ian1964

Aye,fair result in the end

Game just started

Apr 5 2009 Andy Mcdonald BOOZE shame keeper Allan McGregor was handed a sensational Ibrox lifeline yesterday. And the Sunday Mail can exclusively reveal that Kevin Thomson is to take over from axed Barry Ferguson as Ibrox skipper next season. Keeper McGregor was not expected to play for Rangers again after furious boss Walter Smith dropped him and Ferguson for their Scotland disgrace. Now Smith may be prepared to give McGregor, 27, one final chance to salvage his career - butonly if he grows up. Senior sources at Ibrox yesterday insisted Ferguson will never play for the club again. But the same sources confirmed McGregor could make a sensational return to the first team. One said: "They both deserved everything that came their way after that performance midweek. "Walter's equally furious with them both but he sees McGregor's position differently to Ferguson's. "Barry's burned his bridges but there could still be a way back for McGregor. "Whether he's got the good sense to take it is another matter. Buckle "He's definitely out for the moment. But if he buckles down the door is not locked on him coming back. "He basically has to grow up and get a grip. It's down to him." The cash-strapped club also realise benching one of their prize assets can only reduce his value on the transfer market. The source insisted the only thing that will see him return is a massive change in attitude. McGregor has a history of attracting as many headlines for his colourful private life as his onfield performances. The source added: "It's down to him. Put it this way, Barry's out in the dark but there's a chink of light for McGregor." Ferguson and McGregor saw their careers implode last week after they were benched for a booze bender at the Scotland squad's hotel. Flick They compounded that by flicking the Vs at photographersduring the Iceland game. Ferguson, 31, was stripped of the Rangers captaincy on Friday. We can reveal Smith is ready to hand the captain's armband to midfielder Kevin Thomson when he returns from injury next season. Veteran David Weir will lead Rangers against Falkirk today but Smith believes Thomson is the player to take charge next season when he returns. He has been out since suffering ligament damage in November but is expected back early next season after successful surgery. An Ibrox source said: "There's no doubt Kevin will be captain next season all being well with his knee. "To be frank, there's not a wealth of candidates but he's got the attitude and respect of his team-mates." http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/sport-news/2009/04/05/walter-smith-prepared-to-give-shamed-keeper-allan-mcgregor-ibrox-lifeline-78057-21254880/

Agree 100% mate, it's bad enough having the lynch mob from the press attacking Rangers FC, but it really pisses me off when you have Rangers fans attacking Rangers FC, by attacking Rangers players

