Regan may be right after all....

There is a scene in the film The Bodyguard when Kevin Costner is summoned to meet Whitney Houston following an invitation from one of her advisers to provide security for the singer.

After a 5 minute inspection Costner tells the adviser... “Security ? You people don't even know the meaning of the word”

Replace the word “security” with “integrity” and Houston & adviser with the SFA/SPL.

What an absolutely disgusting shower, of lying, cheating, moralising, patronising, cowardly, bullying hypocrites. Perhaps best summed up with the statement today of Stewart Gilmour, Chairmen of St Mirren FC, one of the clubs of course who barred Rangers re-entry into the SPL on the grounds of “Sporting Integrity”

In an interview with the Paisley Daily Express the Buddies chief says the SFL’s decision has done damage to the game.

He told the paper: “This is horrific news for St Mirren Football Club. The consequences are terrible – catastrophic even.

“What happens next? Well, there is an SPL meeting on Monday and we will need to see what is said then and take it from there.

“The St Mirren board will meet in the days after that SPL meeting and decide what is the best way forward but we are already looking at major redundancies.”

Scottish FA chief executive Stewart Regan has come under pressure in recent days over his handling of the situation.

However Gilmour added: “To be fair to Stewart Regan, the document he released last week was a good document.

“It set out changes to Scottish football that would bring in a fairer structure, fairer distribution system, fairer everything.

“Unfortunately, the people in the SFL have not bought into that. I just hope they realise the damage they have done to Scottish football.

“Five clubs in the SPL could be in administration within weeks – and we will have to do everything we can to avoid being one of them.”

Speculation continues over the possible creation of an SPL2, however Gilmour appeared to dismiss the idea.

He said: “The SFA and the other bodies are already talking about the options and that could be decided on Monday.

“As for an SPL 2, I’m not sure that is any better than letting Rangers back into the top flight.

These people are so immersed in this lie about sporting integrity they cannot even see when they themselves are totally compromising it. Having caused the situation by allowing supporters venting hatred to dictate the way they would vote they are now blaming those – the SFL – for the calamity which has transpired.

There can be nothing more vulgar or cowardly than blaming someone else for your own foolish actions or lack of mettle. Particularly when the target of that blame have acted with courage and dare I say it...integrity. Yes Mr Gilmour karma is a Bitch with a capital B.

Any other club seeking entry to a new league, as Rangers were, would be asked to start at the bottom. Rangers accept it, our fans accept it why cant Gilmour ?

Oh that's right I forgot. Its got absolutely SFA to do with sporting integrity but rather lining pockets courtesy of the indispensable cash cow which is Rangers. Gilmour and his ilk are like someone who kicks you whilst you are down but then wipes his shoes afterwards in the event anything of worth was left on them during the attack.

Leeches and parasites without so much as an ounce of integrity or decency.

And of course Regan's leaked e-mail just confirms what we all already knew. This has never been anything to do with “sporting integrity”. All the scheming, all the bullying, the threats and intimidation were only ever about one thing – money. They had it all planned out in great detail. The only problem was they had become so immersed in their lie that they failed to factor into their money making plan a group of chairmen for whom the word “integrity” actually meant something.

Ironically that same leaked e-mail alludes to forcing Rangers to accept the transfer embargo which Lord Glennie ruled was unlawful. I was going to write that this is contemptible...but on second thoughts perhaps Strathclyde Police may consider contempt of court more appropriate.

One wonders what the next stop will be for the train of sporting integrity. We are now at a juncture where the systems and processes of Scottish Football have run their lawful course and placed Rangers in Division 3.

If Regan, by some miracle or miscarriage of justice, is still in office next week and attempts to usurp the processes of Scottish football for the sake of money perhaps he may well be right about one thing after all.

Social unrest may follow.

One man's shame.....A nation's disgrace

The shame of what Craig Whyte did to Rangers Football Club will never be etched from the hearts of those of us who cast a favourable eye towards Ibrox. The anger, embarrassment and feeling of utter helplessness throughout the entire crisis which has engulfed our club, will sadly follow most of us to our graves.

