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A few months ago rbr suggested that likeminded Gersnet members could donate towards a lifetime membership of Rangers First. There was reasonable level of interest at the time, but for whatever reason it didn't translate into action. A lot has happened since then in the struggle for control of Rangers and the recent requisition for an EGM has galvanised supporter opinion, leading to large numbers of new sign-ups for both RangersFirst and the RST's BuyRangers scheme. The Gers Forum were among those signing up this week, having raised £1000 in 24 hours to buy 2 Rangers First Lifetime Memberships (these are available to groups, whereas BuyRangers requires an individual membership). I'd like to organise a similar effort on Gersnet if there is enough interest. I'm aware that many of us already support RF and/or BuyRangers, while others do not share my enthusiasm for fan ownership. It's also January, so not everyone will have spare cash to donate at this time of year. However, a potentially close vote at the forthcoming EGM will be sufficient incentive for many Gersnetters. A RangersFirst Club 1872 membership costs £500, so if we can get 50 interested Bears together @ £10 each, we can make it happen. If you want to donate more than that, then great. So, my suggestion is this: 1. PM me with your forum name and the amount you'd be willing to commit to as a one off donation. 2. I'll keep a tally of the total. As and when we reach £500, I'll pass everyone's details to Bluedell, who has very kindly offered to help collect the funds. 3. Bluedell can then provide you with details (also via PM) of how he plans to collect the funds and once the full £500 has been received, we'll purchase a Lifetime Membership in the name of Gersnet. Any excess funds received will be donated to RF. 4. As RF operates a one-member-one-vote decision making process, the easiest option would be to hold a brief poll of members prior to any future RF votes. Obviously, such polls are open to members and visitors alike, but for one vote among thousands, it wouldn't be worth creating a more complicated process. If anyone has spotted a fatal flaw in the process, or has any suggestions which would make it easier, please let me know. Finally, I'd just like to make it clear that there's absolutely no compulsion to take part, but it's up to those who do to look into the details of RF if they are not already familiar with it. Cheers. -
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12241662.html
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https://m.facebook.com/rangersfansboard Rangers Fans Board 25 minutes ago · EGM DATE: The RFB can officially announce, as informed tonight by Derek Llambias, that the EGM is to be held on the 6th of March 2015
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RST Statement on Old Firm Violence 3rd February 2015 The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is extremely concerned at some of the incidents surrounding the Old Firm game at the weekend. We spoke last week about our fears that certain elements in the Celtic support were using the internet to raise sectarian tension ahead of the fixture. Sadly our concerns appear to have been well founded. First of all, we would like an explanation of how the Green Brigade were once again allowed to bring an offensive, sectarian banner into the game? This group has previous for openly supporting Irish Republican terrorism, disrupting Remembrance Day, and overt sectarian behaviour. If a Rangers fan group consistently disgraced our club with offensive, sectarian banners, we would expect the club to take decisive action. Not only does Celtic Football Club tolerate the Green Brigade, they encourage them and facilitate their displays. The use of the term “Hun” on the banner in question, despite some apologists in Scottish politics and the media playing down its significance, is clearly sectarian. Its origins in Northern Ireland are well known. All anti sectarian charities acknowledge that it is a sectarian term. We will not accept it as 'banter'. Furthermore, the use of the term “monkeys” to describe Rangers fans on another Green Brigade banner has clear parallels with historic racist language. The purpose of the terms used by the Green Brigade - “monkeys” and “huns” - is to dehumanise Rangers fans. In addition to the Green Brigade, we highlighted the likes of Phil MacGiollabhain, Angela Haggerty and others using dehumanising language online ahead of the fixture. Rangers fans are described regularly as “the klan”, references are made to “Stalag Sevco” and “fascists”. Again the clear purpose is to characterise Rangers fans as less than human or liken them to the worst elements of humanity – in other words, fair game for the hard of thinking who the writers seek to, and in some cases successfully, influence. The effect of this is clear. A ten year old Rangers fan bottled by Celtic fans who forced their way onto a Rangers supporters’ bus. Another Rangers fan assaulted outside a pub by Celtic fans and hospitalised with possible brain damage. Nacho Novo once again threatened online. Curiously, instead of accurate media reporting, we see some outlets refer to the perpetrators as “rival fans”. It is quite clear that a minority of morons in the Celtic support are listening to, and acting on, the bile churned out by MacGiollabhain, Haggerty and the Green Brigade. Instead of ineffective legislation which produces inconsistent and at times bizarre outcomes, the Scottish government should be educating the next generation of Old Firm fans on why sectarianism is not acceptable. In addition, they should be clamping down on the online hate campaign waged by certain individuals and dealing with the type of organised, premeditated sectarianism perpetrated by groups like the Green Brigade. The overwhelming majority of Old Firm fans, and indeed all Scottish football fans, are decent people who love their club. They are often targeted for disgraceful treatment and demonised whilst the real culprits are ignored. We thank the Celtic fan who started a collection for the young Rangers fan attacked at the weekend. We hope his club and the police will start to take the actions of online hate-mongers and the disgraceful, sectarian Green Brigade seriously and belatedly deal with them. - See more at: https://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-statement-on-old-firm-violence/#sthash.JOxr8LGc.dpuf
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Another small milestone on the way to being the largest FO vehicle in Britain - @RangersFirst have more members than the average attendances this season of @MotherwellFC @OfficialKillie @St_Johnstone_FC @saintmirrenfc Please join up at http://www.rangersfirst.org - and if RF isn't your thing please join RST's Buy Rangers or look to invest through one of the other FO movements such as VB's. Please do something.
