Mr Spiers

[Imodium 423]

I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means but have been thinking about the following all day:

Did anyone listen to the Radio Clyde coverage today with our good friend Graham Spiers on the panel? He said something (along the lines) as follows:

"About 9 or 10 journalists had an 'off the record dinner' with members of the Celtic Hierarchy on Thursday night.". Later on in the program he said "I won't obviosuly divulge what was discussed as it was 'off the record' but Peter Lawell spoke very highly of Gordon Strachan".

Peter Martin seemed a bit uneasy at this point (which suggested to me that he was there) and quickly changed the subject and the 'meeting was mentioned no further in the duration of the program. At the time I found the comment a bit odd but didn't think much more about it. After a lazy Sat night, few beers and watching Ghost Town (good film btw ) I put my laptop on and thought further on this odd 'admission' almost from Mr Spiers and thought I'd share my paranoia with some of you guys.

I'd also say that Peter Martin was very passionate in his defence of Gordon Strachan and Celtic today and he had a good few of digs at Rangers throughout the discussion. A bit more than usual in his defence of them I may add.

Do you think this sort of thing is a regular occurance between clubs and the media, in terms of putting on a fancy dinner and more than likely plying them with drink? I have never heard of this before and it was quite interesting that it came from Graham Spiers who is maybe a bit naive when it comes to these sort of 'arrangements'?

There has been a lot of poor press coming Rangers way and sometimes you do wander how Celtic seem to get an easy ride at times. Maybe I am being silly, but in my opinion, it sparks of Stalin Russia a bit in terms of meeting 'off the record' with the press and planting some ideas in their head? Do you think there is something to this? Every one knows that the Balde story is only months away and the rumours have always circulated that there are going to be some hard truths coming out about our good neighbours. Are they trying to sweeten up some of the senior press men maybe?

On another note (more Rangers related) Mr Spiers I imagine is taking a good look at these forums as he done a good back tracking job today on Clyde. Everyone here knows of his gripe against 'Rangers traditions' whilst at the same time complementing Celtic's Irish/Catholic roots, in what has became quite a famous article here on Rangers Media. Today he mentioned something about how Rangers and Celtic 'traditions' are outdated & old fashioned then went on to say that Celtic fans are being stupid in only wanting a manager who has Irish or Catholic routes. That is a major backtrack in my opinion and I feel it's proof that he regretted what he wrote about Rangers in the past and realised the hypocrisy in his arguement.

I'm sorry if this is a bore and not talking about Football but just wanted to hear what your opinion was on this.

[covenanter 158]

I heard this today too, Bitter Martin was silenced by the Bhoy in Corduroy's revelation. Obviously, there was eye contact or gesticulation in the studio when Spiers mentioned the off the record meeting, because Spiers immediately stated defensively, "there's no point denying it, everyone knows about it".

Ra Sellik have cultivated a number of Journos over the last several years. In MON's first season, there were regular meetings in various west end eateries, being hosted by either Kevin McKenna(then Deputy Editor of the Herald) or Donald Cowey(then, as now, Sports Editor of the Herald). Both McKenna and Cowey are former Editors of ra Sellik View. The then Sellik Media chief was Phil Gordon(now the Times), and he formalised the meetings, hosting an end of season thank you bash at One Devonshire Gardens. The usual suspects of Glenn Gibbons, Kevin McCarra, Spiers, Keevins, Martin, Cooney, .............. were all in attendance. It was a formal thank you by ra Sellik to their favoured Journos for stasying/remaining on message through-out the season.

Sellik have continued to cultivate these Journos, ensuring they are aware of the party line on the increasing sectarianism and bigotry debate. Anyone stepping out of line is by making an example of them. Last season, Bitter Martin criticised his beloved hoops for not strengthening the team sufficiently in the January transfer window. Radio Snyde's limited commentary included ra Sellik's last CL last 16 home tie. Lawwell called Bitter to his office and told him they were denying Snyde's commentary application. Bitter was left in the Clydebank studio, watching the TV with fellow happy hoopsters, James Grady and Des Mckeown. Further, John McGuire's Phoenix Honda Group withdrew their sponsorship from all Snyde football based programmes ie Superscoreboard and SuperscoreboardXtra. Bitter Martin got the message and has been a most complient Bhoy ever since.

[ForeverBlue_Since91 2,895]

my view on ths guy is he is a wanker

who talks shite. hate his poofy voice aswell

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "h***" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

[Imodium 423]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "h***" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

Totally agree mate. Hugh Keevins for example will just come out with scathing attacks on players on nights when there isn't much for debating. Next thing the phone lines are on fire. I actually think this guy is a legend, he must be a Rangers fan? He seemingly bloody hates Celtic and has a real gripe against Gordon Strachans ignorance towards the press. Glad he stands up for himself when other journalists put it as 'character' in GS's part.

