worries about the banter around our bright green tabards and buckets but I’ve guaranteed them all bears will see the charity not the colour. It costs a massive amount every year to keep the branches going and anything you can share in this difficult time would be extremely welcome.

Don’t know if there’s a time schedule for this. Been to one baseball game in US, seemed to spend half my time passing food along.

Please note: If you are not attending this match and have transferred your ticket, please forward this on to those attending. Liverpool FC’s UEFA Champions League fixture against Rangers on Tuesday 4th October kicks off at 8PM. Please prepare for the match, plan your route to the stadium in advance and arrive early to make the most of the pre-match build up. We want your experience at Anfield to be as seamless and enjoyable as possible, so we’ve pulled together a handy hub of information to help prepare for match-day. Full details can be found here: Liverpool FC — Anfield TRAVEL Plan your route in advance. Please use public transport when travelling to Anfield, for more information about the available transport options, including express matchday bus services and more information on road closures around the Stadium please click here. Anfield Stadium is located in a residential area with a residents parking scheme in operation. Please DO NOT park on residential streets as parking enforcement will be in operation. Any illegally parked cars will incur a fine. SECURITY Fans are advised to arrive early at the stadium to allow enough time for necessary security checks. We operate a no bag policy at Anfield stadium and there is no bag storage facility. Small A5 or smaller bags carrying hygiene products and / or medicines or Club shop bags carrying purchases from the retail store are the only exception. Those bags permitted will be subjected to a bag search on entry point. For more information including a list of prohibited items click here. Please report anything suspicious whilst in and around Anfield to your nearest steward or Police Officer. ACCESSING AND ENTERING THE STADIUM NFC PASSES Anfield uses NFC (near field communication) technology for stadium entry and all tickets are digital on a smartphone, in the form of an NFC pass. There will be no paper tickets issued to supporters. Please ensure you have downloaded your NFC Pass to your smartphone, and it displays the next match you are attending before arriving at Anfield. Check your digital ticket for your access point. For a how-to guide on using the NFC Pass watch our video here. There is additional support on the day to help you use your NFC Pass. The ticket office will be open ahead of KO for enquiries and look out for the Fan Support team located around the ground ahead of kick off. Please be advised that anyone under the age of 16 years old attending the Anfield stadium, must be accompanied by an adult over the age of 18. Please remain seated throughout the match - Anfield is an all-seater stadium, persistent standing is not allowed this includes those areas which have railed seating. When celebrating or engaging in key moments of the match please act responsibly. Ticket Forwarding The club’s ticket forwarding scheme allows season ticket holders and official members to use official club channels to share their match tickets in a secure way, while also making Anfield more accessible and safer for fans by knowing who is in the stadium. Supporters will only be permitted to transfer their match tickets to those on their registered Friends and Family list. Fans are advised that tickets for a game can be forwarded a maximum of three times per game before they are locked and cannot be forwarded again. Once locked, the ticket can then only be returned to the club’s Ticket Exchange for resale. Watch our handy ‘how to use Ticket Forwarding’ video for more information click here. ACCESS TO ANFIELD ROAD STAND Anfield Road is no longer through road on matchday and access is only permitted for those fans with a ticket for the Anfield Road Stand. For the UEFA Champions League fixture against Rangers on Tuesday 4th October (Kick off at 8PM) Supporters entering via turnstiles L and M will approach Anfield Rd from the direction of Arkles Lane as there is no access from the direction of 97 Avenue. At the end of the game when leaving the stadium, they will turn right on leaving the stadium. Supporters entering via Turnstiles Q will approach Anfield Rd from the direction of 97 Avenue as there is no access from the direction of Arkles Lane. At the end of the game when leaving the stadium, they will turn left on leaving the stadium. HEALTH, SAFETY & HYGIENE We ask you to comply with current government guidance regarding respiratory infections including COVID-19 which can be found via this link. TACKLING ANTISOCIAL AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR LFC is supporting strong measures across football to tackle antisocial and criminal behaviours within football grounds – including entering the pitch without permission and carrying or using smoke bombs or pyros. These are illegal, dangerous and have serious consequences. They have no place in our game. Anyone involved in these activities will be banned by the club and reported to the police. Love Football. Protect the Game. STADIUM FACILITIES We are a cashless stadium – contactless and/or chip and pin payments are required in all areas. For more information on stadium facilities including food and drink click here. Seat Serve will also be in operation throughout the stadium for you to buy food and drink and have it served directly to your seat – download the app here. We have introduced new WASTE POINTS across the stadium, and we need your help to reduce, reuse and recycle waste at Anfield. The new bins are colour coded and clearly labelled to help supporters dispose their waste. BLACK is for general waste from tea & coffee cups, food wrappers and food waste, RED is for reusable plastic cups used and GREEN is for recycling plastic bottles only (Carlsberg and Water PET Plastic). Find out more about our sustainability initiatives here. RETURNING TO WATCH THE REDS This may be the first time you’ve stepped foot into a stadium since the events in Paris. If you do find this experience becomes overwhelming on Tuesday or at future matches, please find resources available via the LFC Foundation website which has been set up to help fans with expert advice and support. Our Safeguarding team are also available to provide help and support to our fans. The team has a role to support all children and vulnerable adults should they have any welfare or safeguarding needs. Should you require any support from the Club, you can contact our dedicated safeguarding specialists here. LEAVING ANFIELD Please remember that Anfield is home to our local community. We ask you respect our neighbours by leaving quietly and taking your litter home. If you have travelled by bus your return pickup point may be different from your drop off. Please check the travel map with post-match pick up point Stay up to date with all of the latest matchday information, follow @LFCHelp on Twitter. We look forward to welcoming you to Anfield. Liverpool Football Club

