We heard you the first time. Don’t comment on stuff you know nothing about. As I mentioned a few days ago, for someone who ‘doesn’t give a f*ck’ about Celtic, Rangers or Scottish football, you’re lingering on this thread like a bad smell.

Well, at least you’ve backtracked and now admitted the two clubs themselves aren’t Mickey Mouse. And you’ve stopped effing and blinding, which is a start to a decent conversation. There is a Celtic song which includes the lyrics, ‘If you know the history’ and if you do, you’ll get the picture as to why folk from all over Scotland and elsewhere choose Celtic above their local team. I partly explained it to you the other week and I’m not going over it again. For someone claiming to ‘not give a f*ck’ you seem to be taking quite an interest in the Celtic/Rangers debate. This is a thread on all things Scottish football, loads of things to discuss and plenty of folk on here seem to take a genuine interest. If you ‘don’t give a f*ck’ just simply scroll on by.

It’s not the best, no. It needs a stronger Hearts, Hibs, Aberdeen and Dundee United to make the league more competitive. St Mirren and Kilmarnock have made progress in the last couple of seasons but it’s not enough.

Yep, I agree entirely with what you say. For the game at Celtic Park in 2003, a group of eight of us went up and stayed over after the game. Before the game, we went in bars on the Gallowgate and we stayed out in the city centre afterwards until the early hours. No hint of trouble at all. As you say, the ‘experience’ at Ewood was different. I think the police, local authority and hierarchy at Ewood tried to organise things with some trepidation. From memory, I recall the Cavendish being open more or less all day to cater for the Celtic support. You’ll be aware (obviously) that Glasgow is a tough, working class city and to give a large chunk of their support an opportunity to get bladdered at will maybe wasn’t the best idea. Probably a damned if you do, damned if you don’t moment but there you go.

Come on Jim, ask anyone who both follows Celtic and is proud of Scottish football, if they are proud of Rangers. You’ll get the same answer every time. Whilst a significant proportion of Celtic fans are either Irish or of Irish decent, there are plenty of ‘Scottish’ Celtic fans from both sides of the religious divide (not that the latter really matters). Regarding the ‘horrible’ people bit, I can only really speak for Celtic fans. I walked back into the city centre after the Rovers friendly a couple of seasons ago. Chatted to a few, no hint of trouble or animosity anywhere and there were plenty of Rovers fans wearing colours. Those on our bus to games (I try and get up once a month) are nice people, no different to you and I and I class them as real friends. I think the main reason why there has been a drop off in Scottish talent these days is that a lot of young kids now prefer to play inside the house on their PlayStations and other devices rather than choose a sport. In my day, I kicked a ball outside against a wall for hours or played footy in the street. Either that, or I was outside in the woods, climbing trees and jumping streams until it went dark. Those days seem to have long gone. England’s national team has a wealth of talent at the moment and has had for a few seasons now. It seems to be in good hands but back in the 60s and 70s a much larger percentage of English players came through and rose to international level. Then, they had to serve an apprenticeship of a couple of years in the under 21s or under 23s before being ready as a ‘full’ internationals. Some never made it, players as good as Howard Kendall, for example. With a population of only 5.4 million, there just aren’t the numbers nowadays, in Scotland, to keep Scotland at the forefront of international football.

And where do you think English football would be without oligarchs, sheikhs, consortiums and worldwide investors queuing to get a piece of the cake due to massive tv revenues. Before folk start knocking Scottish football, comparisons should be made before the advent of Sky tv and the monies that flowed into the English game thereafter. With England having a population of 57 million and Scotland one of 5 million, comparisons have always been flawed but for one of the smaller nations of the world, Scotland have always punched way above their weight. I’ve Scottish blood in me and I’m immensely proud of it and proud of Scottish football, past and present. I was at Celtic Park yesterday, in Stirling today and off to Mull tomorrow. I couldn’t be happier.

Good game for a neutral and yes, I would have been cheesed off if that penalty had been denied Celtic. Celtic have the second worst penalty conversion rate in the Scottish Premiership, so hardly predictable that they went on to win it that way. I was dreading it. I hadn’t realised Hoillet was at Aberdeen and I’m glad he only came on as a sub. Celtic’s right back, Johnston is a very decent player but Hoillet caused him problems. Didn’t help that Johnston twice allowed him to cut inside onto his stronger right foot and from those crosses, two almost identical goals were scored. Celtic just about shaded it, I thought, but it was still a poor performance from them.

