Steve1872

This is the season for Old Firm fans to banish battle hymns and turn to songs of redemption THE crowd at Ibrox the other night was so huge as to highlight the fact that only a fool would pretend the Rangers support wonâ??t be missed in the meantime. Bob Marley BOB MARLEY was a football fanatic but he could never have imagined rousing tens of thousands inside Ibrox before a League Cup tie on a Tuesday night. The atmosphere inside the ground before Rangers kicked off against East Fife was electrified when the Rasta manâ??s Three Little Birds â?? and itâ??s memorable lyric â??Donâ??t Worry â??Bout a Thingâ? â?? was played on the public address system. The message wasnâ??t lost on the fans who had turned up in numbers that were astonishingly high and, in the estimation of some, so great the club couldnâ??t keep proper count. But the mental arithmeticâ??s neither here nor there for the moment. The rallying cry set to music was that, for all the club has been through, there was an immovable belief that Rangers would one day return to their former status. The crowd embraced the sentiment wholeheartedly and joined in with Marleyâ??s song to establish a mood that was positive and as far removed from resentment as it was possible to get. The Ibrox support have maintained that theyâ??ve been the innocent victims of corporate deception and been wrongly punished while watching their team be stripped of dignity and league standing. Theyâ??ve insisted there was nothing they, or the Rangers management and players, could do to curb Craig Whyteâ??s worst excesses while he was at the helm. And theyâ??re absolutely right. But what they can do is take responsibility for themselves. The period of time Rangers are removed from the SPL is a great opportunity for the fans to rebrand their image. Tuesday night offered the prospect of a fresh start in the sense of getting the club away from the old, discredited songbook. And â?? at the risk of being banned again during the lifetime of my current ban from Rangersâ?? historic rivals â?? Iâ??m only too well aware the Celtic support could be doing with accepting the same challenge. The quickest way to start an argument is to suggest either set of fans is anything less than morally upright and a credit to themselves, the community and the clubs they support. But anyone not delusional knows that simply isnâ??t the case. Rangers have the prospect of fresh money from Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and the fans say thereâ??s a feelgood factor that has been created by getting away from the â??staleâ? environment of the SPL. The club will be accused by their critics of having behaved disreputably and sidestepped a trail of debt. Supporters canâ??t be held to account for that but they can get behind their team in a way that doesnâ??t draw disapproval. Tuesday was an example of how it can be done. And it did the team no harm to be without songs that have nothing to do with football or the 21st century. This weekend is when the clubs in the SPL attempt to show thereâ??s life after the disbandment of the Old Firm. The crowd at Ibrox the other night was so huge as to highlight the fact that only a fool would pretend the Rangers support wonâ??t be missed in the meantime. But, rather than count the days until they can boycott their alleged tormentors and re-emphasise their â??No one likes us we donâ??t careâ? image, wouldnâ??t it be better to hold on to the mood of the other night and move on? You can still have a cause without bothering about all that stuff. Somebody inside the club had the inspired notion of letting the words of a Jamaican singer galvanise a traditionally uncompromising support. Surely weâ??ve all had enough of the outdated nonsense that attaches itself to Rangers and Celtic? This is Scottish footballâ??s last chance to sort out its future. Our European results, Celtic apart, show weâ??re not very good. But we can be respectable. Ibrox offered the possibility that the soundtrack to change neednâ??t be a source of concern to the police and an affront to decency. Any other takers for sanity?

not annan Annan Athletic FC voted Yes to accept Rangers application into the SFL http://www.annanathleticfc.com/news.asp

