maineflyer

That sounds like another argument for doing nothing. How canso many people call for change while nailing their feet to the floor?

We have all watched the RST over the years, some at closer quarters than others, and the consistency is there for all to see. We mostly all agree in the principle of the thing but increasingly share equal dismay at the underachievement of it all. There is now a broad consensus that those who are setting the pace and direction at the RST are woefully out of their depth and utterly ill-equipped for the task. And still I see too many people reluctant to reach a conclusion, even after all the wasted years of incompetence. Even with some believing the club is at a crossroads and an opportunity emerging for supporter participation, only very few seem prepared to declare a settled opinion on the RST as it exists today. For the life of me I cannot understand this. What exactly is it that anyone could possibly think is worth salvaging about an organisation that has failed so badly to deliver its stated mission? What is to be gained by persisting with this cold war pretence, other than leaving a barrier in place to real progress and yet another decision left unteaken? There is or at least should be no place in this for politically correct distraction where the RST is concerned. They tried, they failed, they continue to embarrass. The people involved in running the RST today are generally not what is needed and in many cases are in active conflict with a growing body of non-aligned supporters. No one else can step up to the plate while these people continue in office and they most certainly have no appetite to step down themselves; ergo there can be no satisfactory outcome, no unity or direction while these people persist. This is not a personal statement, it is a practical reality. Please, stop this partial accommodation for the institution and deal robustly with the problem in front of our eyes, the people concerned. They need to go and they need to do it quickly. This will only happen if we, the ordinary supporters, acquire a collective voice and tell them to go. Not by inference of suggestion but by loud demand. We need clear, unambiguous language; we need to stop beating about the bush and we need to call for a new board to be elected to the RST forthwith. If those currently holding office are so desperate to remain in post, I'm sure they will be able to throw their hat into the ring, although I think they would be better advised to put the club before their narrow self-interest and accept the due consequence of the last two wasted years. I'm asking everyone who reads this to help create a solution rather than continually describing the problem. Send an email to the RST demanding that they announce an early election for a complete new board and let them accept an electorate comprising existing members and anyone who joins and pays a membership fee between now and the end of January 2010. By the end of February next year we could have a democratically elected RST with a credible constituency and a mandate from it's members. If the RST doesn't respond or comply than the conclusion is already in place ... they no longer have any right to claim a role in the rep[resentation of Rangers supporters.

Typically unimpressive non-statement.

Lot's of proud days but the proudest has still to come. It will be the day I finally know for sure that David Murray no has any part in Rangers.

No millionaire/billionaire is going to step in and bankroll Rangers, I can't see any other alternative way than the Rangers fans themselves getting us out of this. If Duffy puts forward a credible proposal then we as a support have to consider our options. What is the alternative ? And after due consideration, who is going to make the decisions? Will I get one vote on which way to go? Or will someone I didn't choose to speak for me take that decision on my behalf?

Or he could have been lying through his teeth all along. Can't halp thinking if he'd genuinely wanted to sell, he could have done so long ago.

I don't know any reason why YOU or ANYONE else cannot Read about any of the Founders Projects ! I Mainly use FF, But i still come on here every day for a Blether, So don't be Fooled or Talked out of going onto Other sites to read any other Projects that are on-going. Well while you're mainly using FF, ask their Admin why this project is continually chopped and banned. I'd love to ask them myself but I got banned each of the last five times I raised one of their taboo subjects. Ironically, the last time it was about censorship.

That's the debate over then Only if you've got nothing to come back with.

Like him or not, it WILL be Craig Levein. Even if he is manager of Scotland when the offer is made. He's waiting for this one job and Rangers are aware of it.

So many great songs but there's really only one song that sums it up for me. The Billy Boys.

It shows there's far more unites us than divides us. The attitude to this from those who run FF has been utterly shameful and it's not the first time either. What grinds my goat is that these are the same people posing as saviours of the club and supposedly leading the charge for fan ownership. It would be funny if it wasn't so tragic.

Lets hope Sunday has more good news in store for us.

That will be the same David Edgar who deliberately lied to Radio Scotland when he announce of air that the RST had "5000 members when it was closer to 1000. Yeah, I'll be believing him as soon as this pig flies past.

