Mind your language with Rangers FC

[North Rd 2,860]

Scottish football remains poisoned by the continuing fall-out over the liquidation of Rangers last year. Bitterness and venom are spouting forth in ways the game has scarcely known north of the border.

Scottish football remains poisoned by the continuing fall-out over the liquidation of Rangers last year. Bitterness and venom are spouting forth in ways the game has scarcely known north of the border.

A section of Rangers supporters feel deeply aggrieved, and much of it is justified. Their club was betrayed and ruined by a rogues' gallery of dodgy geezers, and terrible damage was done.

The problem is, many of these same supporters originally gave their backing to some of these characters. I was outside Ibrox on May 7 2011 when Craig Whyte rode into town. If some Rangers fans that day had waved palm branches along Edmiston Drive they couldn't have looked more exuberant in their welcome.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/sport/opinion/spiers-on-sport-mind-your-language-with-rangers-fc.1378814712

[elephants stoned 2,994]

Could of told us its a Britney article before I clicked the link

[Bad Robot 21,512]

Scottish football remains poisoned by the continuing fall-out over the liquidation of Rangers last year. Bitterness and venom are spouting forth in ways the game has scarcely known north of the border.

A section of Rangers supporters feel deeply aggrieved, and much of it is justified. Their club was betrayed and ruined by a rogues' gallery of dodgy geezers, and terrible damage was done.

The problem is, many of these same supporters originally gave their backing to some of these characters. I was outside Ibrox on May 7 2011 when Craig Whyte rode into town. If some Rangers fans that day had waved palm branches along Edmiston Drive they couldn't have looked more exuberant in their welcome.

Egged on by the Daily Record, which repeatedly fawned to Whyte and fatuously hailed him "a billionaire", a seed was being sown which would have catastrophic consequences.

When liquidation finally came to Rangers, an eruption of bitterness and casting around for blame broke out, and it continues to this day. Just ask Jim Spence, a BBC Scotland journalist, who has recently copped much flak.

Spence's "crime" was an odd one. On Radio Scotland last week he blithely spoke words on air which a wide range of Scottish football observers, businessmen, insolvency people and more would have taken for granted. Spence referred to the liquidated Rangers Football Club plc as "the club that died".

Amid this furnace of ill-feeling, for many Rangers supporters this is a detested and deeply hurtful phrase. And it fairly roused them to action. Over 400 Rangers fans complained to BBC Scotland, who duly issued an apology for any offence that may have been taken.

Rangers and their director of communication, James Traynor, leapt into action by issuing their own statement, appearing to warn that the club's lawyers might get involved over a journalist such as Spence daring to use such words as "a dead club".

Traynor should certainly know all about that. Last year, still working as a Daily Record columnist, this is what he himself wrote: "Rangers as we know them died. Rangers FC are dead."

If, as Jim and Rangers are threatening, their lawyers go to war over Spence, it would surely count as the most farcical piece of litigation ever seen in Scottish football. For the sake of Rangers' own head of communication, one must hope the legal pursuit is not retrospective.

The context of Spence and the BBC will have to be worked out separately. In recent months, the BBC Trust set out guidelines for referring to "old" and "new" Rangers, and held that the BBC in Scotland had failed to be precise in this.

But a wider point is more intriguing: are journalists, reporters and commentators really to be hounded for referring to the liquidated Rangers as "the old Rangers"?

There has been something sinister about the way Jim Spence has been treated, given that many would argue he merely stated the bleedin' obvious.

Perhaps Spence and Traynor, in their separate ways, were trying to be controversial or provocative in their remarks. In which case, controversy can have its place, just as it must also be counter-challenged, such as here.

Where the exegetical fog exists is when, in debating the sins of the old Rangers regime, people seek to distinguish between the club then and now.

It inevitably needs a phrase such as "old" or "oldco" or "original" Rangers or some such delineation. The very language, though, makes some Rangers fans livid.

It is proving a painful subject. Some have argued that it shouldn't matter; that even for ardent Rangers supporters, the club is here, it plays at Ibrox, it has the same name, the same strip, the same lustre. Why, it has been asked, make such a song and dance?

But I've discovered this won't wash. For some Rangers fans it is an emotional agony to think of their precious club being dissolved last year - the notion is simply not for consideration.

The famed phrase "it was the company, not the club, which went bust" was born roundabout the spring of 2012, when liquidation became a certainty, and has been clung to ever since by fans. And hell mend anyone - and certainly any pesky hack - who dares to differ.

This has been a very painful experience for Rangers. And the venom and anger are showing no signs of abating.

as above regrading the troll author

[elephants stoned 2,994]

Pretending to be sympathetic while actually reinforcing the lies, typical Odious Creep stuff.

