If I were even tempted to write an untruth or to deliberately lie in my blog, I would stop immediately, and delete my blog. Seriously.
Clearly I have higher standards than the average Celtic minded journalist.
Friday’s blog by Alex Thomson shames the trade of journalism and takes it to a very low place.
Clearly, with some perspective it is not on a par with the Sun’s lies around Hillsborough, or its sister newspaper’s penchant for hacking personal mobile phone accounts, but it is still an unbalanced rant of the highest order, chock full of “allegations” without any evidence to support them.
Unless Mr Thomson has evidence that he wishes to share (and why wouldn’t he include in his blog to give it some credibility) then he should be challenged by Rangers FC to substantiate many of his claims, or apologise, and be forced to resign by ITN
As with previous blogs, there are so many inconsistencies, and a common tactic he tries and fails to use is to appear “neutral”, by beginning with an apparent “compliment” to the Rangers support, before starting on a black propaganda campaign which completely contradicts his opening gambit.
Like fellow odious creep Graham Spiers, he believes that readers will fall for his tactic, believe him as neutral, and believe everything from that point forward.
Perhaps some are gullible.
He certainly thinks Rangers fans do not have the intellect to comprehend his agenda, which is rather odd, as we have been ridiculing his strange behaviour and his series of embarrassing faux pas.
I have blogged on Thomson on several occasions before
http://williampoole.wordpress.com/2012/10/05/toxic-tomos-tenious-tat/
http://williampoole.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/alex-thompson-the-nuj-corrupt-and-irresponsible-bullies/
http://williampoole.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/glasgow-the-toughest-gig/
http://williampoole.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/useful-idiots/
He will continue to be challenged and ridiculed, because his efforts to silence people by labelling anyone who challenges his lies and propaganda as intimidatory is exactly that; a silencing tactic to give anti Rangers propagandists a licence to attack.
I and many other Rangers fans are not fooled, and will not be silenced.
As I and others have blogged before, Thomson came to prominence in Scotland by bullying Hugh Adam the former Rangers director in to giving him the answers he wanted in an agenda driven interview, asking the same questions over and over of the 86 year old.
Charming.
“As I’ve said before my interest in Rangers stems purely from the standpoint of it being a spectacular example of a corporate omnishambles: British mismanagement so profound and bewildering it veers between performance art and social car-crash. With the loyal Rangers fans left mugged in the middle.”
Here we go with the soft soaping.
“It’s still happening. Past mismanagement matched by the odious behaviour of a no-doubt small minority of Rangers fans apparently hellbent on proving the new Rangers will be like the old.”
Still happening? How are Rangers being mismanaged, and how would Alex know about the Rangers “of old”, if he only started taking an interest in the club after we went in to Administration. Is this a slip up, or is Thomson listening to other Rangers haters?
An element of the Rangers customer base remains out of order and neither Rangers, nor Scotland’s football authorities, nor the police appear willing or able to do much about it.
“I’m talking intimidation.
Of the legal profession. Of football’s governing bodies. Of football club executives. Of publishing. Of bookshops. Of newspapers. Of TV stations.
Tellingly, in Glasgow this will come as news to nobody. Which should tell anybody half awake how sick things are in this singular aspect of that great city.
Outside Scotland people may legitimately wonder how or why this is tolerated? Or simply gawp in astonishment that such things go on almost daily this year.
And it is arguably getting worse.
Consider the following brief summary of just some of what’s happened in Glasgow since Rangers’ downfall began, not a year ago.”
THE LAWYERS
In April a 3 man Scottish FA Tribunal dared punish Rangers for bringing the game into disrepute (so seriously it was deemed just short of match-fixing).
Gary Allan QC, Raith Rovers director Eric Drysdale, and former commentator, Alastair Murning had their identities disclosed as well as private details with threats so serious the police advised all three on security measures.”
Oh dear oh dear.
This would be the panel who imposed an illegal punishment against Rangers FC, which was later overturned by Lord Glennie.
