Armed Forces Day

Armed forces day is coming up at Ibrox and as a serving member of the Royal Air Force its a day to truly enjoy, a packed stadium with thousands of supporters or your club and supporters to celebrate the work carried out by the military. having attended both as a fan and a serving member I can honestly say its the most humbling and noteworthy achievement I have certainly had the pleasure to take part in. I have had the honour of being on the pitch at half time with a few hundred fellow military employees enjoying a rapturous reception from the Ibrox faithful, I don't think I've had a better moment in my career spanning 17 years now and I don't say that lightly. I've achieved some amazing things and been to some unreal places, but will happily trade everyone of them to be stood in the semi-circle at half time. I cant even describe what's its like, seriously. As a fan its probably as close as I will get as feeling like what a player feels when he walks out of the tunnel, prior to kick-off.

Rangers have always been a staunch supporter of the armed forces and for me I will always be grateful for the support the club and fans give each year, not just on the match day but throughout the year with the charity money and veteran support. Unfortunately I cant attend this year as I'm down south with work and I'm absolutely gutted. I volunteer for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund in Lossiemouth (RAFBF) and they asked if i can go again this year and help with the collections before the match, but work being as unpredictable as usual I can't make it. I have also seen RangersFirst are looking for help and I would encourage anyone who can help please go along and offer your services.

The Rangers Charity Foundation has announced a new Armed Forces Partnership with Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity, ABF the Soldiers Charity, RAFBF and Erskine. The club are hoping to raise £25,000 to split between the charities which I think is a tremendous effort and only helps cement the bond between the armed forces and Rangers. With Erskine celebrating its 100th anniversary this years its hoping to give £10,000 to a special memorial garden in Bishopton. It's hoping to link The Regimental Walls of Scotland, Japanese Prisoners of War Memorial and The Lost Gardeners of The Great War with a paved walkway between the three sites.

I got to meet Ally last year and despite what has happened previously I cant praise him enough for his time that day, what a gent with great personal pride in the clubs support, prior to the match he came to speak to us and answer any questions we had. Every single one of us queued up for a picture and with one of the Rangers PR men telling him he didn't have time to accommodate us all, Ally wouldn't leave until everyone had the picture they wanted. That for me spoke volumes for his character, shame it worked out the way it did. As I said before I'm working down south for three weeks and I'm also going to miss the Fernando Match at Borough Briggs in Elgin on the 20th of September, just my luck!

I hope everyone who attends the Armed forces day against Livingston has a great day coupled with another fantastic performace from the fans and the team. I know I dont have to ask but please show your support at half time, it means the world to us.

Conspiracy theory

For years there has been the theory that most of the media in Scotland has had a hidden agenda against Rangers. I've always taken these allegations with a pinch of salt and generally laughed at the very notion, but is there any truth in it? I can certainly understand that someone who supports one team might find some extra interest in trying to expose or report with a biased attitude but you would like to think a certain amount of professionalism and pride in your work would overtake the basic urge to try and get one over on your rival team.

Lets take the recent BBC scenario, for example, with Chris McLaughlin being told to stay away from Ibrox, Chris had been accused of reporting on our club with a biased and unfair approach. He decided to focus solely on the fact a few people were arrested for alleged sectarian singing during the recent 6-2 victory over Hibs in the Cup but failed to mention Police Scotland had praised the behaviour of both sets of fans throughout the match and after. Chris was also accused of receiving information from the match delegate George Douglas before he had even left Ibrox. For me this is where my scepticism lay initially, if I was a reporter I would feel the need to report on all aspects of the game which would be trying to gather as much information as possible, not just the stuff that would look bad for the club. He likes to focus on any negativity coming out of Rangers and skip over any positive news, which is where the problem starts. Professional integrity is clearly not a trait Chris has and his bosses in the BBC seem to let him get away with it on a regular basis. and this was the final nail in the coffin when it came to the BBC having their journos inside the ground. The club removed Chris' Journalistic privileges from Ibrox and released a statement saying "the decision wasn't taken lightly, it wasn't a knee jerk reaction." So clearly the club have noticed the unbalanced reports being submitted and felt action was required.

