Emails from a piece of work, *proper Rangers fan* edition

[IanCurtis 155]

There's no next level for TRS. We try to concentrate on quality debate and have no other agenda other than to ensure our voice is heard. The only next level we have is to deliver improving articles while attempting to widen the scope of our contribution.

There are proper, structured fan groups for the more politically motivated stuff.

Frankie (sorry I didnt know you were involved in TRS) let me be clear. This wasnt a criticism of TRS. Your "voice" is being heard and there is a place for it. My point was that there is a huge hole/gap out there to get a different level of message out there.

There are some things that need to be discussed which may in reality dilute the impact TRS has adn allow the enemies to attack and undermine the message.

I was going to call you bawbags and fuds but Im feert fury will give me a row! ;-) ....

[Edmiston Drive 3,846]

You should check out my mate's mate's website: http://www.onstagemagazine.com/ Good stuff.

Cheers for that will have a good read at that......one thing stood out straight away was the Fogerty album I really like that . Plus just noticed the Lennon and Harrison Doc.

(tu) (tu) worth the 5

[Sweeney 241]

Can somebody tell me who the TRS/CRO are, what they do, and why everybody's arguing? I'm the type of fan who takes no notice of factions and divides but this sounds more hateful than usual.

Or can this be summed up by "It's the RSTs fault" like most fan divides and arguments.

[Shane 338]

Cheers for that will have a good read at that......one thing stood out straight away was the Fogerty album I really like that . Plus just noticed the Lennon and Harrison Doc.

(tu) (tu) worth the 5

If I'm anything I'm a public service.

[Shane 338]

Can somebody tell me who the TRS/CRO are, what they do, and why everybody's arguing? I'm the type of fan who takes no notice of factions and divides but this sounds more hateful than usual.

Or can this be summed up by "It's the RSTs fault" like most fan divides and arguments.

We say stuff, people don't always agree with it. Some of them make up extreme bullshit lies to validate their opinions. The cycles goes on.

[Edmiston Drive 3,846]

If I'm anything I'm a public service.

Indeed you are............think you life song is similar to mine...............If I can help somebody

[Edmiston Drive 3,846]

We say stuff, people don't always agree with it. Some of them make up extreme bullshit lies to validate their opinions. The cycles goes on.

I have faced similar by people saying I am having a breakdown and so on. That's was the most disgusting thing anyone could say, obviously they have never had anyone in their life suffer such a horrible illness.

But that's life

[govansw1 326]

The ramblings of a mad man. As I said on Twitter the other day, Rangers Unite is the most ironic name for a group that has ever been constructed. And I include Bhoys Against Bigotry.

It's RangersUnite. No space.

[Shane 338]

I have faced similar by people saying I am having a breakdown and so on. That's was the most disgusting thing anyone could say, obviously they have never had anyone in their life suffer such a horrible illness.

But that's life

Apparently a nasty divorce is no reason to give up a side project for a while. Lesson learned.

[JCDBigBear 10,830]

I am also sick to death of the various fans' groups in-fighting and back-stabbing. Not one of these groups does anything to actually unite the Rangers support. We all know that you can never please all of the people all of the time but if we can please all of the people some of the time that would be a start. There is not one single person in any of the various groups who is capable or interested in actually trying to gel our support. The word "compromise" is missing from the vocabulary of every group leadership. The vast majority of the Rangers support aren't interested in power-seeking or power struggles, they want basic unity. The Rangers Supporters Association may as well be non-existent for all the input/output from them. Rangers Unite, what a misnomer that title is; the Rangers Supporters Trust, yet another misnomer as very few actually trust the leadership of that body; Union Bears, where is the union? (the misnomer trend continues); the Blue Order, do they actually have leadership?; the Rangers Assembly, we are back on the misnomer trend as this "group" never actually assemble.

There are too many people with their agenda or own wee blogs, which are simply that individual blogger's opinions. Just because you have your own blog does not give your opinion any more credibility than the next fan. Egos appear to increase with every blog. I have no problem with other people's opinions on a forum because debate is healthy. In my opinion, blogs are self-centred but each to their own.

Our fan-base is crying out for unity. We need a proper group which would be all-encompassing. No ego trippers, nobody seeking a blazer on the RFC board, just a group which we can all identify as having the greater good of Rangers Football Club and its fans to the fore. Anyone else up for this idea?

[Shane 338]

@JCD: I think something people always forget is that web-based consumption of such outlets is entirely voluntary. I don't pretend like my opinion means more than supporter X, Y or Z; the problem for some people is that I did the work to create a platform that me and all the lads get to say their piece from, just like RM or FF or VB or any of the other sites. If you don't like it, don't take it in. Easy does.

