Graham Spiers

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

bellowing 'Fuck The Pope' at a football ground - particularly when we aren't playing Celtic - is empty headed, divisive and counter-productive to that argument. It just gives people looking to defend the Catholic Church the ability to deflect and tar EVERY dissenter of the Catholic Chruch with the same brush. Plus not every Rangers fan agree's with the sentiments.

So it is the language used and the locality of the expression rather than the accuracy or validity of the protest that's bothering you? If some want to deflect, focusing on your points, then let them enter the debate and be drowned in a sea of reason. No one is saying that all Rangers fans agree - not all Rangers fans have to agree.

Wel, the accuracy of the expression bothers me as well as I have no desire to fuck the Pope.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

bellowing 'Fuck The Pope' at a football ground - particularly when we aren't playing Celtic - is empty headed, divisive and counter-productive to that argument. It just gives people looking to defend the Catholic Church the ability to deflect and tar EVERY dissenter of the Catholic Chruch with the same brush. Plus not every Rangers fan agree's with the sentiments.

So it is the language used and the locality of the expression rather than the accuracy or validity of the protest that's bothering you? If some want to deflect, focusing on your points, then let them enter the debate and be drowned in a sea of reason. No one is saying that all Rangers fans agree - not all Rangers fans have to agree.

Wel, the accuracy of the expression bothers me as well as I have no desire to fuck the Pope.

Not even one on the napper with a metal bar?

[KingKai 439]

"Not even one on the napper with a metal bar?"

Preferably with 6 inch nails sticking out it!!

[Ozblue 4,332]

Quote

Dear Frankie

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept our apologies for the delay in

replying. We know our correspondents appreciate a quick response and we

are sorry you have had to wait on this occasion.

I understand you continue to have concerns with The Alternative Histories Radio Programme.

I must advise that the presenter's opinions are his own so we are unable to comment specifically about these.

Nevertheless, I do appreciate your concerns about the issue of sectarianism

in sport and BBC employees' responsibility in discouraging it.

Accordingly, I would like to assure you that your further comments have

been registered and have contributed to our daily log which will be made

available to the BBC Scotland Sport team and BBC management. Comments such

as yours can help us in the future.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact the BBC.

Regards

P. Revaricate

BBC Information

Saw what you did there!

I also know that P. Revaricate from the BBC is also a Cousin of Mr G. Spiers (twice removed) who in fact is also a relation of Messrs; P. Enis, and Richard (Dick) Head, solicitors for the BBC...Bit of collusion there I think!

[cogsy69uk 62]

Listening to this pish the noo, total anti-rangers rubbish all the way through. Just what i expected from a discredited journo.

[OceanRain 2,845]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that

[minstral 5,375]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

He's been trying for years. And failing. Like a mirror of his career. Widely regarded as a joke in media circles and roundly laughed at by even more of his readers.

Shitney Beers - a joke for all times.

[OceanRain 2,845]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

Minstral - I've read some of your posts in the forum and I am aware that you are a proud Protestant. And so you should be. I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I am not ashamed of Rangers Protestant following. There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a Protestant and saying, quite righty, that Rangers and Protestantism have an extremely close and long, long-running relationship. The shame I feel is in the frenzied hatred which some seem to see as being part of that Protestant tradition. Which I do not think it is.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

That is because the celebratory, inclusive, free-thinking, ambitious and charitable outlook of our heritage as Protestants is rarely talked of.

I am ashamed of nothing at all about my religion or the great club our people have gifted to the world.

[caseyjones 3,009]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

Minstral - I've read some of your posts in the forum and I am aware that you are a proud Protestant. And so you should be. I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I am not ashamed of Rangers Protestant following. There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a Protestant and saying, quite righty, that Rangers and Protestantism have an extremely close and long, long-running relationship. The shame I feel is in the frenzied hatred which some seem to see as being part of that Protestant tradition. Which I do not think it is.

Fuck me, hatred between rival football fans. Whatever next?

[OceanRain 2,845]

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

He's been trying for years. And failing. Like a mirror of his career. Widely regarded as a joke in media circles and roundly laughed at by even more of his readers.

Shitney Beers - a joke for all times.

Agreed. Whole-heartedly.

[flecky1 4]

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

That is because the celebratory, inclusive, free-thinking, ambitious and charitable outlook of our heritage as Protestants is rarely talked of.

I am ashamed of nothing at all about my religion or the great club our people have gifted to the world.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,263]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

What bigotry is it that you are against? religious, political, people with ginger hair or who smoke?

Look it up in a dictionary, everyone is a bigot in some sense

[OceanRain 2,845]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

Minstral - I've read some of your posts in the forum and I am aware that you are a proud Protestant. And so you should be. I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I am not ashamed of Rangers Protestant following. There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a Protestant and saying, quite righty, that Rangers and Protestantism have an extremely close and long, long-running relationship. The shame I feel is in the frenzied hatred which some seem to see as being part of that Protestant tradition. Which I do not think it is.