By STEPHEN HALLIDAY Published on Saturday 11 August 2012 00:30 CHARLES Green has claimed Rangers will make up to £10 million a year from Newcastle United owner Mike Ashleyâ??s proposed investment in the Ibrox club. According to Rangers chief executive Green, Ashley is one of three â??billionairesâ? interested in taking a stake in the new company running the club who will start their bid to climb back to the summit of Scottish football today with their opening Irn-Bru Third Division fixture at Peterhead. Ashley will have no personal involvement at Rangers but is in advanced talks to secure a shareholding of just under ten per cent through a deal which would see his Sports Direct firm take over the clubâ??s replica kit merchandising operation. â??I donâ??t think Mike needs to throw (money into the club) and thatâ??s not the model that I think is sustainable for any football club and not Rangers,â? Green told Sky Sports News. â??What Mike will do, subject to all the agreements going through, is bring the might of Sports Direct and that in itself, in my mind, will bring £5-10million a year from merchandise in revenues back into the club. â??That is far, far more worthwhile than Mike individually signing a cheque because thatâ??s not the right way to run football clubs. Itâ??s about sustainability, itâ??s about continuing revenues, itâ??s about brand awareness and itâ??s about developing the brand and doing it worldwide.â? Since purchasing the assets and business of Rangers for £5.5million through his Sevco consortium after the club was consigned to liquidation, Green has repeatedly insisted no individual will own more than ten per cent during his tenure. The former Sheffield United chief executive would not identify the two other potential investors he says could join Ashley in taking a stake. â??Talks are ongoing at the minute so it would be premature to name them,â? added Green. â??If these plans work out, we will have three billionaires who will be shareholders at Rangers.â? Season ticket sales at Ibrox passed through the 25,000 mark yesterday in the wake of manager Ally McCoistâ??s public backing of Green earlier in the week. After the strain and uncertainty of recent months, McCoist was in noticeably more ebullient form at his pre-match media conference yesterday. He welcomed the prospect of Ashleyâ??s investment, albeit while greeting news of Greenâ??s negotiations with multiple billionaires with trademark humour. â??Was this in Viz?,â? responded McCoist. â??Has he? Well, Iâ??m looking forward to meeting them. Three billionaire backers? Brilliant! I donâ??t know a lot about that one, I must admit. But if thatâ??s the case, bring them on and weâ??ll have a party! â??Of course I am happy about reports that Mike Ashley could become involved. The one thing you can say right away about Mike Ashley is he looks a very astute and clever businessman. â??You could argue thereâ??s maybe not too many of them involved in football but he certainly ticks the box there. If he can bring his expertise and some of his wealth with him to support us and push the club forward, Iâ??m absolutely delighted with that.â? McCoist is eager to maintain the rebuilding of his squad before Rangersâ?? 12-month signing embargo kicks in on 1 September. American winger Alejandro Bedoya left the club yesterday to join Swedish champions Helsinborgs and McCoist admits he is bracing himself for potential further departures of senior players such as Maurice Edu, Carlos Bocanegra and Dorin Goian. â??Thereâ??s still a chance we might lose one or two more,â? he said. â??You could hazard a guess and say they are hedging their bets at the moment. I obviously thanked all of those players for coming back to the club, which was great, but also asked them to move on as soon as possible if thatâ??s what they intend to do. â??I donâ??t want them to move on, Iâ??d rather they all stayed, but they are well within their rights to move on and it would help our case if they did it sooner rather than later. There is a possibility of receiving fees for Edu and Goian if they go, but Iâ??m not sure thatâ??s the case with Bocanegra. â??We have managed to bring good players in already and I would hope we can sign a good few more. Itâ??s important to remember that we have got to get a squad together for the next 18 months to two years, so we need bodies in.â? McCoist confirmed that Rangers had pulled out of a move for former Celtic and Hearts striker Craig Beattie who was in signing talks with St Johnstone yesterday. â??That one is dead in the water,â? said McCoist. â??I spoke to Craig yesterday and heâ??s obviously got one or two other offers which heâ??s going to take up. He came in and trained with us. â??He was brilliant, heâ??s a great lad who I have known from Scotland days and contrary to what has been said elsewhere, it certainly wasnâ??t a financial thing. He wasnâ??t being greedy, but we have just decided to look elsewhere and we wish him all the best.â? http://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/sfl-division-three/charles-green-claims-mike-ashley-will-earn-rangers-10m-a-year-1-2461089

dont look like clyde

It would not be for the good of the game to compound the problems of a club by refusing entry to the SFL for Rangers Football Club. We will therefore take that leap of faith and vote in favour of Resolution 1 despite not a single word of reasoning having been provided to support the Resolution.clyde fc 13 july 2012 Club Statement: Voting Intentions Fri, 13th Jul 2012 9:14am The proposals to change the league structure, its governance and distribution model are indeed for the good of the game. What is not for the good of the game are the circumstances in which it has been proposed. It is only on the table for short-term financial reasons. Neil Doncaster told the SFL clubs that the SPL would not allow Rangers to join the Third Division as the loss of £16m would not be countenanced, he is also on record as having said that a 16 team league would cost £20m, therefore we can hardly have confidence that the focus on finance will allow these proposals to come to life. What is also not for the good of the game is 30 clubs being asked to vote knowing that a vote for Resolution 1 has a very high chance of being ignored by the SFA attempting to avoid any suggestion of what they perceive to be a dereliction of their duty. Such statements undermine basic democracy. Equally, voting blind to admit an organisation who has no membership of the SFA at a time when there is no vacancy in the SFL is not for the good of the game. Almost everything about this long run process is not for the good of the game. It would not be for the good of the game to compound the problems of a club by refusing entry to the SFL for Rangers Football Club. We will therefore take that leap of faith and vote in favour of Resolution 1 despite not a single word of reasoning having been provided to support the Resolution. On the basis that short-term financial drivers have not been for the good of the game in the past, then we will not support Resolution 2. It has unfortunately enmeshed positive change for the game with a proposal to admit Sevco Scotland Ltd to the First Division for the purposes of shoring up the short-term financial model which has to date failed The Game. The interests of the game will be served by decisions being made genuinely for the long-term benefit of the whole of Scottish Football, and not short term benefit for a few clubs. Our decision has at times had to defy logic and question our own short term interests as others focus on theirs. Given that the SPL and SFA have signalled a clear intention to act against any decision that might result in Sevco Scotland Ltd being admitted to the Third Division, then the limited logic left in this process points to them as believing they have the monopoly of wisdom on what is good for the game. We can expect that, no matter what the SFL clubs decide, Sevco Scotland will not be playing in the Third Division in the coming season. How more short-termism can be for the good of the game really does defy logic. When the dust settles on this affair, it would be good to think that we can all get back to watching football. Sadly, no matter how it turns out today, some will not return to our game. http://www.clydefc.co.uk/statement2.html

