About the announcement

[bigmarvloyal 0]

When was this bud? I can't remember his doing such a thing and if he did, my opinion of him would change greatly.

He didn't use the words 'Herald' or 'Speirs', but at the time everyone knew exactly who he was talking about. After he made this statement, radio stations and newspapers were naming the Herald and Speirs as the focus of Murrays criticism, so they certainly took a negative public hit from Murray's statement.

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Ne...~693937,00.html

Murray's Message To Fans

By Chairman David Murray

I WAS a proud man on Sunday afternoon as I unfurled the SPL Championship flag ahead of our opening fixture against Livingston because it represented a major triumph for our great club that was achieved against the odds.

From the beginning of the 2004/05 campaign until virtually the final kick we were continually criticised in certain sections of the press and media on a variety of topics and a lot of it was very personal and, I believe, unnecessary.

Manager Alex McLeish was savaged, individual players were abused and the Club was continually made a target by certain individuals. I also bore the brunt of critical attacks.

I know this is an issue which infuriates Rangers supporters and I have a suggestion for them today which I hope they will consider.

I have literally received thousands of emails and letters from supporters who want to know why we do not take action against people who unfairly and continuously put the boot into Rangers in an effort to gain notoriety.

At every meeting I have had with supporters, sponsors or investors it is the same theme: 'Why do you let these people get away with it?'

Many of you have asked me to take action. You have suggested that I no longer make the culprits and their newspapers welcome at Ibrox and I stop them from attending press conferences.

I can understand why so many of you feel that way because some of the things that are written are so blatantly unfair and unjustified.

The thing is, I do not want to make martyrs of these people who seem intent on hammering Rangers at every opportunity without any apparent justification.

These people want me to react and they want you, the supporters, to react. If we do so it gives them credence and I, for one, am not willing to do that.

They want me to ban them because it will give them a badge of distinction.

We as a Club have written to editors seeking explanations and we have had meetings with some of them but these actions appear to have been in vain. Similar attacks and unfair criticism have followed.

The answer is simple. If you do not like what certain journalists are writing then stop buying their newspapers.

They can scribble away to their hearts' content, but if the product starts to lose sales then maybe their editors will begin to take note of the reason why.

We live in world where we believe in the democracy and freedom of the press, but some of the personal attacks on Rangers people have been way over the top - and they know it.

Don't be fooled by the occasional positive article which must have been hard for them to write.

It may seem unusual that I should choose this moment to go public on this subject, but I know that it is an issue which is very emotive among fans and needs addressed.

Yes, we can make a difference. Stop buying newspapers who, in your opinion, unjustly attack us and maybe the perpetrators will think twice.

Fantastic - I never ever saw this article as it looks at the time I was holidaying in Turkey :bouncy:

However, I must say that his calls have fallen on deaf ears and this continually happens day in, day out in the press. Until he follows Celtics example and bans them, nothing will change.

Hats off to Murray though - as one of his staunchest critics - as he did actually stand up and be counted there.

PS - You omitted the best part of that article which comes at the end...

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

[Bluedell 14]

I'm not aware of the BBC stuff. Have you got a source I can look at ?

You've now seen the source for the "half-human" quote. You may not take it seriously but it wouldbn't be said about any other support/ground, so why should we accept it? Why did the producer of the programme give the OK for that "text" to be read out?

I don't have a source for the comments anout our sectarian singing other than my own ears. If you can get a recoding of Radio Scotland on 17th March at around 8.23am you will hear it. As far as I'm concerned it's a lie.

[Orangeclement 572]

When was this bud? I can't remember his doing such a thing and if he did, my opinion of him would change greatly.

He didn't use the words 'Herald' or 'Speirs', but at the time everyone knew exactly who he was talking about. After he made this statement, radio stations and newspapers were naming the Herald and Speirs as the focus of Murrays criticism, so they certainly took a negative public hit from Murray's statement.

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Ne...~693937,00.html

Murray's Message To Fans

By Chairman David Murray

I WAS a proud man on Sunday afternoon as I unfurled the SPL Championship flag ahead of our opening fixture against Livingston because it represented a major triumph for our great club that was achieved against the odds.

From the beginning of the 2004/05 campaign until virtually the final kick we were continually criticised in certain sections of the press and media on a variety of topics and a lot of it was very personal and, I believe, unnecessary.

