Sentinelcelts

On Beatongate , so I watched the game on a dodgy stream that happened to be Rangers Tv , and as a result they basically ignored Morelos’ assaults during the game , actually they called the kick out at our Captain off the ball “ leaving his calling card “ and chuckled .

I missed the other two main incidents on the day , totally blanked by the obviously biased commentary team .

Lets look at what has happened of note since then .

The ref in question attends a Rangers supporters bar that evening .

The Sfa decide no retrospective punishment .

The Club issue a statement and call for a meeting with the suits involved .

Alleged electronic abuse received by Beaton

Sfa issue their own statement on the refs

Ref in question gets police escort in his next appointment

Im sure we are all in agreement it was welcome , the Club speaking up that is .  Having publicly announced they have called for the meeting they should give us an update post meeting of how it went and what outcomes were reached .

Just after the Plc issue a statement , these allegations of abuse see light of day . Further allegations even claim that his family has been victim also . That these allegations surface at that particular time is not surprising , when pressure is ramping up on the man in question as his excuse leaves him wide open to claims of incompetence .  After all he admits he seen all three major incidents , and deemed them not worthy of action .

Then operation protect and deflect begins. We know how the press works there in the best wee bigoted country in the world . They dont give news , they give protection and slant .

While walking the dug and analysing the whole situation it struck me , once again , that those who do not wish us to thrive , the masons , bigots , establishment , whatever you wish to call them ,, are not very smart , something I have said before .

So they pulled the biggest UK footie  swindle ever , over 100 million of debt and they die . And then were awarded all the rights and records of their predecessor through a process that is not transparent and was decided by a small number .

If the ultimate goal is to have Rangers alive and kicking and awarded everything of the old club also ,, why rock the boat ? Why piss us off with bent refs and clear agendas ?

Surely “ allowing “ us to do ten or even equal the 9 again and giving the impression that we won a fair race , and then while the support are wallowing in euphoria , strengthen their beloved Gers and start the fight all over again , all while laughing saying we got away with it ,,, still a Rangers alive with a lot of history and we didnt pay the money we owe .

After the huge swindle , they try to swindle even more !   Un fecking believable !

Then this alleged electronic abuse . It seems a rag can just type “ we understand that “  or some such jargon non descript phrase and thats it , its out there and accepted as fact .

Here at Sentinel Celts “ we understand “ that what is supposed the be the national sport has been lowered to a level that will drive most reasonable people from the game .  

Almost every week theres a farce or some eyebrow raising situation , with one of the biggest clubs actually admitting that they are ignoring the FFP rules , and the other biggest club is a constant victim of the authorities , despite having the biggest support in the domestic game , and thereby holding a very strong card to play if poked and prodded the wrong way . They have never even threatened to use that card . Actually I might be wrong there as I do seem to recall an extremely strong article over on Cqn that told how the governing bodies were looking at gate sharing ,,, and that this was their ultimate chopping us down at the knees move , taking half the season ticket money .

The Plc was well aware of the power of the green pound that day , and threatened to use that weapon . I hope they are thinking along these lines again but wont hold my breath as it took “ their own “ money to be threatened before becoming stirred , and thats not whats happening here , its “ only “ the integrity of the game at stake and not whether the gravy train will continue to roll or not . The season tickets are selling .

Back to events and the timing of the Sfa’s support statement leaves it wide open to criticism at best and accusations of bias possibly racism at worst . At least 4 other clubs have spoken up about the ref’s , Stevie on his first day , but yet why do they leap into action at a pretty mild , mostly quizzical  statement from the club . We all know why , because they must keep Timmy down and keep portraying him as the enemy .

The daily rectum states without any quotes or facts to back themselves up  that there will be a summit between the refs and representatives of our club !?

Why us ?

And Levein , who I get the feeling likes a rant and to see his name in print , he has the opportunity here to start shouting from the heavens that he wants a summit , or to claim old firm bias as he wasnt invited to a summit yet he highlighted the dodgy actions of the masons in black before us ! Craig , you have a valid complaint that will stand up ,,, YELL !

Who else is going to this summit ? Will the minutes be released ( yeah right ) or will all three parties issues statements post summit ( notice its not a meeting , its more important than that ! ).  What happens if we get contradictory utterings from all three , who do we believe ?

As far I as see it we could waltz into any meeting / summit / showdown in a position of power ,,, as what can the refs say ? And who looks bad to the rest of the world should the refs strike again ?  Expats and those who keep up an interest wont be blaming pesky Glasgow Celtic will they ? Foreign rags will report a dispute , and mention they have been criticized by “ clubs “ this season which has lead to this point .

The refs,,, tear them a new one and say no one , not just us , trusts you lot ,,, and if they walk we bring back Johnny Foreigner with his actual rulebook enforcing , theres a win .  

The refs are not in a strong position at all here ,,, three weeks of normal refs and its could be why were we worried in the first place .

In the past their paymasters would have slapped Timmy down when they complained ,  like they just tried to , and told their whistler thats it sorted , back to work .

Now though , almost half the league doesn’t trust them and complain in public ,, if they are gonna demand protection from criticism and respect ,, what exactly are they gonna do when they dont get it ?  Especially when others have the finger pointing at them and Timmy isn’t involved !

All while Var is being offered FOR FREE  by Aberdeen and Hearts remember .

This ,, this mess ,, I think they have blundered here and their false sense of security and bravado has left them open to being taken down , or issuing empty threats if you will .

Like above , the aren’t very smart . You pick your battles wisely ,, seems to me the refs havent .

