Reply to: Rangers and Celtic; who's best?

[cojak]

Ok, so both sides condemn it then. And it took 18 pages to get there.

I think this thread has had it's day.

Get out and enjoy the rest of the day, I am...

[TykeMerc]

So just to clarify, that's a no to condeming them then?

If it's happening then I'd certainly condemn it.
Not that my condemnation matters since I'm not Scottish, Glaswegian, a football fan or in either of the protestant or catholic clans that seem to enjoy fighting each other.

[shaunbhoy]

This is what former Rangers Idol Mark Hateley has to say about it all.....................makes interesting reading.

I CAN hardly believe what I'm about to write. I mean, Sunday's Old Firm game is one of the most important matches in the recent history of Rangers.

But right now I couldn't give a stuff about the result. Truth be told, I've hardly got the stomach for it.

Now that might change as kick-off time comes around. I'll give you that.

But the crap we've all had to endure over the past few days has turned me right off this whole fixture. And I've reached the point where the outcome of the biggest game of the season is now immaterial to me.

All that matters is that my club gets through this 90 minutes without bringing further shame on itself in front of the watching world. Rangers simply cannot take any more self-inflicted scandal.

The club will not fall down on the back of one result. Even if it means losing a grip on the SPL crown, as hard as that might be to swallow.

But it absolutely could be brought down for good by a minority of morons who seem hellbent on destroying the institution they claim to love.

The events of the past few days - and let's be blunt here, the attempted murder of Celtic manager Neil Lennon - have sickened me like never before. This madness, this utter chaos needs to stop now.

Let's get one thing straight. This has nothing to do with football. It was an act of criminality and terrorism by an individual or individuals who should not be walking our streets never mind attending football matches.

They are certainly not acting for or representative of the true Rangers support. And it would be utterly ridiculous to tar many thousands of good honest football fans with the same brush as you would use for these homicidal scumbags.

But that is why the time has come for the good guys to make themselves heard.

It is time for the true supporters to stand up and be counted and start to regain the respect their great club deserves. Because right now all across the globe the reputation of Rangers is in the gutter.

That's why Sunday is no longer about the result. It's all about the supporters now.

Whether Walter Smith's side win or lose is just a side issue. The whole world will be watching this game for all the wrong reasons and their eyes will be fixed firmly on the Rangers fans.

They will be placed under intense scrutiny because some of them have proved incapable of adapting to modern life in the 21st century.

The recent furore over sectarian chanting was damaging enough to the image of the club.

But when UEFA president Michel Platini is forced to break off from his ceremonial duties to express his horror over a nail bomb being sent through the post to the manager of Celtic? It simply does not get any worse than that.

The fundamentalists have taken over. They have blackened the name of my club on a global scale.

Well I say it's time for the overwhelming majority of fine, decent, upstanding Rangers supporters to prove how much they care.

They have to show the world what I already know - that they represent a quality football club, one of the greatest in the game.

Now no one needs to tell me about the real Rangers fans. They're the reason I fell in love with the club after signing from Monaco in 1990. To my mind they form one of the greatest supports anywhere in football.

They share a passion and deep sense of loyalty that separates them from all the rest. I am proud to count myself among them now that my boots have been packed away for good.

I would go as far as to say 99.9 per cent of them are genuine fans who simply love watching their team win football matches.

But they are the ones who have to prove that now. The spotlight is on them.

The club cannot take any more madness or embarrassment this Sunday. If they step out of line then Rangers might well be marked down as the black sheep of the entire football family for years to come.

And please spare me the old "no one likes us we don't care" attitude because if they have their own club's interests at heart then they MUST care.

Perhaps they should ask themselves - in these troubled financial times - what business in the world would want to associate with or invest in a football club that is regarded as a pariah because of a lunatic fringe of its supporters? So the good fans - and by that I mean the overwhelming majority - need to act in a way which shows the watching world what the Rangers support is really all about.

If the FTP brigade start to pipe up on Sunday then the decent majority must shout them down and point them out to the authorities.

If they are seen to be distancing themselves from the halfwits, having them rooted out inside the stadium, perhaps everyone else will see what I already know - that the ordinary Rangers fan does not deserve to be demonised in this manner. I hope the police help too by capturing the maniac or maniacs who have been behind the spate of recent explosive devices.

And I sincerely hope they get their man before he gets one of his targets.

Heaven only knows how Lennon is dealing with it all but I hope he's strong enough to get through it.

I'm not his biggest fan - and I have criticised him for some of his more provocative actions - but he doesn't deserve this. It is beyond ludicrous, worse than disgusting.

It strikes me that Neil is a single-minded and determined man. He came through a lot of difficult times as a player and I'd like to think those qualities will stop him walking away from the job now.

I can't say that with any certainty because I have never been sent a bomb through the post.

I had hate mail and all kinds of threats dropping through my door as a player but I laughed them all off.

I'm not sure even I could laugh off a bomb. So good luck to Neil and I hope the cretins who have done this to him rot in jail.