And yet, even the wayward conduct of this shameless individual which brought Scotland's biggest sporting institution to it's very knees, is only part of the story. For the events at Rangers Football Club proved to be the catalyst for a nation to completely disgrace itself, to let it's mask slip and reveal its true nature. That revealed nature is neither edifying nor particularly wholesome, and is very much in contrast to a nation which boasts “One Scotland many cultures”

Before we continue further its worthy of noting the comments of someone who is not only outside Rangers Football, but during his professional sporting career as both player and manager has been in direct opposition to Rangers – Celtic and Scotland Legend Davie Hay.

" Although the SPL decision not to admit Rangers is apparently fan driven, I do wonder about what type of fan we are talking about ?

Are these the vocal minorities who man their computers or the majority represented by fans' association's ?

What I would say is that the level of retribution being sought on Rangers is not good for the Scottish game and, I believe, beyond reason.

The retribution of which he speaks manifested itself with a concerted effort by supporters of other SPL clubs to ensure that any application by Rangers for re-entry to the SPL was doomed to failure. They threatened their own chairmen with warnings of boycotts, and despite the financial abyss that such action would create, they continued to intimidate and scheme until their respective chairmen acquiesced to their threats. This despite several warnings from independent financial projections they themselves had commissioned , in addition to ominous warnings from their own chairmen of financial meltdown. Perhaps the greatest manifestation of their unbridled and irrational hatred came in a Daily Record Poll which showed that more than half (55%) would rather see their own club die than allow Rangers back into the SPL.

History demonstrates that if you seek to demonise a people you need both propaganda and a favourable press. Alas for Scotland both these ingredients were present in abundance.

“Sporting Integrity” became the flagship of the propaganda campaign. It was the stick which was used repeatedly to beat Rangers time and time and time again. It sought to give a moral platform to those who saw an opportunity to unleash their festering and unhealthy hatred of Rangers.  It was a campaign which our media bought into it wholeheartedly. Their was a distinct absence of objective journalism, save two or three amongst the hordes who, forlornly, tried to stemmed the rising tide of hatred. When articles describe such a stampede of hatred as a “rising up of democracy” and liken your club to something you would take great joy in punching repeatedly in the face so much that your hand hurt, then you know that there is little hope of impartial journalism, or presentation of the facts.

But the shame of Scotland continued.

Those charged with governance of our game landed the fatal blow for the flagship propaganda banner of “Sporting Integrity”. But not in some honourable way asking for reasonable and rational debate, instead their desire to punish Rangers had to be balanced against a financial dependence upon them. If Rangers were the cash cow then as much as they hated her they needed her to feed them.

What then followed should shame any right thinking individual. A complete abdication of responsibility by the SPL chairmen was followed up by a campaign of bullying, threats lies and intimidation against those to whom the buck was passed. Public statements by nearly every SFL chairmen,  presenting a whole litany of a serious allegations against those who govern our game seemed to have made no difference whatsoever.

Those who govern our game have been called unfit for purpose by those whom they govern and yet those responsible remain in post.

And what of our government ? A government so apparently concerned by the need for clemency that they released Scotland's worst ever mass murderer upon his diagnosis with cancer.

Not a word.

Whilst  Westminster launches an enquiry into the Scottish Football crisis and hears evidence that the SFA's rules are unfit for purpose those Scottish politicians are silent.

While courts of this land are telling the world that the SFA's punishment of Rangers is “unlawful” our politicians remain silent.

Perhaps with the forthcoming independence vote, many Rangers supporters, who are of course voting, will have had a glimpse of what is in store for our club and it's support should independence be achieved at the ballot box.

History will show that Craig Whyte shamed Rangers Football Club.

But Scotland as a nation disgraced itself.

Old Bears Never Die...

They just go to hell (Division 3) and re-group.

But perhaps the burning question is....Do we know how to re-group ? Have we any idea what we need to change and how we go about effecting such change ?

Lets ask ourselves a different question  Why was it, with the exception of one club who abstained, that the SPL clubs to their serious financial detriment, voted not to re-admit us to the SPL. ? The answer quite simply is we had lost the battle for the hearts and minds. In fact we had been overrun and routed before we had even mobilised.

But you wont find the battleground on a OS map of Scotland - this battle took place within the Scottish media. The problem for us that it was unusual terrain. More than a decade of “if an article offends don't buy it” mentality has left us less than streetwise with those in the inky trade as well as other media outlets.