Ah! Got it now. 😀

R1zip, who is this?

Liverpool 0 - 1 Rangers FGS Colak Those who predict Rangers defeats should be banned.

Rangers and Celtic MUST battle it out to sign Ryan Porteous, says Kris Boyd – I’m sure the run-ins would be forgotten IF Rangers and Celtic are not already fighting it out for the signature of Ryan Porteous then they should be. The Hibs defender is out of contract in the summer and he’ll be the perfect fit for either of the Old Firm, who need central defensive reinforcements. People might be surprised by me touting him for a big move as I have been critical of him in the past. Yes, some of his antics infuriate you but I have never ever questioned his ability. Porteous’ performance on his Scotland debut against Ukraine shows when he’s on it then he’s as good as any central defender in the country. It has been mentioned that his display under the utmost pressure in Poland was a one-off. It wasn’t. There have been plenty of other top-class performances in a Hibs jersey over the past couple of seasons. Unfortunately they get lost or forgotten amidst all the other baggage that comes with the 23-year-old. Too often a lack of discipline on and off the park overshadows the good stuff. His reputation does go before him at times which is a shame because he certainly has bags of talent. Porteous has every attribute needed to thrive at Ibrox or Parkhead. He’s fast, a good passer of the ball and aggressive. Sometimes he is over-aggressive, but I don’t mind that in the centre half. Not every player has what it takes to play for the Old Firm. But the Hibs stopper has shown previously, and proved again in midweek, that he is cut out for the big occasion. It is imperative he now uses that display going forward as the blueprint for the rest of his career. It highlighted how good a player he can be when he cuts out all the nonsense. The time has come for Porteous to forget about playing to the gallery and stop being the pantomime villain. The 23-year-old also needs to stop focusing on trying to be the hard man and wise guy. Of course we all do stupid things when we are younger trying to impress the wrong people. I get that. But the only people that he should be trying to impress are his manager and team-mates. He doesn’t need to get involved in every single incident on the park. Or off it for that matter. Maybe his time with Scotland last week will prove to be the humbling experience he needs. Suddenly he wouldn’t have been the big fish in a small pond like he is right now at Easter Road. He would’ve been surrounded by top class professionals he respects, or should respect. Working with a coach who thrives on setting up teams to defend for their lives would also have been a positive experience for him. Steve Clarke is also a manager who doesn’t suffer fools and wouldn’t stand for anybody playing to the crowd. He clearly rates him as well and if the defender screws the nut then there is a big move waiting for him around the corner. Porteous is an international who will be available on a free transfer in eight months. Signing him should be a no-brainer. Yes, he has had run-ins with Rangers and Celtic in the past and there is history, but I’m sure that would be forgotten if he turned in displays like Tuesday night every week. It will be interesting to see if he can maintain the same levels of intensity and concentration for Hibs against Ross County today. I’m also curious to see how Celtic react to losing in the Premiership for the first time in a year. They threw Rangers a lifeline when suffering defeat at St Mirren prior to the international break. Ange Posetcoglou decided to give a number of players a break and I could understand some of his calls It made sense to give Josip Juranovic a rest when he had international games coming up while Cameron Carter-Vickers was nursing a knock. For the life of me I couldn’t get my head around Jota not starting. It would have made more sense to give Callum McGregor a day off. I just wouldn’t contemplate ever leaving Jota out given that he doesn’t play international football. Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada are two terrific players, but they are very similar. They take the opposition out of the game mainly with their pace. What Jota offers is trickery as well and that is what is required when teams like St Mirren sit deep and don’t afford you any space in behind. Fair play to Saints boss Stephen Robinson because he got his tactics spot on and they did extremely well to nullify Celtic. That was the first time for as long as I can remember that Postecoglou’s team ran out of ideas. It has been plain sailing domestically for a while now and it will be interesting to see how he reacts. Though I expect them to get the three points this afternoon. The Buddies winning was also a good result for the rest of Scottish football. It highlighted that the big guns can’t rest players when they feel like it and expect to turn up anywhere and collect three points. It keeps it a bit more exciting at the top with Celtic looking as if they could have ran away with it. Yet, the fact the champions lost doesn’t take away from Rangers’ performances at the moment. Their away form hasn’t been great and they face a tough test today at Tynecastle. If Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men don’t win then questions will continue to be asked of all involved at Ibrox.