Manager Alex McLeish was savaged, individual players were abused and the Club was continually made a target by certain individuals. I also bore the brunt of critical attacks.

I know this is an issue which infuriates Rangers supporters and I have a suggestion for them today which I hope they will consider.

I have literally received thousands of emails and letters from supporters who want to know why we do not take action against people who unfairly and continuously put the boot into Rangers in an effort to gain notoriety.

At every meeting I have had with supporters, sponsors or investors it is the same theme: 'Why do you let these people get away with it?'

Many of you have asked me to take action. You have suggested that I no longer make the culprits and their newspapers welcome at Ibrox and I stop them from attending press conferences.

I can understand why so many of you feel that way because some of the things that are written are so blatantly unfair and unjustified.

The thing is, I do not want to make martyrs of these people who seem intent on hammering Rangers at every opportunity without any apparent justification.

These people want me to react and they want you, the supporters, to react. If we do so it gives them credence and I, for one, am not willing to do that.

They want me to ban them because it will give them a badge of distinction.

We as a Club have written to editors seeking explanations and we have had meetings with some of them but these actions appear to have been in vain. Similar attacks and unfair criticism have followed.

The answer is simple. If you do not like what certain journalists are writing then stop buying their newspapers.

They can scribble away to their hearts' content, but if the product starts to lose sales then maybe their editors will begin to take note of the reason why.

We live in world where we believe in the democracy and freedom of the press, but some of the personal attacks on Rangers people have been way over the top - and they know it.

Don't be fooled by the occasional positive article which must have been hard for them to write.

It may seem unusual that I should choose this moment to go public on this subject, but I know that it is an issue which is very emotive among fans and needs addressed.

Yes, we can make a difference. Stop buying newspapers who, in your opinion, unjustly attack us and maybe the perpetrators will think twice.

THEY KNOW WHO THEY ARE

i agree with Mr murray, but some fans will have you believe that this is a smokescreen because they are anti-murray

[ScotBear 144]

Fantastic - I never ever saw this article as it looks at the time I was holidaying in Turkey :bouncy:

However, I must say that his calls have fallen on deaf ears and this continually happens day in, day out in the press. Until he follows Celtics example and bans them, nothing will change.

Hats off to Murray though - as one of his staunchest critics - as he did actually stand up and be counted there.

PS - You omitted the best part of that article which comes at the end...

YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

I've gone back to give it a wee edit. It was indeed a nice way to finish the article.

After this statement, the Herald did suffer falling sales and Speirs was 'moved aside'. So you could say it was a success. Of course there are other journos that are a pain in the arse, but Speirs was queen bee and now he's been marginalised by writing for the Scottish arm of The Times, which has very poor sales figures. And even though now and then his articles prove him to be a wee toad, I don't think he's as distasteful as he used to be and has been forced to wise up a bit.

I know what you mean about banning people from Ibrox. Murray does acknowledge that view in his statement, but obviously he himself doesn't feel it's the right route. It's a difference of opinion, that's life, but I certainly don't think he'd be scared to go down that route if he thought it was for the best. He just has a different belief in terms of how we should deal with this.

Was it not Dalgleish that banned Keevins from Parkhead ? I think that did indeed have the effect that Murray was talking about, and Keevins got a big profile boost from that. His career has only got stronger from those days.

And I think Celtic may have banned, or at least restricted, Radio Clyde this season. And I would now say that I've never heard Peter Martin be so critical of them, and some of his articles in the Evening Times are very scathing !

I can see merits in both arguments to be honest, but for now, I'm willing to accept Murray's way of dealing with it.

[Bluedell 14]

When was this bud? I can't remember his doing such a thing and if he did, my opinion of him would change greatly.

He didn't use the words 'Herald' or 'Speirs', but at the time everyone knew exactly who he was talking about. After he made this statement, radio stations and newspapers were naming the Herald and Speirs as the focus of Murrays criticism, so they certainly took a negative public hit from Murray's statement.

http://www.rangers.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Ne...~693937,00.html

Murray's Message To Fans

By Chairman David Murray

I WAS a proud man on Sunday afternoon as I unfurled the SPL Championship flag ahead of our opening fixture against Livingston because it represented a major triumph for our great club that was achieved against the odds.