So does this constitute as a conspiracy or just one or two journos having a sneaky pop ? you only really have to have a look at the paper or twitter feeds to get a good indication where certain journalists  fall on when it comes to impartiality and unbiased reporting, what I find hard to understand is how the hierarchy of these employers allow it happen. Tom English, Graham Spiers and Jim Spence are a few more who seem to show no neutrality when it comes to reporting on our club. So maybe I tried to block out the Rangers haters and just believe what I was reading was decent reporting, my own fault for believing it would be done with a degree of respectability. There are a few more so called journalists that I wont mention because I would we completely wasting my time due to the irrelevance and general line of hatred to the club is clear for all to see. As far as a conspiracy goes it certainly seems like the Scottish media has plenty of Rangers haters and I'm not sure why I chose think otherwise. I guess I thought that level of hatred would have been noticed and and not allowed to show through in people's work, especially within the media outlets. 

So with the report coming out soon regarding information being passed from match delegates to members of the press, we will see if anything will come of it, my guess is not a lot really and as per usual it will be widely ignored. I must admit there are so good reporters out there who don't really get the credit they deserve as the majority are tarred with the same brush. So within the last few days I've seen the BBC and Rangers have patched up their differences and Chris is now had is privileges reinstated and is welcome back inside Ibrox, as for Chris I hope he stays away and not have the balls to sneak in like Spiers did not so long ago. 

FOOTBALL A FAMILY GAME?

One of the greatest sights for any football fan is seeing the next generation of supporter bedecked in their Clubs colours - quite often head to foot - heading to the game with a parent or older sibling.  

"Children are the future of the game" is a mantra oft trotted out by the great and the good and on the face of it- logically - they are spot on. It's always been that way, the evolution of life and normal course of things makes it so, as We grow older our ability to follow the beautiful game diminishes, and the vacuum left by older fans no longer being able to attend has to be filled. It's common sense. 

In not so distant by gone days it was often a natural progression. Dad went because his dad took him and dad's kid went for the same reason. It was a father and son ( and in a few cases father daughter) afternoon out, often indeed a grandfather, father, son, uncle, cousin afternoon out. A regular wider family bonding session if you will. The Saturday ritual was the same every other week as home games came around. Everyone would meet up at the same place, at the same time and do the same things. The adults invariably in their local having a few beers while the kids played outside accompanied by a can of ginger and packet of crisps! It was just what Saturday's were for. Thousands of families had similar rituals up and down the country no matter their allegiance. Lifelong friendships were forged by the kids. This all happened not as long ago as many would have you believe, there was indeed regularity in football before TV became the guv'nor in 1992!

Sadly it's all so different now. 

Children growing up in the 21st century have so many other things to do making the task of getting them to watch live sport a task in itself. Why should they want to stand or sit outside in all the elements for a couple of hours when they could be cosy at home getting goggle eyed on their laptop/tablet/games console or whatever! Especially in a time when its moved on from simply playing games against the device and it's now all about on line games against other people. 

But technology is only part of the problem! 

The "every other Saturday" routine is impossible now. 

So many Clubs, particularly the so called bigger Clubs, rarely have a Saturday afternoon game any more. It's lunchtime, evening, Friday night, Sunday, Monday - and that's before factoring in scheduled mid week games and those rearranged due to postponements and suchlike! The television scheduling of football is getting totally out of control.  It's beginning to affect every league and supporters of every side. Fans of the big Clubs are somewhat used to it now and seem to accept it as just what happens and the mantra "he who pays the piper calls the tune" is trotted out to justify the situation. 

It's all too easy to stay at home or go to the pub to watch your team! There's that many games on TV - or streams available via spurious satellite links why should people bother with the hassle and expense of actually attending games in the flesh, let alone drag their weans along! Especially with daft early afternoon or weekend evening kick offs. 

The way it's going in a little over a generation football Stadia will be half empty every week. People won't actually support teams. It's started already. Kids- not even just kids to be honest-  "follow" loads of teams from lots of different leagues having never actually ever been anywhere near a football stadium, let alone inside one for a game. 

Don't get me wrong, as a fan of the beautiful game, the almost blanket coverage of the sport and 24/7-365 access to up to date information is great but unless something is done quickly the working class game is going to eat itself and become a preserve of the well off with stadia almost exclusively populated by corporate customers paying big bucks to hob nob with their peers, instead of having terraces and stands rammed with passionate "working class" supporters who actually care about THEIR Club and its future more than the business deals being concluded over the steak or chicken in the corporate areas. 

