Kris boyd

[ian1964 10,724]

Allan McGregor: I never gave Tartan Army the fingers

 

Dec 30 2009 By Keith Jackson

 

ALLAN McGREGOR last night claimed he'd willingly take a lie-detector test to prove to the Tartan Army he never gave them the fingers during the Boozegate affair.

 

The Rangers keeper is about to be handed an international reprieve by new boss Craig Levein - nine months after being told he'd never play for his country again in the wake of the biggest footballing scandal of the Noughties.

 

As Record Sport revealed yesterday, Levein has officially invited McGregor, drinking buddy Barry Ferguson and self-imposed outcast Kris Boyd back into the Scotland set-up and wants all three to meet with him in January.

 

McGregor is desperate to seize his chance for redemption and, during an emotional interview with Record Sport yesterday, has opened his heart on the biggest mistake of his life.

 

Some Scotland fans have not forgiven McGregor and Ferguson for the all-night bender on the banks of Loch Lomond at the end of March or, more importantly, for the gestures that followed as the axed pair sat flicking V-signs form the Hampden bench at the Iceland match.

 

But while McGregor is still mortified by his own stupidity he is also adamant the fans were not his targets.

 

The 27-year-old, who has won just four caps, said: "I'm not a bad guy - anyone who knows me will tell you that.

 

"But that night at Hampden I felt I had been thrown to the wolves if I'm honest.

 

"The whole Boozegate thing had not been well handled and Fergie and myself felt we were being hammered for something others had been involved in.

 

"Then we had to sit there with 300 cameras pointing in our faces. And that's when it happened.

 

"It was an act of stupidity and I regretted it as soon as I saw the pictures the next day. In fact, I've regretted it every day since then.

 

"People think we hatched it between us in the dressing room as some kind of way of sticking our fingers up at the whole country .

 

"But that's honestly not the way it was. It happened at the spur of the moment when we were sitting there with all the cameras flashing.

 

"I can't even tell you what was going through my head at the time. It's impossible to explain unless you were there, in that position.

 

"But I can say this with my hand on my heart - the V signs were not meant for the Tartan Army or for all of Scotland.

 

"It was just a stupid, childish reaction to the situation we were in. If I had felt that way about the fans I would have walked out into the centre circle and stuck two fingers up there.

 

"What else can I say? I'd take a lie-detector test if I could - that's how strongly I feel about it. I wish I could turn the clock back.

 

"We all make mistakes in life and I'll probably make a few more before my career is over. But I know I'll never do anything as stupid as that again."

[pete 2,499]

TA message board:

 

http://taboard.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109634&st=0

 

This seems pretty well balanced to me. It could have been a thread on here a year ago and we are all Rangers supporters. Certainly nothing there that would make me not want to support Scotland.

[craig 5,199]

This seems pretty well balanced to me. It could have been a thread on here a year ago and we are all Rangers supporters. Certainly nothing there that would make me not want to support Scotland.

 

Why is it you continue to try to compare Rangers with Scotland pete ? Two very different squads with two very different standards of player. There really is no comparison.

[pete 2,499]

This seems pretty well balanced to me. It could have been a thread on here a year ago and we are all Rangers supporters. Certainly nothing there that would make me not want to support Scotland.

 

 

 

 

Why is it you continue to try to compare Rangers with Scotland pete ? Two very different squads with two very different standards of player. There really is no comparison.

 

Craig, where in the quote you gave am i comparing Rangers with Scotland. And you claim i put words in your mouth.

Sorry i don't understand what you are getting at.

The original argument was that the tartan army are some sort of anti-Rangers organisation. I have seen that quoted on here many times or words to that effect. The fact is nobody has produced one piece of evidence that there is an organised anti-Rangers club. Yes there are tim supporters on Scotland message boards who hate us. They will hate us anyway whether we support Scotland or not. I was in Amsterdam for Holland- Scotland and there were plenty of Rangers supporters wearing kilts and some kind of headgear in this supposedly Evil demon they call the tartan army.

You say A.McG,BF and KB are unmissable for Scotland. I say any player whether they play for Barcelona or Rangers is missable if they misbehave.

Please don't come back with i am putting words in your mouth or i am comparing Rangers with Scotland,it is becoming repetitive and adds absolutely no value to the discussion.

[H1ndy 0]

is there any word on boyd contract as im getting a lil anxious over the wait, IMO he deserves to be amoungst our top earners.

[calscot 0]

Sorry, but I still can't really see what "misbehaviour" was big enough to drop good players and cut off your nose to spite your face. I still contend the original Boozegate affair was 100% bad management rather than players misbehaving. I also contend that having a bit of a drink 3.5 days before a game will do next to no harm to a player's performance and there is plenty of hard evidence to back that up.

 

The whole thing is purely hypocritical arrogance by Burley, the SFA and the TA.

 

Those players could have been playing for Barcelona or Cowdenbeath and should still have not been dropped. The situation should have not been encouraged to start with and handled with some rationality afterwards - ie a slapped wrist and a warning about going over the score in future. If anyone should have been dropped for misbehaving, I think it should have been Burley and the SFA officials.

 

I really can't see how you can punish someone big time for breaking a rule that didn't even exist at the time. Burley was an idiot and his results reflected that. It seems a testament to karma that he's now out of a job while the players he treated so badly are back in the fold.

