ian1964

Published Date: 18 March 2011 By Angus Wright NEIL Lennon's lawyer has urged the Celtic manager to defy the Scottish Football Association and enter the dug-out after he completes a five-match suspension, even if the game's governing body believes the ban is for eight games. Lennon has been hit with two separate four-match bans, which the SFA has indicated should be served consecutively. But the SFA rulebook states that a punishment begins 14 days after the offence, leading Celtic to believe the bans can be served concurrently, with the second ban kicking in after Lennon had served one match of the first ban - taking the total number of games missed to five. Lennon's lawyer, Paul McBride QC, last night said: "As a matter of law, there is no question in my mind, it is a four-match ban. "I have looked at the SFA rules in some detail. There is provision for players to serve consecutive bans. There is no provision for managers or club officials to serve consecutive bans at all. "The only dispute apparently in the minds of the SFA is whether it is consecutive or concurrent. Everyone who is sensible and who can read will see from the rules that ought to run from 16 March." McBride expects Lennon to return to the touchline for the Scottish Cup semi-final with Aberdeen, which will take place on 16 or 17 April. "He should enter the dugout and get on with the game," said McBride. "If the SFA believe it is an eight-match ban then the referee would go over and presumably attempt to send him to the stand. It may be, at that point, Celtic would consider their position about protective action in relation to their manager." The SFA's chief executive Stewart Regan refused to comment on the situation, as legal advice is sought over the matter. But their position is understood to be that the punishments will run consecutively, with the four-match suspension Lennon received for his clash with Rangers assistant manager Ally McCoist following the ban for dismissal against Hearts in November, which he is now halfway through. "I'm not able to talk about Neil Lennon or Celtic," Regan said. "We're in the middle of a live case and we're not able to get into it. There are legal implications on both sides." In a separate development yesterday, Lennon was fined �£5,000 by the SFA for his criticism of match officials following his team's 2-0 SPL defeat against Hearts at Tynecastle last November. The punishment, handed down by the SFA's general purposes committee at Hampden, is suspended until 30 June 2012 and will be set aside completely if Lennon does not commit a similar offence before then. Lennon branded the red card shown to Celtic midfielder Joe Ledley for a foul on Ian Black of Hearts as "scandalous" and also claimed referee Craig Thomson and his assistants "would probably have their story ready" when compiling their report into why he was sent from the technical area that night. For that dismissal and a subsequent report of excessive misconduct from Thomson, dealt with by the SFA's disciplinary committee, Lennon received the six-match touchline ban which was reduced to four games by an independent appeals board. Regan revealed yesterday that he has secured the backing of the SFA board to streamline and speed up the disciplinary process, with the aim being to implement change for the start of next season. He admitted he had identified failings in the SFA systems from his first day in the job in October and he is closing in on a major shake-up. He said: "The committee structure, whilst it has worked for many years, is very bureaucratic and laborious. "We need to have much slicker, more transparent, more up-front system where all clubs, players and officials know exactly what's happening and how long it takes for things to be dealt with. "I'm delighted to say that the board have backed the proposals and we will be taking them to the agm on 6 June." Regan revealed that the plans included restructuring the board, incorporating a professional and non-professional board and a main strategic board, with responsibility for financial and other major decisions. He also revealed that disciplinary procedures would be streamlined, pointing out that five committees currently deal with certain disciplinary matters. "We want to have one compliance or regulatory body which meets after each weekend's fixtures and tries to deal very promptly with what happens in those games. "If the charges are accepted by those involved they are actioned before the next game, in which case everyone can move on and there is an understanding of the disciplinary process." Regan hopes the proposed system will reduce the number of disputes such as the current disagreement with Celtic. "Nobody likes to see fallouts," he said. "We are all in the game of football and we are all trying to do the best for fans, for clubs, for the media, sponsors, everyone associated with the game. "It's disappointing when a lot of resources are being spent on fighting costly legal fees. It's a substantial amount of money. "It is something that is taking money out of the SFA. A substantial part of the SFA's resources, which could otherwise be invested in developing football and performance, is being spent on something that is not benefiting the game specifically or the development of the game." http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/football/Lawyer-tells-Neil-Lennon-to.6736121.jp