The Clubs themselves need to wake up and smell the coffee ! The millions being made from television and commercial sponsorship deals seem to be increasing their greed and admission prices are continuing to spiral out of control in an upwardly direction at an alarming rate, further alienating the rank and file supporters from their Club, which on the face of it seems odd as you'd expect turnstyle prices to decrease as corporate income increases. 

Something has to be done before entire generations of youngsters are lost  and never have the pleasure of experiencing the highs and lows of what is still, just about, The Beautiful Game! 

We Welcome the Chase

X  

For some time a certain member of the podcast has been pestering me to start blogging again about the famous Glasgow Rangers, Marc has been borderline persistent and I've been putting it off for some time and to be honest I have a few reasons. The first one is it's been difficult to find something positive to write about. The whole comedy road show that has surrounded the club in recent years has cast a black cloud over Ibrox. It's bad enough people have to have to listen to me be a miserable bastard on the pod let alone read my pessimistic blogs. I've never claimed to be any good at writing or explaining my views but I have to admit it's something I love to do, good or bad it gave me great pleasure and that's what's been missing. The certain X factor you get from the experience of going to watch football and I thrived on interacting with fellow fans and talk about it, and being on the pod is something I love doing, and I don't say that lightly. It's an absolute pleasure to chew the fat about Rangers and have a laugh with friends online. 

It was a shitty cup game against Albion Rovers that was the straw the broke the camels back, after a terrible 1-1 draw at Ibrox and a 7 hour round trip I was firmly the most annoyed I've ever been watching a game of football, but even now it's hard to describe the delight I have when I travel to Glasgow, let alone travel there for a game of football. I don't know what it is about Glasgow but I absolutely love the place and I'm actually buzzing when I come down for a match. Regardless of how bad the football has been in the last few seasons I still got excited about the prospect of driving down to watch my team and I think that's common with the vast majority of our support, no matter how bad we were on and off the pitch we still turned up to support the team.

The second reason was the animosity between fans on social media, it was a hotbed of in-house arguing and slagging matches, while I've never been one to shy away from a good "debate" (I'm using that phrase lightly) it got tiresome and I found myself getting dragged into lots of arguments which pissed me off. Opinions are like arseholes, everyone has one and I firmly believe everyone is entitled to one, opinion that is, but it started getting personal at points and while i do enjoy calling everyone the C bomb it was not pleasant to read so much hate flying about on Twitter and Facebook, I found myself being drawn into arguments and differences in opinions which I had to ignore in the end. 

Anyway time for positive and news, the Rangers are genuinely coming and the rest of Scottish football should be quaking in their little backstabbing, lying, hypocritical boots. The Warburton revolution is in full swing and finally it looks like we have a board in place with the interests of the club at heart and a manager worthy of sitting in the dugout. Mark Warburton has installed a belief in the players and that much is evident in the way the team have gelled and are playing some sublime passing football, now that's a sentence I didn't I would be writing any time soon. Just listening to the interviews with Mark has us foaming at the mouth, he talks with passion and a desire to succeed and it's intoxicating, also having Sir David of Weir as his assistant is a huge benefit to him on and off the park. David has a great connection with the club and that will help for multiple reasons, that much is obvious.

So the first league match has passed with a full stadium and a pleasing performance and result, we are far from the polished article but the signs are there, passing pressing attacking football. it's a bloody dream come true and we just can't get enough of it. It was reported the words "send them home happy" is emblazoned on the dressing room wall. Just reading that gave me goosebumps, I'm not going to lie. 

So there we go bears, im buzzing, you're buzzing and its finally falling into place. Im going to leave you with the immortal words from Bill Struth "Let the others come after us, we welcome the chase"

Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

In June 2015, Rangers FC announce Mark Warburton as their new manager.   

I must admit at first I was fairly pessimistic. Ex Brentford manager didn’t really sound the most promising at the time. I kept on hearing about how he worked wonders on Brentford and almost got them into the Premier League but flukes do happen.
The first sign that he had his head screwed on was the fact he signed Danny Wilson. To lure Wilson Hearts, especially after the previous season (as our main rivals) would take either hypnosis or one bloody good plan. 

