The Banana Republic by Brian53
He sat at the desk with his head in his hands, exhausted. Loud music played in the background or was it the foreground? His brain had stopped functioning properly hours ago, what the hell did they hope to achieve with this torture.
It was difficult but he applied an old technique that he had honed over the years when ignoring the wife. He withdrew into his own little world to get away from the madness that was reality. The constant questioning faded into the background and his mind was at last able to rest. His thoughts started to wander.
It had been a fantastic holiday but his family were naturally tired when the flight had touched down in the early hours of Friday morning. They were crossing the runway having just disembarked from the plane when it happened. He remembered the screaming and the terrified look on his children’s faces. The police had been everywhere and none to gentle as they threw him in the back of the van.
Rough shaking brought him back to the present and the harsh reality of his arrest. It took him a minute to get his thoughts back together. The same photographs lay scattered over the desk and the fat sweaty interrogator shoved another in his face. He was wasting his time there was no way he was going to cooperate. He drifted back to the safety of his own little world.
The water splashed on his face brought him back again to reality. His eyes came into focus, there were three of them now, and the photographs had gone. The fat interrogator appeared to have showered and changed, all to no avail as he began to sweat in the heat of the banana republic. The questioning started again with the same ferocity as before. The three interrogators sat with their mouths hanging open as he kicked back his chair and stood to attention, “Green Brigade, seat 67, section 111.”
Time for the gb to toe the line or go elsewhere, it’s my club too and I’m sick and tired of seeing negative headlines about our support. Stop bringing politics, flares and smoke bombs to games! Stop winding up uefa and please get back to what we do best, supporting our team !
That’s right. There was never any negative headlines about our club before the Green Brigade. BALLOON!
Ooh, anyone who doesn’t subscribe to your point of view is a BALLOON ! Really poor response, totally unhelpful and somewhat indicative of the attitude that some elements of our support currently adopt. I’m aware of how we’ve been treated and insulting fellow time who have their own points of view is not good.
Time = Tims
See that’s the thing with you Alster, you come from that school of thought that thinks they’re the only ones who are allowed to handout insults like you and others have reguarly done with a whole section of our youth support. It’s typical of older fans/people in general particuarly those dealing with the mid life stuff. There’s got to be someone to blame and when presented with two sides most choose to back the suits because they’re always stand up, pillar type chaps.
Don’t throw stones if you don’t want them flung back.
He didn’t hand out any insults. You did.
Holy crap!…..Talk about over-dramatization and a way-over-the top martyrdom complex?
lads lennon said he wanted the thunder back and with the GB we did create a fantastic response,they have went ott at times,i get the feeling that celtic pk will be turned into a library all i seen on sat was empty seats.You should be fit to sing and enjoy yourself at a match you pay your way as much as the next man,so clearly the support is divided as to whats happening now,we have a massive fanbase worldwide no more so here in ireland id hate to think that they would try to erode our irish connection which spans decades just to please certain people.
“Spans decades”… So when was Michael Davitt’s contribution….
Aye 1892…Irish ‘connection’ From the start then eh!
It’s wider than the GB and wider than throwing flares.
The Plc are taking us for a ride, they see the fans as no more than cash cows.
The plc show no plans beyond mediocre, they play the ‘more than a club’ card whilst operating as a feeder club for lower level EPL clubs.
What a pity the club can’t match the supporters…
Time for change at the top… We need people running the club that have the same vision as the fans.
Wow, overwrought, teenage angst, drama queen stuff there from whoever wrote it.
Facts are, if the GB cannot, or more correctly, will not toe the the line with the rules laid down then they have to go.
They think they are the main attraction with their organised walk outs, branded merchandise and refusal to follow the rules.
They have repeatedly put other fans, stewards and players at risk with flares and smoke bombs and show no sign of taking on board that they do not have the right to bring that risk to a public football ground.
The arrogance of some of the GB and their backers is quite staggering and leaves you wondering the mental age of these people.
Of course questioning mental age wouldn’t be an insult. Your argument about the GB completely, purposefully, ignores the history of this argument. I expect that from our enemies and others who are not interested in Celtic’s world but not from people who claim to be supporters. So go back and tell me exactly where it was that the GB got it wrong. When you or any of the rest of you do that then I’ll gladly engage with you again about how you’re wrong.
I’ll reiterate this again. Young working class men have always been at the very heart of this club. This lot are no different to those of the nineteenth century or even the lot that stood in the Jungle. If we, as a club, cannot provide, understand, empathise with our young support then, frankly, the future is even bleaker than it already appears.
What have they done wrong? Seriously? and there you have the problem when people like you cannot tell what they’ve done wrong.
You also talk about understanding and empathy, something the GB have not shown towards the club they profess to support.
In the minds of the GB, the GB IS the show.
You know, they remind me so much of the intolerant wing of the Sevco support when they were intent on ignoring UEFA and the clubs wishes. They thought their ideals and world view was bigger and more important than the club, bigger than the regulatory bodies and bigger than the rules. They were wrong as the GB are wrong.
Johnd? What “supporters” should the club match?
The self-important clowns who throw flares and smokebombs, display F**k Uefa banners, destroy seats, receive repeated warnings about their behaviour, cause the club to be fined and possibly subjected to other penalties, and then whine and complain when they’re punished?