From H&H Twitter. Injury update on longer-term players: Ben Davies in squad and available; John Souttar out until after World Cup; Fil Helander after the World Cup; Kemar Roofe is joining training and is being assessed to see when he can be back.

Hearts 0 - 2 Rangers FGS Colak

“When Scotland played England at Wembley, Lee Wallace's every touch of the ball was booed by the Tartan Army.” This is not correct, only video I can find of that night is this one Lee Wallace on two occasions makes great chances for Scotland to score, no booing.

I must be glass half empty type. I see no reason to be positive, two points behind but that will widen as the season goes on. We’re doomed I tell you. Private Fraser Loyal.

Lee Wallace was not booed at Wembley.

Did they just change the rules to get this through?

https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/sport/22644970.premiership-clubs-approve-150million-tv-deal-sky-sports/ Premiership clubs 'approve' £150million TV deal with Sky Sports 23 mins ago By Aidan Smith@SmithAidan1 /resources/images/15855243.jpg?type=responsive-gallery-fullscreen New £150m Sky TV deal 'approved' by SPFL clubs SCOTTISH football clubs have agreed a £150million TV broadcasting deal with Sky Sports, according to reports. The agreement hung in the balance after Rangers and Livingston delayed their response to the proposed contract last week. But the Daily Mail now report that the SPFL have gained the votes required for the deal to go through. If confirmed, the Sky's new deal will allow them to broadcast 60 games per league campaign, starting from 2024/25. It would also mean that clubs will receive an increased collective payment of £30million, rising from the current £25million. In an email to clubs, SPFL chief Murdoch MacLennan said: "I am pleased to be able to advise you that the Commercial Resolution in respect of the proposal from Sky has now been approved by cinch Premiership Clubs and that the Qualified Resolution amending the SPFL Rules (to accommodate the Sky proposal) has also been approved. "Thank you for your support of this important rule change. The extended contract with Sky will underpin the finances of the SPFL for the next seven years, in the face of what appear to be strengthening economic headwinds. "Over the coming days, we will look to contract with Sky and to announce the extension, which, by value, will be by far the largest single commercial contract in the history of Scottish league football." The TV deal has drawn controversial comment from both Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson and Aberdeen chairman Dave Cormack. Robertson argued that the deal was undervaluing the Scottish game, while Cormack insisted it was a good move for the Scottish Premiership given it's current level.

