Sleeping at the wheel

[Blue Avenger 22,567]

5 minutes ago, steven33jackie said:

Your right that the songs need to be knocked on the head as this has been coming for years.

But questions need to asked as to who FARE are and who governs them.

How do they pick games

How many European games are attended each season 

How long do they have before they have to submit a report 

Do the club get advance notice of their attendance

How are there members screened

Looking on the FARE website the application process seems to very straight forward a few simple questions and a payment of 20 euros to complete the online process.

I would hate to think that anybody could join without some form of vetting process to ensure an impartial view point when attending matches as representative of FARE.

 

No doubt we would get answers that absolve them of any bias.

It is very clear to us as to who they are and what they are all about.

Yes, the questions need o be officially asked, along with the evidence that will totally discredit them.

 

[Thermopylae 15,287]

3 hours ago, markem said:

First up this is going to be a bit of a rant, apologies in advance I probably wouldn’t read it at that length however if even for cathartic reasons I’m going to get it off my chest.

Sleeping at the wheel: Failing to attend ones responsibilities or duties.

Prior to considering the current situation at the club I think it’s important to put a little context around years just past we would all rather forget.  To keep it short, most accept that only 7 years ago the wheels were put in motion kicking off a prolonged effort to kill off our club, a motion that ultimately failed but wounded the club to the point that we are still recovering.   Rather forgotten but it would be very dangerous to do so. Why? The people that took that run at us haven’t went away and neither have their objectives.  

Let’s be clear about this celtic Football Club and their supporters look to achieve glory not only via their own sporting achievements on the park however by also proactively trying to keep us down and on the back foot. Paranoid? Remember we were told we were Paranoid when suggesting Lawwell was a driving force behind our troubles a few years back? Well we have all seen the letters now haven’t we? Ah but what’s FARE got to do with celtic? Hmm well transpires the Executive director of FARE is none other than a celtic Park regular, a fan.  How many times (Daily?) do we see the media narrative change within hours? celtic have paid compensation for child abuse yet within 2 hours Scottish football is discussing a bid for Alfredo from China Rangers didn’t claim happened or a regurgitation of some negative Rangers headline ? Spiers, English, Radio Clyde, the list goes on and on, in short their finger prints are there every single time trouble comes our way - Does anyone think that the likes of Dornans and Humza (CFC political pals) aren’t doing overtime to find a way that they can manifest FARE agenda and now achievements into our domestic game? They will be and if our board don’t wake up they will succeed, it’s a matter of time.  A process will be put in place for all and unevenly applied to 1.  I honestly won’t be shocked if point deductions are on the table domestically before long.

One point we need to accept - we have to knock the songs on the head, it’s a small sacrifice, if you so choose sing till your heart is content anywhere else you like but if we don’t give it up for that couple of hours at the game this fight will be a short one and we will lose, we are already significantly losing.  Whether it’s right or fair is another fight that’s already lost or rather didn’t take place.  

As we approach this weeks game with them we are the bookies favourites, there are other elements to be noted, Aribo for one, make no mistake they wanted him, we got him, a player that would already be labelled as worth  6 million plus (pick any number you fancy) had he went there.  Can they see the Rangers coming?  You can bet their board can and guys like Lawwell will do the maths on Joe, i’ll guarantee it and he will know they will continue to lose those battles whilst it SG V Popcorn   

As a club we are in our strongest position for years, easily our best squad and manager, we are genuine contenders,  meanwhile they have regressed and are having to face arguably the biggest scandal to ever occur in sport yet all the negative headlines are ours, we have a seat reduction imposed and have no doubts they are only getting warmed up.  Words like racism now common place being flung around on a weekly basis (anyone recall when they first heard sectarianism is actually racism?). How long before people we want at the club are thinking, I don’t need this, a Manager asked what school he went to ffs  

Here is the crux of the matter, our board may not have the appetite for a political/PR dog fight but my word they are in one they are losing (being tanked).  I seriously hope they don’t underestimate and are switched on to the fact that it’s many of the same players with the same appetite to destroy us that are circling around us.  Consider the FARE situation, celtic have been fined approx 15 times by UEFA in recent years and for one reason or another we’ve had little bother. Yet there FARE are at everyone of our games, the organisation headed up by a celtic fan. We should have directly asked FARE and UEFA way before now why that is and is there a conflict of interest? Leak that story.  Would it have made a difference? Well, who knows but it would let it be known we see it and we are going to challenge it publicly.  Let them know we will question their integrity with facts, make them think twice. 

