Arthur Stramash

Wasn't the three-man SFA committee due to meet again soon about the transfer ban? Perhaps they've opted for suspension?

Fascinating stuff hellbhoy. Bravo.

Nae green thingys left. Hilarious .... and true welshbairn!

If blindly supporting the current nonsense coming out of Ibrox, and being unable to face facts means I'm not a true fan, then so be it. I take it all those supporters who threatened to boycott their clubs, refuse to buy season tickets, and who agitated for some justice in Scottish football weren't true fans of their clubs either? I'm happy to be numbered in that company. I've lived abroad for decades. Rangers was the club I traditionally supported. I keep in touch as best I can, but someone like me is never going to be a weekly bum-on-seat supporter. And as I've repeated I'm a fan of Scottish football. It's my country. The reason I wrote here at all was because a question was asked about the global support. I volunteered an opinion from that perspective. But if No8 is the benchmark for the modern, moderate supporter, then I fall miserably short. I've always thought it was possible to be a football fan and support Rangers. But if you now need the objectivity of a sheep to live up to the title of true supporter, I fail again. I used to think there was a large, silent majority of decent Rangers fans ...

You really don't see it do you? You've actually no idea what image the club projects to the real world. Things are worse than I thought. We'll agree to disagree, but one thing has become clear: the now defunct Rangers will hardly be missed. The near unanimous rejoicing throughout Scotland shows that the club was almost universally despised. Has anyone stopped to ask why people are dancing on the grave of old Rangers? Waving 43,000 union flags while living in denial - as the club and fans threaten and intimidate all and sundry - if that's quintessentially British, you can keep that, and the union flag waving.

Thanks Thumper. Didn't see that in either the online shop or on telly. Must be blind. You'd think a Saltire obsessive like me would have noticed I was actually thinking of something along the lines of the Hearts' crest, which I think is one of the finest in Scotland. No idea about that political thing. Was it a NI MP who started it? Politicians should stay well out of football. They do enough harm as it is.

Well said ayrmad. It is what we did. Out all day. I'm wondering if there's a connection between the unusual rage in Waffenthin's posts and the early awareness of sectarianism and bigotry the poor lad has had to put up with?

Cheers itwiznae. cyberspaceman True, it could marginalise the extremists in that part of the city too. Though the mantra I hear from both types is: 'it's our right to celebrate our Irish heritage'. Aye, right.

You're right, I do bang on about it. I see it as part of the problem at Ibrox. But perhaps I'm the only one weary of Union flags, and what they represent? Could you link me to a photo of the Saltire on the kit? I may have misjudged the club there. A short while back there was a display of about 43,000 union flags at Ibrox, not Saltires. The sale went to a good cause, but this preoccupation with the monarchy, the Union, William and Kate, good grief where's that really coming from? It's not a very Scottish outlook. You don't have to be a died-in-the-wool republican to think it's absurd. Reminds me of BNP meetings. This obsession has grown over my lifetime, perhaps in parallel with the Troubles? Totally non-football and a complete turn off. If the new club continues to be a vehicle for this inane, flag-waving political agenda, then it'll be the final nail in the coffin for me.

A break with the past. I had hoped for some kind of Saltire on a new logo, just to emphasize that they are a Scottish team. But you're probably right to be a bit sceptical. There's strong forces who want no change. The club might not make it through the season though, unless Green really is serious. Can you imagine another adminstration? It's not beyond credibility. PS thanks for your kind comments yesterday regarding a post I'd made

I can relate to that. Was probably about 10 first time I registered this huge parade of oddly dressed people with weird banners. My mother gave me a non-answer as to what it was. A few years later at Ibrox I noticed a group in the middle of the main enclosure. Looked kind of drunk but they were holding a banner of the guy on the horse and belting out songs that all seemed to end in F the Pope. If it hadn't been serious you'd have thought it was a scene from Monty Python. I was up under the girders so could see the match and that mob quite clearly. I shouted to my big brother and asked if he'd seen them. He just said, 'Don't look over there'. I think small groups like that can have a poisonous effect. Since no one shouted them down, it maybe became accepted. I'm sure more and more joined in. Peer pressure maybe? Anyway, I reckon I was about 13-14 when I realized that all this stuff was about some historic Irish thing. Yawn. And here was me thinking we went to Rangers matches and not Celtic's because 'they were an Irish club'. We actually lived a bit closer to Celtic Park than Ibrox. To my brother's credit he didn't have a sectarian bone in his body, and he still doesn't. Maybe that's why he was never more than an infrequent visitor to Ibrox. We actually used to wander down to Celtic Park on big European nights. They opened the big gates early and you could see the match. So I'm probably one of the few Gers' fans who saw Celtic's 1967 team at Parkhead But as I got older, and the OF seemed more about violent clashes, I just switched off to football. Always followed the national team though, but what got me interested in Scottish club football again was Aberdeen and Dundee United in Europe. I was living over here then and a lot of those matches were live. Aberdeen's final against Madrid was played not far from here in Gothenburg. It was a miserable night of rain but what a triumph. A wee bit of '67 and '72 in the sense that these teams were mostly Scots lads. And when Dundee United went on those runs, well. The stand-out was Barcelona home and away. I think they are the only team to have done that. Funnily enough they lost over to legs to Gothenburg, who were still part-timers back then. Sorry, rambling ... what was the question?