Tough game again,but I'm going for a Rangers victory,surprise surprise:smile: Rangers 2 - Weiss,Bougherra PSV 1

http://leggoland2.blogspot.com/2011/03/sfa-open-door-to-law.html

STEVIE NAISMITH will hand Rangers a Euro and Old Firm boost by returning to full training this morning. The Ibrox ace has been out for three weeks after his hamstring problems flared up against Celtic. But the Scotland ace is set to return for the second leg Europa League last 16 tie with PSV Eindhoven on Thursday. And he could also land a call for Sunday's Co-op Cup Final with Celts. Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3467982/Gers-Naisy-boost.html#ixzz1Gdcg3NAy

To be honest mate,all I'm saying is when he plays he's nearly always the player who doesn't make too many mistakes and organises well,however I've always said if we had another CB that was decent I'd like Weir to be only played as a back up,or an extra CB when we are in Europe against the stronger teams and agree this should be his last season for Rangers. Does WS pick the whole team just so he can play Weir?,I don't think so,but would admit WS wants him in the team so maybe he does. I wonder what system WS would playing if Weir was not here?. I still blame our non exsistent midfield for a lot of our troubles,games are won and lost in midfield and we don't have one.

Weir for me again

How can the bank have anything to do with who owns the club?,what does it matter to them if a take over happens?,whoever owns the club will still have x amount of debt to pay to the bank. COPS ON THE STREETS,NOT IN THE STANDS.

Is it close to season ticket sale time?????

There's more chance of getting the take over answers:whistle:

If Murray has agreed to sell to Whyte and the tax issue has been solved then the question of why has the take over not happened yet is kind of worrying for me