From the beginning of the 2004/05 campaign until virtually the final kick we were continually criticised in certain sections of the press and media on a variety of topics and a lot of it was very personal and, I believe, unnecessary.

Manager Alex McLeish was savaged, individual players were abused and the Club was continually made a target by certain individuals. I also bore the brunt of critical attacks.

I know this is an issue which infuriates Rangers supporters and I have a suggestion for them today which I hope they will consider.

I have literally received thousands of emails and letters from supporters who want to know why we do not take action against people who unfairly and continuously put the boot into Rangers in an effort to gain notoriety.

At every meeting I have had with supporters, sponsors or investors it is the same theme: 'Why do you let these people get away with it?'

Many of you have asked me to take action. You have suggested that I no longer make the culprits and their newspapers welcome at Ibrox and I stop them from attending press conferences.

I can understand why so many of you feel that way because some of the things that are written are so blatantly unfair and unjustified.

The thing is, I do not want to make martyrs of these people who seem intent on hammering Rangers at every opportunity without any apparent justification.

These people want me to react and they want you, the supporters, to react. If we do so it gives them credence and I, for one, am not willing to do that.

They want me to ban them because it will give them a badge of distinction.

We as a Club have written to editors seeking explanations and we have had meetings with some of them but these actions appear to have been in vain. Similar attacks and unfair criticism have followed.

The answer is simple. If you do not like what certain journalists are writing then stop buying their newspapers.

They can scribble away to their hearts' content, but if the product starts to lose sales then maybe their editors will begin to take note of the reason why.

We live in world where we believe in the democracy and freedom of the press, but some of the personal attacks on Rangers people have been way over the top - and they know it.

Don't be fooled by the occasional positive article which must have been hard for them to write.

It may seem unusual that I should choose this moment to go public on this subject, but I know that it is an issue which is very emotive among fans and needs addressed.

Yes, we can make a difference. Stop buying newspapers who, in your opinion, unjustly attack us and maybe the perpetrators will think twice.

Murray's a hypocrite. He is willing to deal with newspapers if they attack him personally, but not if they attack the club, its players or fans. It's left to the RST to do the job that he, Bain and Mediahouse should be doing.

I remember there was an quote from one of our overseas players who was quoted in one of his national papers and there was something in the article that critical of Murray. The paper printed a retraction the next day. It's not difficult to do, but he just doesn't bother his backside.

He is still willing to give the newspapers concerned advertising at the club. He gives them exclusives on transfers etc, and calls them in for cosy chats. The above statement was made so that he didn't need to bother doing anything about it.

[minstral 5,375]

all i can say is why are still getting attacked from every angle, if davy boy was that bothered he would ban the c---s from the press.

[Jimenez 1]

Think it's a marvelous gesture by the club, and in no way does it prevent other Rangers fans from traveling to Lisbon.

The points system is there for a reason in the Travel Club, they were the ones who would have got the ticket anyway.

As far as showing of, who cares?

The club have decided to reward its most loyal fans at a busy schedule. Other clubs may want to take notice and reward their fans in kind.

Yes there was a steep rise in prices for the Sporting game, but it's a quarter final of the UEFA cup, so prices are set at a fair rate in my opinion. We pay the same for OF games at Ibrox and a £1 more for the Piggery.

[ScotBear 144]

Murray's a hypocrite. He is willing to deal with newspapers if they attack him personally, but not if they attack the club, its players or fans. It's left to the RST to do the job that he, Bain and Mediahouse should be doing.

I remember there was an quote from one of our overseas players who was quoted in one of his national papers and there was something in the article that critical of Murray. The paper printed a retraction the next day. It's not difficult to do, but he just doesn't bother his backside.

He is still willing to give the newspapers concerned advertising at the club. He gives them exclusives on transfers etc, and calls them in for cosy chats. The above statement was made so that he didn't need to bother doing anything about it.

The statement from Murray was spot on. Surely anyone can acknowledge that ? I realise some won't, but that for me just shows a blind, unbalanced hate for the man.

Who does he ban ? Various media outlets have frustrated us now and then, but the only consistent offender was the Herald/Speirs. Murray went down his own route, released the statement, acknowledged the fans concerns and asked us to all act together. We did, the Herald and Speirs suffered, and that battle was won.