Play them at their own game in the media.  I was about to write a defensive strategy is no good as a punch will always eventually get through, but you know what? We don’t even have that, our board and PR have to be aggressive and proactive, if we don’t I genuinely fear for where things are heading.  It could not be more obvious that we are on the up, they are and will contnue to respond. Is it beyond our board to appoint a more effective PR team, how long has it been ffs? - A PR team who can form relationships and influence? - how many years now has their PR team owned Scotland’s media? If needs be work more effectively with our own bloggers and podders and I don’t mean to echo everything the club want to say, I mean to have genuine control, impact and influence. 

The club are bluntly challenging the support now and rightly so however they need to be asking themselves a few questions.  We all understand they are in several fights and at times you need to pick your battles  however the consequences of not putting up any PR fight have and continue to be significant.  It is the boards responsibility.  

Paranoid? Me? - perhaps but last time it felt like open season on us I wondered if I  was being paranoid about where things were headed........did not end well. 

 

Timothy seems to instinctively know that a big part of making their team successful is doing everything in their power to keep the only credible opposition down ... we on the other hand are happy to leave them to it and only concentrate on our own club which I think has been shown to be a big mistake 

[markem 7,326]

25 minutes ago, Thermopylae said:

Timothy seems to instinctively know that a big part of making their team successful is doing everything in their power to keep the only credible opposition down ... we on the other hand are happy to leave them to it and only concentrate on our own club which I think has been shown to be a big mistake 

Exactly right. To be honest I think most other clubs in the world allow success to be determined on the pitch. It’s just our misfortune we share a city with devious bastards who simply cannot accept defeat on fair terms and have no class whatsoever. 

[shotstopper 770]

 

15 minutes ago, markem said:

Exactly right. To be honest is think most other clubs in the world allow success to be determined on the pitch. It’s just out misfortune we share a city with devious bastards who simply cannot accept defeat on fair terms and have no class whatsoever. 

Never defeated - Always cheated.

[The Blues 375]

It wasn’t UEFA or celtic that put us in the position we were in 7 years ago. It was Murray and Craig White.

[Blumhoilann 6,712]

38 minutes ago, steven33jackie said:

Your right that the songs need to be knocked on the head as this has been coming for years.

But questions need to asked as to who FARE are and who governs them.

How do they pick games

How many European games are attended each season 

How long do they have before they have to submit a report 

Do the club get advance notice of their attendance

How are there members screened

Looking on the FARE website the application process seems to very straight forward a few simple questions and a payment of 20 euros to complete the online process.

I would hate to think that anybody could join without some form of vetting process to ensure an impartial view point when attending matches as representative of FARE.

 

Who put this 'FARE' crowd into such a position of 'power'? Maybe we should start a Rangers protectionist group under the guise of fair play and start lobbying all governing bodies to listen to us? It seems THEY can use whatever they claim to be evidence against Rangers to bend the UEFA ear,why couldn't we? Good for the goose and all that.

[BLUEDIGNITY 33,715]

1 hour ago, markem said:

I agree mate, I had considered titling it ‘have we learned nothing’

Learned hee haw, keep walking into the same traps over and over,  keep appeasing and getting nothing in return but the worst word in their mouths. The statement they are chipping away at us is out of date, they are using  dynamite now!

[markem 7,326]

16 hours ago, The Blues said:

It wasn’t UEFA or celtic that put us in the position we were in 7 years ago. It was Murray and Craig White.