[pete 2,499]

Sorry, but I still can't really see what "misbehaviour" was big enough to drop good players and cut off your nose to spite your face. I still contend the original Boozegate affair was 100% bad management rather than players misbehaving. I also contend that having a bit of a drink 3.5 days before a game will do next to no harm to a player's performance and there is plenty of hard evidence to back that up.

 

The whole thing is purely hypocritical arrogance by Burley, the SFA and the TA.

 

Those players could have been playing for Barcelona or Cowdenbeath and should still have not been dropped. The situation should have not been encouraged to start with and handled with some rationality afterwards - ie a slapped wrist and a warning about going over the score in future. If anyone should have been dropped for misbehaving, I think it should have been Burley and the SFA officials.

 

I really can't see how you can punish someone big time for breaking a rule that didn't even exist at the time. Burley was an idiot and his results reflected that. It seems a testament to karma that he's now out of a job while the players he treated so badly are back in the fold.

 

That is obviously your opinion. Many people will have different opinions. Walter smith did. I also felt at the time they should be punished for the V-sign(not boozgate) I agree that a life ban was far to severe.

As for this mystical tartan army that you now mention.

I would guess that you have the names of the organisers and can produce some evidence.

Please not just a website with a handful of tim supporters spewing crap.

[craig 5,199]

Craig, where in the quote you gave am i comparing Rangers with Scotland. And you claim i put words in your mouth.

Sorry i don't understand what you are getting at.

The original argument was that the tartan army are some sort of anti-Rangers organisation. I have seen that quoted on here many times or words to that effect. The fact is nobody has produced one piece of evidence that there is an organised anti-Rangers club. Yes there are tim supporters on Scotland message boards who hate us. They will hate us anyway whether we support Scotland or not. I was in Amsterdam for Holland- Scotland and there were plenty of Rangers supporters wearing kilts and some kind of headgear in this supposedly Evil demon they call the tartan army.

You say A.McG,BF and KB are unmissable for Scotland. I say any player whether they play for Barcelona or Rangers is missable if they misbehave.

Please don't come back with i am putting words in your mouth or i am comparing Rangers with Scotland,it is becoming repetitive and adds absolutely no value to the discussion.

 

Can you tell me where I said AM, BF and KB were unmissable for Scotland ? I DID, however, say that they would enhance a Scotland squad. And you say I put words in your mouth ? touche.

 

Pete, your opinion is that the TA, in general, are not anti-Rangers - and your justification is that you support Rangers and are a supporter of Scotland and, by default, part of TA, right ? That, as I said, doesn't necessarily put you in the majority.

 

As for the rest of your post it is barely even worthy of comment pete. You told me in a previous post that I was "mixed up" because I mentioned Scott Brown et al - yet it was YOU who mentioned them in the first instance, it was you who suggested that members of the TA might want them in the team ahead of those mentioned above - yet when I gave you a riposte I was the one that was mixed up ? That was rich.

 

I am done debating this with you pete. Your opinion and mine differs on the subject, simple. I wont convince you otherwise and you wont convince me.

 

You are right about one thing though, it is boring and repetitive, and YOU are as much to blame for that as I am.

[pete 2,499]

Can you tell me where I said AM, BF and KB were unmissable for Scotland ? I DID, however, say that they would enhance a Scotland squad. And you say I put words in your mouth ? touche.

 

Pete, your opinion is that the TA, in general, are not anti-Rangers - and your justification is that you support Rangers and are a supporter of Scotland and, by default, part of TA, right ? That, as I said, doesn't necessarily put you in the majority.

 

As for the rest of your post it is barely even worthy of comment pete. You told me in a previous post that I was "mixed up" because I mentioned Scott Brown et al - yet it was YOU who mentioned them in the first instance, it was you who suggested that members of the TA might want them in the team ahead of those mentioned above - yet when I gave you a riposte I was the one that was mixed up ? That was rich.

 

I am done debating this with you pete. Your opinion and mine differs on the subject, simple. I wont convince you otherwise and you wont convince me.

 

You are right about one thing though, it is boring and repetitive, and YOU are as much to blame for that as I am.

 

No Craig my justification is not that i am a Scotland supporter,my justification is that no one can produce one piece of evidence that there is an organised anti-Rangers campaign amongst Scotland supporters.

Scotland supporter don't need to segregate themselves from rangers. Some Rangers supporters are doing that for themselves.

I will gladly change my mind when i can witness the evidence for myself. Until then i will remain a herder and not become one of the sheep.

[ian1964 10,724]

That is obviously your opinion. Many people will have different opinions. Walter smith did. I also felt at the time they should be punished for the V-sign(not boozgate) I agree that a life ban was far to severe.

As for this mystical tartan army that you now mention.

I would guess that you have the names of the organisers and can produce some evidence.

Please not just a website with a handful of tim supporters spewing crap.

 

Glad to see we can have a different opinion.

The fact is you are trying to argue that the TA on a whole are not Rangers haters because you met a couple of Rangers fans supporting Scotland,do you have hard evidence of that ? .

 

I have witnessed/experienced/heard the hatred of Rangers players during a Scotland game,I don't have any pics or didn't record it so I don't have hard evidence so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Maybe the fact that you are living in Holland you don't get to hear much of this anti Rangers agenda,however I'm sure you heard the TA booing BF & Shagger when they were out warming up before the Holland game at Hampden,before the two finger salute.

Still, if you think the majority of TA don't hate Rangers, then you are entitled to believe what you want,as there is no hard evidence that you keep harping on about, I have my ears for my hard evidence. And this is not just a new thing,it's been around for years.