That's getting perilously close to the truth. The weasel words and unrealistic ambitions are all to shore up an increasingly isolated RST/FF leadership. The RST bulldust about fan ownership is being played as a publicity stunt to keep certain individuals in the game here. Individuals who currently see ridicule coming from all sids and worse, see other fan groups starting to communicate openly and work in concert, something Mr Dingwall has never achieved and the RST will never achieve for so long as it hangs its coat on his nail. This dishonest shite has to stop, the RST in its current form is a bottleneck to progress, not a means to achieving it.

The same old opportunisic claptrap from an RST that still doesn't know what it wants, won't tell anyone where it's going, and is still prepared to take the entire support on a wild goose chase about somehow owning the club.

Rangers' debt was down to something like 6 mill only 3 or 4 years ago. Therefore, the club has not permanently been in a dire financial position. However, the club's overall strategy, seemingly lurching between extremes, does raise concerns. The RST issued the 'We Deserve Better' statement last January in an attempt to open up a debate on how well the club was being run. The Trust has surely been at the forefront of bringing concerns about the club's financial performance into the public eye, much to the dissatisfaction of Sir David Murray. Yes, your right, the RST has been a shining example of all that's best about Rangers. Open, honest, consistent and responsive. Where on earth would we be without them and their massive impact on his club, or you to remind us of what we somehow managed to miss? Are you trying to start a new religion? Trust in me?

A situation not unlike our own, aside from the relegation. They have recruited 3'500 members in 5 months, a figure which the RST had around at their most promient of times. The NUST has a clear strategy, visible to all and an established network of communicating with both members and non-members. It is being run in such a way that if the RST adopted a similar strategy, they could attract many thousands of fans to become members. As i have said, the communication is an issue which has plagued the Trust right from the very beginning and has got steadily worse over the years. The question is, why isn't this being addressed? It is baffling. That's a pretty huge 'aside' and one that tends to concentrate minds wonderfully. Meanwhile Rangers won the League and Cup double while fans have only very recently read or heard reports indicating that the club has serious financial problems. And you've been where exactly? Some of us have been debating our dire financial position for a decade. It's easy to feel good if you close your eyes and ears.

See above, hope you're enlightened. You've certainly had long enough to get the point about the RST.

The thing that impressed was that this is after only 5 months and these guys have plans to step it up from here.

Just out of interest, I had a natter yesterday with someone from the Newcastle United Supporters Trust ..... NUST. I just called them up and they seemed happy to discuss their mission. Those folks have some severe problems with their club regime and have been trying hard to mobilise supporters to challenge some of the woes afflicting their club. Anyway, I asked how successful they had been in attracting members to NUST, thinking it might show an interesting comparison with our own hapless RST. The first thing I got was a clear impression that the NUST guys are delighted to speak about their membership numbers. Contrast this with the RST’s veil of secrecy and embarrassment. The reason for this quickly became apparent when he revealed that NUST has collected 3,500 paid up members in less than five month. They charge exactly the same membership fees as RST but have plans to introduce a free junior membership. Not only that, NUST have also amassed the details of about 25,000 non-members, who they actively inform and consult. In five months that’s three times as many members as the RST has after five years of mid-firing and a working relationship with almost 30,000 fans. If anyone needs evidence of just how big a mess certain people have made of running our Supporters Trust, surely this supplies it. That these same incompetents should now be strutting around in the guise of “fans’ leaders” and demanding our support for fan ownership plans that no one can release details of – well it honestly defies all description. The hijackers of the RST are in no position to organise a piss up in a brewery, let alone the future ownership of Rangers. Personally, I’d advise everyone to give their latest nonsense a very wide berth.

The Billy Boys The Sash

Every point undeniable and each one a hurdle that the fans alone will never overcome. I agree with you, when someone comes up with an answer to these divisions we'll have something to work with. All the groups mentioned have just released a press statement on the way forward TOGETHER. Very encouraging, unity is strength. It's not unity, they haven't done anything yet to quaify as unity. What you have is a joint statement. Who knows, tomorrow there may be another statement. But wait a minute, I've just read a page of fans comments, universally ridiculing this statement .......... so clearly, not all fans' groups are involved.

Fans run the club? In general terms, not a chance, it would probably be a disaster. But the fans control, elect executives, collectively take strategic decisions, set/approve objectives .......... yes, why not.

Every point undeniable and each one a hurdle that the fans alone will never overcome. I agree with you, when someone comes up with an answer to these divisions we'll have something to work with.