WITCH HUNT SPARKED V-SIGNS FROM SHAMED PLAYERS Image Flag By Jacqueline McGhie, 05/04/2009 CELTIC star Scott Brown was dubbed the luckiest player in Scotland last night - after escaping the Boozegate affair totally UNPUNISHED. It is understood the Hoops star stayed up drinking with shamed aces Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor and retired to bed just TWENTY MINUTES before his Old Firm rivals. But, astonishingly, he avoided being hammered by Scotland gaffer George Burley after being shielded by his contacts at the Daily Record, we can sensationally reveal. And while Brown was included in the starting line-up for the World Cup tie against Iceland, his mates were dropped to the bench because of the marathon drinking session at Cameron House. The move sparked a chain of events that ended in Ferguson and McGregor being banned from playing for Scotland for life and transfer-listed by their club. But a News of the World investigation can reveal today that other senior members of the Scotland squad believe that: BURLEY only disciplined the Gers pair after they were NAMED by the Record THE manager has FAILED to punish any other star who stayed up drinking, and FERGIE and McGregor only stuck their fingers up at Record photographers - NOT the Scotland fans or manager. Last night a source insisted: "Barry and Allan have been hung out to dry." The News of the World can reveal that senior players feel Hoops midfielder Brown dodged blame because of his close links to a Record journalist. And they believe that the newspaper DELIBERATELY stuck the knife into Gers skipper Fergie because he works for their bitter rivals, The Scottish Sun. Last night a source close to the Scotland camp, who has asked not to be named, hit out: "What is the difference between drinking for seven-and-a-half hours and drinking for seven hours and 10 minutes? All the boys are amazed at the way this issue spiralled out of control "Those 20 minutes seemed to make a world of a difference to Burley and the SFA because it resulted in McGregor and Ferguson being dropped from the team to face Iceland - yet Brown was in his usual place and being hailed as a HERO by the Tartan Army. "He clearly is a very lucky boy - or perhaps he is just fortunate to have friends in high places. "No one's condoning what the Rangers pair did at Hampden. They were IDIOTS. "But it certainly appears to have been more convenient for Burley to dump them after the Holland game than it was to drop Brown." We can reveal that the Record contacted the SFA on Monday with details of the drinking binge. But the newspaper only named Ferguson and McGregor - and, despite having ALL the info, failed to mention to officials that Brown had ALSO been up for the marathon booze session. The call went in two days after Record sports editor James Traynor was involved in an angry exchange with Ferguson during the previous week's trip to Holland for another World Cup qualifier. Ferguson confronted the columnist, who had previously vilified him and even urged Walter Smith to axe him if the Ibrox side wanted to win the title. In Friday's Record, Traynor wrote: "Only last week he (Ferguson) had turned to a sympathetic paper to moan that he's some kind of victim and that some of us have the knives out for him. "Then, late on Saturday night as we all prepared to retreat from another defeat in the Amsterdam ArenA, I had a conversation with Ferguson, who wanted to know why he is criticised and why I don't consider him captain material." Other Scotland players now feel the Record failed to mention Brown to the SFA, or in their report on Wednesday about the booze shame, because he is an important contact of the paper's senior football reporter Keith Jackson. One player, who wished to remain anonymous, said: "All the boys are amazed at the way this issue spiralled out of control. There has certainly been a lot of very selective reporting about what went on." Other Scotland stars who stayed up for the early morning drinking session were Steven Whittaker, Gary Teale and Alan Hutton - but they called it quits after a couple of hours. But the News of the World understands that Brown only made it back to his room around NOON on Sunday. Before then, he had collected a pair of hairclippers and SHAVED McGregor's head as the trio shared a laugh. One source said that the keeper was found slumped in a chair with his brown locks lying around him. But a short time after the Celtic ace left the party, Scotland coach Steven Pressley spotted Ferguson and McGregor at around 12.30pm - and ordered them back to their rooms. The pair were described as "drunk as skunks" after downing beer, expensive wine and vodka and Red Bull. It was suggested Ferguson then threw up in the hotel but our source said: "That is not true. They went off to to their beds without any fuss." It was the SFA's idea to lay on food and drink in a private room But, incredibly, it took Scotland boss Burley more than 48 hours to inform his skipper and goalkeeper that they were to be sent home in disgrace. And he only made that announcement after the Record had contacted him and made it clear they were going to go public and reveal details of the pair's boozy antics. The source added: "There has definitely been a witch-hunt for Allan and Barry." We can reveal that ALL the Scotland players were given permission to have a drink after returning to Scotland in the early hours of Sunday. Our man revealed: "It was the SFA's idea to lay on food and drink in a private room for those players who decided to go back to Cameron House. We were actually ENCOURAGED to go and relax there. "Other players went home - and could have stayed up and drank all night for all anyone knows. "But the lads who did that at Cameron House - on their DAY OFF - have been hammered for it. "Allan and Barry could have pointed the finger at certain team-mates and asked why they weren't coming in for the same punishment as them. "But they kept silent and took their punishment on the chin. Their frustration just seems to have boiled over at Hampden during the Iceland match. They were put in a high- pressure situation and handled it badly. "But a lot of the boys are suspicious about how this all started. "The hotel staff were absolutely fine with what was going on and, to my knowledge, there were no complaints from the public - or they would have been plastered all over the papers. "But the way two players have been demonised for having a drink seemed a bit over the top, considering they were far from being the only ones. "Even some of the SFA staff were having a drink in the same place." After originally ordering Ferguson and McGregor home from the Loch Lomond training camp, Burley reinstated them after being approached by senior players, including Manchester United star Darren Fletcher and Celts captain Stephen McManus. The delegation voiced their concerns over the way their team-mates were being "hung out to dry" while others who stayed up for a drink went unpunished. During heated discussions between Burley and his squad, it emerged that four others - Teale, Whittaker, Hutton and Brown - had also stayed up for some time on Sunday morning. Burley was told the players were RAGING that two of their teammates were taking the rap, while others who also failed to go straight to their beds were being let off the hook. Our source revealed: "The players told Burley he couldn't have one rule for some and another rule for others. They made it clear he should either send SIX players home or none at all. There had to be some consistency. "The message which came through loud and clear from Burley and his staff was that if the papers hadn't got hold of the story about the other boys, there wasn't an issue to deal with." It is understood Burley was persuaded to reinstate Ferguson and McGregor to his squad for the Iceland game and leave them on the bench. The pair even met with SFA officials and were encouraged to go through the post-match media zone and speak to newspapers after the game. Officials hoped the duo would reiterate their disappointment over their conduct. But that move backfired spectacularly when the players made obscene gestures from the bench during the game. And those gestures effectively ended their Rangers and Scotland careers. Yet a source close to the players revealed Ferguson and McGregor were NOT aiming their V-signs at the Tartan Army OR SFA chiefs. He said: "To suggest someone like Barry was having a go at the fans or George Burley is nonsense. They were aiming the gesture at the Daily Record photographers taking their picture. "You don't play for Scotland for 10 years and leave your wife and kids for 10 days as Barry did to take on Holland and Iceland unless playing for your country means something to you. "Anyone who says otherwise is trying to stir it. Clearly they've succeeded." http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/scottish/scottish_news/251687/Celtic-star-just-as-guilty-as-Rangers-duo-Barry-Ferguson-Allan-McGregor-Scott-Brown.html