PETERHEAD Ground: Balmoor Stadium, capacity 4,000 (1,000 seated), season 2011-12 average 490. Grass surface Unlike Elgin, Peterhead have reached the Second Division but were relegated from that division in 2011 and missed out on the play-offs last season. With 20-goal Rory McAllister on board last season, the Balmoor side finished fifth. They have only played Rangers once, a 5-0 Scottish Cup defeat at Ibrox in 2006.

THE SFL are set to introduce fourth officials for matches involving Rangers in the Third Division this season. Refs will be under closer scrutiny as Sky and ESPN beam Gers matches and have called for more help. Now SFL chief executive David Longmuir has agreed to their request. He said: “We can have fourth officials at any game. “Given the renewed interest in the Third Division, a fourth official would be useful and give the ref support.” As Rangers gear up for their league opener at Peterhead tomorrow, Longmuir revealed the SFL clubs are to hold a summit to counter any issues arising from the Ibrox men being in the bottom tier. He said: “We are taking public safety and crowd management seriously. All 30 SFL clubs will attend a seminar next week for advice and guidance on how to deal with bigger crowds.” Longmuir says a feelgood factor is sweeping through the lower leagues following Rangers’ introduction. He said: “There’s a real vigour among clubs and fans. “I can sense a renewed optimism – certainly within the SFL. “There are a lot of young players out there now getting a chance to prove themselves in front of a much larger audience.”

JIM McINALLY was left battered and bloodied by Ally McCoist â?? and the only person who came to his aid was the Scotland assistant manager. McInally and Rangers chief McCoist go head to head at Peterhead in todayâ??s sold-out Division Three opener. But the pair literally clashed when they were both international team-mates under Craig Brown. The pair were training before the World Cup qualifier at Ibrox in November 1992 with McInally revealing he was given the role of Italian defensive great Franco Baresi! He recalled: â??We were working on set-pieces drills the day before the game and I was on the defensive team who were doing what Italy were supposed to do. â??I was to perform the role Baresi did for Italy. McCoist was supposed to come in from behind me but when the ball came over we clattered heads â?? and I mean really clattered heads. â??I came round and the only person who was above me was Craig Brown - I looked over and everyone else on the backroom staff was clustered around Ally. â??There were so many of them fussing over him you could hardly see him! â??To be fair to Craig, he always reminds me of it. â??He says â??Remember I was the only one who made sure you were all right - the rest of those b******s all ran to McCoistâ??. But that was the way it was â?? Coisty was the golden boy back then.â? Now the former Scotland pair will be next to one another on the Balmoor touchline today. And McInally wants to make sure his side learned from their Scottish Cup loss to the other half of the Old Firm last season. This will be Peterheadâ??s first-ever game against Rangers and he insisted: â??This is bigger than the Celtic game because of the exposure. â??When we played them we were joint bottom of the Third Division and although they beat us they never really cut us open. â??We were pretty well-organised and destructive but we didnâ??t do anything worthwhile at their end. â??I want us to take part in the game, I donâ??t want it to be damage limitations. â??Iâ??ll play two up front on Saturday and weâ??ll have attacking options on the bench because Iâ??d like to see Neil Alexander getting tested. â??I want us to get the ball and be brave - show people they can play themselves, because they can. â??Itâ??s understandable with part-time players - they donâ??t want to be the one who makes a mistake in front of the TV cameras, so they donâ??t take a touch. But Iâ??ve told them 100 times they wonâ??t be criticised if they make a mistake trying to do the right thing. â??Ian Durrantâ??s an old friend of mine and I was talking to him at the SFL meeting on Monday. He was talking about the dressing rooms at Brechin and I told him ours were enormous by comparison. â??I told him not to go for a walk when theyâ??re staying in Aberdeen on Friday night! â??Iâ??ve always got on well with him â?? we met on a family holiday in Portugal years ago. In fact the first thing he asked on Monday was how my daughter Laura was.â? http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4482094/I-was-in-a-heap-with-Coistyno-one-cared-about-me.html

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC - "I think with the situation we find ourselves in, the cups will be extra special to us this season." AMcC - "Emilson's international clearance hasn't came through yet but we hope it will today. He's travelling with us." The gaffer confirmed that there are no more trialists today, but he is hopeful for next week. He also confirmed that Ross Perry is still out

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC - "I think Ale Bedoya is away today to Helsingborgs. We may yet lose more players so we will need to bring more in." AMcC on potential investors - It really encourages me. If any investor was needing encouragement, then Tues night would have spoke volumes. AMcC - "I think the fact that I was sitting watching dressage yesterday afternoon would speak volumes for how much I'm supporting #TeamGB." AMcC on the Olympics - "I spoke to @Gabby_Logan the other night and I think she's gutted that it's going to finish this Sunday!"