The report/propaganda that Police advised all three on security measures was somewhat shown up when it transpired that one of the 3 let slip that no threats had been made. No Rangers fan has ever been arrested or charged with any offence in relation to any intimidation of any of this group.
Who said facts were required?
“Their identities became public after the Rangers manager no less, Ally McCoist said: “Who are these people? I want to know who these people are.”
The Scottish FA was left, not for the first time, wringing its corporate hands, saying: “We are deeply concerned that the safety and security of judicial panel members has been compromised by a wholly irresponsible betrayal of confidential information.”
And: ” all three panel members have reported intrusion into their personal and work lives, including abusive and threatening communication”.
Yet the manager of Rangers itself, a man steeped in the ways of Glasgow football, was instrumental in this chain of events, knowingly, or not.
Hardly an episode of corporate social responsibility.”
“It has continued. In the past few weeks Scottish Law Lord and former Supreme Court Judge Lord Nimmo-Smith actually had to put out a statement pleading for his independence to be recognised as he embarks on yet another investigation of the fallen club.
Again – the sheer weirdness of this to outsiders, passes almost without comment in Glasgow.”
Nimmo Smith does not mention any intimidation or any threat. Quite rightly, Rangers CEO has challenged the SPL and SFA over their predetermined agenda to strip Rangers of titles and trophies. He categorically did not question Nimmo Smith’s impartiality but stated that the process was flawed if Nimmo Smith was working on behalf of his client who had a pre determined agenda. Rangers fans recognise that. We are not silly, we know that the driving force is not Nimmo Smith, but his client the SPL.
When Green challenged the process, Nimmo Smith felt compelled to justify his position. While Green and the Rangers support had been respectful of Nimmo Smith’s position, his statement which mentioned “match fixing” in context to the allegations against Rangers were unhelpful, but have been largely missed by both the media, and the Rangers support
“THE FOOTBALL AUTHORITIES
Like anybody prepared to challenge or ask questions or charged with passing judgement on Rangers, both Scottish Football Association and Scottish Premier League directors have had a torrid time of it.
In the case of SFA boss Stewart Regan, there were death threats.”
The SFA have said publicly this year that private details of SFA directors have been published online.”
Where?
The details of Ally McCoist have been published online.
“The SFA Chief Executive Stewart Regan has said:
” At times, that does make you wonder whether it is going to impact on your family and your personal life.
But it’s never once made me think about walking from the job.”
Incredibly, to those outside the Clyde Cauldron, the SFA boss said he’d had to speak to Counter-Terrorism officers over the nature of the threats and the security response.
Yes – Counter-Terrorism police officers.”
There is absolutely no evidence of any such threats, nor any arrests, nor any charges relating to any such offence.
There is not even any evidence online of anything resembling a threat.
What a wonderful piece of evidence free Propaganda. It seems that Thomson is a paid up member of the “keep repeating it and it’ll become true” club.
Of course Stewart Regan has a brass neck. While he had an account on Twitter, he retweeted a death threat from a Celtic fan about Rangers Lee McCulloch, which he was forced to apologise for.
Strangely, Thomson fails to mention that.
This revolting behaviour from a minority continues to spike in activity when those running the game are forced to take action to try and clear up the Ibrox mess.
Nobody, but nobody, should have to put up with this in the course of doing their job. But in Glasgow football it is dangerously close to being accepted as part of the job.
What revolting behaviour? Clearly the fact that Rangers fans no longer sit back and take torrents of abuse, lies and propaganda doesn’t
“THE PUBLISHER
There has been just one book published on the Rangers. As you’d expect it’s gone through several print runs in the few weeks it has been out. But for daring to print a factual account of the Ibrox meltdown, the publisher, Bob Smith of Frontline Noir speaks of having to deal with a catalogue of abuse.
It had a potentially serious affect on customers and shops buying the book ‘Downfall’ he says:
“There was definitely pressure applied and there were certainly some wobbles along the way from shops and customers. But we got through and in the end people were supportive.”