No surrender Shuggy

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "h***" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

Totally agree mate. Hugh Keevins for example will just come out with scathing attacks on players on nights when there isn't much for debating. Next thing the phone lines are on fire. I actually think this guy is a legend, he must be a Rangers fan? He seemingly bloody hates Celtic and has a real gripe against Gordon Strachans ignorance towards the press. Glad he stands up for himself when other journalists put it as 'character' in GS's part.

No surrender Shuggy

eh. Hugh keevins is 100% a tim mate. And that one is a FACT.

[orangeyin 0]

whats the story with big balde

[Carsons Dog 9,878]

I heard this today too, Bitter Martin was silenced by the Bhoy in Corduroy's revelation. Obviously, there was eye contact or gesticulation in the studio when Spiers mentioned the off the record meeting, because Spiers immediately stated defensively, "there's no point denying it, everyone knows about it".

Ra Sellik have cultivated a number of Journos over the last several years. In MON's first season, there were regular meetings in various west end eateries, being hosted by either Kevin McKenna(then Deputy Editor of the Herald) or Donald Cowey(then, as now, Sports Editor of the Herald). Both McKenna and Cowey are former Editors of ra Sellik View. The then Sellik Media chief was Phil Gordon(now the Times), and he formalised the meetings, hosting an end of season thank you bash at One Devonshire Gardens. The usual suspects of Glenn Gibbons, Kevin McCarra, Spiers, Keevins, Martin, Cooney, .............. were all in attendance. It was a formal thank you by ra Sellik to their favoured Journos for stasying/remaining on message through-out the season.

Sellik have continued to cultivate these Journos, ensuring they are aware of the party line on the increasing sectarianism and bigotry debate. Anyone stepping out of line is by making an example of them. Last season, Bitter Martin criticised his beloved hoops for not strengthening the team sufficiently in the January transfer window. Radio Snyde's limited commentary included ra Sellik's last CL last 16 home tie. Lawwell called Bitter to his office and told him they were denying Snyde's commentary application. Bitter was left in the Clydebank studio, watching the TV with fellow happy hoopsters, James Grady and Des Mckeown. Further, John McGuire's Phoenix Honda Group withdrew their sponsorship from all Snyde football based programmes ie Superscoreboard and SuperscoreboardXtra. Bitter Martin got the message and has been a most complient Bhoy ever since.

These are the people who constantly bleat about the masons.

A convenient diversion for them.

[Maryann 0]

whats the story with big balde

HE WILL BE DOING A TELL ALL STORY ON WHATS BEEN HAPPENING AT SHITEHEED!!!

[Maryann 0]

EVERYONE ONE THE SUPER SCORE BOARD EXCEPT BIG D.J ARE ALL TMS!!!! EVEN IF THEY MAKE OUT THEY ARE NOT!!

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

EVERYONE ONE THE SUPER SCORE BOARD EXCEPT BIG D.J ARE ALL TMS!!!! EVEN IF THEY MAKE OUT THEY ARE NOT!!

This is exactly what i mean above. You are talking shite mate. Wishart, king and broadfoot aint tims.

[kplfishtank 4,749]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "huns" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

Totally agree mate. Hugh Keevins for example will just come out with scathing attacks on players on nights when there isn't much for debating. Next thing the phone lines are on fire. I actually think this guy is a legend, he must be a Rangers fan? He seemingly bloody hates Celtic and has a real gripe against Gordon Strachans ignorance towards the press. Glad he stands up for himself when other journalists put it as 'character' in GS's part.

No surrender Shuggy

eh. Hugh keevins is 100% a tim mate. And that one is a FACT.

that one is 100% correct mr keevins was the compere at the celts for change rally in the fruitmarket when introducing brian dempsey and fergus mccann he said WEVE not won anything yet

[gizmico1986 0]

EVERYONE ONE THE SUPER SCORE BOARD EXCEPT BIG D.J ARE ALL TMS!!!! EVEN IF THEY MAKE OUT THEY ARE NOT!!

This is exactly what i mean above. You are talking shite mate. Wishart, king and broadfoot aint tims.

i wouldnt' be too sure about mr broadfoot.my sources tell me other wise

[covenanter 158]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "h***" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

Totally agree mate. Hugh Keevins for example will just come out with scathing attacks on players on nights when there isn't much for debating. Next thing the phone lines are on fire. I actually think this guy is a legend, he must be a Rangers fan? He seemingly bloody hates Celtic and has a real gripe against Gordon Strachans ignorance towards the press. Glad he stands up for himself when other journalists put it as 'character' in GS's part.