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC - I'm very happy with the messages that I've been getting from Charles & the board. They'e been keeping me up to date with everything. AMcC - "We are now at around 25,000 season tickets sold and I'm sure that will rise again. There's a good feeling about the club now." AMcC - "The signings we've made already have been brilliant so far. We've signed some of the best players in the SPL." AMcC - It's important we send the right messages to the support, which is we will bring the best players possible we can with the budget

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC on Mike Ashley - "The one thing about Mike Ashley is that he looks like an astute and clever businessman." AMcC - "If he can bring his expertise and his wealth with him then the club and the support will welcome that." AMcC - "I never wanted to leave. We are in a far better place now than we have ever been." AMcC - "I've had numerous meetings with Charles & Malcolm, I'm sure we're all moving in the same direction." AMcC - "The Craig Beattie deal is dead. He came in, trained and did well. We wish him well and I know he has one or two different offers." AMcC - "I can assure you that Charles and I are on the same wavelength. We both wish Craig well."

AMcC - "The Brechin guys made it very difficult for us and it was a tough game. In terms of what I got from the players, it was fine." AMcC - "The club and the fans have been through the mill in the last ten months, but we've came through it." AMcC - "The SFL have overwhelmingly welcomed us into the league and we must now show them the respect they deserve and go make new friends."

AMcC - "Really excited about the whole thing. In the last week or so I can feel a real feel good factor coming back for everyone." AMcC - "The result and performance from the players and the fans was fantastic the other night." AMcC - "We've done our homework and we've had them watched a couple of times. We feel they might change their formation against us." AMcC - "It's my opinion that the teams in the SLF3 will fancy their chances at home more than they will away. They'll be like cup ties."

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official Neil Alexander is in to talk to the media first today, saying he's looking forward to "getting down to what we do best, playing football." NA - "The crowd were unbelievable the other night and we need them more than ever this season." NA - "It's going to be a long journey, but if they get behind the boys it'll help us when we go onto the park." NA - "With all of the turmoil it was a rollercoaster. Whether Allan was going to stay or go. When he did it made my decision a lot easier." NA - "I never wanted to leave, I always wanted to stay at this club. I love it here." NA - "I think we have got the right people in charge now to take the club forward." NA - "I think we've brought in a really good calibre of player. The fans have seen that and they've got excited again." NA - What do you know about Peterhead? - "It's far away." NA - "We'll do our homework and we'll be prepared. We'll always take each game professionally at Rangers." NA - "We can't turn up and expect teams to roll over. If we approach each game correctly we hope that we can come away with full points

Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC - "I can assure you that Charles and I are on the same wavelength. We both wish Craig well." Expand Reply Retweet Favorite 2m Rangers FC Official‏@RFC_Official AMcC - "The Craig Beattie deal is dead. He came in, trained and did well. We wish him well and I know he has one or two different offers."

Dorin Goian last night confirmed he plans to see out his contract at Ibrox. The Romanian defender has two years left on his current deal but was expected to leave following Gers’ demotion to the Third Division. But Goian, 31, said: “Rangers is more than a football club. “I just feel good here and so do my family. Things are working out well here. I have two years of my contract left. If things go well, I will stay here.” from the sun

THE SFA have given Newcastle owner Mike Ashley the green light to buy a stake in Rangers. Tycoon Ashley will pay £2million for a 9.8 per cent share after vowing not to interfere in the running of Gers. But after Ibrox chief Charles Green ditched a £48m, 10-year deal with JJB to sell Gers’ kit, Ashley will recoup his cash by selling the jerseys in his Sports Direct outlets. However, the SFA only agreed to Ashley’s investment after he gave his word that he would not be involved in the running of Gers. An SFA spokesman said: “He has given us assurances that he will not be involved in the management or administration of the club and that he is merely becoming involved as an investor.” Dorin Goian last night confirmed he plans to see out his contract at Ibrox. The Romanian defender has two years left on his current deal but was expected to leave following Gers’ demotion to the Third Division. But Goian, 31, said: “Rangers is more than a football club. “I just feel good here and so do my family. Things are working out well here. I have two years of my contract left. If things go well, I will stay here.” Rangers, however, have been jilted before their Third Division bow — by a wedding! The Ibrox side tried to book into a local hotel before tomorrow’s opener at Peterhead, which will be refereed by Stephen Finnie. But the Buchan Braes Hotel knocked them back and Gers will now stay overnight in Aberdeen instead. Hotel boss Tony Jackson admitted: “We weren’t able to accommodate them, unfortunately as we have a wedding on Friday.” Meanwhile, former Rangers midfielder Rhys McCabe has called in FIFA in a bid to get the green light to play for Sheffield Wednesday. The 20-year-old joined Wednesday after refusing to have his Gers contract transferred to the newco. But the SFA have still not given him international clearance and he now hopes world soccer chiefs can get his career up and running again http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/leaguedivision3/4480792/SFA-give-Ash-the-all-clear.html