Material was published online to identify where at least one person lived who worked on the production of ‘Downfall’.
The abuse I received for simply writing the forward to this factual account of the Ibrox debacle was routine for me – for publishers unused to it, the experience was frightening.
THE BOOKSELLERS
Those outside Scotland will find this hard to credit, but several shops including major chains like Waterstones and WHS were unable to display the book openly in some shops because of reported threats and actual abuse of staff.
For selling a work of non-fiction and journalistic enterprise!
In at least one store copies were ripped up. In another Glasgow shop an angry individual wearing a Union Jack repeatedly entered the bookshop to scream at staff to send the offending tome back to the publishers.”
Once again, Thomson fails to provide a shred of evidence. Anyone see a pattern here?
Why does he fail to mention the author?
The “book” was written by notorious author Phil Mac Giollabhain, who was the co founder of IRA Fanzine “TALFanzine”, and former columnist for Sinn Fein IRA Publication An Poblacht.
This is the “writer” whose book serialisation was dropped by The Sun after they were made aware of a number of hate filled bigoted sectarian rants. They stated that Mac Giolla Bhain was “tarred with a sectarian brush”. The Foreward for the book was written by Thomson, who also contributed to the C4 documentary on Bloody Sunday. It is believed Thomson met with MacGiolla Bhain while in Belfast, many years ago.
Phil is a notorious liar, and many of these accounts of alleged vandalism and threats were posted by members on the website “Celtic Minded”, and various other Celtic forums, with not a shred of evidence.
“THE BROADCASTERS
As I write a colleague at STV in Glasgow has received threats for successfully doing his job. This person wishes to keep a low profile on police advice and is constrained to say nothing at all about it.
NUJ officials say currently around 25 journalists have been threatened recently for attempting to tell the truth about Rangers.
Understandably most feel they cannot discuss it openly. As one told me in a Glasgow hotel this summer: “I’m not paid enough and I don’t feel I have bosses who’d back me up if it came to it.”
Silence…hoping it will all go away…totally understandable when you live in Glasgow. But it isn’t going away, is it?”
Prove it.
“THE FOOTBALL CLUB
Enter Raith Rovers and their redoubtable chairman Turnbull Hutton. For Turnbull it was who was somewhat thrown into the limelight this summer as a champion of sporting integrity. As the SPL set about making itself a laughing stock in its tangled efforts to defy fairness, reason and morality to try and keep Rangers up in the Premier League, it was club chairmen like Mr Hutton who said no, Rangers must be treated like any other club.
But why, exactly? Yesterday Turnbull Hutton told me: “We had to circle our wagons at Raith given what had been done to us by Rangers fans.”
And he listed the endless abusive phone calls – some from Belfast – to Raith staff, theats, heavy-breathing, silent calls and so forth.
The day Fife police passed on credible information from the Strathclyde force that two men has been paid to burn down Raith’s stadium is a day Mr Turnbull and Raith Rovers will remember.”
Yet still no arrests? No Charges? No media coverage? Seriously? Is anyone supposed to believe this claptrap?
“And all of it because that Raith man Eric Drysdale had dared sit on that SFA Tribunal and pass judgement and sanction upon Rangers’ gross mismanagement.
After all that Raith and Turnbull Hutton would lead the charge to stop Rangers remaining anywhere near the SPL, whatever it took.
The would-be intimidators didn’t tame Turnbull, their cowardice only making the club bide its time and help Rangers down into the fourth tier of Scottish football.”
The fact is that Rangers fans wished to go to Division 3 in order that the SPL’s vindictive campaign to punish Rangers, but keep them in a new SPL2 (in order to still have their bargaining power with Sky TV and sponsors) would fail. Turnbull Hutton may have gained some kind of hero status amongst some extremist Celtic supporters who wished Rangers in Division 3 despite the impact it would have on their own club, but he really is an irrelevance to Rangers supporters, whose only issue has been with the SPL and SFA boards.
