Caledonian

I read something last night about Lord Walter (or is it just Sir?) comparing Scottish football with the League of Ireland. In fairness to him the journalist asked a leading question. When will journalists ever get away from the tired old stereotypical rubbish? On and off I have heard this League of Ireland comparison since at least the 1970s, even when Scottish football was flourishing. Sometimes the comparison has even been with the Irish League in the north. Say what you like but these leagues do not have clubs similar to Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen or Dundee United for example. People will still say "Whit aboot Shamrock Rovers last season?". Precisely, whit aboot Shamrock Rovers? Group stages of the Europa League - big deal! Anyway that isn't the point. The point is that journalism is bland. I don't mind reading something I disagree with if it is well researched and written but bland tripe is becoming the norm. The guys writing for the broadsheets think that they are superior to their counterparts in the tabloids. In truth most of them are the same. Geezajoab!

Aye but they're clearly not the scoring people. Dene Shiels strike ration in his professional club career is one goal every five games. At international level he has played nine times and never scored. Could be wrong though. The source is Wikipedia.

And you never will. The Church of Scotland is linked to the Christian faith. People fail to understand that Protestant and Roman Catholic are not religions. They are merely denominations. Moreover they are denominations of the same faith. That faith is Christianity. A lot of the Old Firm antagonism is not caused by religion as is often stated. It is done in the name of religion. Mind you I wouldn't step into the middle of an Old Firm punch-up to try to explain that it is all a big misunderstanding and that the different denominations come under the same religion. It confuses a lot of people. Some people even state Church of Scotland when asked their religion!

A funny old game indeed. If I supported my Grandfather's team I'd need to change my allegiance to Falkirk. And my Dad was a Hibby but it didn't stop me from being passionate about any club other than Ayr United.

I'd be wary about some of the signing talk. Not saying it won't happen but can't help being a bit sceptical. So far we have had the story of 19 signing targets 5 of which were playing at Euro12. Then we've had Robbie Savage offering to play for free but with no Saturday availability due to his dancing commitments or some guff like that. Then there was Dean Windass (last club Scarborough) offering to play for them. Yes, there has been talk of 3 or 4-year deals for weekly wages of £7k - £10k. But none of it has actually happened yet. We were also told that Newco would not be ditched by the SPL. Then we were told that they would play no lower than the First Division. At the time it was put over with so much positivity that people believed it. Until Shiels/Black/Beattie/Messi/Rooney actually do sign I would remain sceptical. You've heard the metaphor about the alcoholic who wants just one drink. This is like an alcoholic who wants a week-long binge. I really do hope some of these contracts do materialise though. They would be unsustainable.

The STV statement is not categoric. There are phrases like 'expected to' and 'STV understands'.

I know it can be annoying when folk like me cannot keep pace with this thread then post something that has been aired already. But here goes anyway. If I am reading it correctly Newco still do not have an SFA licence and the main sticking point is dual contracts. Well I don't see how the issue of dual contracts is going to be resolved in Newco's favour this side of Sunday. One working day left to resolve a matter considered one below match fixing in terms of severity. How can they overcome this by tomorrow?

Even apart from the money, a 3-year contract is staggering.

Even if you were to accept the argument that they have been punished enough then so too have the people of Newcastle (1969), Barcelona (1972), Birmingham (1976), Mount Florida (1980) and Manchester (2008). A few more could be added too. Remember when they played their away leg to Unirea in Romania? Those of us in the civilised world recognise that Romania has severe problems, particularly with regard to child poverty. My family collect things to put in shoeboxes which are ultimately sent out there to give orphans a half-decent Christmas. These kids go wild with excitement when these gifts are received. So what happened when Rangers fans visited a country the rest of us show compassion towards? Answer - They picked fights with the locals. By courtesy of copying and pasting have a look at this. The stomach-churning scenes of crowd violence that forced UEFA to make a tannoy announcement at the start of the second half, threatening abandonment and serious repercussions to follow for the Scottish club, will have made the nation cringe. It made me more than cringe. Even typing this up just now fills me with so much anger. The first time I saw a game at Ibrox it was Rangers v Hibs and I was aged eleven. I got called a fen.... b...... just because my dad had bought me a Hibs rosette and Hibs had the affrontery to win the match. I didn't open my gub during the match and neither did my dad. I wasn't even a Hibs supporter (my club was Ayr United even back then). It was some Ibrox baptism especially since I didn't even understand the expression. Further to the above post I fail to understand why someone who is so clever would associate themselves with such a club. A lot of clubs have a bad element but with Rangers the anti-social scale is massive.

