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I am delighted to announce that the Nithsdale Loyal RSC has today completed a purchase of 28,000 Rangers shares in our small attempt to try to get as many shares into Rangers supporters hands as possible. Our members are currently also looking to increase this number with individual purchases over the next week or so before the EGM. While this might not get us a board seat or even a mention of the list of shareholders, if every RSC out there managed to snap up a few thousand shares here and there we would soon have a significant enough number to collectively make a difference in voting terms and influence. I know other RSC's might already have done this either through the IPO or in more recent times as fan ownership vehicles have seen huge growth in numbers and contributors, and we salute them and now proudly stand alongside our brothers in arms against this regime.

Last Saturday I passed the red lion pub at plantation and seen the supporters bus leaving for the game this is a club that's been going for quite a time anyone know of any clubs that have been going for over twenty years I have great admiration for these clubs and the blokes that run them well done to them all .

Meeting between Supporters Club and Rangers FC and Strathclyde Police Last night, Thursday, Billy Montgomery of the Nithsdale Loyal RSC facilitated a meeting between around a dozen reps mainly from clubs in the Glasgow area. Initially the meeting had been called as a result of media reportage which caused concern about the policing of the forthcoming Old Firm match. Also present were club liaison manger Jim Hannah; Rangers FC security and safety executives David Martin and Robin Howe; and Andrew Bates the match commander at Ibrox from Strathclyde Police. We were given the outline of the complaints to UEFA but no specifics as yet as it is still being worked on by Rangers legal people. Very strong representations were made to the club and police stressing that fans want a level playing field with regards to policing, stewarding and consideration of fan behaviour. It is totally unacceptable that Rangers fans are treated as second class citizens. Fan reps also stressed that we expected the club not only to defend itself to the fullest extent possible in this instance but to instigate changes in policy which will result in the ending of attacks on the club from the media or politically/religiously-motivated mischief makers. Andrew Bates was then asked about the policing of the game in general and about changes to police/legislative policy in particular. With regard to the 35-strong undercover snatch squad mentioned in the Daily Record he said that was incorrect - he will have officers at his disposal whom he can send into the crowd should he feel the need. These will not be targeted at any one support or any one section of the ground. Whilst he would not obviously be drawn into internal police matters we made it clear to him that it was intolerable that any group of fans should be allowed with impunity to sing the praises of terrorist groups for 90 minutes every second weekend, often within the Strathclyde force area. Likewise slogans and banners which are grossly offensive are simply not tolerated amongst the home support at Ibrox and we expect this to be the case in areas reserved for visiting fans. It was likewise intimated that the imbalance in court procedure, procurator fiscal decisions and police tactics needed to be addressed to remove undue influence and that the opinions of Rangers fans in particular need to be listened to and heard in discussions from which we are presently excluded. Preparations are being made for a meeting of supporters club reps on Sunday 1st May - once details are ready details will be sent out.

Today we were represented at Glasgow Sheriff Court in our small claims action against Dundee United, following their decision not to refund any part of the ticket price for the abandoned game last year. Only when our case was called did we, for the first time, see what defence Dundee United intended to carry out. Their lawyer asked for the case to be thrown out on 2 counts, one being that the case should have been made in Dundee and not Glasgow, and the other being a case of title, meaning that instead of the action being made against Dundee United Football Club, it should have been The Dundee United Football Company Limited. So there we have it, 2 technicalities is what their spokesman said was a ââ?¬Å?vigorous defenceââ?¬Â. They did not want to argue that what they did was right, or legal, or fair. They wanted the sheriff to throw it out without any consideration of the facts of the case. Rightfully, their sneaky ploy was unsuccessful, and our request that the case be continued for 2 weeks to allow us time to consider their defence motion, was granted. Dundee United have shown utter contempt for football supporters all the way through this whole sorry episode, and sunk to new lows today in their attempt to wriggle out of the action with expensive lawyers and sneaky last minute motions. We now know what depths they will sink to in order to avoid the arguments made against them that what they did was wrong and in 2 weeks time we will be more than ready for them. For anyone interested, the next appearance in court is another preliminary hearing to hear the jurisdiction and title legal arguments on Friday 23 April at 2pm in Court 12 of Glasgow Sheriff Court. We were expecting today to be a mere formality to set a date for the full hearing, but United's sneaky underhand tactics tried to catch us out. Next time we will be more than ready for them.

