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There wasn’t much of a match this week, but Kenny stays the course for us. But there’s a ton of stuff off the pitch including our discussion about Manchester and being grouped with United, and we hear from you the listener…well, you if you were indeed the ones that emailed or phoned in.

At The Match:

- It takes a bit, but we get a 2-1 win at home against St. Johnstone, Miller and Weiss looking the best of the lot with McCulloch coming back for his first game of the campaign

Off The Pitch:

- The Champions League groups have been drawn and 33% of those polled think they can go through (guess who?)
- We’ve got listener email
- Two callers make their way to the fray; one to claim the trademark for the POP, and the other to ask about Webster
- Our Rangers Non-Scottish from the 90s XI take form. Guess who the keeper is for everyone?

This week’s RSC Review:

Toronto #1 RSC

Want to have your club mentioned? Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

This week’s Hall of Fame Inductee:

Arthur Numan

Go to the Hall of Fame page and see who’s made it in there already.

Please also check out our podcast link at rangersmedia.co.uk.

WATP!

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This week, we’ve got a Kenny Miller hat-trick to discuss, a new signing to swoon over, and a International Scottish XIs that played for Rangers in the 80s. Hardly anything at all, really.

At The Match:

- Kenny Miller’s hat-trick against Hibs at Easter Road warrants a wee bit of discussion and we look in depth at who helped him along the way

Off The Pitch:

- We examine Weiss, Jelavic, and other signings we should be making
- We get not too too excited about the Champions League draw on Thursday
- From the Facebook Wall, we each come up with our own Scottish Internationals Rangers XI from the 80s

This week’s RSC Review:

None this week. Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

This week’s Hall of Fame Inductee:

Richard Gough. Go to the Hall of Fame page and see who’s made it in there already.

Please also check out our podcast link at rangersmedia.co.uk.

WATP!

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This week we see an already adjusted starting lineup, see a 2-1 win at home, a Beattie debut, an RSC from Texas, and find our best starting XI of the past decade. Rather a lot really.

At The Match:

- We review our 2-1 home win over Kilmarnock, stopping along the way to talk about our new signing Beattie and noticing that he, Lafferty, and Miller play quite well together

Off The Pitch:

- We analyze Beattie’s play and see how he’s doing…for someone employed by Rangers for less than a week
- We have some Super Cooper chat
- We each have our starting Rangers XI from the past decade
- Hall of fame: Ian Durrant

This week’s RSC Review:

Texas True Blues RSC

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WATP!

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At The Match:

- We give brief reviews of our matches against Newcastle Utd and some bloke named Glentoran

Off The Pitch:

- We analyze the side
- We get hopeful about our players and who could come in and do the biz if we get them
- There’s an entire team inducted into our Hall of Fame

This week’s RSC Review:

We look at Kearny Rangers Supporters Club in New Jersey

Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

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Catching up over the summer, the World Cup is behind us, we discuss the Rangers departing and the look and hope (hope?) of what Rangers have to offer next year. At least there’s our Facebook Wall.

This episode, we talk about the following:

- We look at the outflow of Rangers players right now
- We look at what the realistic goals are for Rangers
- Tactics talk turns into a tile game
- We look at the Facebook wall and answer your questions and look at your comments there

This week’s RSC Review:

None this week but you can hardly be blamed for that. The new season starts the week before Rangers’ first match, so get your RSC in here! Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

WATP!

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In this episode, we come back with what we hoped would be some news on a Rangers purchase. And then we reviewed the great NARSA convention that gave us some great bumpers. Oh, yeah. And there’s a World Cup on somewhere in Africa.

In This Bonus Episode:

- We talk about the much wondered about Rangers purchase
- Todd is back from the NARSA convention and has brought back with him some recordings for the podcast
- We review what’s happened thus far in the World Cup in South Africa. A lot really.

This week’s RSC Review:

None this week. Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

WATP!

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This is the last episode of the regular season. Thank you so much for the over 11,000 downloads that you listened to over our short tenure. It’s greatly appreciated and we can’t thank you enough! We had a great time and we look forward to next season. But we still have this season to close. Still rocky roads ahead, but hey, we won the league!

Note: Stay tuned and subscribe through iTunes to get our summer special edition World Cup episodes and breaking Rangers news throughout the summer! Roll on August!

