“The jibes don’t bother me. I’m told about it but I’m not in here all the time. It’s part of being in Glasgow, it’s part of the history of the two clubs. “Rangers fans over the years have been keen to have a dig at Celtic when there is an option to do so. To me that’s not really serious. But, if we could do it, I think it would be a nice thing to do. Conveniently ignoring the fact that it's not just Celtic fans who say they are a New club/company/intangible entity
Rangers chairman Dave King has revealed moves to pay off the club's oldco creditors and resuscitate the in-liquidation operating company.But the move could potentially cost the club up to £78 million. And an informed liquidation expert told the Herald that Mr King's plan if successful would only result in the oldco either being dissolved or placed back into the hands of the previous owner, Craig Whyte.
Will Ally the Manager be missed by Scottish Football? Absolutely not. Aside from his shortcomings as a manager, Ally made a number of unfortunate contributions to our game. The famous whisper in Neil Lennon’s ear was a catalyst for some very ugly scenes that both Celtic and the late Rangers could have done without. The notorious cry of “Who are these people?” in reference to the SFA judicial panel looking into Rangers’ wrongdoings was – on my opinion – utterly reckless and an absolute disgrace. His waving of a sheaf of papers – claiming to have the names of a hundred people in the game who had broken betting rules -following the misdemeanours of Ian Black, was petulant, and cast aspersions upon others without producing a single shred of evidence to back them up. And then there was the media fawning. By all accounts Ally is a great guy. He certainly has his fans in the media. To the extent that certain pundits were quite open about not wanting to criticise him. McCoist was of course Walter Smith’s protégé, and was given the benefit of the doubt about his performance as manager at every turn and for a very long time. Granted, the death of Rangers and the turmoil of establishing a new club possibly earned him some deserved leeway. As did the constant boardroom traumas at the new club. The lack of Sevco fixtures against Celtic also probably earned Ally some media forebearance. A series of pumpings at the hands of Celtic would soon have turned many against him. But as it was, McCoist may have enjoyed the longest media honeymoon in the history of sport. It was quite striking that the Sevco fans lost patience with their hero long before the media ever started to seriously question the job he was doing. A media in thrall to a football manager is never an edifying spectacle. It’s ridiculous enough watching the English media give Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho the benefit of the doubt time and time again. But the situation with McCoist and the Scottish media was something truly special. In fact it was utterly tedious, and meant that basic questions about horrendous Sevco performances and Ally’s relationship with the various Sevco boards went unanswered. In short, the normal dialogue between manager and media was often suspended in respect of Ally McCoist. It made for incredibly skewed coverage. Compare Ally’s easy ride with the stick which Ronny Deila got soon after arriving at Celtic. And which he continues to get. The recent comments from certain journalists about how Ronny has cost Celtic £17m in Champions League failures being a case in point. There is no comparison between the media treatment of Ally and other managers. No, in my opinion the Scottish game is better without Ally being involved in ‘club’ management. Sure, there were good times: Rangers’ calamitous double exit from Europe in 2011 was hilarious, as were Sevco’s Petrofac Cup defeats to Raith and Alloa. And I have a soft spot for Nadir Ciftci’s ‘celebrating before he scored’ goal for Dundee United against Sevco in the 2014 Scottish Cup Semi-Final. However, such uplifting moments were the exception rather than the norm. The football played by McCoist’s sides at both the clubs he managed was often abysmal, and the man himself was sometimes caught up in unnecessary and unwelcome incidents – such as those mentioned above – that have become notorious. All the while, some of the Scottish media put Ally on a pedestal – seemingly on the basis of him being a ‘cheeky chappie’ who managed an Ibrox-based football club. I think we can do without any more of that, thank you. So goodbye Ally and all the best to you in your future endeavours.
RANGERS is delighted to announce that Ally McCoist has agreed to the early termination of his contract with the Club. Agreement was reached quickly during a meeting with Rangers chairman Dave King, who expressed his gratitude for the contribution Ally has made to the Club both as a player and then manager. Ally, the Club's highest ever goalscorer, took over as manager at the beginning of what turned out to be the most traumatic period in the Club's long history. When the Club's holding company entered administration and then liquidation, Ally stepped forward and became a figurehead in the struggle to keep the Club alive. During this period Ally worked without pay and later also took a 50% salary reduction to help keep the Club going. It was also Ally who stood up for the Club when its lengthy list of honours was under threat. The chairman said: "Ally remains one of the most significant figures in this Club"s history. His contribution on and off the pitch should not be forgotten or devalued. "Agreement could have been reached earlier but it has been difficult for us to get an opportunity to sit together and talk everything through. We have done that now and we are grateful for Ally"s continued consideration for the Club by accepting early termination- which he was under no obligation to do." Ally said: "Without doubt managing Rangers was THE greatest honour in my career. It was the dream job but in a nightmare scenario. "I am absolutely delighted the Club now has a stable Board and that the good work off the pitch is being equalled by the performances on it. "Most of all I want to express my gratitude to Rangers fans everywhere. They were superb and they backed me and my staff. They also stood firm when their Club was in dire straits and even at the bleakest moments they did not flinch. "They are the heart and soul of this Club and no one should ever forget that. Quite simply they are the best."
Griffiths gets "admonished" for singing that refugee song. Can see some foaming-mouthed Huns raging over that one.
Ach it's not a problem. The wee dick will **** it up again no doubt. That's him a convicted racist and shoplifter. Must be in line for the Celic captaincy
