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Stewart Robertson tells the truth in the Herald


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Let's hope he feels the same way if the SFA and Police investigations demonise our fans for coming onto the park.

His interview yesterday was a wee bit too passive for my liking, I wasn't expecting a snarling dog but I felt he's opened a can of worms with saying he will deal with any of our fans caught up in that, or words to those effect.

I don't think any Rangers fan ran onto the park looking for a fight or they would have been on the park before the Hibs fans were.

None of these lads should be banned from Ibrox.

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doing your job here OP :D

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/14519777.Q_A__Rangers__Stewart_Robertson_on_the_Hampden_riot__Rod_Petrie_and_Club_1872/

Quote

Stewart Robertson, the Rangers managing director, spoke to the media for the first time since the William Hill Scottish Cup final at the launch of unified fans group, Club 1872 yesterday.

Chief football writer Matthew Lindsay listened to Robertson as he answered questions about the riot that erupted after the match with Hibs at Hampden and other issues which concern the Glasgow club.

How disappointed were Rangers by the comments of Hibernian chairman Rod Petrie at the weekend?

From what I saw, it was very clear what happened. Whether he [Petrie] was aware of that or not I don’t know. But I was surprised at the comments that were made on Saturday evening. It seemed very clear to us what had happened. In our dressing room we saw how shaken up the boys were by the trauma that had been caused by the events. There was no doubt in our mind what had happened."

Mark Warburton, the Rangers manager, hasn’t made any public statement since the final. Why not?

Everybody was shaken up. We took the decision just to get out of the stadium, not because we couldn’t guarantee the players’ safety, but because nobody could guarantee the players’ safety. We got handed the medals. It was a pretty shaken up group of guys who were in that dressing room on Saturday. I hadn’t seen anything like that in my life and Mark certainly hadn’t seen anything like it.

What did you think of the policing of the crowd at Hampden at full-time?

To be honest, I wasn’t really concentrating on what was going on behind the goal. I was hoping for a last-minute equaliser. It’s hard for me to say. I don’t know the weight of numbers who came over, but it just shouldn’t happen.

Will the Rangers players be interviewed by the police as part of their investigations?

I’m sure they will. If they’re going to bring criminal charges they need to get the evidence for that. I’m not a lawyer, but I assume they’ll have to take statements.

Must Hibernian and Rangers now act diplomatically to defuse the tension between the clubs and avoid further trouble in future?

There’s a responsibility on the authorities. There’s a responsibility on football clubs. There’s a responsibility on everybody who goes to a football match to behave in an appropriate way. Hopefully, the investigation will identify what went wrong. We need to get the investigation out of the way. We asked the SFA and Police Scotland for investigations and they have been set up very quickly. We need to wait and see what comes out of that, what has gone wrong and then we can progress discussions."

Many Rangers fans feel they have been unfairly treated in the last five years. Do you agree?

I can see why Rangers fans feel they have been given a hard time over the last four or five years. Part of the rationale behind Club 1872 is to give the Rangers fans a voice and stand up for the Rangers fans. Some Rangers fans have felt vilified over the last four or five years.”

Do you think the unrest has any negative impact on Scottish football going forward?

It’ll send out a negative message about Scottish football at a time when the SFA and SPFL are trying to attract sponsors and grow the business again. We’ve just got ourselves out of a time where Scottish football was in turmoil. It’s beginning to go the right way, but there’s still a long, long way to go. It can’t help.

What about Rangers?

In terms of the club, I don’t think it will have an impact. We have a very clear plan on where we want to take the club and how to grow the club and we’re on the right path. Winning the cup would have been ahead of schedule for us. Getting into Europe would have been ahead of schedule for us. The key objective was to get into the Premiership and we did that.

Do the football authorities engage with Rangers enough?

We would like to have more influence. The SPFL elections are in July and I will stand for those. We have got a very strong board at Rangers and have a lot to add to Scottish football. We need to keep working away at having our voice heard.”

What are your expectations for next season?

We are dealing with Rangers here, and we are in the Premiership, so we have to go and compete hard. The objective is to win the league. We have made some good signings so far. Joey Barton is a fantastic signing for us, and Jordan Rossiter, Matt Crooks and Josh Windass as well. We have high hopes for them as well. There are more to come in, there are several more players to come in. I am really excited about next year and I know Mark and the guys are. It is a good challenge but we will put our best foot forward and try and win the league.”

How important is the formation of the Club 1872 unified supporters group?

The unification of the various groups is a massive step forward for them and for the club as a whole. It is the first time the fans have had one voice and credit to the various groups for pulling it together, because it’s not easy when people are set in their ways. One of their key principles is to get to 25 per cent plus one in terms of shareholding. You need 75 per cent to get a special resolution passed. So that would give them an element of control and blocking rights. I think the current stake is around 5.6 per cent.

Will Club 1872 ultimately have a representative on the Rangers board?

As a group, because they are independent, they have said they don’t want a director on the club board. That may change, but their very clear intention right now is not to have a representative on the board.

 

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2 minutes ago, bombaybadboy08 said:

Let's hope he feels the same way if the SFA and Police investigations demonise our fans for coming onto the park.

His interview yesterday was a wee bit too passive for my liking, I wasn't expecting a snarling dog but I felt he's opened a can of worms with saying he will deal with any of our fans caught up in that, or words to those effect.