It was against this background that you read (without challenge) and on an almost daily basis, how Rangers had cheated, how we had run dual contracts to pay for players we couldn't afford, how we showed absolutely no remorse for our actions, how we had deprived hospitals and schools, how we were threatening and bullying others to treat us as a special case,,, the list goes on and on. But as if this misrepresentation of the facts wasn't bad enough , the graphic nature of some of those articles left a lot to be desired. Who amongst us will ever forget Gordon Waddells' analogy of our club being like someone you would like to punch repeatedly in the face till your hands hurt ?

You get a feeling of how bad things really when James Traynor appears to be the only one fighting your corner.

You don't need to be a chemist to work out the damaging result of a less than sympathetic press mixed and added to an audience of readers or listeners who, and this is putting it mildly, are already “less than sympathetic” towards our club.

I fully realise that in addressing the issue of damaging press articles about our club to internet Bears, that I am very much preaching to the converted. And I'm fully aware that many of us do what  we can to try and bring some balance to re-dress this. But events over the last few months demonstrate that it is not enough, no matter how hard we have laboured. Furthermore the image and reputation of Rangers Football Club should not be left to a few diligent supporters firing off letters of complaint which are by and large ignored by press editors.

In addition, leaving a group of individuals to fight something of a rearguard action against the might of the press is leaving them fully exposed. I remember how Spiers rounded and isolated those who spoke out against him and his series of damaging articles about our club....ridiculing and trying to discredit them by labelling them “paranoid beserkers”

This really has to be a joint undertaking by both the club and the support working together. There are many things about Sir David Murray's tenure at Ibrox which will be described as disgraceful. But one of the most unedifying things I have ever seen in all my years supporting Rangers was  his willingness to ignore the demonisation of our support and the image of our club, yet take particular umbrage at any personal criticism of himself in the press.

I believe that this should be a priority matter for those who claim their voice represents the Rangers support. And there is no getting away from it - this will require the hiring of professionals who know what they are doing.

Some may read this and say that the Rangers haters out there had already made up there minds as to what should happen to our club irrespective of the press coverage. And you would get no argument from me.

But that should never deter us from at least getting the facts out into the public domain and be in a position where we can effectively challenge those who wish to compare our club to something you would repeatedly punch in the face until your hand hurt.

If you open Pandora's Box...

Its been a week of polls.

Bad polls for the journalists of “enlightenment” who I referred to just a few days ago. The lies they have sown for several months about Rangers fans claiming they were “ a special case” or “vote us in or else” was the latest ship of lies to flounder on the rocks of truth, as an RFFF poll demonstrated that an overwhelming majority of the Rangers support, 76%, favoured Division 3 for our club next season.

As if that was not bad enough for them, the sporting integrity flagship, (or as it's more aptly re-named – sporting dishonesty) ran aground on rocks following a Daily Record Poll which showed that 55% of non old-firm football supporters would rather their club went bust than Rangers were re-admitted to the SPL.

DAILY RECORD POLL

With that kind of self-destructive hatred what hope is there for reasoned debate ?

Not that such a poll was needed to see the sham which is dressed up as “Sporting Integrity”. The Machiavellian workings behind the scenes was like a tango...the SFA/SPL wanted to dance to Jessie J's “Its not about the money, money, money”....but all the DJ would play for them  them was the Black Eyed Peas “Dont lie”.

But amidst all the sensationalism surrounding our club, two significant happenings went almost unnoticed.  (Though I doubt our journalists of enlightenment will report them anyway)

The first was the almost unanimous statements of the various SFL Chairmen that they had been lied to, misled, bullied and intimidated by the SFA & SPL. The magnitude of this cannot and should not be overlooked. Lets run this again...not one, but several SFL Chairmen are publicly stating that the football governing bodies in Scotland, have lied and deliberately misled them and then resorted to threats and intimidation to get their way. If that isn't grounds for a media feeding frenzy then I don't know what is.

For it calls into question these bodies integrity, fairness and professional conduct. If the SFA were doctors and such allegations were made against them they would be suspended pending an enquiry.

Which begs the question who police's the SFA ? Notwithstanding the shambles they have made dealing with the situation regarding our club, surely the gravity and seriousness of the allegations from the SFL Chairmen warrant some kind of investigation by UEFA ?

The second notable occurrence was the statement from the Raith Rovers chairman Turnbull Hutton that the SPL was a “dead parrot”.