Yep, you usually pass us on the M74, if yours is the white bus with a 01772 number on the back? 😆 Do you end up in the Tavern on Tollcross Road like us?

As welcome as that result was, it really only gives Celtic a slight advantage. It’s still in both clubs’ hands. Celtic win their remaining 5 league games, they are champions. Rangers win their remaining six games, they are champions. Celtic, however, may have the luxury of being able to draw the derby at Celtic Park, dependent upon how the results have gone. Hardly handing the title to Celtic. If Rangers cock up against Dundee though… I’m always reluctant to post regarding Glasgow Derby rivalry, (what used to be known as the Old Firm). Before long, discussions have gone off in various tangents and it all gets rather silly. My post yesterday evening was simply a reaction to the ludicrous ‘plastic’ and ‘Mickey Mouse’ comments which I wanted to address.

I try to get up to Celtic Park once a month. The Celtic Supporters Club that I’m a member of runs a bus up to all home games, some away games if tickets are forthcoming, otherwise it’s a minibus or cars. Week in, week out. The bus leaves Coventry at around 6am and gets back to the Midlands after games at midnight. There are lads on from Peterborough, the south coast, Wales, Coventry & Birmingham, with a few more being added on the way up. The coach park at the stadium is full of coaches from all over Scotland and the UK. There are also numerous coaches parked up outside pubs. In addition, fans arrive from Ireland by ferry and plane. Week in, week out. I can assure you, these are not plastic fans. They are die hards. As much as I dislike those from the other side of the city, their support and the lengths they go to, to follow their team, falls into the same category. Celtic is a club founded on charity and the need to help those less fortunate than others. To this day, the supporters continue to raise thousands of pounds each year for those in the east end of Glasgow, the wider Glasgow area, Scotland and further afield. I’m not talking about the club making donations here (although it does), I’m talking money raised by supporters alone. Over the years, it will have run into hundreds of thousands, if not more. I can’t be arsed going into the details of the Tv deals (or lack of in Scotland) which reduces the Scottish Premiership to ‘Mickey Mouse’ levels, when compared to England. It’s not worth it. May be do a bit of research before coming out with utter bullsh*t. You haven’t got a clue.

You could be right Matty. There again, you could be wrong. If folk keep saying the same old things time after time and don’t start taking action, we’ll never know. We owe it to Jack, if nothing else.

You only need a few more than ‘one man and his dog’ to get things going again. You don’t need (and wouldn’t get) 500 or so staying behind on the Blackburn End after games. An overwhelming percentage of the fan base is passive now. Tactics need to change and, as evidenced by the tennis balls on the pitch, a few games ago, this sort of tactic can work. Ok, even the southern softy, almost Home Counties Reading lot showed us how to get things done. Tennis balls on the pitch, followed by several hundred supporters on the pitch. Reading for fuck’s sake. Let that sink in. Not Millwall, not Stoke, not Portsmouth, not West Ham…but Reading. Where has the youth of Blackburn and East Lancs gone? A proud, working class, northern town has gone soft. Back to what happened at Ewood a few games ago. Those actions got the game stopped, even if it were for only two or three minutes. The commentators explained why this ‘mini protest’ was happening, so the message had got across. But that was then followed up by nothing. Any momentum, as slight as it was, was lost. I don’t get involved on here any more and I only attend a few games each season but there have been literally hundreds of pages on several threads criticising Venky’s and the same folk are wringing their hands, shrugging their shoulders and saying the same things over and over and over and over again. Without actually doing anything. We have been told that Venky’s won’t sell and Venky’s have made it clear that they won’t entertain discussions with potential suitors, should any suitors be found. The court case in India aside, only one thing has the potential to make them reconsider. That is a course of action by the supporters to ‘out’ them. Rome is burning and we are sleepwalking into oblivion.

Well done to the tennis ball throwers. Well done for informing the BBC, they knew straight away the significance of throwing them on in the 14th minute. Pity there weren’t a few hundred balls on the pitch and scores of ‘supporters’ getting involved instead of a paltry handful. It’s a start, though and hopefully a sign of more action in an attempt to rid the club of the twats thousands of miles away.

He posts on roversfans.com (thenodrog’s lot). On their Venky’s thread, he’s posted letters to the FA (from back in the day) outlining a whole variety of dodgy dealings.

Exactly. For those also pointing the finger at Broughton, he could well be caught up in all the shenanigans. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if, once again, this is Waggott’s doing and Waggott’s alone. He’ll come out smelling of roses and the others will be the sacrificial lambs. Broughton may well be being told to keep quiet and he strikes me as the sort of bloke who may not have the balls to quit. Fucking shit show.