Fuck me, hatred between rival football fans. Whatever next?

Why do YOU hate them, if I may ask?

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

Oh my - here we go

[OceanRain 2,845]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

What bigotry is it that you are against? religious, political, people with ginger hair or who smoke?

Look it up in a dictionary, everyone is a bigot in some sense

We're told not to sing certain songs.

So-called supporters sing them anyway knowing full well they risk getting us docked points/matches behind closed doors.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I just don't understand that if you're a FOOTBALL fan and a club supporter.

Like I said, it was only my tuppence-worth. This is a forum and I don't expect anyone else to say they agree with me at all.

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

but if we cut out some elements of the support then he no longer has anything to attack us with.

Don't kid yourself. Spiers' history with reporting on The Rangers screams one thing from the rooftops: his willingness to invent and fabricate where the facts simply will not serve his desired outcome.

[flecky1 4]

but if we cut out some elements of the support then he no longer has anything to attack us with.

Don't kid yourself. Spiers' history with reporting on The Rangers screams one thing from the rooftops: his willingness to invent and fabricate where the facts simply will not serve his desired outcome.

take out SRR's last post,

i really like both of you

pure Rangers men, you both really care for this club

[minstral 5,375]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

Minstral - I've read some of your posts in the forum and I am aware that you are a proud Protestant. And so you should be. I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I am not ashamed of Rangers Protestant following. There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a Protestant and saying, quite righty, that Rangers and Protestantism have an extremely close and long, long-running relationship. The shame I feel is in the frenzied hatred which some seem to see as being part of that Protestant tradition. Which I do not think it is.

I am not on about bigotry, just about our club being known as a Protestant club which some find it hard to accept. The other side shout from the rooftop that they are proud to be a catholic club and Spiers gives them praise, yet calls our fans bigots if the mention the word Protestant. Also Ftp is not shouted much at Ibrox and to be honest there is not much bigotry at Ibrox compared to what it used to be many years ago, and dont people kid themselves on as they were happy to be known as a Protestant club and take the good Protestant money every week. The change came when a non Rangers man bought our club and who had no idea about our culture and traditions, and there lies the problem.

[OceanRain 2,845]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

Minstral - I've read some of your posts in the forum and I am aware that you are a proud Protestant. And so you should be. I see nothing wrong with that AT ALL. I am not ashamed of Rangers Protestant following. There's nothing to be ashamed of in being a Protestant and saying, quite righty, that Rangers and Protestantism have an extremely close and long, long-running relationship. The shame I feel is in the frenzied hatred which some seem to see as being part of that Protestant tradition. Which I do not think it is.

I am not on about bigotry, just about our club being known as a Protestant club which some find it hard to accept. The other side shout from the rooftop that they are proud to be a catholic club and Spiers gives them praise, yet calls our fans bigots if the mention the word Protestant. Also Ftp is not shouted much at Ibrox and to be honest there is not much bigotry at Ibrox compared to what it used to be many years ago, and dont people kid themselves on as they were happy to be known as a Protestant club and take the good Protestant money every week. The change came when a non Rangers man bought our club and who had no idea about our culture and traditions, and there lies the problem.

Do you Murray's take-over damaged the club, Minstral?

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I respect, I understand the history of, and - to some extent - I can sympathise with the Protestant/Unionist ties between the supporters and the club. However, I find the baggage (and by that I mean the sectarian hatred) which some (and I repeat - some) so-called supporters seem to absolutley revel in is just disgusting. Being proud of the club's heritage and screaming "You dirty fucking F*nian bastard!" are NOT the same thing and when I hear it it makes me feel ashamed and also gives the likes of Spiers even more ammunition to try and tarnish our reputation in the rags he writes in. You cannot claim to be behind the club when your actions also hurt the club. It just doesnt make sense.

Graham Spiers delights in being the self-appointed white knight of Scottish football. He HATES us. Anyone who feels he's merely another journalist doing his job is entitled to that opinion as much as I am to mine, but I think he goes out of his way (and by that I mean tells out-and-out lies) to try and paint us ALL as a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Neo-Nazis.

I would like to point out that I KNOW Celtic are just as bad in their vile chanting but doing something because Celtic do it is not an acceptable or valid reason.

We are Rangers. And we are bigger and better than that.

I am proud to be a supporter of Rangers Football Club. I am proud of the team and the club's footballing history.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

I know some on here dont like it, but we are a Protestant club and we should be proud of it, and not like some who are ashamed of it.

I'd disagree that some are ashamed of the heritage of the club and its supporters. If your ashamed then I suggest you find another club to support, because you cant support a team without acknowledging the past. I think some just get annoyed at some of the blatant anti-Catholic bigotry that comes from small sections of the support nowadays. You can be angry towards those sentiments, but not be ashamed of the club and its history.

