Won't Get Fooled Again?

[andy steel 0]

 

As the political side of the Rangers fanbase emerges from its long, long sleep and engages with a bit of direct action, a few words of grudging admiration have been evident in the weekend and Monday morning papers. Wilson of The Herald, Lyndsey of The Evening Times and Jackson of The Daily Record all approve of this activist led approach; while the more predictably misogernist outlets, like the Beeb, have tempered any sense of positivity with mild chastisement that (a) Rangers fans have taken too long to take such action and (b) they waste their energy going after enemies in the media rather than in Ibrox itself.

 

These criticisms are worth looking at, because they are going to be the narrative which is passed down into the history of this awful period for Rangers, that the fans were found wanting at crucial moments. They're also worth looking at because they are so far wide of the mark one might compare them to a Sebo shot.

 

When we are belittled for having supported first Craig Whyte and then Charles Green, and to a far lesser extent Craig Mather, the point which is overlooked is that these men were all installed over our heads. Whether we praised them or slated them made no difference: they were going to get the job like it or not. We could have slung up the barricades across Edmiston Drive for all the good it would have done, and to berate the fan base for not indulging in pointless grandstanding is just petty.

 

Now, for the first time, there is an alternative which those who still hold the decisive votes can back - the McColl group - and the Rangers fans, in part, have decided to make their opinion known. I'm not certain what they were expected to do previously. Given the hatred for us as a body, it beggars belief that had a fan group emerged to force a take over, it would have met with a positive response from media commentator types.

 

It would, as we know, have been ridiculed, belittled, and tarred with the ever present and always handy stigma of sectarianism, on no more grounds than someone turned up to a meeting drinking a can of Tango.

 

Then there is the issue of information. Remember the information superhighway, that tag used to describe the new world of knowledge which opened up for us in the 90's, as the internet took over? Anyone who has been able to navigate the particular highway the Rangers saga has trundled along these last few years is an explorer on a par with Thor Heydal and ought to be up for a Royal Geographic Society gold medal.

 

We don't know which papers are stirring, and which are reporting accurately; there have been more leaks than a convention of Welsh plumbers and if you can pick the accurate and helpful from the fog of misinformation and dark propaganda then, sir, I salute you.

 

And this is the mind numbing bombardment the Rangers fan is expected to pick through and come up with a sane picture of events! I daresay we have a number of really intelligent fans, who do mega-complex jobs, but we have plenty of ordinary joe fans as well, who I suspect like me view events in total bewilderment and haven't a clue who has and who hasn't been 'at it'.

 

Those in places like Pacific Quay who think our new focus on the board may mean an easier time for them to peddle their bullshit can think again. We have plenty energy enough to haul up the haters when their mask slips just a little too far and still play a part in events at the top of the Marble Staircase.

 

We fans have nothing to apologise for, when mocked for taking too long to take action. It's only now, with a vaguely clearing picture and a credible alternative, that any fan input would be worth more than the usual hot air the likes of me blow across the internet. We've stood by our club, financially and emotionally, and now that we are needed in another area, we're stepping forward again.

 

As usual, the media picture is pretty far removed from reality. Maybe if they included an actual Rangers fan in their chats about our club from time to time they might get a glimpse of what's actually going on, rather than what's going on in their own little imaginations.

 

Roger Daltry finishes the classic song above this piece talking about the new boss being the same as the old boss. Rather than being fooled again, we're taking steps to try - and that's all we can do, despite the fantasies of social media revolutionaries - and ensure a better future for our club. Maybe I'm alone but I think that deserves praise, not mockery.

[Zappa 0]

That's your article published Andy.

 

http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/latest-news/174-won-t-get-fooled-again

[stewarty 2,085]

Great stuff again Andy.

 

We could only give folk the benefit of the doubt and wait to see what happened. In Whyte's case, his strategy was to prevent information getting out, to rubbish it when it did and to create all sorts of diversionary tactics to further muddy the waters. All aided and abetted by Jack Irvine and Media House.

 

With Green, he was also given the benefit of the doubt. But he ran his mouth off too much and ended up writing cheques he couldn't honour. All aided and abetted by Jack Irvine and Media House.

 

With Mather... I think you can see where I'm going.

 

If it takes a couple of years and a degree in Machiavellian tactics to get a proper handle on some of this stuff, as you say, how can the average punter be expected to get buy into a concerted campaign against it.

[Zappa 0]

In Whyte's case, his strategy was to prevent information getting out, to rubbish it when it did and to create all sorts of diversionary tactics to further muddy the waters. All aided and abetted by Jack Irvine and Media House.

 

With Green, he was also given the benefit of the doubt. But he ran his mouth off too much and ended up writing cheques he couldn't honour. All aided and abetted by Jack Irvine and Media House.

 

With Mather... I think you can see where I'm going.

 

Roll those three into one and you've got a fairly accurate generic description for all three regimes!

[TheTinMan99 0]

Not so sure what we could have done about Whyte, but the majority support for Green, and to a lesser extent, Mather/Stockbridge was shameful. To be fair, it's a delicate balancing act for supporters. Torn between loyalty to the club, and not wanting to fill the pockets of these people. Protests are all well and good, but there is only one language these people understand. A solitary boycott of a home game, with a clear message that we want them out, will see every investor vote accordingly. Most people have paid for their tickets anyway, so it won't damage the club very much, but an empty Ibrox will send a clear message, much more powerful than a few banners and songs.

[andy steel 0]

I don't see what the fans could have done about Green. He was handed the club on a plate by the administrators, and our only choice was whether to put the club into an immediate crisis by boycotting ST sales or take the plunge and cough up.

 

Add to that the fact that we were all pretty much in shock for a couple of months, his aggressive PR and in sum Green got a free ride.

[andy steel 0]

On another thread, poster 26th of Foot made this superb point, which I never thought of but would have gone brilliantly in the OP:

 

Reference Rangers, there are as many opinions as there are Rangers supporters.

 

However, the one thing that unites the Rangers support is the constant appalling conduct of BBC Scotland in reporting matters Rangers these last dozen years.

 

There was real irony on Saturday afternoon when the usual suspects on Sportsound rushed to commend those Rangers supporters demonstrating against the present club Board. We, the Rangers support have been fractious, divisive, disunited, .....etc; now, we are being congratulated for showing collective action. Recognising the united Rangers support consistently pointing the accusing finger at Pacific Quay is awkward and inconvenient.