THE TRUTH “THE SCOTSMAN”RESPONSIBLE FOR AIDING AND ABBETING CRAIG WHYTE IN PLUNDERING RANGERS FC 10 August 2012: ------------------------- http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-827222 ------------------------- Just days before Rangers Football Club PLC sought the protection of Administration the Scotsman newspaper proclaimed on its back pages: Craig Whyte reveals £25m ‘personal commitment’ to Rangers The paper went on to revel in the statements made by Whyte with quotes such as: ““There is no risk to Rangers fans whatsoever. I want to tell the fans that the money they put into Rangers stays in Rangers. “I can reassure the fans that any money we get in is used to run the club and nothing else. “I have a personal commitment of £25 million in Rangers and I have never taken a penny out of the club.” Giving credence to the statements made by Whyte the newspaper, established in 1817 whose circulation has dropped from 100,000 to less than 20,000 because of inaccurate and exaggerated reporting often in return for ‘favours to the authorities,’ stated to the supporters “Whyte stressed he was the secured creditor of Rangers and not Octopus, the parent firm of Ticketus.” The history of the paper is as controversial as its demise. Founded by a lawyer and a Customs Official in response to the "unblushing subservience" of competing newspapers to the Edinburgh establishment the paper was pledged to "impartiality, firmness and independence". In 1995 reclusive millionaires David and Frederick Barclay acquired the paper for an astonishing inflated price of £85 million but when they realised that the paper had become a “puppet for the political figures of the time” and “having disregard to the editorial concept of its founders William Ritchie and Charles Maclaren they offloaded the paper to the Johnston Press ten years later making an “acceptable profit.” On the 22nd October 2011 after the BBC had broadcast the documentary on the clear wrongdoing and fraud at the club the Scotsman proclaimed "Craig Whyte vows to sack anyone at Rangers who talks to BBC" In an article heavily defending Craig Whyte the paper wrote that Whyte was "incensed by what he calls an “institutionalised bias” against his club within the walls of Pacific Quay, Whyte re-iterates his intention to sue the broadcaster, adding: “Maybe the BBC are going to be paying the [HMRC] tax bill.” It was this kind of support for Craig Whyte that allowed him the space he needed and was not “curtailed by the authorities long before St Valentine’s Day 2012. A detective from the police currently investigating Whyte on the instructions of the Crown Office who requested not to be named said “With papers like the Scotsman supporting Whyte after the BBC expose there was a faction of the police and HMRC Special Investigation officers that wanted to move in on Whyte but we did not want to see headlines in the paper blaming us for potentially closing down the Club.” There is no doubt that the debacle at Rangers was caused primarily by the support Whyte received from The Scotsman and in April 2012 financially pressed owners Johnston Press sacked John McLellan who was the paper's Editor-in-Chief replacing him with Ian Stewart who assumed the role in June 2012 after he had sought assurances from Johnston Press that he was not “bound by the policies of the past regime.” There is little doubt that The Scotsman has been responsible for the support Craig Whyte received and the hesitation in the Prosecuting Authorities investigating Whyte at a time when it could easily have avoided Administration. It is difficult to believe that when as far back as October 2011 the Insolvency Service spokesman Robert Burns was sounding warning bells over the activities of Craig Whyte it was the Scotsman itself that carried the Whyte banner printing his statement with prominence “On the basis of what I’ve heard the Insolvency Service said last night I’m looking into the possibility of suing them personally. For what he [burns] said, he deserves to be sued personally. Because it’s a lie.” But then it should be no real wonder because a number of journalists at The Scotsman were, as a source said, “under the influence and direct pay of Craig Whyte receiving substantive benefits for positive stories and what seemed endless excuses.” There is no evidence currently at hand that sacked editor John McLellan was a direct party to accepting favours and “fringe benefits” from Craig Whyte but his dismissal a source at Johnston Press close to the much respected CEO Ashley Highfield said “the editor turned a blind eye to the standards in reporting.” It was the support for Craig Whyte from The Scotsman and the clearly misleading articles written by the paper that permitted Craig Whyte to operate Rangers Football Club PLC when at the highest level the paper knew full well the real truth. The Scotsman even defended Whyte when he was accused of misleading the Court of Session in September 2011 when yet more warning bells were ringing but muffled by the support of the paper. The Scotsman printed an interview with Craig Whyte written by Tom English allowing Whyte to rubbish claims of financial troubles at the club. In one exchange the paper supported Whyte’s excuses as to non-payment of a £35,000 bill the respected law firm Levy & McRae, sued Rangers for payment of a £35,000 bill for representing the club in UEFA disciplinary hearings. The Scotsman wrote “Tom English – You seem to be constantly fighting people. The tax man, Bain, McIntyre, the BBC, various solicitors firms, all sorts of people. Levy & McRae took action over an unpaid bill of £35,000. Why is there so much hassle? Craig Whyte – Levy & McRae acted for Rangers previously and under Law Society rules they shouldn’t be acting against their client so when they represented Bain we complained about them to the Law Society and to be fair we were a bit bloody-minded when we said we weren’t going to pay them because they started acting for Bain against us. That was the reason we didn’t pay them. They took us to court and with hindsight it would have been easier just to pay them.” It is of course correct that other Scottish papers published misleading stories about Craig Whyte but only The Scotsman operated a policy of openly supporting the regime of Craig Whyte at Rangers in order that he would feed them stories and hopefully enhance the circulation of the paper. The Editor paid with dismissal, the Scotsman has seen its sales dwindle and its credibility reduced to junk, Craig Whyte under investigation by a multi-national prosecuting team, and Rangers Football Club PLC still in Administration facing an uphill fight by only a few who seek the truth about the involvement of the Scotsman in the club problems. A source for Strathclyde Police stated that the role played by The Scotsman and other papers in the takeover and “after acquisition” would be subject to review as would “any evidence of benefits paid to The Scotsman” for media support.