[TravelingWilBEARy 4,319]

This oldco/newco stuff is tedious. We all know we're the same club, who cares what anyone else says or thinks?

[simon 1,758]

This oldco/newco stuff is tedious. We all know we're the same club, who cares what anyone else says or thinks?

I agree. This is the Internet however, everyone has to get their balls out and scream at the top of their keyboards until they explode with over reaction and response.

[scarkev 3,540]

An absolutely pathetic a contradictory piece from a man with absolutely no credibility at all! A proven liar or two seperate occasions whilst on a live broadcast (god knows how many more lies he has told)...,.tell me graham who are these "Scottish football observers, business people and insolvency experts"? Neil patey was quick to distance himself from your claims so who are these experts? Paul mconiville et al no doubt make up these "experts" in Graham's mind! The bitterness, hatred and blinded views of supposedly intelligent people is quite remarkable.

[8Ace 49]

exegetical

Sounds like he sucked off a librarian recently...

[Fools Gold 488]

What a wank.

Next!

[North Rd 2,860]

Its the only way they can get any interest....................Rangers,

[scarkev 3,540]

I would love someone to ask him who these experts are that claim we are dead....I'd love to see him name names and watch the inevitable fall out (Neil patey II)...for someone who claims we are a new club he spends alot of time talking about us in the past tense in a current context!

[Zappa 358]

I've completely stopped reading articles from Britney. He has absolutely nothing to say which is even in the slightest bit interesting or worthwhile.

[corkinator 611]

hahahahaha Spiers! REALLY.hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahaha he's bee a joke figure since WELL before the old holding company was liquidated, may I add that hes a cunt also?

[dazzapat 83]

Spence's "crime" was an odd one. On Radio Scotland last week he blithely spoke words on air which a wide range of Scottish football observers, businessmen, insolvency people and more would have taken for granted. Spence referred to the liquidated Rangers Football Club plc as "the club that died"

Tell a lie often enough, it may eventually become fact. We all know Spence made no mention of the PLC, which hasn't even been liquidated yet anyway. He was very deliberate in his delivery of the line that will no doubt take him over the cliff edge once the BBC in London start to respond to the complaints that fellow bears have had escalated past the bigots in the BBC Scotland/NI buildings.

[Grundy 735]

This can only be explained as some kind of desperate attention seeking. How Speir's is still in a job is mystery, and I suspect his P45 will be landing on his desk very soon.

[harlands plater 17,065]

i'm expecting the comments on the article to start coming in soon from the usual Bhoys Guild of obsessed tarriers and handwringers, Spiers has his own wee band of Beliebers on that site.

[Falcoholic 1,348]

All this from a proven out and out liar.

Oh aye, well worth the read.

I'm surprised the Herald even entertain his bile, but then, such is the quality of Scottish newsprint these days, it's hardly surprising.

Quite clear from that article tho exactly how much contempt he himself holds for Rangers fans.

[allgers 735]

Do we have a problem with old company, new company, I don't, so why bring this up in your defense for claiming the Club is dead. Maybe this is a bit of misdirection for the BBC trust.

[Smile 26,622]

Liewells Media bitches are doing him proud.

[North Rd 2,860]

You do know it was Toxic Jack that advised The Board NOT to Ban him from Ibrox !

[North Rd 2,860]

Do we have a problem with old company, new company, I don't, so why bring this up in your defense for claiming the Club is dead. Maybe this is a bit of misdirection for the BBC trust.

Got to laugh as well.......for a new company we some amount of trophies WON in our first year Plonkers

[Redsox1 1,361]

No mention of stasi then? wonder why . And I`m sure the original company hasn`t even been liquidated . So the pish they spout couldn`t be true even if they believed it.

[TMB 14,167]

I remember Spiers comparing Rangers to Juventus and Lance Armstrong on live radio. He said what Rangers done, by using EBTs, was "financial doping". He said it was second only to match fixing. Neil Lennon used the same phrase of "financial doping" but he's never apologised for it and neither has Spiers.

Not too long ago Spiers wrote an article when we signed Jon Daly. The article was about Rangers HISTORY of not signing Irish catholics. However, according to Spiers we're a new club. So we have a history when it suits his agenda it would seem.

Total cunt of a man!

[STEPPS BOY 75,043]

I'm sick of reading about this cunt Spiers. Ignore him and don't give him the attention he craves.

[bluenosebrad 452]

Shite article from a d**khead of a person, still doesn't know the difference between a company and club, Spiers read this the club is the same and unbroken the company now running Rangers is a new company hence the saying oldco newco to identify this. It NOT FUCKING OLD CLUB NEW CLUB BECUASE ITS THE SAME CLUB YOU TWISTED BS