Grant Russell on Twitter. "The reality is that Sweden has sold all 240 top league games per season to live television. The SPFL currently sells only 48." Can't believe I'm reading this from a club chairman. The SPFL sells away the rights to all 228 games, of which 48 are broadcast. That's the fact. The "value per game" chart is a complete and utter distortion of the facts. It can only potentially be valid if clubs are handed back the rights to all non-broadcast games to do as they see fit. Clubs ran PPV all through 2021/22 while grounds were fully operational. Where is the evidence that it had an impact on what's mentioned? This is from our "Innovation and Strategy Group". This is what they're coming out with? Twisted sums, gross assumptions and no innovation or strategy in sight. Start panicking. The solution is staring them in the face. Take the Sky deal on the basis it's only for rights to games shown. What's behind the inability to structure it that way?

Lee Wallace has retired from playing. One of the good guys imo, wish him all the best.

Supporter Information: Liverpool (A) MYGERS members who have registered for independent travel match tickets should be aware of the following information. Liverpool FC V Rangers FC Tuesday 4 October 8pm Kick-off Independent Travel match tickets for the Liverpool away game are available to purchase from now until 9am on Monday 26 September ONLY to supporters who have previously registered for this game and have accrued 1,622 or more MyGers points (points accrued as of 9am on 23/09/2022). All tickets are to be collected in the host city by the registered MyGers Member, in person and on production of photo ID. All supporters who fail to collect their ticket will forfeit the associated MyGers points; refunds will not be available. Tickets are priced at £48 and can be purchased online here: Away Games (rangers.co.uk) Should any tickets remain unpurchased following this initial window, updates will be issued in due course. If you require any further information, please email contact@rangers.co.uk Thank you for your ongoing loyalty and support. My ticket for Kop is £37(ST holder price).