Last season 37,367 (source Duff & Phelps Letter to all know creditors dated 5th April 2012)

post of rm Posted Today, 06:11 PM Spoke to a friend who works in the ticket office ,24,000 season tickets processed so far ,and the phones have been red hot with new people asking about them , she says they are expecting around about 35,000 to be sold before we play our first league game at ibrox , well done to everyone w.a.t.p

The three resolutions presented to the club are as follows:- (i) That the Scottish Football League Members agree to admit Sevco Scotland Limited as an Associate Member and agrees to permit Rangers F.C. to play in the League during Season 2012/13. In terms of Resolution 1, whether reworded or not, it seemed inconceivable to the Board of Clyde that absolutely no information whatsoever has been provided to support the resolution. This is clearly a matter of haste and again driven by an external agenda, perhaps because Sevco have not lodged an application to join the SFL then they have not submitted any information. Whilst we have accepted that this is being treated as a special case and we are willing to run with this, it simply was not possible to conclude that we could make any decision at this time. The matter is made worse because of the extent of uncertainty which hangs over Sevco. There is no need to prepare an exhaustive list of the issues as they are well publicised, however the extent of outstanding sanctions that may or may not be levied against a club which has yet to obtain SFA membership, together with the increasing number of possible commercial and legal challenges to the transactions to date simply presents a significant risk to the ability of the club to fulfil its fixtures in any league. Given that some of these matters are in the hands of the governing bodies it seems inexplicable that they are left hanging. We are clear that for the good of the game that we would want a swift and positive conclusion that would see Rangers Football Club taking part in the game again and we would wish to be able to support a Resolution that saw them entered to SFL3. However, until we receive enough information to inform such a decision then we are being pushed into a corner which would actually leave any club making a logical decision arrive at the conclusion that Resolution 1 should not be supported. The SFA could assist the process by transferring the SFA membership to Sevco prior to the Friday meeting if they have satisfied themselves of fit and proper tests and have carried out their own diligence on the viability of the club and the various legal challenges. http://www.clydefc.co.uk/news/2012/07/10/4139/