We all remember the farce following the abandoned game against Dundee united last year where United, instead of allowing free entry to ticket holders to the re-arranged game, charged half price entry to the match. We at the Nithsdale Loyal RSC challenged DUFC on this issue, and you may recall a report on these pages saying we were ready to take them to court over this. A further update is now on our website regarding our court date. Link: http://www.nithsdaleloyal.com/

Tannochside Bear gives us the lowdown on recent events with his RSC - the Nithsdale Loyal RSC - versus Dundee Utd who as well all know disgracefully plan to charge fans for a previous game being called off. http://www.gersnetonline.co.uk/2010/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=180 On Sunday 1 November 2009, the SPL match between Dundee United and Rangers was abandoned at half time due to the terrible weather and conditions which were becoming unplayable in the view of the referee, supported by both managers and players. Dundee United made an announcement that the game was being abandoned, and for fans to retain their ticket stubs. The game, in which Rangers were leading 1-0 was deleted from the records as having not happened at all, it is not included in the league tables, it is essentially as if it never started at all. Dundee United's ground regulations include the following, crucial, piece of information regarding matches of this nature. ââ?¬Å?Where a match is abandoned during an all ticket match, the retained portion of that ticket, the value of which will subsequently be determined by the Club, will be valid to exchange or part exchange (if the value is subsequently determined to be less than the full ticket price to be charged for the re-arranged fixture) for a ticket at the re-arranged fixture. Any supporter who cannot attend the re-arranged fixture will be entitled to a refund of the subsequently determined value of the ticket voucher or ticket provided that an application for a refund is received by the Club within 14 days of the date of the re-arranged fixture being announcedââ?¬Â On Wednesday 4 November, the SPL announced that the match was to be replayed on Tuesday 15 December. 12 days later, on Monday 16 November, Dundee United announced that the value of the ticket stubs was to be zero, and that all supporters, regardless of whether they attended the first match or not, were going to be able to purchase a match ticket for Ã?£12. Using their own rules, our RSC wrote to Dundee United on Tuesday 17 November to advise them that we would be seeking proper compensation for the match tickets that were supposed to be worth something, but that Dundee United have stated are worth nothing. As this was 13 days after the fixture was announced, we were within our rights to apply for a refund. On Tuesday 17 November, the copy of the ground regulations previously available on Dundee United's website, mysteriously disappeared. Thankfully we had printed off a copy for our records. On Friday 20 November, having received no reply from Dundee United to our enquiry, we wrote to them again seeking an answer to our letter. This time we received a reply the same day informing us that our enquiry had been passed on "to the relevant parties for comment". We had, since the announcement made by Dundee United on Monday 16 November, been in contact with Glasgow Trading Standards office, who looked at our complaint that we had bought tickets to a football match, had not got what we had paid for, and now our tickets were being invalidated. Trading Standards were very supportive of our view and have continued to be most helpful to us throughout. On Tuesday 1 December we received a full reply from Dundee United to our enquiry. Their defence of their decision was to state that the ticket is only for admittance to the ground and not to see the match. It seems to be their logic that it is only a coincidence that a match just so happens to be taking place when fans buy tickets to enter the ground. They go on to state that they have allowed us the opportunity to purchase replacement tickets without the inconvenience of having to send in the old ticket stubs at a discounted price of Ã?£12. On Thursday 3 December I received a very informative email from the guy at Glasgow Trading Standards who has been helping us, prior to our regular monthly club meeting that night. He explained that complaints to Trading Standards normally have 2 elements to them, a civil and a criminal. The civil is surrounding the contract between the consumer and trader and the criminal if the trader has breached any criminal law. In the civil matter, Trading Standards have no power to enforce a solution, they can only offer advice. In a criminal matter, if any breaches of law have occured from the trader, then Trading Standards will report the matter to the Procurator Fiscal who will decide whether any prosecution will be taken. On putting forward all the available information to our members, we decided it was right to proceed with a civil case in the small claims court if we continued to fail to find a solution with Dundee United, using club funds to finance the claim. On Monday 7 December, we wrote to Dundee United to reject their reply of 1 December, and asking them to look again at the matter, whilst informing them that should we be unable to reach an agreeable settlement, we would be left with no other option but to raise a small claims court action against them. On Thursday 10 December, Dundee United announced that they would be giving any profits made from the replayed match to the United for Kids charity. It is important to point out that this charity pays for underpriviledged kids to get season tickets at Dundee United, and while that is of course a worthy gesture and United match any donations Ã?£1 for Ã?£1, it does mean that the money will find its way back to the club eventually. Charity begins at home and all that. Today, Friday 11 December has seen us send the last chance email to Dundee United before going to court next week. At the time of writing I have had no response. Also today has seen some press reporting of the story, with articles in both the Record and Sun's sport pages noting what we are trying to do. I know from being contacted personally, through others at our club, and through Trading Standards, that other supporters clubs are also pursuing this course of action, and we would call for all Rangers supporters who attended the first game to watch this space and be ready to put in similar actions if we are successful. We will of course be helping our fellow bears with instructions as to how to go about things if we manage to get a successful outcome to this for our supporters club. It is our opinion that this game should be treated exactly the same way as a game that was postponed just before kick-off. That goes to say that the costs are still there for the home club, as programmes have been published, police and stewards paid for, catering supplied, and tickets sold. As the game is not on the record books of either side, or the SPL whose tournament the game was played under, or the SFA as governing body of Scottish football, it stands to reason that the ticketing arrangements should be the same as a postponed match, in that the original tickets are valid for the replayed fixture. An appeal for donations to help cover policing and stewarding costs may have attracted a more sympathetic response from fans attending the match. It would also have prevented this from turning into a PR disaster for Dundee United, with many of their own fans just as angry as Rangers fans on this issue. Whilst we only visit Tannadice once or twice a year, their own loyal fans may hit them harder for longer. It is worth pointing out that the SPL rulebook states that ground regulations regarding ticketing are entirely down to the SPL member clubs. That quite simply is a cop out and not good enough, and it is heartening to know that Trading Standards are advising the SPL to change these rules at their next AGM. So even if we go to court and lose, the real winners could be Scottish football fans as rules surrounding this issue are almost certain to come into force for next season to prevent a repeat performance of this sad state of affairs.

