dougiedanger

I don't think there is a wider issue in Scottish society. None of this has very much to do with religion, it is to do with one person running onto the pitch, to launch an attack on Lennon, which was always going to fail. There must have been 14'000ish Hearts fans that could have done the same thing if they wanted, but they didn't. Just like at any other ground in Scotland, as there are no fences, because this is very rare. One guy did it, thats one. Hardly a mirror for society to look into.

Hearts a Unionist club? Who decides these things, is it in the Heart Of Midlothian charter? Some fans may have Union Jacks, but that's it.

Lennon is a ned, and enjoys winding people up. Some people get more wound up than others, and this is what happens. Why should there be no consequences for Lennon? He believes he can behave in any fasion he likes, and its going to be societies fault. It has nothing to do with religion, as not very many of these people strike me as the god fearing type.

Religion in Scotland http://www.youtube.c...h?v=ksRMKsdF2do

The guy that ran onto the pitch could have had ANYTHING in his hands eg a bazooka, a pistol, some Euros, rat poison, tactical advice, a water balloon, an Autograph Book, a Fart he had earlier captured, or, nothing. PHEW. It was nothing. It is pure luck that this religious crusader, had left his weapon of choice at his seat (blunder), but also a little bit admirable that he had continued his charge anyway.

If none of this has anything to do with society, bigotry or religion why were other prominent Catholics and/or Celtic fans also sent bombs? And if this is all Neil Lennon's fault, why were bullets also sent to his players McCourt and McGinn, two self-effacing, inoffensive individuals?

And if you think it was only one Hearts fan that was full of anti-Lennon hatred last night, you are sadly mistaken.

And on the other point raised about Celtic fans' pitch incursions, these were unacceptable, one-off incidents, not the latest chapter in a 10-year campaign against an individual whose partner and child are forced to live in a safe house when he is doing his job.

People can deny all they like or plead ignorance, but the facts are there.

Sadly, going from the evidence on this thread and others, the reasonable people of ICT are at least matched in numbers by the petty bigots.

It is your choice what kind of club and what kind of country you want, just don't try to take the moral high ground over the OF when your own prejudices are but mirrors of theirs.

Contrary to what some on here seem to believe, Neil lennon did not invent sectarianism, and if he were to leave this country sectarianism would not disappear.

It is a measure of the extent to which the "petty bigotry" that Dewsburydude talks of has permeated the society that there are a good number on this very site who have a blind, irrational hatred for Neil Lennon. It shows us that this is far from being a solely OF problem.

The hate campaign against him started when he was issued death threats by Northern Ireland fans, and was first taken up in Scotland by fans of Rangers FC. It has since spread to virtually every club in the country. Anyone who says this is down to his "combative style" is deluded. It is because he has refused to apaologize for being who he is and has refused (so far) to back down or be intimidated by cowards and bigots.

Neil Lennon has done this country a favour in bringing to the surface the bigotry that apparently lies within fans of virtually any Scottish club.

Whether he leaves or not, the treatment handed out to him as a visitor to this country is an absolute disgrace, and reflects badly on the whole nation.

It is good to read some of the reasoned posts on this thread, but distressing to see so many wrapped up in petty bigotry and downright ignorance.

This is a sorry episode in the history of our game and our country, and those who support the irrational vilification of this man should take a long hard look at themselves.

The Rangers for me, for several reasons. Walter and Ally and their impeccable dignity, the onfield panache of the lads in light blue, and finally, the quintessential good humour and harmless banter of the proud and lusty denizens of Ibrox Stadium.

Maybe the real issue is less about numbers than the kind of supporter the typical refusenik is/was. As Mantis says, these were generally younger, fanatical, working class types and not at all like the sweetie rustling, tartan rug brigade that ICT seem to attract for whatever reason.

Last time we were in Glasgow i chatted to a taxi driver who said very few taxi's venture out on old firm game days... too dangerous in his own words.

Anyway. i see Lennon has had his match ban reduced from 6 matches to 4, crazy.

Wont really matter because hes very likely to have more bans on the way, he will be in the stand for the CIS cup final will probably miss the next old firm clash from a new ban due to his loutish behavior.

The worst thing he has to endure of all though is being pelted with Werther's Original sweetie wrappers at our match.

Didn't he get some bullets sent in the mail? Does he deserve that?

Your going to have to help me out on this one a wee bit, Ive read the above a few times and cant really see the link between commenting on a touchline ban handed out to a manager for loutish behavior and trying to justify someone sending Lennon a bullet.