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The Rangers Supporters Trust wishes to express its concern at what we consider to be a clear attempt by some online elements of the Celtic support to incite trouble ahead of an Old Firm game which already has the potential to be a powder keg fixture. We, along with the vast majority of the Rangers support, noted with some amusement the recent advert taken out by Celtic supporters in a once respected Sunday newspaper. However, what has followed makes us considerably more uneasy. There is now no question that a hardcore element of the Celtic support are not content with the troubles which have plagued our club over the past few years. For them, Rangers Football Club, and by extension its fans, must cease to exist. Whether this stems from an inferiority complex amongst part of a generation who had to live through Nine-In-A Row, or whether it is down to a more ingrained bigotry, a fierce football rivalry is not sufficient for these people. We are extremely concerned that the rhetoric and hatred spewed out by the likes of Phil MacGiollabhain, Angela Haggerty, Paul Brennan’s CQN website and others, is a deliberate attempt to try to stoke sectarian fires and incite violence at the upcoming fixture. One need only view the reaction of some Celtic fans to the recent blog by MacGiollabhain entitled “The ****** Blood Festival” to see how these people operate. MacGiollabhain himself has never challenged the assertion that he is “tarred with a sickening sectarian brush” and he has willing servants in Miss Haggerty, CQN and several other online Celtic sites. We urge all sane Celtic fans to ignore their bile. We hope the upcoming fixture will be fiercely contested. We hope, despite being clear underdogs, that Rangers will win. We also hope that fans of both teams will be able to travel to and watch the match safely. We hope that Police Scotland, as well as policing the day effectively, will take careful note of those who continue to try to incite violence at the upcoming fixture. It would be an odd legal system that arrested people for singing songs but ignored hate speech and incitement of violence. Should the worst happen, we hope the full force of the law will be brought to bear not only on the perpetrators of any trouble but also those who encourage it online. Rangers and our fans have many challenges to face in the months and years ahead. Challenges which are considerably more important to our long term future than this upcoming Old Firm game. We urge Rangers fans to stay safe, behave in a way which can make us all proud of our club and enjoy their day." - See more at: http://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-concerns-over-upcoming-old-firm-game/#sthash.dvHYDWc2.dpuf
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“The dark eleventh hour Draws on and sees us sold To every evil power We fought against of old. Rebellion, rapine hate Oppression, wrong and greed Are loosed to rule our fate” I don’t think regular readers of this blog would describe me as what the media refer to as a “pop-pom cheerleader” of the various factions vying for control of our club. I’ve never seen the attraction nor sense of writing a blog to further the endeavours of rich businessmen who can afford their own PR machines. I’ve been highly critical of Dave King’s strategy to gain control of our club, and I stand by such criticism to this day. When I wrote my open letter to him, I envisaged King riding in like the 7th cavalry, scooping up shares to gain control of our club. Thereby uniting a fractured support, and thus enabling us to get behind our club where together we could build a stable future for her. What we got of course was something completely different which has only served to exacerbate such fractures. Furthermore, contrary to some reports, Mike Ashley is not the devil incarnate. He is a powerful, ruthless and opportunistic businessman who appears to maximise to his full potential, the misfortune and weakness of others. Sentiment does not appear to come into it – just ask the employees of USC. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/mike-ashley-wields-his-iron-fist-once-more-at-usc-9994171.html Alarmingly, our football club appears to be the latest victim of Mr Ashley’s growing business empire and he has been assisted in this to the full by a thoroughly incompetent, self-serving and shambolic Rangers board. Having comprehensively failed to balance the housekeeping budget they have then compounded the problem by rejecting all offers of outside investment thus leaving our club on the equivalent of a life support machine – relying on short term cash infusions where only the good grace and will of the donors prevented us from going under, as this shambles of a board failed to meet the repayments within the agreed time period. While the Man who would be King issued sound bite statements to the press, Ashley continued to increase his powerbase within our club, but of course every power grab carried a considerable financial caveat. Our retail, our historical assets, even our very trademark were considered fair game. Where there were dissenting voices within our boardroom, people who dared to highlight that such deals were not in the best interests of our club – Ashley eradicated them. Messrs Wallace, Nash & Crighton – RIP. A number of leaked e-mails demonstrated that the remnants of the Rangers board appeared to be more concerned about preserving their places on the board rather than pursuing the best financial deal for the club. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/11247379/Sandy-Easdales-true-role-in-Rangers-takeover-talks-thrown-into-question-by-release-of-emails.html Further confirmation of this was provided courtesy of Colin Kingsnorth of Laxey, who clearly felt it was appropriate to call time on this acquiescing of power to the Ashley Empire. http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/11788/9626770/scottish-championship-laxey-partners-sell-rangers-shares The consequence of course, is that we now have a Rangers board dominated by Ashley men. These are the same men who control the destiny of our retail, our historical assets (with the exception of Ibrox – for now) our very trademark. I will ask you a simple question. When it comes to a crucial vote in our boardroom whose interests will these men move to protect – Rangers or Sports Direct? The situation is beyond dire but it is still salvageable. Dave King has called for an EGM which will present us with the opportunity to replace the current board. I’m not being melodramatic when I say the destiny and future of our club is in the hand of shareholders. Furthermore I will not mislead you. I’m convinced Dave King does not have the financial muscle which the Ashley Empire has at its disposal. If we vote to remove the current board and replace it with a Dave King one, I believe our club will be on its knees for a longer period. But I’d much rather be on my knees under my own strength, striving and aspiring to restore this club to its former glory with every part of the body working together to achieve that aim, than be on my knees bended in servitude and reliant on the quick fix solutions of others at a cost which threaten to take away my very soul, my very heritage and my identity, What answer from the North? A resounding “Thanks, but No thanks Mr Ashley”
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@RangersFCTrust: All supporters who invested at the IPO should be receiving a letter from the RST over the next few days. Got my letter this morning. One thing they are offering is lifetime membership in exchange for 357 shares. This seems a bit expensive to me, 357 X 70p = £249.90 the price at IPO.
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https://www.facebook.com/rangersfansboard
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Following detailed legal advice, the Rangers Supporters Trust (RST), with the financial backing of the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund (RFFF), submitted a petition to the Court of Session in Edinburgh on Monday 26th January, seeking an interim interdict to stop the Rangers board from granting security over Ibrox in favour of Sports Direct. Discussions between our lawyers and the board’s lawyers continued over the past three days. The conclusion of these discussions was the that board has agreed not to grant security over Ibrox for a period up until the 17th February covered by the advance notice they submitted. We are disappointed that we were not able to secure the extension of this commitment until the date of the upcoming EGM, as this now leaves a short period of time in which the board could grant security over Ibrox before they are hopefully removed. This is particularly concerning given the announcement yesterday that a further period of due diligence is required for the second £5m tranche of debt that the board has decided to saddle the club with. We believe our actions had a material impact in stopping the board from granting security over Ibrox. The revised deal with Sports Direct was agreed late on Monday night according to Paul Shackleton, the club’s AIM nomad. This was immediately following the petition submitted to the court, the announcement of which delayed what would have been a necessary interdict hearing in the Court of Session on Tuesday. We do not believe that the filing of a notice of intention to grant security over Ibrox was an error and we believe that a fixed security over Ibrox would most likely have been granted to Sports Direct had it not been challenged. We would like to register our disappointment that it was necessary to take legal action to hold this board to their public promises to shareholders and fans. Whilst we are pleased that the immediate danger posed to Ibrox has been averted, we share the anger of other fans at the latest act of corporate piracy perpetrated by the current Rangers directors. By accepting this deal with Sports Direct, they have plunged our club into unnecessary debt and, by pawning off further revenue streams including shirt sponsorship, have limited our ability to repay that debt. They have done this in their own interests and those of Mike Ashley. David Somers, Derek Llambias, James Easdale and Barry Leach have, in our opinion, neglected their duties to the PLC they are meant to represent. Our fans have one chance to remove these directors before they cause even more damage. We urge them to sign up at http://www.therst.co.uk/buyrangers and ensure that this board is removed at the upcoming EGM and replaced with directors who put Rangers Football Club above their own personal positions and the financial betterment of their masters. We will continue to liaise with our lawyers, the RFFF and other major shareholders regarding the actions of the Easdale brothers, David Somers, Derek Llambias and Barry Leach. We look forward to a forensic examination of their conduct following the EGM. We would like to thank the RFFF for their continued support, without which it would have been very difficult to challenge the actions of this discredited board. - See more at: http://www.therst.co.uk/news/ibrox-court-action-statement/#sthash.GhlaIbzq.dpuf