Who exactly do we ban ? I don't think there are any outstanding candidates for such extreme action. And as I've said, when Celtic have looked to take such action against Keevins, the only winner was Keevins. And recently with Clyde being restricted/banned, Peter Martin has been hugely critical. It's made good reading actually, but I'm sure it's not the reaction that Celtic were looking for !

[Bluedell 14]

After this statement, the Herald did suffer falling sales and Speirs was 'moved aside'. So you could say it was a success. Of course there are other journos that are a pain in the arse, but Speirs was queen bee and now he's been marginalised by writing for the Scottish arm of The Times, which has very poor sales figures. And even though now and then his articles prove him to be a wee toad, I don't think he's as distasteful as he used to be and has been forced to wise up a bit.

I know what you mean about banning people from Ibrox. Murray does acknowledge that view in his statement, but obviously he himself doesn't feel it's the right route. It's a difference of opinion, that's life, but I certainly don't think he'd be scared to go down that route if he thought it was for the best. He just has a different belief in terms of how we should deal with this.

The Herald had falling sales before the statement and part of that was due to a boycott organised by the fans themselves prior to it. It didn't stop Spiers who followed it up with his Nuremberg comment, which McNee and Keevins then jumped on and also used.

The frustrating thing is that Murray has come out with this statement almost 3 years ago. Since then? Apparently nothing, other than some veiled threats at an AGM which he has not followed through with. I can accept that he he doesn't want to ban journalists, but he should be doing more than he is.

[ScotBear 144]

Speirs made the Nurnberg comment orginally ?! You sure about that ? And McNee ? I thought it was just Keevins.

Anyway, like I say, Murray, and Bain I guess, are constantly on the phone ripping into journos and broadcasters. I know folk that worked on Clyde, and they say that Murray phoned them ranting much more than Celtic officials or anyone else. I'd imagine he's the same with journos.

You just don't see this activity publically, because it wouldn't be good for the club to be seen coming out regularly ranting and raving about negative publicity and people being against them. Ultimately, that would only make the situation worse for ourselves.

[Bluedell 14]

Murray's a hypocrite. He is willing to deal with newspapers if they attack him personally, but not if they attack the club, its players or fans. It's left to the RST to do the job that he, Bain and Mediahouse should be doing.

I remember there was an quote from one of our overseas players who was quoted in one of his national papers and there was something in the article that critical of Murray. The paper printed a retraction the next day. It's not difficult to do, but he just doesn't bother his backside.

He is still willing to give the newspapers concerned advertising at the club. He gives them exclusives on transfers etc, and calls them in for cosy chats. The above statement was made so that he didn't need to bother doing anything about it.

The statement from Murray was spot on. Surely anyone can acknowledge that ? I realise some won't, but that for me just shows a blind, unbalanced hate for the man.

Who does he ban ? Various media outlets have frustrated us now and then, but the only consistent offender was the Herald/Speirs. Murray went down his own route, released the statement, acknowledged the fans concerns and asked us to all act together. We did, the Herald and Speirs suffered, and that battle was won.

Who exactly do we ban ? I don't think there are any outstanding candidates for such extreme action. And as I've said, when Celtic have looked to take such action against Keevins, the only winner was Keevins. And recently with Clyde being restricted/banned, Peter Martin has been hugely critical. It's made good reading actually, but I'm sure it's not the reaction that Celtic were looking for !

I'm not criticising his statement and I'm not criticising his decision not to ban journalists/newspapers (although I don't necessarily agree with it), but there is other action that can be taken. It doesn't appear to be though.

BBC Scotland (or certain elements within it) appear to be a consistent offender at the moment. Radio Clyde is another example. Subtle action can be taken and it can be let known that action is being taken as a threat to others. To be fair, I believe that McNee and NOTW were hauled over the coals, and I understand that the attacks on our club have lessened since then (replaced with laughable attacks on the RST ). This sort of thing has been lacking and I'm not aware of any other examples of it.

I thought that Clyde being restricted came after Martin's comments and not the other way around? If that is the case then it shows how easy it is.

I don't hate Murray and I'll always try and back up my arguments. You may not agree with me, but to start throwing around comments like "hate" doesn't add to the discussion.

[gers_boy_john 2]

If doesn't matter if Murray bought the tickets or not you would need to be in the travel club to get one and be on so many points so no one is missing out on tickets!

