Looking from the outside in

Many of us will be familiar with the saying “you can't see the woods for the trees”. The fundamental truth of these few words of wisdom were underlined to me in a recent phone conversation I had with an old friend Rik. Rik is not a Rangers fan, nor a football fan for that matter, he's one of those strange chaps who prefer the game played with an egg shaped ball where the forward pass is not only frowned upon, it is in fact illegal.

Rik and I were marines together, we fought, drank, womanised, yomped, billeted together for many years, our shared Ulster Scots heritage solidifying a friendship through common and shared culture, despite our differences of opinion between a round and egg shaped ball. It is a friendship we have maintained throughout the years, which culminates in a New Years Day phone call.

As ever during this years phone call he asked me about my beloved Rangers. (Rik's current job in the oil industry sees him spend many months of the year in far flung corners of our planet, which often leaves him less than well informed regarding UK events)

As I related the years events to him in the best chronological order I could, I could hear the disbelief in his voice. Substantiated by my constant need  for re-assurance “No honestly this is what happened”. The more the story unfolded however, the more incredible and far fetched it sounded, even to me, who lived through and experienced each heart wrenching moment of it.

This topic of conversation finished with a question from Rik.. “How did they get away with it ?”
It was not a rhetorical question, just one I was unable to furnish an answer to. But it really set me thinking. Have we been so embroiled with concern over our club that we have allowed those who wilfully and maliciously conspired against us to get away with it ? Are we really missing the obvious, have we failed to see the woods for the trees ?

Football governing bodies usurping the fundamental right of innocence until proven guilty. Of blackmailing our club. Of manipulating and intimidating those outside our club to accept a solution which ran contrary to any sense of natural justice ? There is a whole symphony of SFL chairmen singing in harmony from a hymn sheet and the song they are singing is that they were lied to, bullied, threatened and intimidated by those in charge of our game. Where else would such allegations go without investigation or action ? Why are the people accused of such appalling behaviour still in post ? Does this country condone and sanction such conduct ? Those at the centre of such allegations still represent our football governing bodies.

And what of HMRC and their tsunami style leaks to the Rangers Tax Case Blog ? Why didn't they report such criminality to the Police who are far better qualified to investigate such matters, after their own internal investigations proved fruitless ?  Why did it require Sir David Murray's lawyers to write to Crown Office asking that the leaks were treated as criminal and worthy of investigation. It is public knowledge that HMRC have been subject of scathing criticism for their failure to recuperate monies allegedly due. Did it suit the under pressure HMRC to have an outlet such as RTC, whose sole motivation was to misuse the information they had received by criminal means, to convince everyone of Rangers guilt ?  If HMRC have failed to take all reasonable steps to stop the leaks which had such a damaging affect on the saleability of our club, will they be liable to all us shareholders who lost out when liquidation followed as a consequence ?

And of course BBC Scotland. Lambasted for their conduct by some of their own most respected journalists and broadcasters. Producers of a documentary which went a long way to cementing public opinion of our apparent “guilt”. A publicly funded broadcasting organisation which spent months on journalistic research rightfully calling into question both the integrity and credibility of Craig Whyte, and yet suddenly they afford him the credibility of an exclusive interview. Co-incidence that the man who has caused so much damage to our club was given such a platform as we embarked on a share issue flotation ? But even then that was not enough for this organisation. Because that exclusive platform they gave him was leaked to an internet blogger in the Republic of Ireland. Did they perhaps think that a man who has been labelled as “tarred with the sectarian brush” ...”a tactical bigot” and various other labels confirming his status as “Rangers Hater” could do more damage with his particular brand of anti-Rangers poison than their documentary could ?  HMRC leaks to RTC – exact same modus operandi.

I now have an answer to Rik's question “How did they get away with it ?”

The answer is they haven't. 

Accordingly over the next few days  I will be writing to a number of individuals in various government posts demanding answers – I will post the e-mails on all Rangers sites. Please feel free to copy verbatim if your time is of the essence, use appropriate phrases from my original, or use your own style and terminology ( I'm not a professional letter writer so there is every chance your own will be better than mine) but I would implore you all to write, To demand answers, explanations.

It's time for this support to take the offensive, to be pro-active rather than be reactive, and to let the world know that those Rangers haters who operate in the shadows have had their 5 minutes of fame.

It's time my fellow bears to fight back.