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...bring back memories of administration at Ibrox. AFTER Mike Ashley stepped up his Ibrox power grab with another huge loan this week KEITH asks; is the Sports Direct supremo actually asset-stripping Rangers or is he preparing to negotiate with a new board? IS Mike Ashley asset-stripping Rangers ? That’s the question asked under parliamentary privilege at the House of Commons on Tuesday and one the Newcastle owner will have to answer if, as expected, he is summoned to attend a Westminster enquiry . On the face of it, there seems a strong case for the prosecution. In the last few days, and without even stepping foot in Glasgow, Ashley has managed to sweep through Ibrox, scooping up just about everything of value that wasn’t nailed down. Had he bothered to turn up in person he might have made his way home on the famous old St Etienne bike, testing the integrity of its 37-year-old frame to the full. Integrity. Now there’s a word that might cause Ashley more discomfort than half an hour on a racer’s saddle. There are 7.125billion people on the planet. Only 292 of them have more money than Ashley. And yet this champion of the zero hours contracts dumped 200 workers from his high street fashion store USC on to the dole just after Christmas without so much as a lump of coal for a thank you. Integrity? In Big Mike’s world that’s for wimps. Little wonder then that he has acted so brazenly in his Ibrox power grab. With one hand he has fed Rangers with a succession of life-saving drip-feed loans while with the other he’s throttled it into submission. His latest £10million handout was his way of parcelling up an entire institution into one of those vulgar, oversized Sports Direct carrier bags. As bargains go, this one takes some beating. For the price of a fully repayable loan (or in other words for not a single penny) Ashley controls every last bit of Rangers FC, from the old boardroom to the dressing rooms inside Murray Park. His commercial contract has been massively beefed up – Sports Direct now own 75 per cent of the club’s own retail company – which means the badges and crests are now in Ashley’s name too. Also as part of the new agreement, if Rangers should strike a multi-million shirt sponsorship deal, the vast majority of that money will go straight into Ashley’s back pocket. So, in summary, a business already teetering on the verge of insolvency has now taken on a mountain of new debt, while giving up huge chunks of its only existing revenue. Now I’m no Lord Sugar but even so, the logic being applied here seems so flawed that it’s bordering on insane. This business now has its bare toes curled around the summit of Everest, having pawned off its safety harness. With one puff of his chubby red cheeks, Ashley could blow the whole thing into oblivion. In fact, this latest decision by a board which is itself not fit for purpose has a very familiar and nasty whiff of madness to it. And the similarities don’t end there because another red flag was raised in Tuesday’s Stock Exchange statement and it came in the form of two words that became part of the Rangers discussion during Craig Whyte’s chaotic end of days – floating charge. Now Ashley too has placed a floating charge over the club’s assets and although this may be purely coincidental, while his motives and strategy remain a complete mystery, it ought to raise the general level of alarm. So is Ashley actually asset-stripping Rangers right in front of the eyes of its supporters? Or is this latest move the latest part of some other plan for the Ibrox club? Those who study Ashley’s dealings closely describe him as the ultimate high-roller poker player. They are quick to point out too that, deliberately inserted into Tuesday’s statement, was a line about all of these agreements being reversible upon repayment. It could be, in tieing up all of the above, Ashley is merely about to spread them down like a massive pile of casino chips. That he is preparing for defeat at an egm in the knowledge that Dave King’s requisition already has majority support among the club’s shareholders. Certainly, if any of these city types were previously undecided as to which way to cast their votes, the terms of Tuesday’s £10m loan shark deal would have helped make up their minds. If anything, by accepting Ashley’s deal over a rival offer from Douglas Park, George Letham and George Taylor, the board may have significantly bolstered the mood for regime change. Where the numbers are concerned, King’s hand has just been strengthened. Even so, Ashley heads into this showdown holding all the aces. Even if the board is obliterated, King will still have to deal with the man who controls the club’s assets. And Ashley will call the shots. What he will not do is roll over. He’s had serious skin in this Rangers game for too long to fold now. Ashley has been at the table for more than two years, ever since he handed £1m to Charles Green in advance of the £22m IPO of December 2012. Sports Direct has been stuffing its tills with blue pounds ever since courtesy of Green’s incredible generosity. His old pal Derek Llambias was even invited into Ibrox around the same time to strike a deal which saw Ashley buy the stadium’s naming rights for a pound. Llambias now sits at the head of the board in his role as CEO but he too has been around this saga for longer than most will have realised. He