amms

Today's Record caries quotes from Davis regarding the lack of communication. It also says that Green refused to meet players to discuss inserting clauses into contracts if players moved to 'newco' in case we find ourselves in Div 3. It also say's Fleck spent yesterday trying to reach Rangers "management" to discuss the situation but they couldn't be reached. Read into that what you will.

It has been noticeable that most of the players who have 'left' have been local guys and bluenoses. No way those guys haven't spoken at length to McCoist and McDowall.

...and Monaco playing in France and Vaduz from Lichtenstein playing in Switzerland and Calcio from San Marino playing in Italy and FC Andorra playing in Spain and Auckland playing in the Australian A League and Vancouver playing in the American league. But, yeah, no precedent for clubs playing outside their own FA jurisdiction!

It would be a magnanimous gesture and the idea should be applauded but I don't think our support would stomach just now. Maybe when/if the dust settles.

I've been puzzled by the 'Protestants only' employment policy being trotted out recently as another stick to beat us with. It hasn't been in place on any level since the mid 1980s, over a quarter of a century ago and we were hardly the only organisation in Glasgow to have such a policy yet we seem to be the only one that still gets grief for it. I've yet to hear anyone suggest The Herald or Collins are a disgrace to publishing because they had a Protestant only employment policy during the last century. Berliner, got to say from this distance it feels like hatred, any semblance of footballing rivalry has disappeared. Football in this country will never be the same again for me.

Am I the only person who thinks it is increasingly likely we won't be playing in any league this coming season? The antipathy towards us from almost every club in Scotland now is in danger of becoming overwhelming. I understand we need the support of 75% of the SFL clubs to be allowed entry to that league. By my maths that's 22 clubs of the 29 current SFL clubs (assuming one from Div 1 is promoted to replace us in the SPL). So unless I'm wrong only 7 need to say no to us and we're not playing anywhere next season. Already Raith Rovers (who are pissed at us over the naming of their director on the SFA panel) and Falkirk have said no to us going into Div 1. Fair enough. But what if the fans of enough other clubs start this sporting integrity bollocks and campaign against their directors. I could easily see Thistle fans pushing for a 'no' just out of spite, perhaps Clyde too. Suddenly we're at 4 clubs saying 'no'. The SPL clubs have already shown us that doing what's sensible isn't always how Scottish football fans think. How about some of the other larger Div 1 clubs like Morton and Dundee, might they say 'no' because it is currently fashionable to join a suicide pact? Many smaller clubs would certainly welcome the windfall our presence would bring, but if it only needs 7 of them to say no then we're by no means through this yet. (posted it in the Ness thread by mistake)

Woof, that's a two footed, over the ball, taking no prisoners first post if ever I saw one. I'm not for 'jacking it all in' but I'd certainly support jacking Scotland in. Some leadership would be nice for a start.

Wrong thread!

Serious question GovanAllan, is your trust in Green based on you knowing he's being honest and can fund and do what he's suggested or is your trust based on not having seen any evidence that he can't fund Rangers and so giving him the benefit of the doubt? Basically trusting someone until they give you reason not too? I'm not picking a fight I'm just curious.

As someone on Twitter just said can we expect Cowlairs, Third Lanark and Clydebank to object to us becoming a defunct team soon! So that's two clubs objected to us joining a league we've not applied to join. I await Real Madrid's statement saying we can't join La Liga... Again the only fans not consulted in this whole sorry mess are ours.

My only annoyance is that we let those fuckers decide for us. If Green has the balls to announce he's applying to join the English League at the bottom rung tomorrow I'd take back everything I've said about him, well, for 24 hours at least. The sooner we sort this the better though, we can't afford to continue with nowhere to play, we need to build a squad no matter what league we're going to be in, we won't have one by the end of the week.

I'm sorry you are wrong and you're just going to have to trust me on this. Celtic didn't bid, they approached Naismith directly and asked if he would speak to them if they bid, he said no, they took it no further. This is standard Celtic practice, they did the same with Scott Brown, he obviously said yes so they made a bid. Hibs bid for him and Kilmarnock accepted their bid but again Naismith told Kilmarnock he wouldn't speak to them.

Cowards? I've had little but grief since I wrote it, as I expected, this coward could have said nothing and had an easier day. If you think I'm too scared to criticise the club, players or indeed the support you don't know me very well. Contrary Loyal!

Celtic approached Naismith through an intermediary to see if he would be interested in signing for Celtic. They knew he was a bluenose and didn't want to make a public bid where both us and them were bidding for him and he chose us. He told them he wouldn't join Celtic, he told Kilmarnock that too as Kilmarnock fancied an auction. And you think I live in a fantasy world.

I disagree, Naismith has shown in the past, when he left Kilmarnock waiving a payment to ensure the move went through as we struggled to meet the fee, that he isn't only motivated by money. I don't think they could have stayed a week or so, after Thursday their destiny is no longer completely their own as I understand it.

In which case we need to agree to disagree, i'm unlikely to change your mind.

Money is certainly a motivation, I disagree it is the only one though. Whether the Walter bid was serious or not isn't the point, the point is Naismith doesn't want anything to do with Green. That should concern us.

Okay I agree, I think he would've too. Now the question I have is why he doesn't trust Green or want to play for him? It might be purely down to not knowing him but I don't think it is, if the coaching staff, the backroom people, the cleaners, kitchen staff and so on are the same what's changed? The answer is Green and his team. If someone like Naismith decides he wants nothing to do with him, knowing he'd get a lot of stick for it, then something is wrong. I guess that's my point in all of this. We should heed the warnings, we've been bad at seeing them in the past.

Nearly, no player can be expected to think like a fan. At least not all of the time.

Okay, do you think Naismith would have done this if Walter Smith's group had taken control of Rangers? It's hypothetical but important in understanding some of the motivation here. I don't think Naismith is purely motivated by greed here.

I imagine he knows plenty that we don't, or ever will. His view of Rangers is based on all his experiences with the club, just like you and me. Unlike you and me his experiences include having played at the club, he knew us before Whye, during Whyte, with Duff & Phelps and now with Green. That he thinks what he does should serve as some sort of warning to us. Naismith isn't an enemy of Rangers.

Maybe you aren't as close to it as he is.

I disagree, being a boyhood fan cuts little ice with the majority of our match going support, in fact I'd say imports get a fairer crack of the whip. But it's not really the point today. He'd have kept his 'high wage' had he TUPE'd across, he's got a contract that couldn't be broken by the club, so it isn't that. The lower leagues thing is plausible and excusable, indeed I think he did basically say that.

Do you want him to say that or to believe it, or say it even if he doesn't believe it? You see the dilema.

Hang on, both these players took a substantial pay cut to help the club. I've already explained why I think they don't want their registrations transfered over. I've no issues at all with you having lost some respect for them, that's seems a pretty fair comment.