The same (although I didn’t think it was quite in injury time). I had some great seats that night as I got a VIP invite via SAS. Was seated near some 'legends'. But I remember thinking that there were so few Scots playing. It was nothing to do with being xenophobic but small countries just can't sustain imported players to that degree. It didn't look like Rangers anymore. It now turns out Rangers couldn't afford it. From here I got the impression that things had changed for the better all round in Glasgow, between the big two. As you say the trouble at OF matches was crazy in the old days. People were also oot their heids on drink back then.

Indeed

Cheers mate. Not sure who or what I've let down. Replying to disconnected, moronic insults with a bit humor seems the best way to me. The alternative is to get into a slanging match with someone who's either a troll or a wind-up merchant. I mean the stuff reads like comedy. Bizarre. So I really try not to take it all that seriously. I'm not sure rants like that are meant to be taken seriously anyway. If they are, well, help ma boab ... Now Rangers demise was serious. And the non-football issues around around old Rangers were serious. I just tried to answer someone's sincere question earlier with a bit of personal background. But I've lived abroad for years and follow Scottish football from a distance. One of the anonymous global fan base. Otherwise, I actually watch the team in the little town I live in. They are trying to get into the Danish 3rd division! But you know, it's pure football. No big money, no imported egos, just a lot of local lads. Rangers were very much like that when I was young (made up almost entirely of Scots, apart from Kaj Johansen). If you don't come from a bigoted or prejudiced family you are kind of naive about it until you reach a certain age. I agree with you about the lack of punishments. 10 points really is meaningless. The rest is cause and effect. But there's sure to be more real sanctions to come. Regarding the future I'm a bit pessimistic. I don't even see Green's thing taking off. And there's a tsunami of court cases coming. Someone here said the rabid core will probably attach itself to the new entity. In some ways a year or two with no club might be best.

Yes, yes, yes, that’s as maybe, but what about the aliens? Where exactly do they fit in? I think I get the communist bit and the Northern Rock thingy, but are you implying that Rangers newco will actually be made up of Wee Green Men? Some people believe Speer designed a moon base where Nazis fled after 1945. Any thoughts on that?

Well, thank you for those kind words. You perhaps represent the new spirit of sporting integrity? I can see Scottish football is now safe with informed people like yourself on the moral high ground. I'm just surprised you didn't mention the aliens who are actually in league with Green, Northern Rock, Speer and the other Nazis at their moon base. It is fascinating stuff. I'm wondering though, is it true that there's an alien spaceship actually buried beneath Ibrox? You sound like the type of person who would know.

I’ve been told by hardline RFC supporters that I am not a proper fan too I'm from an era when Scottish clubs nurtured all their own talent. I'd like to see that again. I've lived in a number of small countries that have now overtaken Scotland because they continued to develop home-grown talent (Sweden, Denmark, Norway). The Souness revolution was the start of a disaster. But I blame both the big Glasgow clubs for puttng us on the slippery slope of overspending by startng the mass import of mostly mediocre mercenaries.

Not quite true No8. Been to home and away games as far back as the '60s and '70s. But the last live game was a CL tie in Copenhagen some yeas ago now. I made a conscious decision as a teenager to walk away from Rangers when was old enough to undestand what was actually going on, the bigots, the sectarianism. No thanks. I just followed the national team. You mellow over the years though. Living abroad you hear positive noises about changed attitudes. And you can support your club in a number of ways, even from overseas. But if the demise of Rangers has shown one thing it's that there's still something very wrong at the heart of the support. Mind you, I'm not sure that petty-mindedness and hate are entirely unique to fans of the now defunct Glasgow club.