[ScotBear 144]

To be fair I said, "The statement from Murray was spot on. Surely anyone can acknowledge that ? I realise some won't, but that for me just shows a blind, unbalanced hate for the man."

I was assuming that you would acknowledge that, but just making the point that some people have 100% hatred for the man and don't show any kind of balance when it comes to Murray. Those are the fans that I really can't get my head around, there's just a lack of constructive debate from some I feel. It's all 'Murray f*ck off', and little constructive points being made. You yourself have been constructive, and I do understand where you're coming from.

I don't expect everyone to be pro-Murray, but a bit more balance at times would be nice from certain fans.

[Bluedell 14]

Speirs made the Nurnberg comment orginally ?! You sure about that ? And McNee ? I thought it was just Keevins.

Anyway, like I say, Murray, and Bain I guess, are constantly on the phone ripping into journos and broadcasters. I know folk that worked on Clyde, and they say that Murray phoned them ranting much more than Celtic officials or anyone else. I'd imagine he's the same with journos.

You just don't see this activity publically, because it wouldn't be good for the club to be seen coming out regularly ranting and raving about negative publicity and people being against them. Ultimately, that would only make the situation worse for ourselves.

Yes, I'm sure. I'm fairly sure about the timing. It related to one of our card displays. I corresponded with Tim Blott, the Newsquest MD on the subject. I believe it was around Jan 2006. Spiers is probably livid that Keevins is the one who gets the most publicity on it.

I'm very surprised by your comments about Murray ranting at Clyde. Clyde has been very anti-Rangers for a number of years so I'm guessing that they have had little effect. Do you know what period the comments related to?

It would be easy enough for Murray to come out at, for example, the AGM and let fans know that he does take action behind the scenes, even if he didn't give specific examples. He hasn't done this, and it's my belief (perhaps a wrong one), that it is only done on a very limited basis.

[saintbob1969 1,494]

Jeez, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario every f*kin time, it's a wonder some clubs bother to do anything at all for fear of this kind of fan reaction. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, ain't that the saying?

[Bluedell 14]

To be fair I said, "The statement from Murray was spot on. Surely anyone can acknowledge that ? I realise some won't, but that for me just shows a blind, unbalanced hate for the man."

I was assuming that you would acknowledge that, but just making the point that some people have 100% hatred for the man and don't show any kind of balance when it comes to Murray. Those are the fans that I really can't get my head around, there's just a lack of constructive debate from some I feel. It's all 'Murray f*ck off', and little constructive points being made. You yourself have been constructive, and I do understand where you're coming from.

I don't expect everyone to be pro-Murray, but a bit more balance at times would be nice from certain fans.

It seemed that the statement was aimed at me, but if it wasn't then fair enough.

I'm critical of him, as you have seen, but I do try and educate those who come out with the more outlandish statements, such as the £50m he put in isn't really from him. I think the JJB deal is a good one financially, for example, and I'll credit him for that.

To me, the statement didn't go far enough and was just a way to get people off his back. I therefore find it difficult to praise him for it, but it's certainly far better than taking no action.

[minstral 5,375]

Jeez, it's a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario every f*kin time, it's a wonder some clubs bother to do anything at all for fear of this kind of fan reaction. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, ain't that the saying?

tell that to all the young kids that cant go because of the price £27 for a kid is that correct ?

[ScotBear 144]

I'm very surprised by your comments about Murray ranting at Clyde. Clyde has been very anti-Rangers for a number of years so I'm guessing that they have had little effect. Do you know what period the comments related to?

I know two people personally that worked on the football show behind the scenes. One worked on the phones, the other did research and is now at Setanta.

Both have left now, although are still in contact with folk at Clyde. They left within the last year, and one of them was there for a good 3 years I think. So probably a rough period of 03/04-06/07.

[Bluedell 14]

I'm very surprised by your comments about Murray ranting at Clyde. Clyde has been very anti-Rangers for a number of years so I'm guessing that they have had little effect. Do you know what period the comments related to?

I know two people personally that worked on the football show behind the scenes. One worked on the phones, the other did research and is now at Setanta.

Both have left now, although are still in contact with folk at Clyde. They left within the last year, and one of them was there for a good 3 years I think. So probably a rough period of 03/04-06/07.

Interesting. Thanks for that.