owns 51 per cent of a PR firm called Keith Bishop Associates who, around the time of that IPO, were invoicing former Finance Director Brian Stockbridge for all manner of sums without ever appearing to engage in any actual PR for the club. Stranger still, these payments were being signed off at a time when Green was hiring his own PR guru. Ironically, Llambias was appointed to the Rangers board late in 2014, not long after the Keith Bishop contract had been terminated by his predecessor Graham Wallace. Intriguing isn’t it? So on Monday afternoon I contacted Keith Bishop, who acts as Ashley’s official spokesperson, by phone earlier to ask him about some of this mysterious stuff. He requested I submit any questions via an email. That email landed in his inbox less than half an hour later. It took him until last night to respond in an email which read: “This company’s relationship with its clients are, and remain, confidential and not open to be discussed in the public domain.” All of which just goes to prove that it’s getting harder and harder to get a straight answer to anything Rangers related these days. So is Ashley really asset-stripping Rangers? Or is he gearing up for a massive game of negotiation poker with King and a new board? That would certainly seem the more logical view. But then again, this is Rangers. Logic left the building some time ago. http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/keith-jackson-mike-ashleys-rangers-5062140
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The Sun saying he has been banned because he joined RF. Someone asking if Foster has joined yet.
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Statement from the bears due at 6pm (approx) keep the faith guys please, from FF
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A SCOTS MP is to raise questions in the Commons about whether Mike Ashley is a fit and proper person to run Rangers and other clubs after he was accused of deplorable behaviour over his treatment of workers at his collapsed clothing firm. Central Ayrshire MP Brian Donohoe says he will use parliamentary privilege to question the credentials of the billionaire Newcastle United owner to run top flight sides. Business Minister Fergus Ewing has already expressed "extreme concern and disappointment" at the conduct of Mr Ashley's Sports Direct, which owns USC, after it went into administration this month with the loss of 88 jobs in Dundonald, South Ayrshire. http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/mike-ashleys-credentials-to-run-football-clubs-to-be-questioned-in-parliament.116853857
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http://www.rangers.co.uk/images/FansBoard/Minutes/RFB_Minutes_080115.pdf
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by Alan Clark | Deputy Editor http://www.thecoplandroad.org/2015/01/rangers-fan-ownership-pipe-dream-no-more.html
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I see Rangers First are at over 4k members now, as are the RST The example of Hearts having over 8k members paying in every month was often held up as something we should be quite easily topping with the size of our support Well now we have matched it, and will overtake it at the current rate of sign ups, quite an achievement considering its not backed by the club the way Hearts is I think as the schemes grow, and the numbers look more impressive, people who were not sure will be more likely to say "this could actually work" and sign up Its just a shame in typical Rangers fan fashion its split into 2 factions.. if it was one scheme sitting at 8k and rising steadily every day things would look very rosy for fan ownership imo Any chance of the 2 merging?
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The Rangers Supporters Trust (RST) is delighted to announce that, following a successful meeting yesterday, the Rangers Fans Fighting Fund (RFFF) has thrown its considerable finances and influence behind the RST's continuing fight to ensure Ibrox remains under the control of the club. We are delighted that the RFFF has taken this decision and would like to thank them for doing so. There is now a substantial legal fund available, should it be required, to fight any attempt by this board to pass security over Ibrox to Mike Ashley. We will work closely with the RFFF going forward to ensure every avenue is explored. http://www.therst.co.uk/news/rst-gains-rfff-support-for-ibrox-legal-fight/
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@RangersFCTrust: .@ChrisGraham76 talking about the RST will be on STV Glasgow tonight at 10pm: channel 23 on freeview, 117 on Sky, 159 on Virgin
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keith jackson @tedermeatballs I'm not going to use the phrase 'statement klaxon' again. But, yes, I think one will be along very shortly.... -
The Union of Fans is calling on Rangers fans to stage a "mass demonstration" outside Ibrox 45 minutes before kick-off tomorrow night.
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As title states.
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Who gives the lowest dealing charges. Decide to do my wee bit and up my share holding. Halifax £12:50 per trade.
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EGM requisition has been delivered to Ibrox within the last couple of minutes. Statement klaxon to follow no doubt.
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http://sport.stv.tv/football/clubs/rangers/306606-mike-ashley-posts-intent-to-take-out-security-over-rangers-ibrox-stadium/