By jim Traynor on Mar 14, 11 08:37 AM in ALLY McCOIST will fight his two-match touchline ban but he should accept the punishment. He'll need all his reserves of energy and will for more important struggles which lie ahead. Depending on what happens over the next two to three weeks he will be taking over as manager of a club about to be revitalised or one sliding deeper into decline. And many are convinced it will be the latter. With the passing of every week Rangers fans lose hope that their club will be bought over and dragged out of debt. They look at the paucity of Walter Smith's squad and they must feel like weeping. Lloyds Bank, on the other hand, are delighted. Rangers' debt continues to fall and the next set of figures, which are about to be released, will show the Ibrox club now owe less than �£20million. No doubt someone at the bank will take pride in a job well done and it shouldn't surprise anyone if that person is in line for a whopping bonus. After all, that's what the banks do isn't it? They reward themselves for squeezing and destroying hard-working ordinary Joes even though it was their greed and stupidity that pushed the country towards financial ruin. And then they grab our tax money to get them out of the mess. It's instead of being forced back to school to do their sums again they grow fatter and richer by refusing to lend any of the cash back to people trying to buy or hold on to their homes and businesses. And of course the less they lend out the more for them to share in bonus payments which would be enough to keep loads of little companies and households going. They slap one another on the back, oblivious to the damage they cause. However, they are themselves insolvent. They are morally bankrupt. No doubt Lloyds will credit themselves for reducing Rangers' debt but there is nothing sharp, or even intelligent, in putting in place a repayment plan that is making it increasingly difficult for Rangers to remain competitive. While the Ibrox balance sheet is looking much better you have to ask at what cost has this been achieved? The answer won't be clear until the end of this season but it does look as though Rangers don't have enough players to handle the run-in. It's also fairly obvious they can't cope with Neil Lennon's Celtic, who have won three and drawn one of the five Old Firm clashes so far this season. Of course if Rangers were to win the remaining two Old Firm matches everything would look so much brighter but the problems caused by constant wage cuts to keep the bank satisfied would remain. They were there when Smith steered Rangers to back-to-back titles and a glance at any of his team sheets this season proves the problems are even worse now. No matter what Rangers do on the pitch between now and the end of the season McCoist will be inheriting a squad lacking in genuine quality and experience. And he will have to give serious thought to selling one of his few assets, Allan McGregor, to fund moves for a couple of players simply to increase numbers. His task will be practically impossible and his only real hope is Craig Whyte who is still waiting in the wings. However, he won't wait much longer. Time is running out and if Whyte hasn't been given the go ahead by the end of this month don't be surprised if he closes his cheque book, puts it back in his pocket and walks away. Several vague deadlines have come and gone but Whyte is smart enough to realise that buying Rangers solves only half a problem. The other half involves rebuilding a squad and Whyte, I suspect, doesn't want to leave that part to the last minute. He knows clubs and managers are already working on the ins and outs of transfer deals for next season and he would want to give McCoist as much time as possible to improve his squad. But nothing can be done until Whyte's offer has been accepted. If it isn't - Rangers' standards will continue to fall. Whyte's �£33m bid to take the club off David Murray's hands and out of the bank's control, and his promise to spend �£5m on players each season for the first five years of his tenure appears to tick the relevant boxes. But still McCoist and Rangers wait. Of course, there is the potential tax liability should Rangers lose their court battle with the taxman but it is understood some kind of arrangement has been put in place to deal with that as well. But still Rangers fans wait. Now they have to ask why. After all, Whyte has provided proof of funding and Murray, who said he would never sell to anyone who couldn't support the club financially, appears convinced by the Scottish financier and it's understood he's prepared to do the deal. So why the hold up? Who might be stalling? Are Rangers being used as a pawn in a wider game? Is the bank playing hard ball? If so, why? Someone at Lloyds could probably provide the answers but because of market rules and the cloaks of confidentiality bankers wrap around themselves there is only silence. Rangers have cut back to the bare minimum to repay their debt and there is an offer on the table which would rid the bank of the headache, yet nothing continues to happen. If Whyte is ready to get going and help finance McCoist's rebuilding programme but finds he is being blocked then he should say so. Rangers fans are entitled to know why this deal hasn't been concluded. They deserve to know who is holding up progress and why. But they should also be aware that the Whyte saga is nearing its end. The next few weeks will make or break his ambition to own Rangers. That also means the next few weeks could make or break Rangers.

What's the latest,with Naismith,Ness etc:,when are they back?.

Ridiculous mate. It's time TBO ask some questions to the police/Rangers FC as to why the need for them to be there.

Is he responsible for the OTT police presence in beside TBO?. POLICE ON THE STREETS NOT IN THE STANDS.

Already a thread running on this

His goals for Rangers prove he was not a fraud for Rangers. He would have continued to score goals for Rangers as we create more chances in most games compared to a team in any other league. I was a Boyd fan for Rangers. Anyway he's gone and all I'm concerned about is what Rangers and Rangers players do. get back to your Magners and shut up:D:thup:

You can just see the headlines now. Lennon forced to quit by bigoted threats as Rangers FC retain the title for 3 in a row:grin:

Unfortunately a figure of around �£4-5m is probably what Rangers would accept

The Scottish Cup quarter-final between Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Celtic has been postponed because of a waterlogged pitch. A pitch inspection was held at Caledonian Stadium, Inverness, at 0800 GMT on Sunday. Tuesday had been chosen as the date for a replay if required. However, no firm date for the re-arranged tie has been announced as Sunday's match was due to be broadcast live on television. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/scot_cups/9422305.stm

Celtic's Scottish Cup tie away to Inverness is postponed because of waterlogged pitch