At The Match:

We just barely go through the dodgy tie between us and Motherwell. At least there was a trophy at the end.

Off The Pitch:

- SWS tells Ellis to buy or buh-bye
- We look at some of the season’s funniest moments
- We say that you should join the RST…we’re going to
- We do some comparisons between where the Rangers play and TGLTEWAPEWB, including losing some of our best players there (we’re looking at you, Wilson…)
- The Wee General throws some kind words our way
- We say ta-ta to Boston (and anywhere that Rangers will play in the US), but tip the hat to Australia
- Off the Facebook wall, we answer the question “Who was the best captain for Rangers?” Hoo boy…

This week’s RSC Review:

None this week. Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

WATP!

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This was recorded directly after the defeat at Celtic Park on May 4, 2010. Sad for Celtic that even despite horrible refereeing we’re still champions. Sorry guys, nice try. We used this to select our best OF games ever. So many to choose from…

At The Match:

- We briefly look at our 27th match-up of the year against Dundee Utd
- We look at the loss to Lhennon’s Evil team

Off The Pitch:

- We take a quick not-too-optomistic peek at Rangers’ potential buyer
- We do our part to help scupper the OF match-up in BeanTown (see below)
- Novo has a dig…at Mowbray and Evil
- We got mail, and VOICE MAIL!!!
- We go to the Facebook wall

This week’s RSC Review:

None this week. Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

WATP!

As promised, here follows the original article by the Boston Globe regarding the Rangers fans and the “saintly” Celtic and their fans. What follows is Todd’s reply:

Here follows the article from the Boston Globe on the proposed Rangers v. Celtic game in Boston written by Mark Stokes:

Note: Mark Stokes is a longtime observer of international soccer who contributes occasional commentary and analysis to the Corner Kicks blog.

Concerts, Little League games and father-and-son days have worked at Fenway Park when the Red Sox are not in town, but the proposed Celtic-Rangers game, which could take place on the hallowed ground in July, is wrong on so many levels.

Monumental interest has been generated among local fans since this story aired last week, the brainchild of Sam Kennedy of the Fenway Sports Group. While Kennedy should be commended for his willingness to bring one of the greatest soccer experiences there is to our doorsteps, the reality is that Gillette Stadium is the only sensible option for such an event.

Few who witness an Old Firm game ever forget it – the pride, passion and banter generated at one of the world’s biggest derby contests is second to none. Nothing this writer has experienced in the world of sports has ever compared with the rivalry between these clubs – just think of Game 7 of a Sox-Yankees ALCS, and multiply the intensity and multiply again.

For those who’ve not seen the happenings at Scotland’s most passionate affair, a look (on YouTube) at a rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ is sure to whet the appetite.

The fixture is a perfect fit for the Boston area given that both clubs will be in the United States at the time – Celtic scheduled to meet Manchester United in Toronto on July 16 or 17, while Rangers are reportedly locked into games in Miami and New York.

There’s little doubt that an Old Firm derby at Gillette Stadium would sell out, which raises questions initially about the wisdom of settling for Fenway, a venue half the size of Gillette. Sales of tickets for Gillette would see both clubs gross about $1 million each, which after all, is what had them interested in the first place.

Celtic has tens of thousands of fans across America, with some 13 supporters clubs located from coast to coast. The team will draw on that support and the thousands more traveling from Scotland, Ireland, Australia, and many other parts of the globe. Rangers, the newly minted Scottish champions, are also well catered to Stateside, all of which makes a carnival atmosphere and plenty of revenue for the city of Boston a slam dunk.

All roads point to Gillette Stadium for economic reasons, yet the bigger issue is one of security.

Old Firm contests have been associated with some of the worst violence seen in the game (having narrowly escaped the mayhem visited on north Dublin by Rangers fans in the 80′s, I can vouch for that).

While it is recognized that not all Rangers fans involve themselves in extracurricular activity, one can’t help wonder how the city of Boston will fare out after a Fenway game, should the Rangers faithful feel the need to express themselves, as they did in Manchester in 2008.

Following their team’s defeat in the UEFA Cup final, the blue clad fans left parts of Manchester in shambles and forced the local constabulary to don full riot gear to restore order.

