Darthter

Flip it round...what positives have come of it??? The negatives are easy - continued & substantiated bad press & fan behaviour. If that kind of thing continues, it may have ongoing ramification is terms of corporate income & sponsorship deals etc.

Whether he's a Tory/SNP/Screaming looney MP....it's irrelevant in this case. He's a linesman, communicating to the ref as to the correct action to be taken - nothing more. Was Hugh Dallas ever referred to as "Windows & doors salesman Hugh Dallas show red to ....."

There has certainly been a lot of discussion over Dougie Ross' handling of his MP & refereeing jobs, but in this particular instance it is completely irrelevant that he is an MP. Nothing more that a sensational headline. He has clearly indicated the foul by waving his flag, and is also communicating to the ref the severity of the actions - indicating that it is a sending off offense. In this instance, he appears to have done his job perfectly.

I think the biggest difference with this incident, compared to others that may have happened is that the UB stunt was plastered all over Social media before hand. Their "flier" alerted folk that it was going to happen, and had already created a talking point before the actual event. It had been put in the public domain before it had even happened. As for the fall out of it. I believe folk could have been arrested as it was an un-authorised march, however can you imagine the potential response IF the cops had moved in to stop it happening or to make any arrests - it could have escalated into a fall on street battle/riot. The argument that "fans of other clubs behave in the same way", doesn't justify the UB's actions. As I said in a previous post The Club & it's fans continually put out that they "set the standard" & that their standards are higher than the rest. The UB's actions only prove that to be wrong. While it's true that the media paint the club in a very negative light, many of these stories/reports can VERY easily be proven to be fabrications, exaggerations or just plain lies. However, no matter how they report this, it will be undeniably true - they don't need to make anything up or exaggerate, it's there for all to see. While the effect of the club may not be immediately evident (ie. being shut down, as someone suggested), the longer term damage that these idiots are doing to the clubs reputation may never be repaired.

I would assume that while he hasn't featured much in the 1st team, folk behind the scenes obviously still rate him highly enough not to sell him. A good loan spell, may well set him up for a real shot at the 1st team.

just some jolly craicsters having a bit of banter & a laugh (obviously)

...and will do more "damage" to them by preventing back-to-back trebles.

Rangers as a club and as a group of fans like to put our standards higher than the rest.....

probably...and unfortunately it will be based on fact - there's pictures & video to back him up. Compare this march to the one several years ago to Hampden - how many folk then had their faces covered??? How many smoke bombs or flares were set off??? What there any imagery to "promote" violent behaviour??? No there wasn't, it atmosphere was peaceful, relaxed and family friendly. How would you react or think if you saw a march like this coming towards you on the street???

I've watched a couple of videos from the march, and have to say I find it completely embarrassing. Do folk honestly think that this is acceptable behaviour??? If this happened on any other day (outwith a football context), folk would (rightly) be up in arms, and it would have been shut down by the police. But since it's football/Rangers related, it is suddenly ok (in many folks eyes) for a LARGE group, many masked or hiding their faces, letting off smoke bombs and flares, presenting a banner which could incite hatred/riot, to march down the street, singing banned songs. How does this kind of behaviour show support for the football team??? All it does is supports & encourages the darker elements associated with the club ie. sectarianism - something that the Club itself has been working to eradicate. IMHO, the Club should be doing everything it can to distance itself from these actions.

Behaviour like this does nothing to benefit the club or its fans moving forward. This mentally only serves to provide others with ammunition against us. It is VERY damaging - the usual media outlets will be all over it like a rash, and only supports their rhetoric that we are the bigoted ones.

IMHO, the majority of pressure is on Ceptic... They are (currently) the league leaders - it's theirs to lose - however, they have been dropping a fair amount of points recently & generally playing poorly. The league table shows that that they have only won ONE more game than us!!! Essentially, a win for them will reduce that pressure to win the league. As win for us on the other hand, puts us 3pts behind, although they have a game in hand but going on recent for, there is no guarantee that they will take all 3pts from that game. A draw for them doesn't do them any harm, but will lower the pressure levels very slightly in that it's 3pts less that we can win. We are not expected to win...we are the "underdogs" of the fixture. All I have heard on Clyde SSB is about how Murty will need to change the team to cope with Ceptics players/tactics. The real discussion should be over how Brenda is gonna cope with out players & Tactics - out of the 2 teams, we are the ones that have been playing well & (actually) dominating our opponents. Ceptics possession stats are slight misleading since they tend to play the ball about at the back - under zero opposing pressure - a helluva lot during games, this means that the stats show 60-odd percent possession which many regard as dominance over the other team. I think we will get a clearer picture of how good this Ceptic team is over the next couple of months - can they handle pressure??? IF we beat them on Sunday, you can guarantee that all the following chat will be about how Ceptic played badly, never showed up etc.

Saw it via FB a few days ago & couldn't believe the wording.... The actual meaning of the word is irrelevant - It's bee deemed as offensive/bigoted. By intentionally using it in the advert, all it does is show the UB's in a bad like. It doesn't help any cause, plan or goal. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!!!!

SDM might not have known everything about White - that much might be true.....simply because he wasn't interested. He had someone who (on the surface) was saying all the right things & willing to take the club off his hands.