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/sports/soccer/in-scottish-soccer-the-rangers-celtic-rivalry-is-rattled-to-its-core.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes Derek Rae, a commentator for ESPN, had a similar tale about calling his first Old Firm match on radio in 1987. He, too, went to a pub after the game and was having a drink when a fan approached. “Your commentary was not bad, son, but who do you support?” the fan said. Rae, who is from Aberdeen, rightly pleaded that he was neutral. The fan snorted. “I’m not having that,” he said. “Are you a Celtic neutral or a Rangers neutral?” Rangers fans point to that sort of rabid (and worldwide) interest in the teams as a reason the punishment they received was shortsighted. Yes, if a team goes broke, as Rangers did, starting from the bottom is the traditional penalty. But Rangers are not merely another team. Even with the Old Firm in place, the Scottish Premier League cannot match the quality and popularity of England’s Premier League or other top European groupings, a fact reflected in the huge financial gap between Rangers and Celtic and the other 10 teams in the league. Either Rangers or Celtic has won every league title since the 1985-86 season, and their value to the other teams was immeasurable. At the most basic level, Rangers or Celtic fans were generally responsible for any large crowds at Scottish league games, filling up the stadiums of the other teams whenever they played an away game. ‘A One-Horse Race’ The Old Firm was the marquee television attraction, too, and one of the most scrutinized aspects of Rangers newco — as the new team has been labeled in Britain — was what effect their drop to a lower division would have on the value of Scottish soccer’s TV rights deal. Originally, there had been talk the Scottish league’s rights might fetch about £80 million (or about $125 million) over five seasons; when Rangers were dropped, the rights price fell, too, said Neil Doncaster, the league’s chief executive. Worst-case predictions had been for a deal of less than £60 million over the same span, and ultimately an agreement was salvaged for a price worth less than £10 million below the original number, but only after broadcasters were granted rights to show Rangers’ bottom-division games in addition to regular Scottish League games. Even with that deal in place, there are still concerns over ratings without Rangers in the top league, and whether advertising and marketing dollars will diminish. “There will be less money coming into the game over all as a result of all the ordeals,” Doncaster told reporters. Then there is the expected lack of competition. Without Old Firm matches, “Celtic will win the league by Christmas,” Chris Graham, an operator of the Web site The Rangers Standard and a sort of unofficial spokesman for Rangers supporters, said through gritted teeth. “It will have gone from a two-horse race to a one-horse race, and who wants to watch one horse run?” The decision to banish Rangers to the bottom is a fascinating debate from a business perspective, particularly when one considers the bailouts that major sports leagues in the United States have orchestrated. Major League Baseball essentially turned the Montreal Expos into a league-run team in 2002 before the franchise moved to Washington. In basketball, the N.B.A. purchased the New Orleans Hornets in 2010 after George Shinn, the owner, had financial troubles. And in hockey, the N.H.L. has owned or overseen operations of several teams, most recently the Phoenix Coyotes, which it has owned since 2009. In each of those situations, the league did what was necessary to keep a team afloat and preserve the integrity of its overall product. Did Rangers’ former ownership swindle their fans and opponents? Of course. But does that mean the whole of Scottish soccer should be thrown into flux? “A lot of clubs live right on the line financially,” said Russell, the Scottish TV reporter. “Clubs are really going to feel the pinch. We could lose a few clubs, possibly.” To that end, an official with Kilmarnock, a smaller Scottish Premier League team, has already estimated the team will lose £600,000 (about $940,000) without Rangers in the top division, and there has been speculation that the result will be a wholesale change in Scottish soccer. Doomsday prognosticators say the league will crumble and look more like a semipro operation by the time Rangers make their way back to the top flight, which will take no fewer than three seasons and could take more as several Rangers players have seized on contract loopholes to leave for new teams. More conservative observers believe a reorganization may be necessary, with one or two teams possibly going out of business. It May Never Be the Same Whatever happens, it is a jarring opening to what is supposed to be the best time of year in this part of the world. The Olympics will be over soon, replaced by the beginning of the soccer season, a time of joy and wonder and dreams in most of Britain. But not here. Rangers fans will traffic in the unfamiliar this season, hosting tiny clubs at their Ibrox stadium (capacity 51,082) one weekend and fighting over seats at a tiny away stadium the next. Celtic, just down the road, will turn their home in Parkhead into the site of a season-long coronation and revel in a rival’s downfall. The clubs could meet in one of several in-season tournaments or decide to stage an exhibition, but it will not be the same. It cannot be. In truth, said the Rangers fan Graham, the rivalry may never be the same. And perhaps neither will this country’s most popular game.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/09/sports/soccer/in-scottish-soccer-the-rangers-celtic-rivalry-is-rattled-to-its-core.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimes By SAM BORDEN Published: August 8, 2012 GLASGOW â?? Imagine if the Republican Party filed for bankruptcy only weeks before Election Day. Or if Apple went broke at Christmas. Or if the Letterman show was canceled ahead of sweeps week. . That is what is happening here, in a city long built on a rivalry that crosses religious, commercial and political lines but that has suddenly been rattled to its core. Indeed, while most of Britain is reveling in the glow of the London Olympics, at least half the heart of Scotland is miserable. The source of consternation â?? as it usually is in this city â?? is the Rangers-Celtic rivalry. The two Glasgow-based soccer teams have been fierce enemies for well over a century, but when Rangersâ?? finances deteriorated to the point that they were sold for relative pence on the pound in June, the ramifications of their ensuing exile from the Scottish Premier League â?? the top division of Scottish soccer â?? reached much further than if, say, the Mets were forced into liquidation. (O.K., bad example.) â??It means everything â?? everything â?? to the city, and really the whole country,â? said Carlos Bocanegra, who is the captain of the United States national team and joined Rangers last season. â??Itâ??s an institution. People live and die for the sport; they live and die for their team. Without Rangers being in the S.P.L., itâ??s going to make a huge difference on the league, but also on Scottish culture.â? As a result of their original ownership being dissolved, Rangers were forced to reapply for a place in Scottish soccerâ??s professional leagues. Their first bid, to rejoin the Premier League and essentially return to the spot they had been in before their money troubles, was denied by a vote of the other teams. Another team, Dundee, was promoted from the second division to replace them. Rangers then had no choice but to apply for membership to the lower divisions, and a vote of the other clubs determined they would have to start at the bottom. That means that instead of beginning their season last weekend with the rest of the Premier League teams, they will open this weekend against tiny Peterhead, a club nicknamed the Blue Toon that plays in Balmor, a quaint stadium with a capacity of about 4,000. More important, Rangersâ?? drop also ends for at least three years any regular occurrences of the Rangers-Celtic clash, which previously took place at least four times a season. Losing those games, to borrow a local phrase, is not a wee issue for anyone. A Divide in Glasgow Attempting to explain to outsiders the meaning of the Old Firm, as the Rangers-Celtic rivalry is called, is difficult. There are other heated rivalries in Scotland, including in Edinburgh, where the Hearts-Hibernian clashes are epic. But nothing compares to Glaswegian enmity. The schism runs deep: Celtic fans are, historically, Irish Catholic and in favor of Scottish independence and a united Ireland separate from Britain. Rangers fans are historically Protestant and wear their Union Jacks with pride. Rangers were founded in 1872 but only signed their first former Celtic player in 1989. â??When I was growing up, I went to a Catholic school, and there wasnâ??t one Rangers fan in the entire school,â? said Neil McGarvey, 43, who is involved in the operation of Kerrydale Street, a popular Celtic fan Web site. â??Itâ??s much more mixed now â?? my boy goes to a Catholic school, and there are maybe 5 percent Rangers fans now.â? Not surprisingly, emotions over the rivalry often boil over. Murders and countless assaults have been blamed on Old Firm tensions over the years, and the Scottish police have worked vigilantly in recent years after studies showed an increase in domestic violence on days when the teams played. Businesses, too, are loath to favor one side. As has been the case for decades, the teams share a primary sponsor, the beer brewer Tennentâ??s. As many have noted, for a company to sponsor one team or the other would be fiscal suicide because half the consumers would probably boycott. â??Itâ??s a rivalry thatâ??s on so many levels,â? Grant Russell, a reporter for Scottish Television, said in an interview. â??It just all kind of comes together in this one game.â? â??And now,â? he added, â??it seems it has gone away.â? Bocanegra said that Rangers players knew there had been questions about the clubâ??s finances but had no idea of the situationâ??s gravity until they began reading about it earlier this year. The former owner, Craig Whyte, never spoke to the players until he went into the locker room one day in February, Bocanegra added, at which point Whyte announced that the team was going into administration â?? the British equivalent of bankruptcy â?? because of mounting debt and millions of pounds in unpaid taxes. Then, he left. The players were shocked. Bocanegra is one of three Americans on the team, along with Maurice Edu and Alejandro Bedoya, and they have enjoyed being part of one of soccerâ??s greatest battles. When asked, Bocanegra often tells his American friends about what happened after one of his first Old Firm games, which Rangers won, 4-2. After the match, Bocanegra and some friends went to a pub for dinner. Bocanegra thought he had slipped into the restaurant without being identified as a Rangers player, but when the waiter brought his meat pie to the table, Bocanegra looked down and laughed. The chef had carved into the top: â??4-2 YES!â?