Well, that’s the incentive for everyone to collectively pull together to rid the club of the vermin. Be that those in India or the useless shower of sh!t left ‘in charge’ at this end. It can be done. We’ve roughly six months to do it.

Haven’t posted on here for a long, long time but still visit almost daily for info and to see what’s going on. In order to orchestrate a successful protest, first of all, the masses need to know what really went on from the moment Venky’s took control of the club. By masses, I mean at least 95% of the support. We need to get the ‘Facebook brigade’ on side, so every supporter is singing from the same hymn sheet. We need the average Joe to know the full facts, the sort of supporter who simply rocks up at Ewood every second week and who doesn’t do Facebook and the other socials. We don’t want any factions or splits in the fan base. We all need to be fighting this together. To this end, I would crowd fund a booklet or pamphlet to be distributed before a forthcoming home game which would outline, in bullet points and in a timeline, the absolute sh!t show that has taken place since day one. I am not privy to everything that has happened but I have grasped plenty of the shenanigans by simply tuning in on here. The fact that Venky’s thought there was no relegation, Jerome Anderson and his band of merry men effectively having full control of the club for a period of time, the dozen or so unknown Portuguese players who arrived and then departed, agents fees etc., the threats of violence to Glen (and no doubt others), the alleged Glasgow gangsters, the purchase monies for BRFC back in 2010 being traced to a branch of Western Union in Bradford (for fuck’s sake), Steve Kean’s involvement, the fans’ delegation that went to the Football Association to seek help and which fell on deaf ears, right up to Venky’s current problems with the authorities in India and alleged fraudulent affairs. There will be plenty of stuff that I’ve forgotten about but, all of this and more, needs to be highlighted in the booklet or similar publication. Perhaps also, a Facebook page being set up to mirror the said booklet, plus a pinned thread on here with the same information. An advert in the Lancashire Telegraph outlining the booklet to be distributed before a home game. Talks at local working mens clubs to get the message across with Colin Hendry as an ambassador. Would Chris Sutton get involved? He talks sense and tells it as it is. There’s absolutely loads that could be done to get the message across and to get all our support onside. The Venky’s need to be smoked out. They need to be shamed. They need to be embarrassed. They need to leave and they need to be told to put the club up for sale. That’s the way to go, rather than Administration. To draw attention to our plight, Tony’s suggestion of whistles at the Newcastle game is superb. Wouldn’t need many to get involved in that. Just a few in three of the four stands. Couple that with tennis balls on the pitch and it would be a start. I’m nearer 70 than 60 now. Venky’s have worn me out and I only attend a few games each season. I doubt I’ll ever see the Rovers back in the Premier League. Over to some younger blood to implement the above. Best of luck. VENKY’S OUT! WAGGOTT OUT! IT’S OUR CLUB!

I’ve seen better players up at Blacksnape. I don’t mean in the Darwen League. I mean top class at junior school.

I have a read on the ‘other site’ now and again and there is a great post by Dunnfc, in response to the initial poor home ticket sales for the Forest game. The post is on the first page of the Forest thread. A while ago, he wrote to Waggott with a whole host of very good suggestions to boost ticket sales for home games. Discounts, offers and, importantly, re engaging with local companies who had previously been involved with sponsorship etc down at Ewood. Also getting additional local companies on board. A really good post and some thought provoking ideas. Waggott never responded. Sums the guy up no end and reiterates comments made on both this and the season tickets thread (on here) that the hierarchy within the club have no intention of even attempting to grow the fan base. They’re a complete waste of space. Have a read, it’s well worth it.

I have an alternative name for the Season Ticket thread. I call it (like plenty of others, actually) the Chaddy Show.

I’m going for a Norwich win by 3-0 but, such is the nature of Rovers’ bipolar results, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if we, at the very least, avoided defeat. That said, I can feel a death spiral is about to gain momentum.

In third position and already lost ten games in early-mid December and with a negative goal difference. We’re in a false position. We never win when we go a goal behind and have no plan b, let alone plan a. The only player we have that can score is stuck out on the left wing. There is no balance in the team. No leader and very little experience. Boys against men most weeks. Two games running that our defence has been bullied by over the hill has beens. I would go four at the back and get Diaz in the middle where he can be more of a threat. 4231 or a variation of that. That won’t happen, though, with this mon in charge.

They were in town, sporadically, until the snowball incident, so not quite true. It was a figure of speech, though, but you knew that.