If you are referring to the opening post I didn’t say it was. 

Edit - let me clarify that as I take your point, my implication is when the opportunity presented itself many jumped right on board and sought sanction after sanction in a effort to ensure we would not recover. Much of this was done through snide political efforts and PR.  

I will add this, directly or otherwise there was more at play back then than those two.  I’d start with HMRC and who was pulling their strings 

[The Blues 375]

Ok I read it again........you r correct(not often someone admits this on here)

[markem 7,326]

Just now, The Blues said:

Ok I read it again........you r correct(not often someone admits this on here)

Fair enough bud, I took your point you intended 

[qwerty 3,745]

Absoulute belter of a post Markem.

 

[crabbit247 787]

I sent the below email a year ago to fare and surprisingly never recieved any reply. I resent it once and again never heard anything. Its only now its reared its Ugly head again I've given it another thought. 

 

I've just been advised that yet again your organisation has seen fit to attend a game at ibrox involving Rangers.

Whilst having no issue whatsoever with this taking place it begs the question. Why so many visits to one teams ground while in the Europa league?

I cannot find any record online of your attendance at games last season or the season before at any of our other European representatives grounds.

Is this information available to the public, who I believe you must be serving in your 'policing?

There is a perceived witch hunt against one club in Scotland by your organisation and statistics being public of attendance at other grounds would at least go some way towards alleviating that growing stance.

Reading your website you claim to observe matches that you have identified have a high level of racism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia, anti semitism or homophobia. Which of these factors have you assessed that has lead to your attendance at ibrox for the match to played tonight?

I appreciate you must be extremely busy reviewing videos and reports from all over Europe, particularly given the recent upturn in reported far right extremism cropping up in other parts of Europe amongst football fans, however I would appreciate a response to this email. 

If nothing else it would perhaps show that your organisation is not at myopic as portrayed.

Kind regards
crabbit247 

[Thermopylae 15,287]

1 hour ago, markem said:

Exactly right. To be honest I think most other clubs in the world allow success to be determined on the pitch. It’s just our misfortune we share a city with devious bastards who simply cannot accept defeat on fair terms and have no class whatsoever. 

It's an obsession hundreds of years in the making starting long before football 

[Thermopylae 15,287]

50 minutes ago, markem said:

If you are referring to the opening post I didn’t say it was. 

Edit - let me clarify that as I take your point, my implication is when the opportunity presented itself many jumped right on board and sought sanction after sanction in a effort to ensure we would not recover. Much of this was done through snide political efforts and PR.  

I will add this, directly or otherwise there was more at play back then than those two.  I’d start with HMRC and who was piling their strings 

Probably not a coincidence that timothy had a chairman who had more jobs at the top of government than most when hmrc came calling. Ok at that exact moment he had just gone but his work was done and it made sense not to stay at the scene of the crime

When people talk to me about masons running the world I just laugh in their faces now  ... we really do need to up our game!

[sandyboyblue 226]

I echo other posters comments, well said sir.

My only hope is that our board/spokesperson are keeping their powder dry till the right time. 

This continual chipping away at us cannot continue in this vein. 

[markem 7,326]

As if to demonstrate the point ST Pats PR machine in full flow tonight. By the time I was aware they had been battered senseless by the Swedish police they had poured enough doubt on it even involving them , supported of course by the usual useful idiot suspects. 

Listen do I ever want us to operate like those devious, slippery bastards? No I don’t, but there is somewhere inbetween, we’d have probably immediately announced we’ll be banning people.  

[markem 7,326]

16 hours ago, crabbit247 said:

I sent the below email a year ago to fare and surprisingly never recieved any reply. I resent it once and again never heard anything. Its only now its reared its Ugly head again I've given it another thought. 

 

I've just been advised that yet again your organisation has seen fit to attend a game at ibrox involving Rangers.

Whilst having no issue whatsoever with this taking place it begs the question. Why so many visits to one teams ground while in the Europa league?