http://www.rangerssupporterstrust.co.uk/rs...00&Itemid=1 Following an unprecedented meeting, arranged by Billy Montgomery of Nithsdale Loyal, involving 68 Rangers Supporters' Clubs and 7 fans' organisations on Saturday 5 April, the Rangers Supporters' Trust, Rangers Supporters' Assembly and Rangers Supporters' Association have made a joint statement asking all parts of the Rangers family to unite in doing three things: improve the atmosphere at games; support the team; and demonstrate the best of our traditions. Whilst many of us no doubt feel we are being victimised, there can be no doubt that we must get our own house in order and the time to act is now. Rangers FC and their supporters have everything to be proud of. We are Scotland's most successful club and the tradition, history and heritage of our fans is the history of the nation. Our values and community are rooted in pride, loyalty and commitment. The good name of the club and the support are too important to risk and all of us must accept it is time to move on. The '*** Brigade' has had its day. All members of the Rangers family must unite and celebrate the club's traditions in a positive fashion. We must be judged on what we are for, not what we are against. We can and will defend our traditional anthems and songs, but without the idiotic add-ons. Rangers Football Club is more important than any of us - it is an institution, one of the greatest football clubs in the world. As a uniquely Scottish and British Club it is incumbent on us to act in the best traditions possible. 'We Are The People' - let's show the world what that really means.