Ally: We Need Your Backing ALLY McCOIST has today thanked the fans for their phenomenal turnout at last night’s League Cup victory over East Fife and encouraged the Light Blue legions to continue to buy season tickets, as they have been doing in huge numbers all week. Around 40,000 supporters returned to Ibrox to watch the 4-0 victory over Gordon Durie’s side and over 20,000 season tickets have been renewed already. Due to the huge demand the Club has taken the decision to extend the season ticket deadline to 7pm on Friday. Prices for season tickets, which now include all 18 league games, start from £258 for Adults, £65 for Kids and £179 for Concessions. Ally McCoist says now is the time for supporters to get behind the Club as the rebuilding process begins. He said: “Almost 40,000 fans turned out for the East Fife game last night, over 20,000 season tickets have been sold in just a week and I can’t thank the fans enough for their incredible support and loyalty to Rangers. “The past few months have been extremely difficult for everyone but this is still Rangers Football Club and the supporters will continue to back us as they have always done. We still play in blue and we are still playing football at Ibrox so we all have to focus on football again and do all we can to rebuild this great Club. “Now is the time to get right behind Rangers and the best way to do that is to buy season tickets. I encourage all fans to back the Club and renew their tickets for Season 2012/13 as we need their support more than ever. “Filling Ibrox will be vital to Rangers as we begin life in Division 3 and we are delighted to be playing competitive matches again. “Our fans deserve to see top class players at Ibrox and this is just the start of the rebuilding process. We have already added top quality to the squad Ian Black, Fran Sandaza, Dean Shiels, Emilson Cribari and Kevin Kyle - and I can assure fans more players will follow before the transfer deadline. “We need to add to the squad to prepare for the next two seasons in the SFL and season ticket money is a major source of income for the Club. “It is time for everyone with the best interests of Rangers at heart to unite and get behind the Club. This is a new chapter for Rangers and we are all looking forward to the challenges ahead. The atmosphere around the stadium has been electric in the past few days and there has been a buzz at the Ticket Centre. This is just the start of the journey and we will all enjoy it together.” Season ticket holders can still post their forms, renew online, call the hotline on 0871 702 1972 or visit the Rangers Ticket Centre in person. Any late renewals will be able to spread their season ticket payments - with the first payment being taken at time of purchase, the second due on or around 31 August and the final two http://www.rangers.co.uk/index.php/news/headlines/item/1689-ally-we-need-your-backing 20000 in a week!!!!!!