In fact Rangers fans applauded Hutton when he refused to buckle under the pressure from the SPL and SFA to place Rangers in SPL2 in order to support the finances of the remaining SPL clubs.
But hey, why let propaganda get in the way of the truth?
“THE NEWSPAPER
It seems an entire newspaper can be got at, when it’s Glasgow and it’s Rangers.
Recent weeks saw one of the more bizarre editorial u-turns of recent newspaper history in the UK when a Scottish Sun double-page splash promoting the author of ‘Downfall’ prior to serialising the book – suddenly became a non-serialisation.
In a somewhat embarrassed editorial The Sun admitted to receiving a large number of complaints about promoting the book, from Rangers fans.
The paper denied it was bowing to threats. Yet the publisher of the book says the threat of a Hillsborough-style boycott was real and instrumental”
Frankly, if the Sun had serialised this book from a notorious Irish Republican bigot, then it would have deserved a Hillsborough style boycott.
The suggestion that there were “real threats” to the newspaper, ie threats of violence, or anything other than a boycott is ridiculous and completely without foundation. Had it happened, it would have gifted the Sun an even better story and helped them publicise the serialisation and the book.
They didn’t because the author was and is a sectarian bigot.
Did I mention they also slated Thomson for writing the foreward?
It’s widely known the threats were real, nasty and yet again Strathclyde police were involved.
Many – including the book’s publisher – express real sympathy with The Scottish Sun’s dilemma. It editor and staff are known to have been shocked at the level and fury of complaints.
The difficulty here is that, whatever the paper’s reasons, in the end the mob got their way. The serialisation of a fast-selling factual book on Rangers never happened.
They couldn’t get Turnbull Hutton, Lord Nimmo-Smith, Eric Drysdale, STV and many, many more – but many believe they did get the Scottish Sun.
That should give us all pause for thought. Is this the reason why not a single Scottish newspaper has reviewed a book selling way beyond its publisher’s estimates?
The book is not “fast selling”, and selling way beyond its publisher’s estimates means nothing, if it’s estimates were to sell 50 copies.
The book by the bigot is currently at number 553 in the Amazon chart, which is based on hourly sales. It has peaked today because of the publicity of Thomson’s blog.
On Book Depositary it is ranked at a more realistic 20,895.
“What kind of power does the Ibrox mob have still, in today’s Scotland?
So against all this catalogue of attempted (and mostly failed) intimidation, the new Rangers owner Charles Green must surely take a stand and trying to kick this poison out of Ibrox and some of its support for good?
Already in his short ownership Mr Green’s referred to the football authorities as ‘the enemy’ at fans’ meeting on many occasions and he faced formal disciplinary action for saying other clubs were motivated by ‘bigotry’ towards Rangers.
Mr Green must lead from the top because if he fails to do so what chance has anyone got to stop the moronic element at the bottom of the Rangers food chain from lashing out with threats against anyone who dares speak truth unto Ibrox?”
Let’s be honest, Thomsons’s various lies and cobbled together propaganda are all about silencing a support and a club that are not standing for being bullied and lied about any more, and bullys like Thomson just can’t stand it.
Of course, Thomson has previous for lying about “intimidation” when he claimed he had been threatened by journalist David Leggat. As I blogged previously, this was utter bunkum, and the Police believed his claim was laughable, while it was proven that an online “threat” came from a Celtic supporter posing on a fake twitter account.
Both Thomson and the perpetrator of the fake threat should count themselves lucky they didn’t get charges with wasting police time, particularly as said perpetrator boasted about it on the site that Phil Mac Giollabhain is an influential member of.
This week he has already backed a MacGiollabhain piece of propaganda stating that up to 25 journalists have been threatened by Rangers fans.
Yet, still no one has been arrested or charged.
With every passing blog, Thomson is smashing his own credibility further. I didn’t think it possible, but it is.
I hope whatever he stands to gain from this is worth it.
Bill.
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