And now onto the bigwigs in the Sfa , those who rush to issue defending statements as soon Timmy speaks and ignore other clubs requests that their refs be looked at .

Fleming and Maxwell in particular . I was lead to believe that these two were “ good guys “ and that the club had actually helped maneuver them into their positions , thus keeping Petrie out of one .  Seems I was very mislead , perhaps you were also .

I will be the first to acknowledge that suits in general inhabit a different world than me , have their own tricks and charms , and their battles are not physical but  strategic . I dont like em and never will , dont like wearing a suit myself although on one occasion me and my drinking partner , similarly attired , found out to our pleasure that one will more than likely get served at bar quicker when suited up , and people even tend to move out of your way I kid you not !

We clearly dont have good guys at the helm of their respective organisations ,, which leads me to ask ,, why  are we friendless ? Have we not networked an allegiance of some sort with someone or many who are reasonable ? Have we just been out maneuvered and stymied with regards to putting certain placemen in positions of power .

Its hard not to draw that conclusion , as we stand  the games worse than ever with almost half the clubs seeing ref bias ,,,ffp out the window,,, illegal songs flow  etc etc

The definition of insanity is repeating the same actions and expecting different results .

I think its fair to say if the board hasnt made inroads into the corridors of power by this stage then   they arent gonna .

Now , please notice I am not laying the blame for that at Peter himselfs feet .

As much as I have huge differences about almost all aspects of the club under his stewardship , I personally feel its important that we tried , through legal and perfectly normal means such as networking and maneuvering etc , to push through the people and rules that would make a difference towards normalising the national sport .

You might feel different but I stand by that , that its important we act properly and accordingly,, initially . That phase has now passed , we tried , we got stymied , and we are no more closer to an honest game than ever .

Soo the suits played politics and got beaten .,,, what now ?

We know we wont be reading a statement along the lines of “ having attempted to sway hearts and minds through rational argument and our respectful actions , the game at large continues to see us as unworthy outsiders therefore we have failed in our duty as custodians and will pass on the battle to the next group “ .

We know they will never admit defeat in public and will play the game and ride the gravy train , while getting cheated on that train , but will be thankful they are there , and while they are there its here sign this document which I will lodge and thats us with a nice pay rise well done old bean !

Nope , they have failed us and will sit tight , maybe make the odd bit of noise or cage rattling but after 15 years will know that  they have been beaten .

This leaves 3 groups , the national governing body , the European governing body , and the fans.  The national body is against us so thats them out .

The European body ,, again theres some questions to ask here .

We have all read the marvellous list of accolades from some of the biggest names in the sport for the special nights and the atmosphere the fans create .

And Peter sat on the board of the ( we are told influential ) ECA for  a long stretch .

Brian Quinn also had a spot in Europe , on the CCFB board .

We should have made personal relationships with some of the prime movers and shakers in the game ,, only common sense and good business sense , not to mention fostering relationships with other suits so as to help future player sales or buying negotiations etc .

But yet , nada .   A supposed beloved club , who sits with big hitters at big tables , who players around the world drool of gracing under the floodlights infront of that support ,, that club is getting royally shafted bigtime , and yet we dont call our friends , those bigwigs we know and mingle with ? We dont look for other help elsewhere if its not coming at home ?

Was there no form of pressure the ECA could have used to help us ,,, because if thats true walk away and state why . At least youve held your head high , been honest , and your actions might lead to reforms .

Again ,,, we have either been outmaneuvered in the European governing bodies we are affiliated with , or have not sought assistance through that channel , or they ( the bodies themselves ) are toothless .

One of those simply must be true , and I dont necessarily care which one .

It just points to more failure , failure to take advantage of any memberships or access to certain people etc . Im  not saying its intentional or negligence on anyones behalf , but the fact is we are alone , despite many friends on paper and hanging out with a powerful group also for years.

On our todd !

Which leaves one group , the fans . Fans of other clubs may well come into play here , like they did in 2012 , but getting all fans together under one banner and unified for a cause is nigh on impossible ,, its like telling a cat where not to go .  Besides could take forever to organise , or infiltrated and smeared from within etc . By the time it does click into gear the game may well have changed or a target resigns to be a sop etc .

If fans of all clubs uniting happens then great , if not I wont be surprised .

No we should  not rely on anyone else , and Im very comfortable with that .  

As fans we all face a choice , a choice we did not want to be forced to make , but have been placed in that position .  Stick or Twist ? Play or Walk ? In or Out ?

We know we are on our own now ,, the last 9 days events confirm it ,, and we know we cant expect the board to help ,, silver bullet /  good guys / Dermots great club comments / the requisitioners are happy ( Auldheidgate ) confirm it .

I love  sayings , and use them a lot . They have mostly stood the test of time and if they have then the wisdom contained within is still relevant .

Everybody probably has their own fav , I personally really like several and couldn’t just pick one off the top of my head ,, but out on that  walk today I realised that the way I feel , the way it seems a lot of us feel according to the comments and blogs that I have perused , is captured perfectly by an old saying , well almost . Like most sayings theres an implication there , a hidden meaning if you will .

The suits , and those that seek to keep us from equality , would be very wise to heed it .

“ Its not the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog ! “

I back us against anyone . Keep pushing and prodding us you fools and lets see what happens .

We know you can write and yes its about time you whipped something up , as these refs have been killing you also . Just sit down , let it flow , and get it all off your chest .

Writing therapy is free and liberating . Besides If it doesnt kill you it will make you stronger 😉

sentinelcelts@gmail.com