Rangers want the Scottish Premier League to drop their investigation into dual contracts and the SPL wants the SFL to hand over Rangers' media rights. Whit?

Oh no! Another charge against them. This is a breach of copyright of the olympic symbol.

I wouldn't fret too much about the history angle. Most of them have exhausted their argument after mentioning the 54 titles. I can remember speaking to Rangers supporters in 2010 who had only a vague recollection of the 2009 Scottish Cup final. I know more about their history than they do and I don't even like them.

I think I saw some naughty words on the RM forum but I might be wrong.

I'd like to share some things I've read in the papers. I've read in the papers that 1. Six SPL clubs will be out the game in a matter of weeks. 2. All of the other league clubs will die a slow lingering death. 3. Sevco will be in the First Division by 5pm tomorrow. 4. The best case scenario is meltdown and the worst case scenario is Armageddon. 5. Celtic will have won the SPL by December. I have also read other stuff in the papers about 'sporting integrity' but I can't quite understand that term in a footballing context so we'll let that one go. These issues are dominating the back page headlines (sometimes even the front page). Now let's just say that some or all of this does not happen. That would leave some leading (?) journalists in a situation in which they have called it badly wrong. If I got something badly wrong at work I would deservedly be disciplined. Would these guys be disciplined? Not a chance. Editorial controls are slack and we are getting sensationalist headlines in an attempt to sell more newspapers. Some people lap up this guff but most of us see it for what it is. In metaphorical terms it's just a pile of steaming manure. They are all guilty. It doesn't matter whether it is a red top or one of those posh papers that cost more than a quid and it takes two people to hold. They really do believe that we are all simple. A lot of the posts on this thread have been of outstanding quality but nobody on here would last five minutes as a football journalist because we would tell it as it is (Oh God, I'm beginning to sound like Kenny Wotsisname at Killie!). The following is a serious question - Does anybody know of a credible newspaper I could buy? Or maybe we could all get together and start our own.

The plural of 'you' is still 'you'. I can understand your mistake though since John Brown is your spokesman. Incidentally when you arrive in Division 3 don't expect a soft landing. 108 points from 36 games? Don't think so!

I like the guy saying that if we go to Division Three I'll be asking for a trial.

I wouldn't be too critical of Billy Dodds' brain. His brain is more valuable than yours or mine because it hasn't been used.

I got the current issue last night and I cannot see anything about Rangers in it (only browsed it so far). Their Planet Football feature is not in. Warning - If your name is Bob Diamond don't buy it.

They've not been punished yet for dual contracts or sectarian singing.

Maybe I am missing something here. Newco Rangers only have associate membership of the SFA. They will have no voting rights for four years. With so little status how could there possibly be a mechanism for placing them in the SPL?

I am sure. SPL2 is not possible for 2012/13. Time has run out for that to happen.

Here is some journalistic drivel for your amusement. Why are some of these guys still in denial? The stage is already set for 2012/13. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/rangers/9399104/Rangers-in-crisis-Scottish-Football-Leagues-clubs-deserve-credit-but-SFA-and-SPL-may-deliver-twist.html

Since this afternoon I have had a superiority complex and it is not wearing off. A stroll up Ayr High Street, wearing an Ayr top, awaits tomorrow morning.

There was a guy on the Honestpage saying that Ayr would vote Newco into the First Division. He claimed he heard it from an impeccable source. I can tell you that this is almost certainly dross.

If Newco were to get accepted in the Third Division how many of their fans would splash the cash on a season ticket? Are we talking about 5,000, 10,000 or 20,000+?