HUTTON - "DEAD PARROT"

Its perhaps unfortunate that Hutton used the term from such an iconic piece of British comedy, because his comments probably didn't receive the consideration they warranted. The truth is however, it's probably the most honest and realistic statement which has been made by anyone throughout this whole process.

Whilst Rangers downfall has been the catalyst in this reaction, no-one unfortunately has managed to look beyond the bloodfest and considered the other ingredients. If they did they would see that all the posturing, the sham of “sporting integrity”, the Machiavellian exploits and deals being plotted behind closed doors are for one reason and one reason only – Scottish football cannot survive financially without Rangers. That's not some egotistical boast from a Rangers fan but an economic fact  of life and the evidence in terms of financial projections are there for all to see. But its taken our fall from grace to open Pandora's Box.

Furthermore, (and the 55% who voted in the Daily Record Poll wont like this) perhaps those chairmen and those fans who have being venting so much fury towards Rangers should do some soul searching of their own. Why don't they ask themselves why it is they are so financially dependent on Rangers. Furthermore they could ask themselves why is it when they get to a Cup Final they manage to sell 40,000 odd tickets yet their average home gates are anything from 4,000 to 9,000.

And here's the rub they wont like. The fact that they are financially dependent on Rangers isn't our fault – it's theirs and their stay away fans.

And on the subject of things they wont like. If Sporting Integrity is to be truly upheld, it's only fitting and proper that if Rangers aren't to playing in the SPL next season then playing in Division 3 is the only viable option.

“Oh but that will mess up the Sky TV deal” I hear the 55% say....



I'm sorry, and let me make this clear (not only for now, but for evermore )  -  you are confusing me  with someone who gives a shit.

Beware the journalists of "enlightenment"

For us as Rangers supporters perhaps the defining characteristic of this nightmare we find ourselves in has been the unbridled hatred of fans of other clubs towards our situation and our plight. A willingness to damage their own clubs in order to further damage our club has been something we have found irrational.

One wonders how we arrived at a point where individuals hatred is so intense that damage (a damage which some have warned may prove fatal) to your own is acceptable collateral damage in order to inflict further pain on Rangers ?

It was in 1933 that Hitler set up his “Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda or Propagandaministerium” - Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under the command of Joseph Goebbels. Its remit and strategy were simple but effective - Propaganda for the masses had to be simple, and appeal to the emotions. To maintain its simplicity, it had to put over just a few main points, which then had to be repeated many times.

As Goebbels observed....

"The essence of propaganda consists in winning people over to an idea so sincerely, so vitally, that in the end they succumb to it utterly and can never escape from it."

You don't need to search too far to find evidence of such a strategy in practice, a quick look at some of the Scottish news outlets provides us with a wealth of evidence.

Some Rangers fans have pointed to some favourable articles in recent times and suggested there was perhaps a changing tide.

Ron Scott at The Sunday Post fired the first pro- Rangers salvo at the weekend. Here is a quick summary of the bullet points. All quotes are verbatim.

As the fans and clubs become hysterical about how the Light Blues should be punished, it's worth remembering the Ibrox club has done nothing unlawful.

The SFA then decided to impose severe sanctions on Rangers after awakening to the fact that Craig Whyte was not a fit and proper person to own the club.Yet the independent Ibrox board set up to look into Whyte while he was still negotiating with Murray decided themselves that [he] wasn't fit and proper to own the club.
They told the SFA that at least fifteen months ago,but the powers-that-be decided in their wisdom to take no action at that time.

It's all very well to bleat on about sporting integrity. But why risk the entire future of Scottish football especially when the facts clearly show Rangers have done nothing wrong.

It is especially wrong when the facts show there is absolutely no need for the authorities to treat Rangers the way they appear hell-bent on doing."

That last line is particularly important – facts. Facts do not play a significant role in the Goebbels strategy – the mantra it repeats, often, is designed to play on the emotions of the heart not the logic of the brain.

James Traynor expanded on Scott's view...

For months now there has been a savagery. The game has been ripping itself apart all in the name of fair play. Or was it sporting integrity?

Forgive me, the reasons for the crisis that threatens to destroy Scottish football have been lost somewhere in the lust to tear and shred one club. It's as though a century of hatred and probably jealousy have erupted.

And the handful of reasoned souls left in the game are fighting a losing battle to cap the flow.

So why is it Jim that those reasoned souls are fighting what you call a “losing battle” ?