Turkish giants in �£4m battle to land Rangers No.1 Allan McGregor TURKISH giants Galatasaray and Bursaspor are preparing to battle it out for Rangers keeper Allan McGregor. MailSport can reveal both clubs had representatives at the Philips Stadion on Thursday night for Gers' Europa League clash with PSV Eindhoven. They were left disappointed as the Ibrox No.1 was rested to give Neil Alexander a competitive game ahead of next weekend's Co-op Cup Final against Celtic. But the Turkish sides are both on the lookout for a keeper and bids of around �£4million would force Gers into a reluctant sale. It's understood McGregor fancies a new challenge and the idea of playing abroad appeals to him. Bursaspor could be in the box seat as former team-mate Kenny Miller is already at the club. Miller and McGregor share the same agent and the Scotland striker has been pushing Bursa to snap up the 29-year-old. However, the Turks could face competition from Germany as Schalke are also keeping tabs on the Rangers keeper. Ibrox manager-in-waiting Ally McCoist would prefer to keep McGregor but might have to raise cash for his rebuilding project. McCoist has identified Dundee United duo David Goodwillie and Craig Conway as targets. Conway, 25, will leave United on a free at the end of the season but Gers will have to fight off Wigan, Watford and Swansea to land the winger. Goodwillie, 21, has been on the Ibrox radar for a while and his deal expires in 2012. United want to cash in now and will sell the striker for around �£450,000. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/2011/03/13/turkish-giants-in-4m-battle-to-land-rangers-no-1-allan-mcgregor-86908-22986783/

