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Brian Dempsey Says Get Off Rangers' Back


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'I'll buy Dave King a bottle of champers if he can beat my Celtic soundbite 21 years on,' says Brian Dempsey

07:01, 5 March 2015 By Gary Ralston

IT was March 4, 1994, when Dempsey stood on the front steps at Parkhead with Fergus McCann and famously declared: “The battle is over.

The Rebels have won.”

BRIAN DEMPSEY spent the 21st anniversary of his greatest moment in football wishing Dave King well in his quest for the keys to the door of Rangers .

It was March 4, 1994, when Dempsey stood on the front steps at Parkhead with Fergus McCann and famously declared: “The battle is over.

The Rebels have won.”

He missed his daughter’s 20th birthday party that night, he recalls with a grimace, before adding with a chuckle that if King can beat his soundbite on the steps of Edmiston Drive on Friday, a bottle of bubbly will be winging its way to him.

However, the Celtic saviour is deadly serious when he speaks about the challenges facing King and his allies as they begin the task of restoring the Light Blues to a position of power.

The former Hoops director has also fiercely criticised the role of the football authorities and member clubs in recent years for “queueing up to have a kick at Rangers”.

On the one hand, the words sound surprising from a man steeped in the history of arch rivals Celtic but less so when consideration is given to the socialist principles that have underpinned his life.

Dempsey said: “Since Rangers were demoted, Scottish football hasn’t been the same. It has damaged the game.

“I don’t know of any other trade association that would have responded by kicking and putting down a member club and fining them more and more money.

“The authorities should have looked at that episode and used it to reorganise the game for the better, asking what they could do to save and protect Scottish football.

“I accept the problems at Rangers were self-inflicted.

“There must be leadership and perhaps an appropriate line of discipline should have been taken against directors or other shareholders at fault.

“However, I feel for the thousands of fans who are loyal to their club and who were innocent of any wrongdoing.

“The ones who have suffered most have been the Rangers fans and with my Labour background I find that appalling and unacceptable.”

King’s coronation as Rangers’ major powerbroker will be confirmed within the next 24 hours following a general meeting at Ibrox at which shareholders will back his call for the resignation of the club’s two remaining directors, Derek Llambias and Barry Leach.

They will be replaced by King, Paul Murray and John Gilligan but Dempsey knows the hard work will only begin the moment the club is seized.

He said: “King will be counting the votes and planning how best to embrace the shareholders who have supported him and how they can be satisfied.

“I would also bring on to the board a representative of the fans’ groups so they know the truth of the challenges the new board faces.

“If there has been one thing more scarce than money at the club in recent seasons, it has been transparency.

“Of course, there are things that must remain confidential – signing targets, player sales, business negotiations and the likes – but it’s important fans know nothing will happen at Rangers to their detriment.”

Surprisingly, a fan rep on the board was a move McCann didn’t make when he and Dempsey swept into power.

Dempsey added wryly: “Fergus did his own thing – he ignored a great deal of things I had to say.

“A fan representative on the board allows directors to deal with supporters first hand. If the fans don’t trust their board, they’re facing severe difficulty.”

The passing of time has allowed Dempsey to recall with some fondness the frantic days leading up to the moment he helped rescue Celtic.

McCann and Dempsey famously saved Celtic with only minutes to spare as the Bank of Scotland, who had grown increasingly concerned with the club’s mounting overdraft, threatened to pull the plug.

Their takeover also freed the club from the grip of the Kelly and White dynasties which had been dominant for a century.

Dempsey said: “The parallels between our position and Rangers today are quite striking, although we were only 24 hours from going into receivership, which focused the minds of everyone involved.

“Rangers have already been in that position, so it’s not quite ‘24 hours or else’.

“We had to move quickly – and did. It wasn’t without its humour. I walked into Celtic two days before we eventually took control and a fan shouted at me: ‘Michael Kelly, you’re a b******.’

“I didn’t know whether to agree with him or not. Only in Glasgow.”

But what about that glorious sound bite, now one of the most famous quotations in Scottish football history?

He said: “It emerged on the day. Fergus and I had spoken about what we would say but before we went out to meet supporters at the front door, we were approached by police.

“One of the senior officers said: ‘The fans have been out there all day, Brian. Can you make it as succinct as possible?’

“I had no plans, the words just came to me, but I stress that when I said the rebels had won, I meant the fans.

“It was their victory, not ours, and there were many more important words said in the years leading up to that moment, in courtrooms and various other places.

“If Mr King comes up with something similar this week I’ll send him over a bottle of champagne, happily.

“He may gain control but he knows his troubles are only beginning. Celtic are years ahead at the moment and it’s going to take Rangers a long, long time to return.

“The stadium needs investment, there are players to acquire, debts to address and other outstanding issues to confront before the club can move forward with integrity.

“I hope Mr King is the man to do it. I knew John Lawrence very well through my father and he had unimpeachable integrity.

“The standards set by the former chairman will be required by Mr King to lead the club into the future.”

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Hmm don't agree with the self inflicted bit, wrongfully prosecuted for ebt's which led to a

fraudulent takeover, seems to me Rangers were victims of a HMRC mistake which then allowed

fraudsters to take control of the club. so that's a not guilty on the self inflicted comment

for me.

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That'll be his legend status with them being erased now.

He's just saying the very obvious, it is a disgrace how we've been treated and also it's going to be some task to get us back to stability never mind challenging, always good to see someone saying it though.

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Hard though it may be to admit, sometimes you get something decent out of one or two of them.

Remember, McCann was not popular with a lot of them as he laughed at and dismissed their "Celtic-minded" nonsense for what it was and is, simple hate-filled sectarianism.

And by the way, I have no truck with any of that nonsense being spouted by some on our side.

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Hard though it may be to admit, sometimes you get something decent out of one or two of them.

Remember, McCann was not popular with a lot of them as he laughed at and dismissed their "Celtic-minded" nonsense for what it was and is, simple hate-filled sectarianism.

And by the way, I have no truck with any of that nonsense being spouted by some on our side.

Here's one mate...... :000000082:

post-63485-0-25579700-1425560586_thumb.j

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Brian Dempsey seems a thoroughly decent guy. I've heard him say these kinds of things before and I believe he's genuine. He always comes across well.

There's so much hate between Rangers and Celtic now, but he's a wee reminder that everybody on the other side shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.

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Brian Dempsey seems a thoroughly decent guy. I've heard him say these kinds of things before and I believe he's genuine. He always comes across well.

There's so much hate between Rangers and Celtic now, but he's a wee reminder that everybody on the other side shouldn't be tarred with the same brush.

Sadly, we don't hear much from those ones.

It would be easier to accept that if they spoke out more.

Unfortunately, they have a lot of "squeaky wheels" blocking out the others.

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