But Rangers have a long history of violence on their travels, dating back decades. Who can forget their pitch invasion in Barcelona in 1972, which earned the club a one-year ban from European competition?

The same fans brought their particular brand of fanaticism to Romania last year, clashing with police who were forced to use tear gas. Back home last December, the unruly ones saw fit to engage the fans of Hibernian, for which one of their number received a five-month jail sentence and 10-year ban from all football stadia.

With Spanish police reporting Rangers violence in 2006 (Villareal) and 2007 (Barcelona), the list goes on and on, right up to Edinburgh last Sunday, where there was unrest between Rangers and Hibernian fans once again after the Blues won the Scottish title.

Most notably, disaster struck at Rangers’ Ibrox Stadium in 1971 following a crush-barrier failure, but it is widely accepted that the tensions between Celtic and Rangers fans played a major part in the 66 deaths that day (many of whom were children).

Celtic by comparison, can be charged with … well, not much at all. A green and white clad fan invaded the pitch and struck the Vienna goalkeeper at Old Trafford in 1984, after the club was ordered to replay a European game.

If their archrivals have dragged the name of Glasgow through the mud, it must be said that Celtic fans have done their best to restore the good name. Indeed the same Manchester police who struggled to contain the Rangers fans commended Celtic’s for their behavior in a recent friendly vs. Manchester United.

If any evidence was needed as to the pedigree of supporters of the green and white, it surely comes from the Mayor of Seville, Alfredo Sanchez Monteseirin, who was so moved by Celtic’s supporters that he wrote a letter to Glasgow’s Lord Provost Liz Cameron.

Having traveled to that city’s Stadio Olimpico for the UEFA Cup final in 2003, Celtic fans, who numbered about 85,000 according to best estimates, just would not fit in the 60,000 seat facility. Thirty-five thousand ticket bearing Scotsmen made it inside the stadium while the remainder watched the game in local bars and parks.

“I would like to send publicly the congratulations of the City of Seville to the fans and, in general, to all the citizens of Glasgow. We hope to see you again in Seville on a similar occasion, when you will surely be luckier on the playing field.”

Lord Provost Cameron said: “I am proud and delighted that the Mayor of such a lovely city as Seville has praised the Celtic fans so highly. I was in Seville for the game and saw how the fans created a party atmosphere. The fans were wonderful ambassadors for Glasgow and maintained the city’s good reputation across Europe.”

Voicing his concerns about Fenway Park and Rangers fans marauding through Boston afterwards (and in the process giving a big thumbs up to Gillette Stadium), local Celtic Supporters Club chief Billy Ramsey says: “Segregation is going to be a major issue. Maybe if they gave them (Rangers) the bleachers and us the seats it might work.”

All things considered, the assumption must be that the Boston Police will be ‘on top of their game’ when Celtic and Rangers come to town. The BPD is reserving comment on the game until it is confirmed, I was informed by a department spokesperson on Tuesday.

An historic soccer game at Fenway Park is something we all want, but not at the cost of blood-stained faces, smashed store fronts and police sirens from Kenmore Square to Fanueil Hall. Celtic vs. Rangers at Fenway Park – let’s hope it is remembered in years to come for all the right reasons.

Here follows the letter to the editor that Todd wrote that was probably never published, but resided in two parts in the blog comment postings. Thank you all for your support!

I would like to congratulate you on the article written by Mark Stokes on the proposed football match between Rangers and Celtic from Glasgow. It was obviously created to generate controversy and fury and has done just that. Sadly, it has also shown the world that not only is Mark Stokes, the author of the article, not to be considered a journalist by any means, but that your paper should also not be taken seriously.