Club1872 blog. Rangers – What we’ve got here is, failure to communicate Contributor Blog It would be fair to say that Rangers supporters have been clamouring to hear something from the custodians of our club following an underwhelming start to the season and major question marks over their ambition to build on the success of ’55’ and a Europa League Final. So it was with some interest that I noticed what appeared to be an in depth interview with Vice Chairman, John Bennett appear on Facebook. I have enjoyed hearing from Mr Bennett on previous occasions. He has spoken fairly well at AGMs and it is apparent that he is one of the few individuals at Rangers who can sound coherent on camera. Things did not start well, presumably through no fault of Mr Bennett. In his wisdom, Communications ‘Chief’ David Graham decided to release the interview behind a paywall. This was instantly irritating to supporters who feel they are already being squeezed for every penny by the club they love. It took two hours to remedy this ridiculous gaffe and release the interview on YouTube. Unfortunately, things did not improve once the interview got under way. Bennett’s delivery, which previously has seemed precise and confident took on a patronising tone almost immediately. His nods to social media jokes about Edmiston House and finances betrayed a board which is clearly very sensitive to even the most mild criticism but has absolutely no idea how to deal with it. Perhaps this is symptomatic of custodians who have grown more and more out of touch with the supporters of the club. Perhaps it is just that not even Bennett was convinced by his 33 minute monologue which said virtually nothing. I have seldom heard someone talk for so long without a single, pertinent piece of information being imparted to the listener. If I had to sum it up, the overall message seemed to be “pipe down, you just don’t understand, we’ve got this”. It is arguable whether an organisation has ever shot itself in the foot in terms of public relations quite like Rangers over the past two years. In the process of winning a historic 55th title and with a huge name in the management hot-seat we managed to somehow withdraw into ourselves to the point that supporters are sceptical of almost every utterance from the club – with good reason. RTV interviewers are never going to ask good questions of a Vice Chairman – particularly one under pressure. The puff piece nature of the interview did not serve Mr Bennett well. He is clearly a very capable man and should be able to submit himself to proper questioning. Perhaps if he had then we would have learned something worthwhile. Fan media outlets, who themselves have had issues adjusting to their open access to Ibrox and regularly have to defend themselves against allegations of being too soft on the club, have apparently been asking for some time to sit down with the Rangers hierarchy. The choice of RTV was cowardly and smacked of a lack of confidence in the message – perhaps with some justification as there didn’t seem to be one. The Stewart Robertson interview which followed, with Jonny McFarlane, the ex Daily Record videographer and now ‘Rangers Review’ Editor, also betrayed both the schizophrenic nature of the club’s communications policy and the refusal to submit to any kind of competent questioning. McFarlane, just a couple of days previously on his own podcast had declared himself completely unable to properly scrutinise Rangers’ finances. Who better then for Rangers Communications Director, David Graham to choose to sit down for an exclusive interview with the Rangers MD on…the club’s finances? The Rangers Review is owned by The Herald. It is not fan media but rather a mainstream media outlet which passes itself off as fan media. On the one hand therefore we have official fan media partners of the club telling us the MSM can’t be trusted whilst on the other, David Graham hands a plum interview to the Herald newspaper. Without dwelling on McFarlane’s admission of financial and business illiteracy, that is an odd choice. They are clearly seen by Graham as an unstintingly friendly outlet who refuse to challenge the club when even official fan media partners are raising concerns. In any case, the interviews with Robertson were so badly received that they appear to have been aborted half way through a two day release. On Wednesday, McFarlane announced that the 3 part interview with Robertson that day would be followed on Thursday with more from him on “recruitment, signings and why Rangers did their business the way they did in the transfer market.” As of today, Friday, none of that content has appeared and the tweets referencing it have been deleted by the ever accommodating McFarlane. Support Club 1872 All in all it builds a picture of a Rangers Board who are either unwilling or unable to submit themselves to real scrutiny. As a Club 1872 member I was extremely disquieted by the Club 1872 Board’s statement earlier in the year which was so scathing of the Rangers Executive Team but it seems they have been proven to be correct. There is a clear level of contempt for supporters. I have some sympathy with Mr Bennett. A Vice Chairman should not have to take on the responsibilities of Chairman simply because the man holding that position shirks them on such a regular basis. Douglas Park is conspicuous in his absence not only from these type of set piece interviews but also at AGMs where he has scarcely been heard from. I also have some sympathy with Mr Bennett that the Managing Director of Rangers, who last year received a handsome sum of over £450k for his contribution, is unable to sit in front of a camera and appear in any way convincing. In Mr Bennett’s position, you would also expect your Communications Director to have the knowledge and awareness to spike a 33 minute interview which says nothing and from which the main takeaway is that the Vice Chairman of Rangers thinks being beaten 3-0 at home to the third seed in your Champions League group is a “real Rangers performance”. However, then I remember that Mr Bennett sits as Vice Chair of the Rangers Board that employed David Graham, who as far as anyone can tell had no prior experience of either PR or business in general. He sits as Vice Chair of a board which appears happy to have a Chairman who won’t communicate with supporters. A Chairman who appears determined to ignore not only Club 1872, a major shareholder representing thousands of Rangers fans, but also the Rangers Supporters Association which represents over 100 Rangers Supporters Clubs. He also sits as Vice Chair of a board who wants supporters to believe they are striving for “best in class” but employ a Managing Director who can’t even deliver a tame interview without it having to be pulled halfway through. So perhaps I shouldn’t feel sorry for John Bennett and should instead feel sorry for myself and my fellow supporters who have had to put up with two years and counting of this failure to communicate. Yogi Bear

Liverpool are sending out emails cancelling hospitality bookings from Rangers fans(or others who have booked). States you need purchase history to book.

The Board wish to communicate with the fans, but only if the fans pay for the privilege.

From Twitter. Our home game against Celtic last season got a crowd of 6596, today we had a crowd of 6331 despite giving Celtic 1600 less tickets. We had over 1300 more home fans today. I’d say the experiment got off to a huge success.

From BBC website Rangers are among the clubs being linked with former England midfielder Fabian Delph, 32, following his summer release from Everton. (Football League World) DM who has scored 13 goals in his career.