Published Date: 13 March 2011 By ANDREW SMITH BEYOND the issue of how long Neil Lennon can possibly put up with a daily existence in which his freedom and safety, and those of his family, are being challenged lie deeply uncomfortable questions. How have we tolerated the fomenting of such hatred for so long to have brought us to this point? And what does it say about our society? The bullets in the post in January that were followed by a fake nail bomb this month have taken the death threats and intimidation against Lennon to unprecedented levels for any public figure in this country. Safe-houses and 24-hour surveillance have become necessities for the security of the Celtic manager, his partner and their five-year-old son. But such grotesque developments are in keeping with the disfiguring of ordinary life Lennon has had to contend with during his 11 years in Scotland. It has escalated now because his position has been elevated. It has always been there, though, and manifested itself in street assaults that have brought convictions for the culprits, sectarian slogans being daubed on roads, his retirement from playing for Northern Ireland after a paramilitary death threat received by the BBC and constant vile, viral hate crimes. The internet, indeed, as pinpointed by both his lawyer Paul McBride and First Minister Alex Salmond this week, is now recognised as the cesspit in which too much verbal savagery has been allowed to stew for too long. Yet, what truly disturbs is not the evidence of Facebook groups such as Hunt Down Neil Lennon And Shoot Him, Let's Hang Neil Lennon but what masquerades as acceptable comment on the 39-year-old in various forums. An "ah, but" element creeps in to justify the treatment of Lennon: "Ah, but, even though no-one should have to deal with death threats, he brings it on himself". Expanded, the haters would venture that it is his snarling, his loss of control on the touchline and, having been reared in Lurgan, his embrace of what Celtic stands for and rejection of all things Rangers that make him an accomplice in any wrong-doing perpetrated against him or his family. This is baloney that deliberately fuses and confuses two separate issues. Anyone is entitled to have no time whatsoever for Lennon. This, though, offers no legitimacy to those who believe that it extends to creating a climate wherein, it is believed, some serious criminals in Northern Ireland have felt sufficiently emboldened by a public mood in Scotland to embark on a campaign of horrific harassment. A campaign in which Lennon has been sent bullets and suspect packages, had distress caused to his parents in his homeland and been forced to have a panic button installed in his family home - a home which he and his partner and child have had to be moved from three times in the past month as a result of police receiving what they deemed "credible" threats. Ultimately, the targeting of Lennon doesn't come down to his personality. His bolshiness and bad-mouthing in the heat of battle are, away from games, underpinned - and so undercut - by an impressive intelligence and articulacy. It is a consequence, pure and simple, of his being an unapologetic, successful Northern Irish Catholic in a country where there is a virulent anti-Catholic strain among a section of the Rangers support. The apparent unwillingness to confront this issue head-on is one of the reasons the pressures on Lennon have continued to grow, and proved a primary motivation in McBride and Lennon's agent Martin Reilly putting firmly into the public domain the intolerable nature of what he is living under in a supposedly-civilised society. The same week Lennon received bullets, so to did fellow Northern Irish Catholics Niall McGinn and Paddy McCourt. Two more unassuming and affable blokes you could not meet. All three were then fresh from Celtic's first league success in a derby in two years. The hatred of Lennon has been hiked up in the ten weeks since, as Celtic have attained a hitherto long-surrendered supremacy in encounters with their bitterest rivals. Just as fans of the Ibrox club, for the first season in many years - appearing to take their lead from the Papal visit - have started giving lusty renditions of their No Pope of Rome ditty. It has barely been the subject of media comment, far less opprobrium, even if it patently comes under the charge of "incitement to religious hatred". There is hardly another football club in the world that could find themselves in the dock over that but still people are unable or unwilling to join the dots between the acceptance of such illegality and hate crimes directed at Lennon online, which must now be tackled as would internet fraud, terrorist threats and paedophilia. Lennon's ability, and willingness, to stay in his post, may come down to the seriousness with which attempts are made to take the heat out of a situation that is impacting on both his personal and professional life. He has not appeared before the media since the fake nail bomb addressed to him was intercepted in Saltcoats ten days ago. Assistant Johan Mjallby performed such duties ahead of Celtic's trip to Inverness today for their sixth-round Scottish Cup tie, which the host club have had to make special security arrangements for in order to accommodate the banned Lennon in the stand of the Caledonian Stadium. "He's been in the limelight for reasons that are not to do with football and that's why he has decided to sit this one out," the Swede said at Lennoxtown on Friday. "At the end of the day it's about Celtic Football Club and the players. That's what we want to discuss." Mjallby, who last weekend rejected the suggestion floated by first-team coach Alan Thompson that Lennon could step away in the summer, insisted the Celtic manager's demeanour had not been affected by the invidious circumstances forced on him. "He's going great," he said. "He's a strong character. You've even more admiration for the way the guy works so well with the team, supports the players and thinks about tactics (in the face of what's happening off-field]." Those in Lennon's circle and who have encountered him professionally have rejected the notion that he will quit, East Fife manager John Robertson describing him eloquently as "a warrior who would not walk". Yet despite offering similar sentiments, his agent also conceded that Glasgow was closing in on his client. "If we go out on a Saturday night then we go to places where people won't give him any hassle - but we're running out of places," Reilly said. "It seems to be wherever we go there's always problems for him." For a man who, it must be remembered, has been open about his battles with depression, it has to be questioned how sustainable it is to live in a city where, in recent months, walking down the street with partner and child has at times become a trial and a gauntlet for the three; quite apart from all the other desperate difficulties he has been forced to endure. Yet Lennon is doing a job he covets - perhaps feels as if he was born for - and, as the most decorated Celtic player to belong entirely to the post-Jock Stein era, has a keen sense of the club's history and his potential place within it. There is only so much it is worth going through to make a managerial mark anywhere, however beloved. That has long been passed with Lennon. Now he needs the will of government and football authorities to reset the boundaries of acceptable public behaviour. He deserves that; we must demand it. http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/sport/Andrew-Smith-Scotland-must-ask.6733176.jp?articlepage=3

1-0 Manure,29 minutes played

Nope. Deadly serious mate,other than McGregor he has been the most consistent without a shadow of a doubt.Of course I'm only going by what I see on the pitch. I also agree with what has been said about this being his last season,for his own good,but the man rarely has a bad game.

Aye,all is good now