The sage words of one of the Loyal Followers. Hard to disagree with most of what he says really.
I, of course, will roundly condemn any such act of terrorism should it actually ever occur against any fan or employee of Rangers FC.
However, I feel that for the time being we should confine ourselves to the facts. The ONLY Club whose fans/employees have been subjected to this very real intimidation are Celtic FC. Let's not move away from that indisputable fact.

[Incognito]

There has been no bomb threat made to rangers employees, farcical that they are pretending that there is. Further there has been no bomb posted to anyone connected with Rangers and neither has any bullets been sent to anyone connected with rangers.

So just to clarify, that's a no to condeming them then?

[minestrone]

There has been no bomb threat made to rangers employees, farcical that they are pretending that there is. Further there has been no bomb posted to anyone connected with Rangers and neither has any bullets been sent to anyone connected with rangers.

And can I continue to ask what songs you claim that I have been singing?

[Incognito]

Another letter bomb has been found. Sent to a former cabinet minister.

No doubt you'll be condemning the scum behind the latest threats just as much as the scum behind the threats to Lennon?

RANGERS bosses Walter Smith, David Murray and Martin Bain were warned last night by anti-terror cops that they are at risk of attack.
Officers briefed the men about their security in the wake of the attempted nail-bomb attacks on Celtic manager Neil Lennon, his QC Paul McBride and Celtic-supporting MSP Trish Godman.
A Rangers source said: "What happened to Neil Lennon is despicable, and there's a concern that some twisted individual might think it's a good idea to gain some kind of revenge."
A high-level insider at Ibrox said police spoke to manager Smith, club owner Murray and chief executive Bain "as a matter of urgency" early yesterday evening.
The source said: "It all happened very quick ly, without prior warning, which tends to suggest a bit more urgency about it."
By then, a note giving safety advice had been distributed to all Rangers staff.
Rangers players were also being spoken to about their security, with particular attention paid to Ulstermen Kyle Lafferty and Steven Davis.
And police advised Gers staff to search the mail rooms at Ibrox and the Murray Park training complex. The searches were carried out by the club's own security team.
But the Record's source said the terror cops were "most concerned " about the potential threat to Smith, Murray and Bain.
The insider said: "There has been an advice note circulated among the staff about security, but the level of interest in the higher -profile three is beyond that.
"They are not just being copied into that circular or anything like that.
"This was Strathclyde anti-terrorism officers briefing Walter Smith, Martin Bain and David Murray about their own safety."

Rangers bosses on terror alert following Celtic threats - The Daily Record

Oh no wait a minute, you'll be singing your songs glorifying them instead won't you.

[minestrone]

Another letter bomb has been found. Sent to a former cabinet minister.

[cojak]

A spokesman for Dundee United said: "They will be able to afford bigger bombs and guns and bring in expensive foreign assassins who want the chance to kill people in Europe, but we will focus on guerilla tactics and the element of surprise.

"I see us very much as the Viet Cong of the Scottish premier league."

*

[TimberWolf]

The Daily Mash - Scottish premier league to award three points for murder

He added: "Scottish football has never really been about football, as anyone who has seen one of the matches would almost certainly agree.

"It's about a clash of twisted ideologies fuelled by delicious, high-strength alcohol and an education system that sensibly divides children into Catholics and Protestants as soon as they can spell the word 'hate'."

[gingerjedi]

Football seems to breed bile and hatred, adding the sectarian and religious nonsense just makes it more vicious. This parcel bomb thing goes way past that into the realms of terrorism or at the very least attempted wanton murder.

?? Football has nothing to do with it, Manchester doesn't have these issues despite having teams traditionally from both factions, there's rivalry but religion doesn't get a mention these days.

[DaveB]

The Daily Mash - Scottish premier league to award three points for murder

[Cliphead]

Football seems to breed bile and hatred, adding the sectarian and religious nonsense just makes it more vicious. This parcel bomb thing goes way past that into the realms of terrorism or at the very least attempted wanton murder.

Sadly take away the football and it will still be there. Welcome to the west of Scotland.

[TykeMerc]

This incident clearly is, but don't have any illusions about moral high ground. My lot have there own bunch of idiots that can be just as bigoted and mindless. It's the whole ******* thing, all the bile and mindless hatred for what, fitbaw. I used to think it was a good thing, and added to the excitement, but now I'm a bit longer in the tooth I think I see it for what it is, and I'm starting to wonder if Scotland might be a better place without either of them.

Football seems to breed bile and hatred, adding the sectarian and religious nonsense just makes it more vicious. This parcel bomb thing goes way past that into the realms of terrorism or at the very least attempted wanton murder.

[SimonMac]

Shisters.

I think the term is "Shyster" which is ironic seen as you are berating the sectarian sections of Rangers fan by using an anti-Semitic slur.

[minestrone]

Hilarious, from the **** that was owning up to singing all the 'political' songs.

I'm sure it's just a political statement they're trying to make.

I think they're out of order, you however, have no right to greet about anything.

Quite clearly I have to ask you to clarify that comment.

What songs have I been singing?