Mr. Stokes has created a spectacle of one-sidedness, by showing Celtic as darlings of the footballing world, with their self-proclaimed “Greatest Fans In The World” to be held in esteem without reproach. It is to be expected, since Boston has one of the largest populations of Irish-Catholic immigrants in the US, and Celtic are a team with a similar foundation. It only makes sense that he would choose to take that stand. What does not make sense is his ridicule and demonization of Rangers supporters everywhere that made up the majority of the article. His article goes beyond good-natured rivalry steering more towards defamation. The sad part is that your editorial staff have recognized his wrong-doing, but have not taken the appropriate steps to correct it. Stokes’ erroneous comments regarding the Ibrox Disaster struck a chord with many Rangers fans unfortunate to have been there or who lost friends and family in the tragedy. Stokes stated that the tragedy was caused by the tension between the two sides and, by extension, the fault of the Rangers fans. This was refuted in the comments section of the article posted by many Rangers and football fans alike. It appears that you recognized this area of the article to be wrong as the article was reposted without mention of the Ibrox disaster, and all present comments on the article removed. [Now the entire article is removed]

In as much as the article indicates that the rivalry between the two sides is heated, it states that Rangers are only to blame for any and all crowd trouble experienced, stating “Celtic by comparison, can be charged with…well, not much at all.” In the continued deletion of the article’s commentary, you lose all counter-arguments of Celtic fans shaming themselves time and time again. This has been performed by justifiably irate Rangers fans bringing forward facts that should have been researched by Stokes in the first place, assuming that he performed any research at all. Judging by the content of the article, I and many others are not convinced that he did.

My concern is not with Celtic or Rangers fans reading the article. Both sides can only recognize that the article is one-sided and only caters to one-half of the Old Firm. I am however worried that the casual American reader who doesn’t know anything about the Old Firm will read this and see Rangers fans as the uncouth villains the article describes. I wonder how the same casual American readers would react if they saw the YouTube video of Celtic fans mocking Claudio Reyna (then Rangers player and US captain) miming airplanes going into a building shortly after the 9-11 attacks. Would they agree with your claim that Celtic “can be charged with…well, not much at all”? I hardly think so.

You have created the spectacle you set out to do, but you have done so at the expense and disgrace of innocents that lost their lives in a great Ibrox tragedy. It is my hope that the match between Rangers and Celtic occurs in North America, but it is also my hope that your city has no part of it. If this is the type of gracious ambassadorship that you and your paper expect to extend to Rangers fans or other travellers considering Boston as a destination, I hope all reconsider. A match of this calibre would be a wonderful event to host. However, if Stokes’ article is indicative of what is to be expected in Boston, it is obvious that you lack the maturity to do so.

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It finally happened. Rangers clinched the league championship and we couldn’t be happier. Now if we could just figure out what Rangers are going to do after this. Also in this episode, Ross slips and doesn’t call Them “Evil”…twice!

At The Match:

- We discuss the clinching win at Easter Road, and also cover who scored the winner

Off The Pitch:

- We discuss the problem with Lafferty, Boyd, really, everyone up front
- We discuss the rumours of Rangers coming over to Beantown to play Celtic
- Walter and Weir get their kudos, and we look at other awards to be won
- Welcome back ICT to the SPL fold (Shame about the manager)
- If Walter leaves, who do we get? And what does Evil do based on our decision in the game of Checkers that is their management selection
- We talk about the best players out there
- No mail bag, but a ton of graffiti

This week’s RSC Review:

Las Vegas Loyal, Las Vegas, NV
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WATP!

EXTRAS!

Evil being prophetic…yes, I meant that this time…

Nacho and Walter having respective digs…

Ross’s Favourite Player…no, wait…

The Skol Cup…That’s 1986, mind…

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In this episode, we welcome back Ross after a time away look at the matches against Dundee Utd and Hearts, the Split, as well as the raging Lafferty debate. It’s like he never left.

At The Match:

- We discuss the match against Dundee Utd prior to the split…
- But first we look at the Hearts game and surprises for Lafferty and Boyd (pleasant and otherwise)

Off The Pitch:

- Through no fault of our own, we come across an article saying our penalty against Hearts was soft
- We examine the Split again, and discuss the impact of 18 teams in the league
- Boyd gets Miller’s support during his time of need
- Rangers may get to play in a “soccer-specific stadium” and we don’t mean Wembley…because it isn’t
- Tall men: The dog’s, or just bollix?
- We compare SPL and the EPL
- We get your mail, as well as The Writings On The (Facebook) Wall
- We preview the upcoming matches on both sides of the OF that could give us the league this weekend

This week’s RSC Review:

- Our RSC of the week comes all the way from Inverness. Go to the My RSC page and send in information about your supporters club.

Video Mentioned This Week: Jimmy Bullard v. Duncan Ferguson

WATP!