It's not that difficult. Your comment that the worst he had to endure was having a sweetie thrown at him. I was just wondering if having bullets sent to you through the post would be considered worse than that.

Last time we were in Glasgow i chatted to a taxi driver who said very few taxi's venture out on old firm game days... too dangerous in his own words.

Anyway. i see Lennon has had his match ban reduced from 6 matches to 4, crazy.

Wont really matter because hes very likely to have more bans on the way, he will be in the stand for the CIS cup final will probably miss the next old firm clash from a new ban due to his loutish behavior.

The worst thing he has to endure of all though is being pelted with Werther's Original sweetie wrappers at our match.

Didn't he get some bullets sent in the mail? Does he deserve that?

Must be thousands of us who have benefited from his coaching, mentorship and good humour over the years. Should mention Jackie Sutherland too.

I've unfortunately used my greens already today, but good point. Literally thousands.

Aye, literally thousands, more than 30 years of service. Was more than good to me, and is a natural coach.

JB's a legend, should have the MBE or something like that. Must be thousands of us who have benefited from his coaching, mentorship and good humour over the years. Should mention Jackie Sutherland too.

All the best JB, thanks for your dedication.

It appears that everyone can now read all the posts without having to login or register

Fair play to the Mods for reacting so quickly to my thread and enhancing the ICT brand to a world wide audience

dougal

Any other revolutionary ideas dougal?

Keep 'em coming.

I find the whole thing amusing. He's quite clearly a moron. He messed up, panicked, and now he's pulled a Stephen Ireland, Cheeky wee monkey. I have never heard anything racist at a football ground, or on the pitch. He didn't mention anything before, but decided the best thing to do was to tell Japan on us? Weirdo. My (Tim) friend reckons some ST Johnston fans got into crap for barking at him, but i'm not sure if that's true.

Heard that too, St Johnstone it was, the club made some statement about investigating it.

Heard some Dons fans on Wednesday were calling us Highland Huns.

Is that a new thing?

What on earth have we done to deserve such a label?

In QF2 at Khalifa Stadium Uzbekistan beat Jordan 2-1

No one seems to be interested mate.

Yes, they did play at Telford Street. Can't vouch for the date. I wouldn't be surprised if it had been in mid 50s. Their star at the time was a guy called Meadowlark Lemon who was a great showman, and simply "wowed" the crowd with his skill.

I mind Lemon from when they were on TV in the 70s.

How did they get on playing on a big pitch, and on grass?

Debate Lennon, Celtic, The SPL, SFA SFL or any others that may be bringing the game into disrepute all you like but please refrain from making reference to Muslims, Nazi's or any other group that have no involvement in the game of football.

Like the 1938 England team?

That's a terrible slur. Surely everyone knows the teams were lining up for a trial of a new underarm deoderant.

Sure - AXEis

...maybe even Right Guard.

bol or aerosol?

Was only trying to say that the way the Government and Police are, if this was a Muslim publicly saying thngs that could induce hatred, then they would be getting severely reprimanded. Just because its sport doesnt make it alright. Any way, the man at the top, Mr J Reid, seems to back everything that conspiracy theories against Celtic mean, and this from what is meant to be a upstanding former member of Parliment.

Every team at some time doesnt get the rub of the green ( no pun ), and a poor run of luck. But it often happens to the teams near the bottom with a bad team. We could easily complain plenty about some refs and decisions against us. You never hear them complain when a player dives to win a penalty, or free kick, or score an offside goal, or get away with a booking when it should be a red.

To me both Rangers and Celtic are the most physical teams in the league, and for years it has amazed me how they get so few bookings and red cards, yet when they play in europe this average seems to go up horrendously - it that cause refs arent biast towards one or another.

The real issue sometimes is your team werent good enough on the day or the night. See Rangers didnt have a problem scoring against the Accies, but Celtic should have easily outscored a poor Accies team with injuries and poor form but their team couldnt muster a goal from open play. Hamilton have probably not had much luck this season, injuries and so on, but often that luck will change somewhere along the line - just hope its not to soon for them.

However the blocking what they are saying, no, they can still say it but not to the press. Thats something they should sort out in meetings and through discussions rather than slagging things off in the press. How would Celtic like it if the SFA and SFL started slagging Lennon for his players behaviour, or his behaviour, or the Clubs. Oh hang on a minute, they have started to publicly criticise Celtic. If they dont back off , both of them, and sort their differences in private, it will be the whole of Scottish football suffering again. Neil Lennon is just the puppet the public are seeing saying these things, but the thoughts of the board must be exactly the same, as thet certainly havent distanced themselves from his remarks.

