Red Hands, Red Poppies & Red Flags

She was just a slip of a girl, perhaps 6 or 7 at most. Her starched white blouse with its razor like creases, complimented the perfectly pleated grey school skirt and black shoes, the latter having been cleaned to a standard which afforded a mirror like reflection. She was almost dwarfed by the large wreath she bore, lilies and poppies interlaced by a florist who was quite clearly at the very top of her game. The little girl would soon be relieved of her floral burden as she laid it in accordance with the instructions her mother had given. Her mind turned to the great great grandfather she had heard of only in story, who fell at a place called Thiepval , and an elder brother  she would never know, for he died just a few yards from where she currently stood. Across the street on a plain grey and white sign were the words “Omagh Shopping Centre”.

Sometimes the ordinary, the everyday, that which we take for granted, can in themselves be symbols of bravery when exercised elsewhere. Perhaps we should be grateful we live in communities which make no such demands of us.

The recent confiscation of a Red Hand Flag from a Northern Irish Rangers supporter entering Ibrox, and the subsequent furore it caused, only served to emphasise how raw the subject of Ulster remains within the Rangers support. With a significant number of Ulstermen contributing to the Rangers support such rawness should come as no surprise, notwithstanding the shared heritage, faith and history and language between Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Those with longer memories will remember the airbrushing of picture to erase the Red Hand Flag from a Rangers photograph as well as the censure of Zoe Salmon on BBC’s Blue Peter for having the temerity to say “'I'm from Ulster and I'd like to cover a plane with the Red Hand Of Ulster” when explaining a British Airways “Best of British” logo competition.

The enemies of the Protestant/Unionist community in Ulster have sown their seeds of hatred well. And perhaps more significantly, continue to cultivate.

Of course in the broad church, or Rangers family, such sentiment or concern is not shared by all. There are those amongst our support who view the whole subject of Ulster and her trials and tribulations as “nothing to do with us”.  Thankfully, a view not shared by the Ulstermen who laid down their lives to protect these shores in 2 world wars; or the generations from Northern Ireland who have supported this club overcoming significant logistical difficulties to follow follow. Nonetheless it does however remain a legitimate position to adopt.

But perhaps not without cost.  Having no interest in the political or religious affairs of Ulster may well be proposed and argued as a reasonable viewpoint, particularly amongst an ever increasingly secular support, but does such disconnection and disassociation from the issues affecting a considerable section of our support usurp and weaken the notion of a “Rangers Family” ? Before anyone accuses me of waxing lyrical, many older bears will attest that years ago being part of the Rangers support had a sense of family at its beating heart.

It is a strange anomaly of life that one has to either step outside, or come from outside in order to effectively defend something, whether that be an organisation, an institution or a community of people.

Ruth Dudley Edwards did just that.  The Dublin middle-class academic of Catholic background was given warts and all access to the Loyal Institutions in Northern Ireland. Her critically acclaimed book “The Faithful Tribe” not only gives intriguing insight to the loyal institutions themselves, but also wider aspects of community life in Northern Ireland. She completely destroys much of the Sinn Fein propaganda and exposes the true nature of the “residents groups” and their formation.  The way she disarms the veiled threats against her for speaking the truth, is well worth the read itself.

I fully accept and understand that there will be those reading this who are genuinely struggling to understand the raw emotion Ulster generates amongst our support. I can only leave you with a signpost however – the words of the late Labour leader John Smith:

“These are my people, and I will never desert them”

Size Matters ?

If you are a bear of a certain vintage you will be experiencing a sense of déjà vu this morning. A few weeks ago I noticed a considerable shift in the support for Ally, with Sunday’s result, but in particular our performance, being the final straw for many. It’s a horrible scenario to be in, and some of us have experienced it previously – the last days of John Greig’s tenure as manager were deeply uncomfortable for many of us.  How do you say to a man who has given his all to the club that he is just not good enough ? But if we believe that no man is bigger than the club then that must be without exception – even John Greig or Ally McCoist.

There were many who believed starting off at the bottom would allow us to build afresh, a team built around youth perhaps reminiscent of a certain Manchester United squad whose potential was never fully realised,  tragically due to the Munich Air Crash. Maybe not quite Busby’s Babes but more Ally’s Apprentices.  But of course it never happened that way, much to the disappointment of many, myself included. The cobbled together squad and less than impressive performances, were allowed considerable leeway due to factors such as no pre-season and lack of familiarity. It wasn’t pleasant to watch but eventually Stage 1 was completed.

However this season should have been completely different with a new fitness coach,  pre-season training and Ally able to secure certain targets to boost the squad.  Instead, despite the completion of Stage 2, that pre-season optimism has all but evaporated.  Instead we have been subjected to one-dimensional football ,with the long ball game being not so much the favoured option, but often alarmingly, the only option. When Daly was substituted against Albion Rovers and Mohsni  thrown up front, it only served to confirm our total reliance on this type of football.  Is it any small wonder the Raith Rovers game plan was simply “to defend the long ball” ?