You might be right. Before this started I never visited football forums, Rangers or others. I only found out about P&B because Stuart and Tam often refer to it on Off the ball. I'm part of the fictitious world-wide fan base, and I've been wondering why the extremists now rule the roost down Ibrox way. Although, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. When the people who ran the club have been shown to have lost their moral compass years ago, what chance was there of them cleaning the club of non-football stuff? I actually switched off to Glasgow football in my teens because of the non-football issues mentioned. The singing at Ibrox left me cold. Living abroad I've been involved in a sport outwith football for decades. But you never forget your childhood team. And although I am a fan of all Scottish football, and track all the teams in Europe, I always looked for Gers' results first. I suppose living abroad, and only gettng your info via BBC Scotland shows and manstream media, you do become naive. I had never imagined the extent of the change from Scottish to British - or that the old attitudes still thrived. It's all become very obvious as this crisis has developed. But your question is justified: Where are the forums for and by the decent Rangers fans? I've no idea. Someone mentioned two clubs emerging and that's a scenario I had hoped for. Like some others here I don't see the extremists letting go or fading away. Of course, if the new club survives and gets tough, things could change. It has to come from the top though. Otherwise a new Saltire Rangers would appeal to me. If it's about grass-roots football, and I believe Scotland, like other small countries, should develop talent rather than import it, then a lowly Diddy Rangers would get my vote. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start again. It would be a challenge you could get behind. But as I said, any Old Rangers Mark II that emerges will not have my support.

Cheers mate. I honestly expected to hear more from a 'silent majority' of decent Rangers' fans throughout all this. But there seems to be a collective denial of the reality of what's happened. The club I've always thought of as my club now seems to be run by ultra-Unionists and BNP types. It embarressing. I've no idea how these people managed to take over. They don't speak for me.

I think many of us who traditionally supported Rangers have been gradually alienated. The morph from Scottish into a 'quintessential British club' seems to be part of a non-football agenda. Honestly, why on earth would anyone wave a union jack at Ibrox? Does the Queen visit Glasgow every week? And isn't it Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs that Rangers have stiffed? A better slogan might have been 'we don't do irony'. The daft songs about Ireland also persist. Some of us have had it with people who obsess about their right to sing songs about their Irish heritage. And what about those of us who are Scots with no Irish heritage, and no interest in Ireland's obscure history? Some of us just like football. And then you've got the current spokesmen for the club. I've heard threats, more threats, demands for boycotts of almost everyone and everything, but very little common sense spoken. Who's using the family brain cell at the moment? I'd love to see Rangers start again as a Scottish team, without the Irish and sectarian crap. It could be a team to be proud of. But if it's going to be Old Gers Mark II, with all the miserable non-football stuff, then the club will have lost me, and possibly many others, forever.

Auch naw, I didn't think you were accusing. I did use the standard Eye lines though . Can't get it over here, but ok, they do offer a net version. Their lookalikes used to be part of the freebie stuff online.

Granny Danger, This isn't from the Eye but maybe I should send it in? Scary Bear, Blofeld is also an animal lover. Perhaps at the next happening on the steps of Ibrox we should check to see if Bomber is stroking a white Persian cat?

Dear Pie and Bovrilites, I can't help noticing an uncanny similarity between John 'Bomber' Brown, the eloquent fans' spokesman for the now defunct Rangers FC, and the Bond villain Ernst Blofeld, as portrayed by Donald Pleasance. Could they possibly be related? In the interests of transparency I think we should be told. John 'Bomber' Brown Ernst Blofeld (Donald Pleasance)

I don't see how any new team can be admitted to any SFL league - apart from the ones already waiting for entry to SFL 3. Whatever it is Charles Green is knitting together, it doesn't look like a football club, yet. No one knows who owns what. Fit and proper person test? The deal might even be reversed by the liquidators since it looks as though Duff & Phelps have not acted in the creditors' best interests. The Green company has no financial history either (3 years of accounts seems to be the requirement). And there are multi court cases surrounding Craig Whyte, TicketUs, and who knows what. To give priority to Green the SFA would have to bypass its own rules and better judgement. Even if Green's team is forced in, there's no certainty there won't be another administration & liquidation. None of it makes sense. The vote makes no sense. On paper it looks as though any new club from Glasgow is a complete non-starter.