There was an article in The Daily Telegraph last Friday enquiring; 'Is The
Daily Mail bad for your health?' A simple enough poser if you ask me and for
the record you can put me down firmly in the no camp. (Or the camp no as
they in Barcelona) But wouldn't you know it, the Mail had to go and spoil it
all by saying something stoopid the very next day.
Yup, it happened in an interview with Ally McCoist on the Saturday, and The
Mail was for want of a better word, simpering up to him. The reporter put
it to him that he must be upset that a 'Rangers Website' had criticised him
for not using his News of the World column to 'attack' Celtic's behaviour in
the run up to last Sunday's league fixture.
Fact is, the Daily Mail hack was telling lies. Or absolute bollocks regards
Golden Bollocks, if you prefer. Follow Follow was the 'Rangers website' in
question and I feel I have to reiterate once again. No-one at Follow Follow
has asked Ally McCoist or any other ex-Ranger in the media, to 'attack' the
yahoos over April 27th. What we asked for and had a reasonable right to
expect was that they stick up for Rangers' easily defendable position.
There is a difference a big, big difference.
Last point about McCoist for now. Once again this man has went down in my
estimation by accepting that he was being criticised by Rangers fans, when
that was clearly not the case. The fact is, this devil was looking for the
sympathy vote and I've got news for him, there will be scant chance of that
for him or his fellow cowards post April 27th.
It's funny as well how circumstances can change your pre-match routine. Time was, when at 8:30am on the morning of an OF game I'd have already been ensconced in someone's gaff, voddie at the ready and a re-run of the last OF victory in the video. Last week circumstances dictated that there was no going out early doors so there I was at the crack of dawn sitting watching 'The Two Fat Ladies' and Delia Smith on the food channel.
Right off, I've go to say that Ms Smith's Paella looked positively
scrumptious, and I agree with her wholeheartedly. If you are going to try
your hand at paella, then make sure you use a real Spanish chorizo sausage
in the recipe and none of our inferior British stuff. I mean, would you
expect the Spaniards to do a Cumberland sausage like wot we do? Course you
wouldn't and the reverse rules apply with Spanish dishes. When cooking in
Spain, do what the Romans do, or words to that effect.
But I digress, sadly Ms Smith's undoubted skills in the kitchen were the
only masterclass I got to see last Sunday. The plain fact is, there were
chances that should have been snapped up early doors v the yahoos at Ibrox
and as we've said so often in the past, if you don't take your chances then
you don't win games. What Sunday's rather tepid performance has ensured is
that a rather nerve jangling end to the season now awaits us. If nothing
else, we'll now see what the players are made of.
As for the referee's performance. I've said it before and I'll repeat until
the ratbag retires. Hugh Dallas is positively the worst, most cowardly
referee I have ever witnessed in my puff. Players get yellow carded for
persistent fouling, but persistent elbowing? And it actually beggars belief
that Peter Lovenkrands could end up in the ref's bad books after the abuse
that was allowed to go unpunished against him. That's twice now in the last
month or so where I have seen Lovenkrands been the subject of some pretty
heavy abuse (v Motherwell at Ibrox) yet he has ended yellow carded by Dallas
for his only foul.
Dallas knows deep down that since the Septic shame game four years ago he
will NEVER give anything controversial against Celtic in OF fixtures because
he fears the ramifications. Like the last minute penalty that should have
been awarded against Mjalby in last season's Scottish Cup final for example.
And that's before we take into account his past career aspirations. Can you
honestly imagine Alex Ferguson and Man Utd being expected to tolerate as
referee in the recent league decider at Highbury, a man who actually applied
to work for Arsenal?
Have to say it's been a bit of a slow week post Sunday but there has been a
bit of news off the park, which should have further endeared the concept of
The Rangers Supporters Trust to the rank and file Rangers support. I refer
of course to the ban of the 'H' word on Talksport. That's two radio
stations in the space of 2-3 weeks have now recognised (Real Radio being the
other) that the use of this derogatory term for Rangers fans is just not on.
This is in part due to members of The Trust beavering away on our behalf in
the background. They couldn't have done it however without the help of
hundreds of other Rangers fans out there, who have now firmly grasped the
nettle that those in the Club's pathetic PR dept don't have a clue how to
confront people who hate the club. And therefore we as fans will have to do
it ourselves.
My main worry for The Trust is that once it is up and running the Rangers
support may start asking too much too soon of them. Patience is going to be
required here and that goes for The Trust committee also. With every
passing small victory such as with Real Radio and Talksport, these guys,
ordinary Rangers supporters, must be wondering as to the depths of the
incompetence and negligence of the people they might soon be in a position
to talk to. And let there be no doubt the management of Rangers FC WILL be
talking to this particular Trust in the near future as there is now
absolutely no chance whatsoever that the Rangers support will accept the
kind of puppet Trust that the club wants to deal with.
Once more this week the hypocrisy of the Scottish press was there for us all
to see. Now do you remember all the bog roll days and confetti days the
Rangers support has had over the last decade? Do you remember the so-called
battle of the banners at last season's Scottish Cup final, which in the end
up was no contest? The fact is, where we have led through all this period,
Timmy has followed.
What you should also remember then is that all these occasions have passed
by with barely a word of mention from the Scottish press. So I was
astounded therefore reading Stuart Cosgrove's article the other day praising
the yahoos for their good-natured support at Ibrox last week. Basically
what Cosgrove said was singing The Soldiers Song with a sombrero on isn't
bigotry. Stop the world, I want to get off.
But the real sinister aspect to Cosgrove's praising of Timmy midweek, and
what we should never, ever forget is that the Celtic support of last Sunday,
the jolly craicskateers, were only twelve minutes away from coming to Ibrox
with murder in their hearts.
There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that if it had all went tits up for
the yahoos last week then murder and mayhem would be the only topics on
everybody's lips. And for Cosgrove to now paint these same rheptiles as
some fhun loving good guys, sums up once again the outright poverty and
dearth of integrity in Scottish footballing journalism. The only other
point I can make at this time, is that you're not going to get rid of the
likes of Cosgrove by complaining to his editor, and sounding all hurt and
upset. Rather, store it away for another time. All in all it was another
choice peace from the liar who told us 27 years after the actual game that
Rangers fans ransacked Barcelona Cathedral.
Another astounding piece of hypocrisy this week from our scum press came in
the shape of the lack of bold headlines on the story that a footballer in
Scotland walked into a hairdressing salon and proceeded to kick the
bejabbers out of his girlfriend. It's a far cry from a similar case
involving a player up here in Scotland and a well-publicised case of
domestic violence around 6 and a half years ago. Which begs the question,
where are those zero tolerance bints or the ethics girls up here like Joan
Burnie, Dogothy Grace-Elder and Ruth Wishart when you need them eh?
So it's Dundee this Sunday and a rehearsal of the cup final. They look not
a bad side on their day and it is up to us to keep the likes of big Wilkie
chasing shadows by continuing to play the ball into feet. Expect no less
than we have had to put up with for the season thus far. That is, choice
tackles on Rangers player going unpunished and the really prominent yahoo in
the side, this time Burchill, slogging his guts out, not so much for the
side he is playing with but for another club down here in the cheap, green
place. It's what Timmy does.
Do Alex McLeish's Rangers really want this title? After the let down of
last Sunday, then it would be nice to receive a positive answer. Just do it
Rangers.
THE GOVANHILL GUB