 
The 3 year plan was then mentioned to the media and the reception from Rangers players regarding the plan was certainly promising. At an outlay of circa £700k , Warburton proceeded to sign James Tavernier, Andy Halliday, Martyn Waghorn, Jason Holt, Wes Foderingham, Jordan Thompson and Rob Keirnan.
Another 7 promising signings who were much better quality than any other players at Ibrox over the past three years.
  

After a carefully crafted pre-season , the first game approached against Burnley in a friendly at Ibrox. I attended this game and the first thirty minutes of the game were utterly amazing. Tika taka I believe is what the Spanish call it. That’s right! SPANISH FOOTBALL AT IBROX!!! We did however lose 1-0 yet there was many positives to take in that game. For the first time in God knows how long it seemed like Pep Guardiola was in charge of the team rather than Sam Allardyce.
The patience. The composure. The determination. 

A breath of fresh air to say the least.
Wilson and Keirnan were solid at the back. Wes seemed to know what he was doing yet seemed a bit nervous. Holt and Halliday bossed the midfield, a perfect replacement for Law and Black in my opinion. Waghorn however seemed a bit complacent and lacked enthusiasm, similar to Boyd last season. And finally Lord Tavernier showed the potential to be the most gorgeous sight I have ever seen at Ibrox.
A proper no 2. No more Foster, what a time to be alive.  

Finally the introduction of McKay after his previous loan deal out of the club gave me confidence that youth still has a place and that it all maybe good again, sooner than anticipated. This seasons average team age is now 24.4. I don’t think we had anyone 24 years old in our team last year?

Since the 4-0 win against East Fife when McKay made his debut. I’ve said he should start. Throughout the journey the tactic seemed to be that youngsters would be welcome for half a season and then they’re as good as non existent. At long last he’s returned and I definitely feel he’s proved me right, his first touch is perfect almost every time, he possesses pace and still improving.
I reckon he could’ve been as good, if not better, as Lewis Macleod. Another sign that we are back! Lest we forget. 

 
First competitive game was against Club Club.
One word, FITNESS. 

The Ramsfrac Cup has been fairly cruel to us previously and I was excited to watch us play a team that isn’t 6″5 Burnley with the Warburton mentally.
We went 1-0 down early to Club Club from a Foderingham mistake. He received quite a lot of stick for that which was unfair considering he’s a 24 year old keeper and considering the play that we’ve adapted, sloppy goals conceded are inevitable.
Around the 40th minute Hibs give away a free kick.
Up steps Lord Tavernier and my dog starts to go mental, jokingly I say to myself that my dog has superhuman (or dog) powers and can predict a goal but I dismiss this unrealistic optimism.
I forgot that this was the Warburton era.
What a strike! To bend it in from so close to the box? He must be a magician!  

5 minutes later? 5″4 Holt shrugs off Hibs jolly green giant centre back and slips a ball into Waghorn who scores. Last year we would’ve not even imagined having the heart to equalise but to then score another? Unheard of!  

Straight after the interval we’re at it again, Wallace plays a gorgeous ball to Waghorn who gets lucky with an Oaxley deflection. 

 
And then it begins. 

FITNESS. 

Another 3 goals including one spectacular Halliday shot shows Hibs can’t keep up. After 70 minutes of making the ball do the work and watching Hibs chase the game shows that we are just too good.
It’s a long time overdue but most welcome. 

 
Finally Peterhead. 

A game of domination in which we won 3-0 and Peterhead didn’t even get a single shot on target. Finishing was poor. Final pass needs some work during these triple training sessions surely? Brilliant to see Tavernier score again however.  

In my opinion, fans need to remain patient and don’t take anything for granted (no matter how hard that may be). Mistakes will come with the way we play especially in defence but as I said, patience , triple training sessions , match time and Warburton will sort it.
As for Warburton, I’m no longer pessimistic, infact, I can’t wait.
Over the past three years I’ve been the one that’s kept me and my old man from leaving games early, we’ve applauded teams who have outplayed us in the leagues below and now, Warburton is the one who’s making me restore faith in football at Ibrox.

Bring on St Mirren, bring on this league, bring on the football. WATP
(Don’t forget to wear your retro kit for St Mirren)

Twitter – @AnonymousGer72

Taps Aff?

