bluebear54

Thanks Ian. The bit about quoting newspaper headlines seems a wee bit like grasping at straws. The nature of these things of course is to make the pursuer look like a paragon of virtue and the defendant a despot. One thing that is clear to me from reading this is that Bain was in a headlong rush into making as much wonga as he could, apparently, each year not being happy with his pittance. As a fan, he certainly doesn't come across as a nice chappie looking after the Club he loves. Perhaps his lawyers are hoping for an out of court settlement. If not, it's going to be a long court case that he may win, may partly win or may lose big time. Either way, it will cost. I tire of everything that's going on just now, and yearn back to the days when it was all about football. I wait with interest to read some more informed comment than I can give.

As much as it appeals to me, it would give him currency. Change his prime seat to the Broomloan. He's a real football fan and working class after all.

I'd buy Celtic. And make every effort to make them a team that hovers between the second and first division. How I would avoid going into the place is something I need to work on.

Exactly - I was just thinking, that, although they might be ecstatic today, IMO there will be a lot of tears along the way when they get humiliated in Europe and lose ground to us in the league.

Oh, give it to the Tims - they'll be able to think up some reason why they were done out of a CL spot. Let them play in both competitions -it'll keep them happy for a couple of weeks.

Guarding Delhi's Walls?

Zappa, in my opinion the relationship between the press and the Government (and indeed the SFA, SPL etc) is much more complex than you make out, although thanks for your insight. In converse, there are quite clearly situations where the press actually drive and motivate the Government into action, and not always in a positive way. Recent London riots, Brighton and Flower Power in the 60s, immigration and gypsy traveller issues to mention a few. But agreed there are situations where the Government (or opposition politicians) use the media to provoke a general mood in order to promote their policies. That's the way of the world. But to represent the media as unwitting lemmings is way, way, way off the mark. In my opinion, last season's reporting in the media corralled the Government into action, instead of the other way round. You can see this by the words that are bandied around in political circles at present such as the "Old Firm Shame Game," "Viable Devices" and "Our National Game." The real "shame game" of the season - in any neutral's eyes - was the May encounter between Hearts and Celtic. That one was pure bile, and, on a side note, I can see the next one being a big love-in. I would think it's far from gospel that the press are in the back pocket of the Government. There are a lot of mini agendas, mixed in with the need to be sensationalist to sell newspapers. If it ever really existed (and i tend to doubt that) good honest journalism left the building many moons ago. Can you really imagine Alex Salmond phoning Chick Young or Speirs to tell them how to report something? Our beloved Chick and Speirsy are so convinced of their own intellectual prowess and the universal worthiness of their own opinions to let fact get in the way of a good bit of sensationalism. If anyone can be accused to have the media in their back pocket, I wouldn't suggest the Government, but look along Kerrydale Street and further up the yellow and green brick road. Self initiated sensationalism - unfortunately with agenda - within the media is the real devil in the mix, not Goverment inspired manipulation.

Unfortunately, the standard of journalism - particularly in Scotland has sunk in recent years to an atrocious level. Guest QCs are brought on TV, or quoted in newspapers, because the journalists don't have a scooby, and are quite content to let the subject get a quasi-informed airing, then they are quite happy to resort to ill-informed low level sensationalist comment or summary. Unfortunately for a great many, this seems to tick the boxes, and they seriously think they have received the inner wisdom. Even more unfortunately, this doesn't only exist on TV and in the tabloids. Our once great newspapers like the Herald and the Scotsman are every bit as crass, and most journalists would rather send in a Freedom of Information request and make their own conclusions than give a bit of thought, get off thier arses and do some proper investigative journalism. Another point I would like to make is that the John Wilson case should not be discussed on football chat shows and the back pages of tabloids. That should be a vehicle for the analysis of sport, and the journalists there - despite having opinion in abundance, are grossly ignorant of the law. In my opinion, the majority of them are grossly ignorant of sport as well. Sensationalism rules the day, and is the bee all and end all. I remember the days when all the journalism was about the content of the match. Finally, regarding the John Wilson case, the guy was obviously guilty of breach of the peace and assault. The prosecution, however, determined that this was not enough - for whatever purpose (perhaps to raise the profile of religious aggravation, perhaps to enable a much stiffer sentence), and that they would proceed with the religiously aggravated add on as per section 74 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003. That decision was what caused the assault part of the charges to be found not proven. One witness out of the many around chose to say in court that Wilson had uttered the words "fenian bastard." Of note is the fact that Lennon, Thompson and the police chose not to back the witness up. Wilson denied this, and therefore a core element of Scottish law - corroboration - did not exist in the evidence. It will now be intersting to see what kind of sentence Wilson receives, given that he has been imprisoned since May 11th. I am quite sure that heads are being scratched, and brows furrowed as we speak. For Paul McBride to unwisely criticise the decision of the jury, and cast doubt on their integrity is a matter which shouldn't be swept under the carpet. The chap makes a good buck out of finding loopholes to sway juries himself, and, in other circumstances, he would be preening at the outcome of such a case, should he have been the defence QC. No - to sum up - it's not the fault of the jury. The answers for the conspiracy theorists lie with the Crown Office and why they superciliously decided to go for a Royal Flush when a straight would have won the hand.