The answer I'm afraid lies within your own profession. They don't rely on facts or reasoned argument – they rely on appealing to the heart. And when those hearts already possess a considerable blackness towards Rangers – it makes their jobs all the easier.

We know who they are - we have been incensed at their lies of the past few months. They are the journalists of “enlightenment” - those who are happy to repeat a mantra, irrespective of the lack of substance or fact, so long as it strikes a chord with the emotions of the heart.

What are the mantras ?

“Rangers have cheated”

“Rangers and their fans are showing no remorse”

“Rangers believe they are a special case and should be treated differently”.

“Sporting Integrity”

“Scottish football would be better off without Rangers”

Lets have a look at them in action. Step forward Michael Grant of the Sunday Herald.

Even now – liquidated and broken, with new voices piping up on their behalf – the message is unrepentant and challenging. You can't survive without Rangers. Sky will disappear without us. Keep us out and you'll die next. We've been punished enough. Craig Whyte did all of this, take it out on him. Vote us in . . . or else.

Have you ever heard any Rangers fan saying “Vote us in or else” ? I certainly haven't. The popular movement amongst our support appears to be a desire to go to Div 3 and work our way back up.

But the mantra continues....

Under Whyte they bought players and gave lucrative contracts they could afford only by not paying their taxes. They were in a league in which every club they played – and usually beat – did pay the revenue. Helped by Whyte's financial doping they got £2.6m for finishing second, almost a million more than Motherwell, who were third. No wonder it rankles other supporters.

This little piece is most worthy of investigation. What is it designed to do – suggest that Rangers under Whyte's tenure Rangers still managed to profit to the tune of £2.6 million ? If those were the facts and I supported another team I too would be angry.

But of course that little piece is extremely selective. It neglects to mention that our future by way of season ticket revenue was sold for £24 million. Our prized striker was sold for a fraction of his true worth. That the Whyte refers to sold our heritage, brought our club to it's knees. That a consequence of his actions is we now see a player exodus from our club which will probably see a loss to the club of anything up to £30 million.

On the subject of punishment he tries to suggest Rangers have got off lightly.

Murray overlooked the fact that so far there has not been a single SFA or SPL punishment which has materially affected Rangers at all, let alone been "extreme": they finished the season second, the same position they were in when 10 points were docked for going into administration. Their three-year European exclusion may feel like a punishment but actually it is merely a consequence of failing to meet Uefa entry criteria as a newco.

And remind me Mr Grant how did we arrive at the position that a newco had to apply for SPL membership ? That guy Whyte....the same one who only a few paragraphs ago you tried to suggest had brought some financial benefit to Rangers.

Of course presentation of the facts is not in the remit of the journalists of enlightenment – they simply have to repeat the mantra to give succour to those proscribing to the bloodfest which is Rangers.

Whilst I have only mentioned Grant there are plenty of others who qualify as journalist of enlightenment. You only need to read the columns of Gordon Waddell and our “old friend” Spiers. The latter is particularly amusing. Tweeting as “refreshing” this rising up of non Rangers fans his article however seems to struggle with contradiction.

Well, your average Scottish football fan has put the kybosh up all of this. As recent days and weeks have gone by, there has been a swelling contempt among fans of all clubs for what they viewed as a blind-eye approach to Rangers' sins in favour of a swift SPL return for the club and its money-generating hordes.

In the beginning, just about everyone in the media called this wrong. Most claimed that, come hell or high water, Rangers would be looked after in the SPL next season. I said it myself more than once – the SPL cannot allow Rangers to be temporarily deleted. We need the club.

So is that akin to the turkeys voting for Christmas then Graham ?

I would caution all Rangers fans to be wary in the days ahead as the journalists of enlightenment become particularly desperate. Their ship of “Sporting Integrity” has floundered and been shown to be nothing but a sham. The suspicions of many were confirmed in the Clyde Chairman's statement that the driving force behind all this was Sky TV money and not some utopian sporting ideal.

But don't expect any of the journalists of enlightenment to write about that in their columns. They are far too busy feeding the bloodlust to concern themselves with the ethics of it all.

Perhaps its fitting the closing remarks are left to one who has refused to board the bus of the enlightened...James Traynor..

"Is going out of business, struggling to emerge as a newco without fan support and being banned from playing in Europe for three years and being branded pariahs not punishment enough?

If the answer is still no then there is no justice."