Those making excuses for Ally do our club no favours with their well intentioned but nonetheless misplaced sense of loyalty to Ally. We have a full time squad of players the quality of which makes our peers in the league look on with envy, the best training facilities in the country and we undergo pre-match preparations which other clubs can only dream of. So you have to honestly ask - where does the buck stop ? 

Those who cite the need for Ally to stay in view of the fact a relatively unknown board are running our club – did Ally being manager help prevent the chaos and damage inflicted by Whyte or the avarice of Charles Green ?

Even out with the Ibrox faithful questions are being asked of Ally’s ability. His Cup Record alone, highlighted by Tom English and others recently, would have seen previous incumbents dispatched.

Which all in all creates a huge problem for our current board.  Will they have the mettle to remove such an iconic figurehead ? Albeit one who appears to be underachieving in his current role. Or has the fear of further fans backlash rendered them impotent in making the critical decisions which affect our club’s future ?  As I warned several weeks ago writing in WATP magazine, militancy may be a new weapon in the Rangers supporters’ armoury – but it has to be used responsibly. When a guy like Dave King suggests that some Rangers supporters are looking for a fight – perhaps it’s time to check your own actions and motivations.

Perhaps in the days and weeks to come, remembering that no man is bigger than the club, may prove to be an essential navigational tool.

Consistent inconsistency

My tweet announcing my retiral from online forums came as a surprise to some but not to others. What was once a rich and abundant land of views, debate, humour and Rangers related stories never to be found in any book, have at times become little more than “gang huts” where you hang out according to your take on all things Rangers. Either that or the same tired arguments are done to death in every thread, as opposing factions slog it out,  exchanging profanity and insults to fellow bears who happen to hold a different perspective on things.  I’m an ex-Marine, a bit of profanity doesn’t bother me, watching a community I care deeply for, tear itself apart from within, does however. 

The Rangers online community is fragmented, divided and marginalised.  I often wonder if those who appear to have an appetite for such a status quo remaining, realise that such fragmentation and division makes us something else – ineffective.  As we expel energy and effort into trumping one another at  7 card insult, how are we faring at defending our club from those who would seek to cause her fatal injury ? With the various technologies available to us via social media, forums, e-mail, blogs etc did we manage to mobilise and ensure the 100,000 signatures required for the E-Petition  into HMRC confidential leaks were attained ? Brace yourself – we didn’t even reach half the desired number of signatories.

We appear to struggle with the concept of consistency. Outwardly we take umbrage at inflammatory language used by other club’s officials, supporter’s trusts spokespersons and journalists yet inwardly, we are guilty of much worse towards one another.  As we not only strive, but demand equality, parity and respect from others, how debilitating to our case is it that we seem incapable of exercising these qualities to one another ? But I do consistency something of an injustice, for it is far more than just a standard we need to aspire to in order to establish credibility. It also serves as a compass in determining motivation. 

I’ve realised Twitter with its limitations, is not the ideal platform for engaging in the kind of debate we as a support need to have. And have as a matter of urgency. But I find it a valuable tool for gauging the motivation of others. Yesterday, demands were made of Rangers Media to exercise responsible and appropriate moderation on their site – I would concur with such sentiment but only with an additional caveat. Should we not be making similar demands of all forums ? Why single out one when others are equally as guilty of allowing the unacceptable to remain unchecked ? RST members had to suffer the unedifying sight recently on Follow Follow, of former board members engaging in accusation and counter accusation, a tit for tat exchange involving allegations of serious criminality, along with what has almost become the “obligatory” character assassination.  A support demanding equality and parity from others need to be consistent in the demands we make of ourselves if we are to be taken seriously.

Bill McMurdo and I had a very public disagreement recently on Rangers Media. Bill’s proposal recently that we as supporters have no right to question the board, to me smacks of a dis-empowerment of our support. The club we love only continues in existence due to one of the few things we manage as a support to get collectively right – our ability to support the team no matter what.

But I would like to continue the theme of consistency by asking you a hypothetical question.

What would your feelings be if an e-mail was produced from the Easdales or Jack Irvine on which Bill McMurdo was an addressee, asking him to ready himself for one final push around the time of the AGM ?

Martin Luther said “Peace if possible, truth at all costs”

My dance of peace is over. Whatever the cost, its time truth prevailed.

In delivering that truth I can offer you no “inside info” from Ibrox nor an exclusive from an “unnamed source”. The only agenda I offer is putting our club and support first. 

But I guess you already knew that, it’s probably why you got this far in the first place.



Yours in Rangers

D'Artagnan