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oerpvklhVdY&feature=related]YouTube - Best Of Boruc[/ame]

April 03, 2009 TWO Rangers fans have been cleared of any alleged role in the violence which marred last summer's UEFA Final in Manchester. Simon Toland, 19, from Belfast, and 35-year-old James Clark, from Glasgow, walked free after a jury took two hours 50 minutes to find them not guilty of violent disorder. Manchester Crown Court heard they were arrested during the early hours of the morning on Chorlton Street after crowds of Rangers supporters ran amok following the defeat by Russian side Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium. http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1106627_two_rangers_fans_cleared

New Rangers captain David Weir fears that the loss of Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor will be a blow for Sunday's visit to Falkirk and beyond. McGregor and deposed skipper Ferguson have been suspended by Rangers after their misbehaviour on Scotland duty. "Obviously, I'm pleased to be captain," said 38-year-old defender Weir. "But Barry and Allan missing the game on Sunday is a big loss for us. "They are two big players and everyone in the dressing-room is disappointed." Rangers trail reigning champions Celtic by three points going into this weekend's Scottish Premier League games. And there are now doubts about the future of Ferguson and McGregor at Ibrox after their hotel drinking session and subsequent V-signs made while sitting on the Scotland bench at Hampden. "There's been no impact on the squad, but obviously if Barry and Allan aren't playing, that's going to have an impact on the team," said Weir. They are lads that we work with every day, we like them, and it's not great to hear this David Weir "But it's only just happening, so it's hard to comment." Weir was concerned for his team-mates at a personal level. "They are two friends as well," he said. "That's the most disappointing thing. "They are lads that we work with every day, we like them, and it's not great to hear this." Weir said he is ready for the challenge of leading Rangers until the summer at least. "I've stepped in in the past when Barry hasn't been available," he added. "But, obviously, I would rather Barry was the captain." Ferguson was previously stripped of the Rangers captaincy in 2007 while the team was managed by Paul Le Guen, who questioned his attitude and influence on the team. However, the lifelong Rangers fan was reinstated as skipper after Smith succeeded the Frenchman. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/r/rangers/7982111.stm

I don't even understand why the Scotland team arrived back in Scotland at that time in the morning ?, why did they not just stay over in Holland and take the 1 hour flight back home the next day ?, on arrival why did Burley sanction the players to go and have a drink ?, why were BF & Shagger the only ones to be dropped for the Iceland game when the likes of Brown only beat them to bed by 20-30min ?