Or maybe the club should match the supporters who have been attending games since long before the GB ever existed, without causing all of the above problems?
Why don’t we let the GB in and if they break an uefa rules, they pay the fine?
Oh btw, this boy against boy stuff is very sad to see. Always hoped we were better than that…
1888 Brothar Walfrid not getting into history lessons with John d lol
the GB were not at the game on saturday yet the harassment continues,,the green brigade would not even have had these banners if the club did something and get they fascist police and stewards to feck,,fans started singing next thing theres police filming it,,sorry but that is not on,,8 stewards turned up to ask a teen to see his season ticket,,his crime was singing celtic songs,,one steward even had a balaclava on thinking it was funny laughing and joking,,tell me who is telling these stewards to do this..a tri colour with a dublin supporters club written on it were not allowed in for 15mins,,they stood and argued over this and one steward turned round and told 2 of the men to fuck off back to ireland,,this is shocking behaviour and no way to treat fans,,these orders have come from peter lawell and its shocking,,back to the green brigade,,fans were quick enough to join in the tifo displays and songs they have done far more good for the club than bad,they run 5 a side tournaments for refugees,make bonds with other clubs,,doing a food parcel collection at the hearts game,,sure they have done some stupid things but this is only since the harassment started,,imagine if they done that in the old jungle,the stewards would get chased,,what im saying is back the fans including green brigade,,the neds that burst the seats should be banned for life,,and so far the folk arrested have not been members of the green brigade,,these guys turn up days before putting out they tifos which the club have been making money out of these tifos remember ,i dont agree with the flares and smoke,,but for gods sake they bhoys are getting a real hard time for singing legal songs,,give them a break,,you or your sons/daughters could end up victims of these stewards and police next,,
Marky bhoy, can you please point out anywhere in my post that insults or offends you? I don’t ever get involved in Tim on Tim argue mento as this is not how I was raised.
Please!!,
We are all celtic.
Nae huns to fight, so we fight each other, just what they want.
Cmon lads eh!.
Keith.
C’mon Bhoys; there is a debate to be had here and we will achieve much more if we don’t resort to petty insults and abuse. Regardless of our viewpoints we are all Celtic men (and women!) and we should keep this in mind, especially when we disagree.
There are many legitimate concerns that we have; the issues with our current board and their failure to appreciate that we are fans and not customers; the recent changes to our legal system and the threat they pose to our freedom; the victimisation in law of football supporters and the denial of their right to legitimate protest. These are serious issues and should be dealt with seriously.
However, the GB need to stop playing the martyr. They need to stop giving off the vibe that they are somehow “better” Celtic fans than then rest of us (whether it is intentional or not, the vibe exists.) And they need to demonstrate a bit more nous than they have been doing, especially in respect of the flares and the smoke bombs. Their valid political points are being lost in the reaction to some of their actions. Peter Lawell does not need to adopt smoke and mirror tactics; the GB is quite literally doing it for him.
I won’t condemn them for Fir Park as I have seen no proof that they were responsible. I do condemn what happened at Fir Park though. And if such things happen in a GB section under a GB banner then it is understandable (if not right) that the GB receive the flak from certain quarters. There has never been a shortage of people willing to put the boot into our club or our fans. Why give them the ammo? It only detracts from the real issues and lets them drive the agenda. Curb the militancy and people might actually hear the point you are making (or at least make it harder to ignore.)
Above all, I wish the GB and their supporters would appreciate the fact that if they are going to persist in doing things that cause the club to be punished, then a lot of fellow Celtic fans are not going to be impressed and sympathy will be in short supply when the board take action. This is the greatest shame of all. The arbitrary banning of fans without evidence after Fir Park is simply wrong yet that fact is being lost amidst all of the petty bickering. The GB has given such pleasure and joy yet they have allowed themselves to be used in a classic “divide and conquer” battle with the board. They haven’t helped themselves by their uber-defensive response to any criticism. Now we find ourselves exchanging petty insults with each other on our forums instead of focussing on the real issues; namely repressive legislation; a corrupt SFA and a Celtic board out of touch with the common supporter. (Even as I write this, the “Judean People’s Front” scene comes to mind.)
Sorry for the length of this post. I am just sick of all the abuse and bickering that is distracting us from the real debate that we need to have.
The GB have repeatedly over the past five years brought issues to the clubs attention. The Board and more significantly PL have, in time honoured fashion, ignored these pleas. Resolution 12 at the AGM is a perfect example of how the GB have been dealt with. Aye we’ll look into it. Aye, right!
If you’re being stonewalled in any facet of life, then what do you do? That’s right, you try another tactic.
I don’t like arguing with Tims either but we now know that Oldco were given a license to play in Europe when they were trading insolvent. Our Board refuses to talk about this. So we don’t know for sure whether they knew this at the time. A lot of time and effort by far smarter dudes than anyone on here were given the runaround by the club. I don’t believe a word that comes out of PL’s mouth. He is responsible for the disharmony among the support. I watched The Happy Lands last night. I challenge anyone to deny that the pitheid boss is PL.
The Green Brigade is an asset to the club, but please keep politics and religion out of the equation.