Well, that was a bit like arriving a fancy house expecting a cracking party, and there was nobody there.

Good thought. Maybe we could find some quality Bear blogs and share? I really don't know of one. But maybe we could source a definitive list, unless we're being overtaken by tweets. Which I suspect is the case. Make your point in 140 characters.

Know your enemies. Presently, they're not the main issue. But good to keep challenging them. At some time I'd like to wipe the floor with BBCeltic, and I would hope that we will. No, we will. Give it time.

I asked on the transfer thread. Anyone know the deadline for loans? Is it the same - tomoorow night?

Good if the lad moves away. I always got nervy when they brought him on. He could make things happen. I'm praying they keep Samararse, and praying they sell Ki for �£6m going on �£1.5m.

Nonsense. We all worship you Frankie! Where's my pint? :cheers:

In all honesty, if he was so desparate for CL football, he could have buried a few clear cut chances that he had.

I think there will be more bids for him, and I think he'll be off. He'll double his wages too, remember. Our problem would be getting in a couple of strikers at this stage and a semi decent creative midfielder. What's the deadline for loan deals? Is it still tomorrow night? Surely we won't sell without bringing other ayers in? Tomorrow is going to nervy.

How about Guus Hiddink, Ray Wilkins and Ally McCoist?

Agreed about Wylde. He's got as muck potential as I've seen in a long time. Also agreed about Greegs. It's really ominous that our goalie is MOM. What's happened to Jelavic this season? I can think of a dozen chances that he would have buried last season.

Quote: As a keen Rangers supporter I look forward to helping the Club secure its future as a leading force in Scottish and European football. Ah well, that's one bubble burst for a season.

Is this a deja vu? Sellik go out and so do we, but it's OK, 'cos they went out? I want the treble this season. I just wish I could communicate that properly to the squad!

Better stats than us Zappa. Never mind we'll come good, and should see them off. Eternal Optimist Loyal.

I'm as disappointed as the next man about the signings, form and standard of play. However, football's not just about individuals. It's a team game. We didn't get beaten by Maribor and Malmo because they had better players. We were beaten because they were better teams. Clubs in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and a host of small countries don't assemble squads that cost as much as ours, but they can give us a run for our money and make us look average. Our problem is not about signings. It's about tactics, organisation and motivation. And team spirit and playing as a team.

I like the idea of 3-5-2. Talking about formations, I've had thoughts this week that Ally should be encouraged to mentor with some leading experts/coaches in Europe. The idea being that he should learn some new thinking and new skills. Without being overly critical, the coaching staff have seemed pretty bereft of ideas against European opposition this season and this really needs to be addressed.

I think he's grown up quite a bit. End of last season he was gold dust to us. But he can be profligate. Bit like Miller that way. Misses the simple ones and buries the impossible ones. All in all he's still a valuable part of our squad in my book. As an aside, I'm so happy we didn't get Commons. He's overweight, disinterested and crap this season.

Hi Zappa. Count me in. I like the idea of no pressure.