Never mind, when we lose the league, we can always blame BF & Shagger

The club comes first ?................aye after you steal your massive salary ya chunt

http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/article2360013.ece

Funny that, everybody wants rid of Weir as well, too old, too slow !!

CHIEF EXECUTIVE Martin Bain has said that tonight's punishment of wayward stars Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor should act as a warning for others. Ferguson and McGregoMartin Bainr have both been fined two weeks' wages and banned for the same period for the behaviour while on international duty this week. Speaking exclusively to Rangers World, the Rangers chief executive said: "I don't think anyone has won out of the last week. However, we now look forward and must ensure that we maintain standards. "I think it is a signal to anybody else that these actions that the club has taken shows that the actions that the players have taken will not be tolerated "This football club expects standard, the Rangers supporters expect standards and the behaviour of these two players was unacceptable. "We don't condone the behaviour, especially that of our captain, and we felt this was the best way forward. "Both players have been willing to accept that their actions are not befitting Rangers Football Club and they have offered their profuse apologies. "They are very important players in the squad but this football club is bigger than anyone and I think that we owe it to our supporters to maintain standards at the football club. "There is no doubt about that these players will be missed in the run-in to the Championship but the decisions has been taken and I believe it is the right one."

I still think these two are being made the scapegoat, why were the other players involved in the sesh let off without any punishment, why were they all not dropped for the game on Wednesday ?, as far as Rangers are concerned SDM sees an opportunity to sell and get some cash IMO

Agreed Craig,entirely

No, but me being a Rangers fan, it is not good watching a Scotland game because of the bile that is spewed towards our players

Nope, do you really think the '' Tartan Army '' would allow them back

Wait until the young players who come into the team get hunted

The guys on SSN just said it !!

Only until he gets caught by the head hunters

Both players banned from playing for Scotland again, a lot of guys will be having a party tonight celebrating the good news

RANGERS FOOTBALL CLUB announced today it has suspended Barry Ferguson and Allan McGregor following an internal club inquiry into the players' conduct over the last week while on international duty with Scotland.Barry Ferguson, Scotland Martin Bain, Chief Executive of Rangers, said the players have been suspended without pay for two weeks, the maximum sanction permitted under the guidelines governing players' conduct. Ferguson and McGregor were called to a meeting with Martin Bain at Murray Park this afternoon and were informed of the action being taken by the Club. Martin Bain said: "The overall conduct of the players during the last week while on Scotland duty has, regrettably, fallen considerably short of the standards expected by Rangers Football Club and our supporters and has brought the Club into disrepute. "The management of the Club has taken the view that this has damaged both Rangers and Scotland and is unacceptable. Even though our Club is entering the critical stage of the league season and the later stages of the Scottish Cup, appropriate disciplinary action was required." The Club has agreed with the players that part of their deducted wages will be donated to charity. Allan McGregor, ScotlandBarry Ferguson said: "I deeply regret what happened last weekend and the events during the last week and apologise wholeheartedly for the embarrassment caused to Scotland, Rangers, both sets of supporters and my friends and family. "I have always considered playing for Rangers and Scotland an honour and a privilege and nothing will change that and I am bitterly disappointed by the announcement that I will not be selected for Scotland again." Allan McGregor added: "I was absolutely delighted to be selected for Scotland last weekend and I am deeply sorry over what has happened since then. We all make mistakes in life and I am very disappointed to have let Rangers, Scotland, my family all the fans down. I am also desperately disappointed that I will not be selected again for Scotland at this stage in my career."

Right, if BF & Shagger do not play for Rangers again, which is looking likely, I wonder who will be next on the witch hunt hit list ?

The truth is though, none of the Scotland fans want Rangers players in the team,unless they are Rangers fans, long before this weeks events this has been the case