Is this the same Fisiani: https://disqus.com/by/fisiani/

SDM's reason for selling to Whyte are very clear...it was his only way out. There was no other buyers willing to take on the risk of the EBT case(s). Whyte wasn't bothered, coz he had no intentions of ever paying it.

Exactly...but I believe it wasn't just football clubs that were in the scopes, it was ANY employer using EBTs in a similar manner to us. I've no doubt that any cases will not be as widely covered in the media, as they should be nothing more than routine now. Also, by proving their point in the highest court in the land, many cases will be resolved out of court. From memory, the whole thing was around penalty charges, rather than "non-payment". RFC claiming that the penalty charges were far too steep. As for a highly detailed & wide ranging conspiracy to bring down RFC....REALLY??? This isn't a Jimmy Bond film, with a crazy megalomaniac trying to bring down Govts. Do folk honestly believe that all the different factions - media, SFA, SPL, HMRC Scot Gov, UK Gov, Police, Lawyers, Ind. Journo's - were all connecting into a weekly skype call to provide updates on their progress??? No...it was simply a case of those who hate the club seizing on an opportunity. Wrt HMRC, I would assume that there were many, many folk involved in the procurement & analysis of all the information, most of whom would have been lowly office clerks & admin assistants. It wouldn't take much for a journo to slip them a few quid to get inside info. With the SFA/SPL, I put it down to nothing more that sheer incompetence, possibly driven by certain senior figures within those organisations, who spotted an opportunity to adjust a "natural balance" between the 2 Glasgow teams. The media & Journos....I put it primarily down to laziness. The whole thing provided them with easy, sensational headlines for years....those headlines were rarely backed up with any real content within the text. Governments, lawyers & Police....what would they stand to gain by putting RFC to the wall? Absolutely nothing, so why colude to bring down a football club which is a vital hub in the community, provides jobs & contributes to the countries economy. IMHO, it was HMRC's actions that brought about the problems, the rest were nothing more than opportunistic vultures, picking apart the remains whenever they could.

Totally...there's no way he was "Duped" - he was given an exit & took it.

That's the whole point & imho, the root of the whole issue - HMRC refused to negotiate. They claim they were after bigger fish & wanted our case as a test case. If they won, it would provide precedence to many multiple cases, resulting in many hundreds of millions of reclaimed revenue for the Govt. IF HMRC had taken the £10/11m offer, the club would have been sold to a much more reputable buyer & everything that ultimately followed would have been avoided. As for SDM...yes he made the wrong decision & he did look out for his own interests (wouldn't you??), but you have to look at how he came to be in that position in the 1st place - because of HMRC's refusal to negotiate.

Brenda was blaming their lacklustre performance last weekend on the fact that they missed ONE training session due to the weather. Morton on the other hand, only HAD one training session.....

Murray wanted out, but due to HMRC not budging their position, SDM's escape route was blocked....he took the only option that was offered to him. so while SDM's choice of buyer ultimately had disastrous consequences, you have to look at the situation he was in at the time, that made that exit strategy a viable option for him. Without the EBT stuff overshadowing everything, I'm positive a much more suitable buyer would have come forward. No-one want to buy the club when there was a high probablility of being hit with a multi-million bill at a later date.

I would agree that they were the ultimate root of the problem..... Murray wanted to sell, but no-one would buy with the EBT case hanging over everything. Reports noted that Murray had offered circa £11m to HMRC to settle the tax penalty - this was rejected as they were determined to pursue "the bigger fish". As a result, HMRC will receive significantly less than that £11m offer, and to date has there been any "big name" wins for HMRC in their battle against EBT's??? Also, the "public coffers" have had to shell out an awful lot more in their pursuit of RFC, than was actually owed.

The fact is that we CAN'T win the league, without them dropping points. Getting beaten on Sunday, only determine how many points we lose by..... The league is Ceptics to lose....they can't afford to drop ANY points. There is pressure on us....but not from Ceptic - it's from ourselves, for the reasons you state, but that is always gonna be the case @ a club like Rangers. Ceptics form of late has been poor & Lacklustre...they need that to change to ensure they ge the title. IF we just keep doing what we have been, I get the feeling that they will be the ones to buckle first....

I disagree....I feel they are under more pressure. Even if we beat them in the 2 OF games, it's still not enough to win the league - They HAVE to drop point in order for us to win. I believe the 2 team talks will have a completely different air about them - ours will be positive, pushing for the win & the 3 points....there's will be more focused on not dropping points - ie. don't lose. That can have a notable effect in the players minds. Ceptic (under Brenda) are not used to having teams breathing down their neck, and they MUST keep winning their games to keep the league title - they can't afford to drop anything. Our situation is a wee bit different - there isn't much difference between 2nd & 3rd, other than bragging rights. While we don't want to drop any points, it's not going to be as critical to the final outcome of the league.

The real question should be "Why is a 14-yr old travelling from Falkirk to Glasgow without adult supervision. Also, even though the lad reportedly had no credit on his phone, there are still ways to make a phone call....or did he not have any money with him, which makes it even more shocking....even then, I'm sure he could have asked someone to borrow their phone. Why did he not go to the police office @ Queens st station??? As for the security at the ground- they aren't baby sitters...they deemed the lads ticket invalid, it's not their problem what he does after that.