[JCDBigBear 10,830]

@JCD: I think something people always forget is that web-based consumption of such outlets is entirely voluntary. I don't pretend like my opinion means more than supporter X, Y or Z; the problem for some people is that I did the work to create a platform that me and all the lads get to say their piece from, just like RM or FF or VB or any of the other sites. If you don't like it, don't take it in. Easy does.

I wonder why you thought that the majority on RM would be interested in the e-mail trail which I started to read but stopped near the beginning. It's your business not RM's really. I did also state regarding blogs that "each to their own". I don't normally access blogs, only occasionally where referred to on RM. More often than not, I wish I hadn't bothered.

[govansw1 326]

F**king "Toys Oot The Pram Loyal"

If you reckon that the Club is not in the best nick at the moment because of the boardroom tomfoolery can you possibly imagine how bad it would be if these rockets were in charge of a fan based ownership organisation.

CEO sacked cos ma da's bigger than his.

Ally sacked because he didn't go to Nando's with the stars.

Blah blah blah.

Some folk are just a big hit for themselves and are in danger of taking themselves far too seriously. Some of these cyber warriors even believe they are destined for RFC stardom.

I like the light hearted banter in the PODs and occasionally on the forums but there really are plenty of anally retentive muppets out there masquerading as dyed in the wool, blue blooded Rangers supporters who get more offended by their own farts everyday

Aye, very good. MFO doesn't mean Fans running the Club. If you didn't know this that's fine. A lot of work to be done.

[Shane 338]

I wonder why you thought that the majority on RM would be interested in the e-mail trail which I started to read but stopped near the beginning. It's your business not RM's really. I did also state regarding blogs that "each to their own". I don't normally access blogs, only occasionally where referred to on RM. More often than not, I wish I hadn't bothered.

That implies the majority on RM want to read any thread. Guy and his group want to unite the fans and own Rangers. This is what their version of unity looks like.

[Bluepeter9 5,167]

:lol:

Priceless

Life of Brian - people's front of Judea sketch - reace with RST / Cro / RU / ff as required.

Fan ownership - the OP makes a great case against it !

[govansw1 326]

Perhaps you should focus your ire on the small group of people launching attacks on other fans rather than trying to group everyone together?

Nice one.

[allgers 735]

To much conspiracy, what we need is the football to start, then we can get back to moaning about that.

Forgot you were American Shane, remember you doing good work on the "Rangers bomb victim" scam.

Is this linked to the verbals on Tommy the other day, or are you just shareing a day in the life....

[govansw1 326]

I was involved with Rangers Unite back when they first started. At the outset, it involved good passionate bears with no agenda. Shane and were involved in a couple of conference calls and the focus was purely on promoting supporter representation. That sadly changed and it evolved into an anti Dingwall/RST movement. It's no coincidence that this was around the time that Alex and others started talking about a money man in America who was going to help underwrite a proposal. This was clearly Duffy, and along with one or two others, the shift in focus was driven. It was at that point I walked.

Alex Thompson was the guy who started Rangers Unite and is someone I have a lot of respect for. He drove the Rangers Unite project a long way in a short space of time, and I genuinely believe he has no agenda. Unfortunately, I believe he has been heavily influenced by those who do. In the summer of last year Rangers Unite and the RST had a joint proposal that was both credible and viable. The poison spread by Duffy and one or two others damaged that proposal and destroyed the credibility of Rangers Unite.

First, it's RangersUnite. The joint proposal ended up RST way or no way.

[Frankie 505]

Frankie (sorry I didnt know you were involved in TRS) let me be clear. This wasnt a criticism of TRS. Your "voice" is being heard and there is a place for it. My point was that there is a huge hole/gap out there to get a different level of message out there.

There are some things that need to be discussed which may in reality dilute the impact TRS has adn allow the enemies to attack and undermine the message.

I was going to call you bawbags and fuds but Im feert fury will give me a row! ;-) ....

There is a gap out there to be filled but that's because we've all failed to grasp the nettle in some way as opposed to single people or individual fan groups.

Again, TRS isn't a formal fan group but merely a website aimed at promoting positive and innovative thinking about the club and its role in Scottish football and society. Nevertheless, plenty times we've defended it from issues such as the administration, the football authorities and lies in the media but we do prefer to concentrate on finding ways we can improve Rangers rather than concentrate on others.

As for filling the vacuum of representation, well that's down to the club and any independent group to consider. Neither are doing a particularly good job of that and TRS (or at least its contributors) have said as much many times.

PS: I'd like to add I've no idea why TRS on anyone involved in it is mentioned in the email chain above. I've no idea who is involved but I'm not and I couldn't care less.