I don't think any Rangers fan ran onto the park looking for a fight or they would have been on the park before the Hibs fans were.

None of these lads should be banned from Ibrox.

Guided tour and a free season ticket is what they should get.

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1 minute ago, there'sonlyoneamoruso said:

Guided tour and a free season ticket is what they should get.

Indeed,

I tried to get tickets for my 6 year old and I and the thought of him feeling threatened because of those stinking cunts boils my blood.

The fans who went onto the park are heroes.

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Just now, bombaybadboy08 said:

Indeed,

I tried to get tickets for my 6 year old and I and the thought of him feeling threatened because of those stinking cunts boils my blood.

The fans who went onto the park are heroes.

Too f*cking right! Imagine the carnage if they had made it to the Rangers end! People would have been seriously hurt. The SFA and Police Scotland should be praising them and thanking them that it didn't turn into a bloodbath.

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One of my posts yesterday actually suggested we strike a medal in honour of the fans who stopped the hibs fans in there tracks. Make no mistake about this,that these cunts nearly plucked up the courage to invade the Rangers end but stopped dead when confronted by a handful of brave guys. 

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21 minutes ago, there'sonlyoneamoruso said:

Too f*cking right! Imagine the carnage if they had made it to the Rangers end! People would have been seriously hurt. The SFA and Police Scotland should be praising them and thanking them that it didn't turn into a bloodbath.

Just to be clear mate. They did make it to the Rangers end but were stopped before they could enter the terracing.

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3 hours ago, one55 said:

Does the last paragraph not preclude James Blair from being a member as he is on the Board and could be considered a "representative"?

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It's obvious from the comments that so few people actually read beyond the headline before jumping on the comments. There is nothing wrong with what he said at all but it is at complete odds with the priorities of our government and police who seem to treat actual violence as less serious than a bad word or a threat of violence

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41 minutes ago, Spectre said:

It's obvious from the comments that so few people actually read beyond the headline before jumping on the comments. There is nothing wrong with what he said at all but it is at complete odds with the priorities of our government and police who seem to treat actual violence as less serious than a bad word or a threat of violence

Agreed but it was too sanitised for my liking, especially his reply to the way Rangers' fans have been treated. However, as has already been said, let's wait for the outcome of any investigaions and, at the least trace of a cover-up, then we go in with all guns blazing, even to the extent of getting UEFA involved.

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Pretty weak and wet IMO. He suffers from nice guy syndrome. Not the type to lead one into battle against the haters.

Where is the ......we had employees assaulted out there? Who is being held to account for that?

Why was there lack of a police presence to prevent fans getting on the pitch?... and so on.

This together with his previous offering is just wet.

Our haters brought the war to us long time ago and exploited our position of four years ago. The politicos jumped on the bandwagon and we have been a punch bag ever since.

The art of war is not just defeating your enemy, it is burying them and that is the aim of every hater out there. Time we woke up to it and took off the kid gloves!

 

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5 minutes ago, Blue Avenger said:

Pretty weak and wet IMO. He suffers from nice guy syndrome. Not the type to lead one into battle against the haters.

Where is the ......we had employees assaulted out there? Who is being held to account for that?

Why was there lack of a police presence to prevent fans getting on the pitch?... and so on.

This together with his previous offering is just wet.

Our haters brought the war to us long time ago and exploited our position of four years ago. The politicos jumped on the bandwagon and we have been a punch bag ever since.

The art of war is not just defeating your enemy, it is burying them and that is the aim of every hater out there. Time we woke up to it and took off the kid gloves!

 

That's always a problem isn't it ... Murray was a bit like that he would rather be someones friend than their enemy even if that someone has made it their lives work to destroy us  

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31 minutes ago, Blue Avenger said:

Pretty weak and wet IMO. He suffers from nice guy syndrome. Not the type to lead one into battle against the haters.

Where is the ......we had employees assaulted out there? Who is being held to account for that?

Why was there lack of a police presence to prevent fans getting on the pitch?... and so on.

This together with his previous offering is just wet.

Our haters brought the war to us long time ago and exploited our position of four years ago. The politicos jumped on the bandwagon and we have been a punch bag ever since.

The art of war is not just defeating your enemy, it is burying them and that is the aim of every hater out there. Time we woke up to it and took off the kid gloves!

 

I have to say I agree about it being weak. He is probably trying to build a bridge or two to try and get onto the SPFL board, but I would be surprised if that happened anyway.

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8 minutes ago, Bears r us said:

I have to say I agree about it being weak. He is probably trying to build a bridge or two to try and get onto the SPFL board, but I would be surprised if that happened anyway.

Guaranteed to be Ann Budge with all her greeting last year about it...

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Seriously?  I don't ever see Stewart having the battle fever on, not his style.  This one question and his answer sums up, for me, the weakness of the man.

Many Rangers fans feel they have been unfairly treated in the last five years. Do you agree?

“I can see why Rangers fans feel they have been given a hard time over the last four or five years. Part of the rationale behind Club 1872 is to give the Rangers fans a voice and stand up for the Rangers fans. Some Rangers fans have felt vilified over the last four or five years.”

He fails to answer the question on whether he agrees or not, which he should have stated categorically.  He also failed to give specific examples of why the fans are upset.

His interview answers totally lacked substance and were too fluffy for me.

 

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