Like it or not, society has moved on from yelling FTP at a football match. Now Spiers I absolutely hate the man, but a small minority give him some ammunition. Now yes, I know that he is biased against us, and doesn't highlight what goes on over at Celtic and we can mope and moan about that, but if we cut out some elements of the support then he no longer has anything to attack us with. Just because Celtic fans do something it doesn't give us a license to do it too.

I've argued this point more times than I care to remember on here and I'm starting to change my mind a little on it. When the media seem to be moving the goalposts in regards to what is Sectarian (in their eyes) and what isn't. I mean, Spiers implied that Derrys Walls was sectarian on todays show for crying out loud.......Derrys Walls???

I still think our support could do with cutting out the FTP nonsense and needs self-policing but I am starting to realise that the Press will always come after us no matter what we sing. If we are to move forward as a club then we need to stop pointing fingers elsewhere and worrying what the Press think of us and cut the, lets say, darker stuff from our image - not because the Press want us to but because it will help our clubs image, and we all care about Rangers image.

[covenanter 158]

but if we cut out some elements of the support then he no longer has anything to attack us with.

Don't kid yourself. Spiers' history with reporting on The Rangers screams one thing from the rooftops: his willingness to invent and fabricate where the facts simply will not serve his desired outcome.

Reminds me of Spiers first appearance in the national print media almost two decades past, in Scotland on Sunday. He included a few lines in a match report from Ibrox stating that those gathered in front of the press box, in the East Enclosure, were singing a ditty, 'Klinsmann's a Klansman'. Apparently, this was the Rangers supports' take on Jurgen Klinsmann's refusal to meet the pope with his fellow Inter Milan team mates.

The trouble with this point, and he went on later to repeat the accusation in a number of his Sports Diaries, is that it did NOT happen. Later, Spiers claimed his accusation was related to him(ie he did not hear it himself) and it was just a piss-take.

Again, depending on your take on Spiers, he is :

(i) a fantasist.

(ii) a perennial vicTIM of False Memory Syndrom.

(iii) a liar.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,263]

I think as I created this post I should throw in my tuppence-worth.

I can't stand bigotry.

I am proud to be against bigotry.

What bigotry is it that you are against? religious, political, people with ginger hair or who smoke?

Look it up in a dictionary, everyone is a bigot in some sense

We're told not to sing certain songs.

So-called supporters sing them anyway knowing full well they risk getting us docked points/matches behind closed doors.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about. I just don't understand that if you're a FOOTBALL fan and a club supporter.

Like I said, it was only my tuppence-worth. This is a forum and I don't expect anyone else to say they agree with me at all.

Aye, it's called free speech, but some don't seem to understand the concept and scream bigotry when they don't agree with what they hear, if timmy want's to shout abuse at us, then we've every right to shout abuse back and vice versa, it's when words turn to violence that it becomes unacceptable

[AMMS 27]

Eventually i will be able to give you an even better one about the BBC and Ian Small in particular.

For those who think the BBC is impartial and the last bastion of British equality and fairness you are either thick as two short planks,taigs or just bleeding heart liberals.

The BBC is the most corrupt and anti Union/Rangers/Protestant organisation in Scotland.

It is filled to the brim with PC brigade,loony left,Opus Dei and all other manner of anti Rangers diehards.

That they take my money and i can do nothing about it annoys me even more.

You don't have to have a TV licence.

Tell me who do you think is out of touch with mainstream opinion on this, you or the BBC?

So i can watch BBC1 or BBC2 or STV without a licence now?

Pray tell when did this piece of legislation come in to place?

My views on this programme and the BBC have nothing to do with mainstream opinion regardless of you how you will inevitably come back and say that it is.

The BBC(of which you know a lot about) have a duty or responsibilty according to their own charter of being independent/neutral/fair/objective blah blah blah.

They commissioned these programmes and one can only assume they were supposed to be neutral and objective.You were the very one who regaled us with how the Programme Commissioners on the whole are oblivious to the "politics" of the West Coast of Scotland.You were the one who gave a breakdown on how a radio programme is put together.

Assuming you have of course listened to this 30 min diatribe can we safely come to the conclusion that Graham Spiers used it to further his own one sided viewpoint given the slanted soundbites and the backgrounds of his guests?

If you haven't listened to it then why pass comment on it and my indignation at what i percieve to be as nothing more than Pro Celtic and Pro Catholic propoganda.

No, still not listened to either of them, that's why I've made no comment on their content. But I have read your posts on this and the other thread and that's why I've made comment on them. All I did on the other thread was explain how a programme comes into being and why Speirs is a more obvious choice to present one than it seemed to you. I at no point suggested I agreed with that decision.

Your post up thread about the BBC is paranoiac, you should be challenged on it. I imagine you are being over the top for effect, but still, it diminishes anything constructive you then say on this subject.