No surrender Shuggy

eh. Hugh keevins is 100% a tim mate. And that one is a FACT.

that one is 100% correct mr keevins was the compere at the celts for change rally in the fruitmarket when introducing brian dempsey and fergus mccann he said WEVE not won anything yet

If you ever have the opportunity to leaf through 20plus year old copies of ra Sellik View, there is one glaringly obvious consistency. The majority of the CSCs would have a paragraph or two on their annual dinners, the guest Speaker more often than not was, the Scotsmans Hugh Keevins. Accompanying these paragraphs would be a photo of Nuremberg Hugh. Why was Nuremberg such a draw? Well, he always spoke of 'we' when addressing the lumpen green'n'grey hoopsters and he always finished his address with, "our day will come".

[kplfishtank 4,749]

I think that we think the media and radio is full of anti rangers tims and the tims think its full of anti celtc "huns" Clearly they are good at their jobs as hunners of people still buy and tune into their shit.

Totally agree mate. Hugh Keevins for example will just come out with scathing attacks on players on nights when there isn't much for debating. Next thing the phone lines are on fire. I actually think this guy is a legend, he must be a Rangers fan? He seemingly bloody hates Celtic and has a real gripe against Gordon Strachans ignorance towards the press. Glad he stands up for himself when other journalists put it as 'character' in GS's part.

No surrender Shuggy

eh. Hugh keevins is 100% a tim mate. And that one is a FACT.

that one is 100% correct mr keevins was the compere at the celts for change rally in the fruitmarket when introducing brian dempsey and fergus mccann he said WEVE not won anything yet

If you ever have the opportunity to leaf through 20plus year old copies of ra Sellik View, there is one glaringly obvious consistency. The majority of the CSCs would have a paragraph or two on their annual dinners, the guest Speaker more often than not was, the Scotsmans Hugh Keevins. Accompanying these paragraphs would be a photo of Nuremberg Hugh. Why was Nuremberg such a draw? Well, he always spoke of 'we' when addressing the lumpen green'n'grey hoopsters and he always finished his address with, "our day will come".

my best day at a gers game was at dens park when sitting in the hospitality i seen mr keevins walking up the stairs at half time carrying 4 bovrils and stumbled and spilled them all over himself and it looked as if he pissed himself

[Ibroxblue 131]

I'm sure Keevins grew up a Celtic fan and may well still be one in private (though at one time he claimed to follow Clydebank!) but he certainly annoys a lot of Celtic fans with his comments. Could well be that's what he's aiming for - winding up as many folk as possible to get them to call in or whatever.

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

I'm sure Keevins grew up a Celtic fan and may well still be one in private (though at one time he claimed to follow Clydebank!) but he certainly annoys a lot of Celtic fans with his comments. Could well be that's what he's aiming for - winding up as many folk as possible to get them to call in or whatever.

Keevins is, was and always will be a Celtc fan. The thing that annoys Timmy most is that he is a fan and openly berates them all the time. Thats also why DJ gets a lot of stick from a few Gers fans.

[Guest Andypendek]

Spiers is totally out of place at Radio Clyde, which is for the bottom end of the IQ chart. Radio Scotland is for those with some grey cells, and anyone who is borderline intelligent or above can't listen to any of them for long.

We're chronically ill-served in terms of football coverage in this country. When you consider that just about every bloke you know likes football - just think about how weird it is when someone says "I'm not really into football" - it's a scandal that we get served a monotonous diet of inarticulate ex players repeating cliches, followed by desperate writers trying to stir up controversy. There's no reasoned thinking, there's virtually no analysis. THis is why the Marcottis and Balague's are such a breath of fresh air, although the former is turning into a bit of a bog-standard British journo, alas.

[Imodium 423]

Spiers is totally out of place at Radio Clyde, which is for the bottom end of the IQ chart. Radio Scotland is for those with some grey cells, and anyone who is borderline intelligent or above can't listen to any of them for long.

We're chronically ill-served in terms of football coverage in this country. When you consider that just about every bloke you know likes football - just think about how weird it is when someone says "I'm not really into football" - it's a scandal that we get served a monotonous diet of inarticulate ex players repeating cliches, followed by desperate writers trying to stir up controversy. There's no reasoned thinking, there's virtually no analysis. THis is why the Marcottis and Balague's are such a breath of fresh air, although the former is turning into a bit of a bog-standard British journo, alas.

Is that you Graham?

[Guest Andypendek]

I meant Gabriel Marcotti.