[IanCurtis 155]

This is very simple folks. You either confront the enemy or you fight among your own. I know what I prefer and what VB will be doing every day. There are a tiny minority of blazer chasers and fans spokesperson's who are basically looking out for No1 and to hell with anyone who disagrees with their views.

I spend my spare time at meeting's in Glasgow, Ulster and elsewhere with various groups, we have disagreements and we have varying views on how we should proceed. I have internet disputes with handwringers and Bheasts, simply because I can't stand either of them. However, what we don't do and never will do, is carry those debates on to the watching Rangers support and reveal who said what to whom.

The enemy is clear, you see it in front of your very eyes every day. The Bheasts are where our anger should be directed, the BBC and Scottish media should be on the receiving end as well. If these troublemakers in our support don't pipe down and soon, I dare say they will make many enemies as well.

Concentrate on the Bheast, they are the enemy.

Nail on head

[govansw1 326]

I am also sick to death of the various fans' groups in-fighting and back-stabbing. Not one of these groups does anything to actually unite the Rangers support. We all know that you can never please all of the people all of the time but if we can please all of the people some of the time that would be a start. There is not one single person in any of the various groups who is capable or interested in actually trying to gel our support. The word "compromise" is missing from the vocabulary of every group leadership. The vast majority of the Rangers support aren't interested in power-seeking or power struggles, they want basic unity. The Rangers Supporters Association may as well be non-existent for all the input/output from them. Rangers Unite, what a misnomer that title is; the Rangers Supporters Trust, yet another misnomer as very few actually trust the leadership of that body; Union Bears, where is the union? (the misnomer trend continues); the Blue Order, do they actually have leadership?; the Rangers Assembly, we are back on the misnomer trend as this "group" never actually assemble.

There are too many people with their agenda or own wee blogs, which are simply that individual blogger's opinions. Just because you have your own blog does not give your opinion any more credibility than the next fan. Egos appear to increase with every blog. I have no problem with other people's opinions on a forum because debate is healthy. In my opinion, blogs are self-centred but each to their own.

Our fan-base is crying out for unity. We need a proper group which would be all-encompassing. No ego trippers, nobody seeking a blazer on the RFC board, just a group which we can all identify as having the greater good of Rangers Football Club and its fans to the fore. Anyone else up for this idea?

Aye me. That's why I think RangersUnite is the answer. If you care to read one of the OP emails you will see that's what RU is about. Not a group as such but a battle cry and banner for all Supporters to get behind and be that single 'group'. When I go to Ibrox I don't see 'groups' just one massive and biggest support in the country. This with the Support world wide is RangersUnite. You, me and anyone who wants to be.

[harry handsome 629]

Didn't read all of that it was childish tit for tat.

If the guys involved are really interested in helping our club they need to grow up.

I despair at times, some of the kids on here behave themselves better.

[Lisburnranger 36]

First, it's RangersUnite. The joint proposal ended up RST way or no way.

That's simply not true. The Rangers Unite proposal painted a fantastic picture of how supporter ownership would work through a membership scheme. It was well researched and very credible. The major problem was in how to acquire the club. There was nowhere near as much thought or planning in this area. The RST brought a functional acquisition plan to the table which dovetailed very nicely with the RU proposal. The plan was for a joint committee of RU and RST members to take it forward. It was at this point that certain people from RU started creating problems. On a committee of 3 RST members and 3 RU members it would be impossible for the RST to take it over and turn it into an RST project. By walking away like they did, they turned it into an RST project. RU was a good proposal run by good bears which I firmly believe was hijacked by some for their own ends

[Fury 256]

We have a huge fan base, you only need to look at Manchester to see the power of the Rangers support. Together we can win, together we can vote for people who support Rangers, together we can smash our enemies with the power of the written word.

A few self promoters and propagandists who have allowed themselves to believe they speak on our behalf should never be allowed to get in the way of the Rangers support. Look at the posts on here and elsewhere such as Twitter - who do you see fighting and arguing with fellow Bears all day every day? It's the same wee clique of people.

These people had better start supporting their fellow Bear and stop attacking them, before their reputations are like other so called fans reps.

Can you be more specific? Did VB not form the United Supporter Platform (USP) with Rangers Unite? Are the two groups still working together?

Several fans, myself and Shane included, have been the subject of these snide attacks via email, twitter etc from people who run RU. Is it them you are condemning?

[IanCurtis 155]

Can you be more specific? Did VB not form the United Supporter Platform (USP) with Rangers Unite? Are the two groups still working together?

Several fans, myself and Shane included, have been the subject of these snide attacks via email, twitter etc from people who run RU. Is it them you are condemning?

"Did VB not form the United Supporter Platform (USP) with Rangers Unite?" Really? Is that true? Ive not heard of the USP. Are you saying that the "self promoters and propagandists" are VB!?