Keep Calm and Carry On

I’ve known for a long time that some obsessive Celtic fans are more concerned with Rangers than they are with their own team, but any perception that they would be able to concentrate on their own team while we battle it out in Division 3, has been absolutely shattered as both the extremist supporters and their apologists in the media have continued their obsession with the club, and in some cases, look to have taken their obsession to a whole new level.

I was being slightly facetious on Friday when I penned a quiz predicting how Alex “Toxic” Thomson’s black propaganda piece would pan out, but I was actually very close to the truth.

I do not claim to be a mindreader, nor privy to some inside knowledge from Channel 4,  but it was possibly the easiest set of predictions I could ever have made

“1- Has anyone been charged with any offence in relation to any of the anecdotes or "accounts"?” –

To Date? No-one has been charged with any offence relating to threatening any journalists. The programme didn’t offer anything of substance either

2-Do any of the "victims" have a shareholding in Celtic FC?

Other than Matt McGlone, I’d be interested to know. Perhaps an FOI should be in order

3-Will Thomson call Strathclyde Police corrupt for stating his own claims of threats were "laughable" –

Not directly, but his conspiracy theories implicate the media in some kind of cover up over Rangers fans, and hint at the same from Strathclyde Police. Not only does he (again) have zero evidence to support his theory, he ignores the major cover up of the last few decades, namely the Celtic Boys Club scandal. Nor will he uncover the facts of Dermot Desmond owned Castlebeck Care home, as blogged by David Leggat this morning.

No, why use facts about Celtic or those associated to the club, when you can use fiction about Rangers?

4-How many "victims" have a criminal record?

Perhaps FOIs would clarify this too. I know at least one participant with an alternative view had or has a very bad cocaine habit.

5-How many "victims" are called Graham Spiers?

This was obviously going to happen wasn’t it?

6-What % of “victims” are members of Celtic minded?

I’d hazard a guess at 70-80%

7-How many have credible evidence of threats?

Er, none?

8-How many have been "tarred with a sectarian brush"

Thomson’s friend Phil seems to come over all shy. Perhaps even they won’t put him in front of a camera. They certainly aren’t going to put his other friend, Paul McConville in front of the camera, at least not before the watershed.

9-How many have written hate filled articles about Rangers and don't take kindly to being challenged or ridiculed online?

Other than Thomson, Spiers, McGlone and Hutton?

10-How many are sporting celtic colours for the first time this season?

Some of them just do it in secret. How sad.

So while my fellow bloggers Leggat, Bill McMurdo and Chris Graham are rightly taking these to task, the club remain quiet.

The previously balshy Charles Green seems to have been silenced by the re-appearance of Craig Whyte. That should ring alarm bells.

I’d disagree with McMurdo that Green was over the top in his bigotry claims re the SPL, but would question why Green is now silent  as our club is slated on national television by republican bigots and bullys, and lied about on a daily basis.

McMurdo has been a breath of fresh air in the blogging world, with a  slightly leftfield view from the norm, but he seems to have called it right on Green needing to be watched, and Whyte needing to be treaded around in order to get his co-operation in answering questions that Rangers fans should be allowed to see (even if we disagree with what he is saying). I’d far rather that McMurdo was doing the asking, rather than some agenda led bigot at the BBC.

Following the C4 hatchet job on the support, Rangers fans expect Charles Green or Malcolm Murray to seek answers from Channel 4. Why aren’t they?

If they can pull themselves away from the important club business this week, they should also be calling out and humiliating both Thomson another lying journalist in the shape of the Mirror’s Brian McNally, who took to twitter yesterday to allege that Rangers fans sang “the famine song” at Broadwood, despite it being untrue.

It seems that in the absence of any real threats, that several bigoted Celtic Minded bloggers and hacks are trying to goad Rangers fans in to making it real.

When Tom English and various other journos stated bluntly that they do not even know any journo who has been subjected to any threats, he and others were abused by McGlone and co and called liars.

English, as some readers will know, is a journalist who is no friend of the Rangers support, but calls it as he sees it, and has put Thomson in his place on more than one occasion

So while McNally is simply lying, and Thomson is carefully working to an anti Rangers agenda, actual online “threats” from Celtic fans to James Traynor of the Record, and Matt Lindsay of the Evening Times have been ignored.

I could understand why Rangers fans could be incensed by such hatred, but my message to Rangers fans is to continue to calmly challenge the lies and metaphorically take these people on via blogs and websites, and do not rise to the bait.

We have behaved admirably in the last year in the most testing of circumstances, and I have no doubt that no other major support in the country would have reacted with the dignity that we have.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Bill

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I’ve had some feedback on a previous blog on Thomson where I stated about his boss being Jim Gray. I should be clear. Gray has now moved on from ITN.

Thomsons’s immediate bosses at ITN are now Ben De Pear and Shaminder Nahal, however both were appointed AFTER Thomson started his pr0paganda war against Rangers.

The only conclusion I can make then, is that he is being sanctioned from “above” this team to undertake this work

Some commentators have concluded that Rangers hater Stuart Cosgrove, in his role at Channel 4 is leading this agenda, and that may well be something that the station could clarify, however, I’m more concerned that this focus on Cosgrove deflects away from Channel 4’s Head of News and Current Affairs Dorothy Byrne.

Byrne, like Gray, is from Paisley. She appointed De Pear and calls the shots for the programme.

Perhaps Byrne would like to explain why Thomson is allowed a platform to blacken the name of Rangers Football Club?

Bill.