[ScotBear 144]

Peter Martin and Hugh Keevins are indeed both tims........but despite both of them not being the most likeable characters, I actually think both are fairly balanced and speak their minds. You might strongly disagree with them at times, but I don't sense much bias from them. Yes, I know some people could throw a few one off quotes, particularly from Keevins, but that's not enough for me.

I've heard loads of comments, and particularly read a fair number of articles, from Martin where he's absolutely slated Strachan and the Celtic squad. To an extent that even I thought was a bit OTT ! And Keevins is always slating the quality of Celtic's side and taking digs at Strachan's management.

I don't really care who's a Bear and who's a Tim........as long as they don't have a clear agenda, like Speirs does. And I don't think either Martin or Keevins have that.

[Youllneverwinaway 0]

Peter Martin and Hugh Keevins are indeed both tims........but despite both of them not being the most likeable characters, I actually think both are fairly balanced and speak their minds. You might strongly disagree with them at times, but I don't sense much bias from them. Yes, I know some people could throw a few one off quotes, particularly from Keevins, but that's not enough for me.

I've heard loads of comments, and particularly read a fair number of articles, from Martin where he's absolutely slated Strachan and the Celtic squad. To an extent that even I thought was a bit OTT ! And Keevins is always slating the quality of Celtic's side and taking digs at Strachan's management.

I don't really care who's a Bear and who's a Tim........as long as they don't have a clear agenda, like Speirs does. And I don't think either Martin or Keevins have that.

- Spot on Scotbear.

PS - as an aside note......Peter McGuires wife is a blue nose and ex Ibrox season ticket holder

[Guest Andypendek]

Who they support and who they're married to doesn't matter though...it's the fact that they are crap at their job that annoys me!

[GeneralCartmanLee 313]

the meal was actually the night before sellck released there results, keevins, martin and jim traynor were all there...

Over the next few days quite a few positive sellck stories were in the press, reserves to to the 3rd division, players linked with them and no one questioned why a club with seemingly good financial results couldn't afford to spend money in January

Job done

[schwantz 23]

I am not a conspiracy theorist by any means but have been thinking about the following all day:

Did anyone listen to the Radio Clyde coverage today with our good friend Graham Spiers on the panel? He said something (along the lines) as follows:

"About 9 or 10 journalists had an 'off the record dinner' with members of the Celtic Hierarchy on Thursday night.". Later on in the program he said "I won't obviosuly divulge what was discussed as it was 'off the record' but Peter Lawell spoke very highly of Gordon Strachan".

Peter Martin seemed a bit uneasy at this point (which suggested to me that he was there) and quickly changed the subject and the 'meeting was mentioned no further in the duration of the program. At the time I found the comment a bit odd but didn't think much more about it. After a lazy Sat night, few beers and watching Ghost Town (good film btw ) I put my laptop on and thought further on this odd 'admission' almost from Mr Spiers and thought I'd share my paranoia with some of you guys.

I'd also say that Peter Martin was very passionate in his defence of Gordon Strachan and Celtic today and he had a good few of digs at Rangers throughout the discussion. A bit more than usual in his defence of them I may add.

Do you think this sort of thing is a regular occurance between clubs and the media, in terms of putting on a fancy dinner and more than likely plying them with drink? I have never heard of this before and it was quite interesting that it came from Graham Spiers who is maybe a bit naive when it comes to these sort of 'arrangements'?

There has been a lot of poor press coming Rangers way and sometimes you do wander how Celtic seem to get an easy ride at times. Maybe I am being silly, but in my opinion, it sparks of Stalin Russia a bit in terms of meeting 'off the record' with the press and planting some ideas in their head? Do you think there is something to this? Every one knows that the Balde story is only months away and the rumours have always circulated that there are going to be some hard truths coming out about our good neighbours. Are they trying to sweeten up some of the senior press men maybe?

On another note (more Rangers related) Mr Spiers I imagine is taking a good look at these forums as he done a good back tracking job today on Clyde. Everyone here knows of his gripe against 'Rangers traditions' whilst at the same time complementing Celtic's Irish/Catholic roots, in what has became quite a famous article here on Rangers Media. Today he mentioned something about how Rangers and Celtic 'traditions' are outdated & old fashioned then went on to say that Celtic fans are being stupid in only wanting a manager who has Irish or Catholic routes. That is a major backtrack in my opinion and I feel it's proof that he regretted what he wrote about Rangers in the past and realised the hypocrisy in his arguement.

I'm sorry if this is a bore and not talking about Football but just wanted to hear what your opinion was on this.

Posted on this last night:

http://forum.rangersmedia.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=101589

ps ooops just seen your reply mate...sorry !