Al1972

One year since Fernando's sad passing.
 

Trying to play catch up ... Enjoy
 

 
 

No it’s not a clickbait title- for once!  
 
So after 6 years of fundraising, I’ve finally decided that it’s finally time for me to finally hang up my gloves, and finally start to draw the curtain down on my overly-long involvement in what was actually only supposed to be a one-off fundraiser.   There are lots of random, unrelated and non-controversial reasons behind my decision, the main one being health-related, so that’s the end of that discussion! 
I’m sure many of you will be delighted at the news of my retirement, because let’s face it, I’m an annoying cunt, even on a good day.
What I don’t want to do though, is leave either Erskine or the many Loyal Fund Members suddenly in the lurch, so I have hopefully come up with a workable exit strategy…
We have already just recently paid £2500 for 10 Erskine & Combat Stress Season tickets renewals  for the coming season, and we still have a few hundred quid left in the bank to cover Europa and Cup tickets for the next couple of months, plus our previously promised donation to Bravehound, so we’re good for a while. 
We will shortly launch the RM Erskine Fund 2019/20 New Season Membership/Donations thread just as we had planned to do.  But this time, it will run only for about one month, giving any members who wish to continue their support into next season an opportunity to do so. After which, we will stop accepting donations into the current Fund account. 
The money raised from that fundraiser, added to the money that we already hold in reserve, should mean that we will have enough money to maintain our spending for the rest of this season (albeit on a reduced budget), and also still hold enough money in reserve to pay for next season’s season tickets, which will be approx £2500 and will be due in May 2020, which means we will be providing continued support using just our existing (plus next month's) resources, until May 2021, which I think is not a bad exit strategy. 
Of course, that’s using just our existing (plus next month’s) resources.  After I end my fundraising involvement, it doesn't mean that other Members can’t keep things going in all sorts of ways – it just means donations won’t go through my bank account, so you’ll need to work something out yourselves for that side of things.  (off the top of my head, I can think of loads of options, so it shouldn't be too hard to come up with some fully workable ideas).  I will of course be fully available to the Fund in an offline advisory capacity for as long as my input is needed.
So may I take this opportunity to thank Everyone who has so wholeheartedly supported our efforts over those many years.  I only made the outlandish demands I made, because I knew there were People like you there to meet them. And together, I think we made enough of a difference for it to have been ultimately worthwhile. 
 
So there you go – that’s the plan.  Keep your eye out for the season 19/20 Membership Fundraiser thread which will be along soon, and let’s make it a good one. 
Oh and don't forget, you've got a Dug to feed too!  

Welcome to Rangers.

Club 1872 Reports Glasgow City Councillors to Standards Commissioner 
Following the disingenuous and irresponsible behaviour of Glasgow City Councillors, Susan Aitken and David McDonald over the past few days, Club 1872 has been left with no option but to report them, along with Councillor Stephen Dornan, to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland.
Despite finding the time to construct a letter to Rangers which was littered with inaccuracies, immediately leaking that letter to the press and then posting carefully selected confidential emails including private information on social media, neither Susan Aitken nor David McDonald have managed to respond to simple questions from Rangers, Club 1872, MSPs, fellow councillors, the general public or indeed their own constituents.
Incredibly, despite David McDonald publishing these emails and Susan Aitken confirming in her leaked letter that she had been briefed on the Fanzone proposal, Glasgow City Council has replied to our FOI request claiming they do not hold a single piece of information on this matter. We have immediately asked for a review of this response and if necessary will then refer our request to the Scottish Information Commissioner.
It comes as little surprise to us to see the pair attempt to characterise the wish for transparency and accountability as sectarianism. Playing this card is the go-to move for anyone who is taken to task over their own questionable actions towards our club and supporters. Doing so immediately ahead of an Old Firm game was beneath contempt.
Given the array of political views, religions and football allegiances represented by those who have publicly questioned them, their tactics in this instance can only be categorised as a desperate attempt to deflect from the simple issue here. Why did they intervene, outside of due process, to instruct Glasgow Life to remove their consent to use the Ibrox Complex pitch for a match day Fanzone?
The issue of the objections by Stephen Dornan and the Ibrox and Cessnock Community Council is a complete red herring. The correct forum for these objections to be considered was the licensing hearing. We do not believe that the objections had any merit - and in the case of the community council were lodged due to misinformation provided by Stephen Dornan - but the place to address them was the hearing, where Rangers would have had the opportunity to respond directly to any concerns. This hearing was stopped only because of the intervention of the Council Leader and her deputy.
There is nothing in the emails leaked by David McDonald, which pre-date the incident in question by over 2 weeks, that disproves what we know to have happened. Their tactic of trying to muddy the waters by releasing carefully selected emails, whilst FOI requests are refused, is a clear attempt to mislead the public as to their role in this matter. We will not breach confidentiality by posting emails on the internet but for the avoidance of doubt there is clear, documentary evidence that they intervened.
We look forward to the truth of this matter emerging after a thorough investigation into these councillors and the receipt of FOI material so far denied to us.
Issued by Supporters Voice Limited, a Club 1872 company
Club 1872