Tonight sees The Rangers return to the Championship, a title chase we weren't supposed to repeat. For the first time in years there is a positive buzz around the team. We’re playing exciting football and appear to have a good attacking philosophy. Its early days but it’s hard not to get too excited when we’re beating our title rivals 6-2 before the season has even kicked off. Amongst this joy, there is an unfortunate feeling of discontent.

It’s not unfair to say that the Rangers support has been fractured in recent years. Recent boardroom battles has seen a civil war of sorts amongst fan groups. There were those that were vehemently opposed to the then current board but they did have their admirers. It’s not for me claim who was right and who was wrong, personally I wasn’t the greatest fan of that regime however neither was I firmly in the Dave King camp. I was naïve when Craig Whyte took the reins and was reluctantly won over by Charles Green. That’s made me sceptical, and perhaps too pessimistic, however trust is something that those in charge will need to earn, I can’t put faith first.

Despite all the change at Rangers Mike Ashley has remained a constant. A divisive figure, there are fans that still back the billionaire and will not be convinced otherwise. I won’t judge these fans although I think the Sports Direct deal speaks for itself which has drawn its own battle line between supporters. Should we buy the official merchandise or not?

When fans should be united, tonight, there is a campaign to reject the new top and instead wear an older pre-Sports Direct one in protest to Ashley. Whereas I like seeing retro kits amongst the Ibrox faithful, I feel it’s unfair that fans be judged for their decision. The pod’s own Stevie Taylor has been getting ribbed by the team over being a “spiv” when he sports the latest top but it’s done in jest. From what I’ve seen on twitter, not all jibes aimed at fans are in good humour, and it works both ways with a minority of both factions showing a sense of defiance.

There is no right or wrong here. I asked our followers on @WWTC_POD if they’d be purchasing the new top or not. I received mixed responses but it was interesting to note how many wouldn’t be buying the top for themselves but wouldn’t deny their child their annual treat. As a man in his thirties who still receives a Rangers top from his own Dad each year, I can understand.

Saying that, he hasn’t got me one yet and I don’t know if I’d buy one. If you think my arse is sore form sitting on the fence, I only have two options and will inevitably fall into either camp anyway. Regardless if you’re for, against or basically don’t care about Ashley, it shouldn’t matter when it comes to supporting the team. The eleven guys on the pitch aren’t playing politics and whether your sponsor is 32 Red, Carling or LionBrand, the Bear next to you is in attendance for the same reason you are. To support the team. I’m not suggesting we link arms and sing Kumbaya but I’m sure we can at least put our differences aside for ninety minutes. Things are looking good down Ibrox way, let’s embrace it.

Follow We Will

Follow we Will

Born and bred in Govan, I grew up in a Rangers supporting family and from a very early age was taken to Ibrox with my Dad. He introduced me gently, by first of all taking to me reserve games and then we advanced to first team matches. I loved everything about it.

During the school holidays, me and some of my pals from Copland Road primary would spend everyday waiting outside the Albion training ground to get autographs from the players as they made there way across the road to the stadium to get bathed and changed. We would sometimes get the same signature 3 or 4 times a week for the duration of the holidays. Yet, not once did any of the players give you the impression that they were fed up with you asking.

When I first started going to games, the club was managed by Scot Symon whose office at the time was located on the right hand side just above the main entrance as you looked at the stadium. My school team actually used the pitch opposite for our games as we never had one of our own and we played on Saturday mornings. Sometimes you would see Mr Symon sitting in his office and wonder “is he watching me” obviously not would be the sensible answer, but when you are of primary school age you can’t help but dream.

As I got that bit older and started attending games with my mates, we used to stand in the same spot every home match. It was commonly known to some as the “Derry” it was located at the top right of the terracing opposite the main stand. That was where the best atmosphere was in the ground and at times it was absolutely packed in that wee corner, while there was some space in other areas. So many fans wanted to be part of the atmosphere created in this area. A lot of older bears will remember this well.

These are childhood memories I will always cherish.

Fast Forward

Over the years we have had some ups and downs like winning the Cup Winners Cup, an underperforming team and low crowds of the early 80’s, the Souness era, 9 in a row, UEFA Cup final, to Sir David Murray selling the club to Craig Whyte for £1. Our darkest day came when Whyte entered the club into administration.

It has been a long tough 3½ years for the fans but with Dave King in control of the club now, and a management team of Warburton and Weir, the majority of us have that feel good factor back again.

Onwards and Upwards.

We Welcome the Chase