I cannot find any record online of your attendance at games last season or the season before at any of our other European representatives grounds.

Is this information available to the public, who I believe you must be serving in your 'policing?

There is a perceived witch hunt against one club in Scotland by your organisation and statistics being public of attendance at other grounds would at least go some way towards alleviating that growing stance.

Reading your website you claim to observe matches that you have identified have a high level of racism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia, anti semitism or homophobia. Which of these factors have you assessed that has lead to your attendance at ibrox for the match to played tonight?

I appreciate you must be extremely busy reviewing videos and reports from all over Europe, particularly given the recent upturn in reported far right extremism cropping up in other parts of Europe amongst football fans, however I would appreciate a response to this email. 

If nothing else it would perhaps show that your organisation is not at myopic as portrayed.

Kind regards
crabbit247 

No courtesy of a reply?  

Considering how much they like to shine a light on others they move around in the dark. 

 

[Redwhiteandblue 3,330]

19 hours ago, Corky True Legend said:

We should make a formal complaint to the authorities each time we hear an IRA song or chant by them on TV/Radio. By we I mean the board or Club1872 as the fans' representative body. If a formal complaint in writing is ignored, then we have proof of discrimination and can no longer by accused of paranoia. Alas, I won't hold my breath as this would endanger the bridge building.

The thing with that is, due to their obsession with us, they know every word of every song/chant we have. Fuck, the famine song was banned before I even knew the words to it. 

I genuinely couldn't tell you which one of their songs/chants are sectarian. I imagine most of our support is the same??

[Redwhiteandblue 3,330]

16 hours ago, crabbit247 said:

I sent the below email a year ago to fare and surprisingly never recieved any reply. I resent it once and again never heard anything. Its only now its reared its Ugly head again I've given it another thought. 

 

I've just been advised that yet again your organisation has seen fit to attend a game at ibrox involving Rangers.

Whilst having no issue whatsoever with this taking place it begs the question. Why so many visits to one teams ground while in the Europa league?

I cannot find any record online of your attendance at games last season or the season before at any of our other European representatives grounds.

Is this information available to the public, who I believe you must be serving in your 'policing?

There is a perceived witch hunt against one club in Scotland by your organisation and statistics being public of attendance at other grounds would at least go some way towards alleviating that growing stance.

Reading your website you claim to observe matches that you have identified have a high level of racism, extreme nationalism, xenophobia, anti semitism or homophobia. Which of these factors have you assessed that has lead to your attendance at ibrox for the match to played tonight?

I appreciate you must be extremely busy reviewing videos and reports from all over Europe, particularly given the recent upturn in reported far right extremism cropping up in other parts of Europe amongst football fans, however I would appreciate a response to this email. 

If nothing else it would perhaps show that your organisation is not at myopic as portrayed.

Kind regards
crabbit247 

How does one manage to observe Xenophobia?

[crabbit247 787]

1 hour ago, markem said:

No courtesy of a reply?  

Considering how much they like to shine a light on others they move around in the dark. 

 

I naively thought they would have a set of guidelines / procedures which meant they should respond to a reasonable request for information. Hence the way I tried to word it, avoiding the potential for them binning it off as offensive or spam.

I genuinely do not understand where they sprang from and why they are self styled uefa police. 

Like everything else I just want our club held to the same standards as others, parity shouldn't be difficult when you only have 2 representatives (more often than not) involved in European competition past August from Scotland. 

[crabbit247 787]

41 minutes ago, Redwhiteandblue said:

How does one manage to observe Xenophobia?

Sadly I believe that their answer would be turn up at ibrox and open their eyes. 

It's such a shame our board don't seem up for a fight of any sort. 

Again, as I said above. Just hold everyone to the same set of standards. If that was forced upon this fare mob and uefa then there would either be massive uproar from fans of lots of clubs or they would have to back off. 

[Corky True Legend 2,682]

My question is how do they get tickets when our own fans can't and if the are freebies, from whom?