Yet if it were us or County that we shouting our mouths of about south bias, we would have been dealt with by the SFA and SPL severely by now

IThe SFA/SPL HAVE TO CONTROL THE GUY - HE IS A NUT JOB IGNITING THE PETROL.

IF NEIL LENNON WAS MUSLIM HE WOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER HOUSE ARREST BY NOW, LOCKED AWAY AS A DANGER TO THE PUBLIC. I saw in the Sun the other day a list of games where poor decisions had effected the games outcome, Lennon says every second game - but its actually been 3 games out of 30 this season ( Rangers penalty, Hearts, and Hamiltons goal ) . Think we could argue to a similar amount, but we have common sense in our manager. ( How many decisions have Celtic had that shouldnt have been, penalty dives etc )

I don't get the Muslim bit, could you explain it some more please?

Martin O'Neill is to take over as West Ham manager after todays game against Arsenal . Good appointment IMHO .

Good for the Hammers no doubt, but O'Neill is not exactly scaling the heights, considering he was tipped for great things.

The man is an absolute disgrace, if you notice with Lennon there is never any issues with the refs when his team are winning games, essentially he is a sore loser and the man has no dignity or respect for fellow managers/players.

A 6 match ban is the minimum he should have received, his actions against Hearts were incredibly embarrassing and i feel the SFA were actually lenient with him.

I think they actually won the game that sparked all this, the Dundee United game.

Pre merger if a mob was coming to Inverness to play any of the teams a "welcoming committee" would have been on hand to greet them , the committe would have been made up of fans of all 3 Inverness sides . No way would Elgin have been allowed to swagger about our town taking the p!ss at will .

Sad day indeed if that was the case. You'd think the younger generation would get their act together. Not as if there is a shortage of headers in the town.

Was speaking to a few older headers ( ex ICI ) yesterday who were disgusted at the way Elgin had the run of the town on Saturday , was talk of an ICI reunion if it had gone to a replay .

You think they would have seen that coming. Elgin must be p!shing themelves at what Inverness football fans have become.

Pre merger if a mob was coming to Inverness to play any of the teams a "welcoming committee" would have been on hand to greet them , the committe would have been made up of fans of all 3 Inverness sides . No way would Elgin have been allowed to swagger about our town taking the p!ss at will .

Sad day indeed if that was the case. You'd think the younger generation would get their act together. Not as if there is a shortage of headers in the town.

I will back up Dougal. Caley were a bunch of hun lovers with the exception of IHE who did frequent Celtic Park. This is the completely unbiased opinion of a Jags fan of course!

I do love your grenades Dougal. You are a tw*t but you are our tw*t.

The Howden End was a real mix with plenty hibees and jambos, as many tims as huns, and more than its fair share of sheep too, the latter mostly from Dalneigh.

Dougal, can you provide a link to one of the pictures from Mantis' site where there there are Union Jacks displayed? As someone who provided quite a few of the pictures for the Caley Nostalgia Site, I'd be quite surprised if you could. That's not to say that the Union Flag wasn't ever displayed at Telford Street, it undoubtedly was, but to suggest it was 'festooned' is quite ridiculous.

Caley were known as the Rangers of the North as they were the most successful Non-League side in the UK, much the same as Rangers as the most successful side in the UK Senior Leagues. For many people Rangers were also the Caledonian of the Scottish League .

Take it your camera was broken this day?

http://www.caledonia...eason/merge.jpg

dougal

Which one are you in that photo Dougal?

125 years in 2011 since the formation of Caley. Made me think of the centenary season, not that I have any outstanding memories of it. The only memento I have is an official centenary tie.

Anyone mind what the official celebrations were?

I recollect being at a big meeting in the Caley Hotel ballroom, chaired by Norman where the speaker was Nat Lofthouse. Lofthouse had considerable experience in club fundraising and the meeting led to the formation of the Centenary Club. I would suggest that for Caley's 8 remaining years and ICT's 17 to date, the Centenary Club has had a massive impact on the way football has unfolded in this city. Certainly by far the most profound spin off from Caley's centenary in 1986.

Thanks Charles, I don't suppose there will be any official or unofficial commemoration of the 125th anniversary. Maybe the rumoured Caley animals reunion will take care of that.

Stan,So it's all down to the police being heavy handed?

Where did i say that? My point is simply that aggressive policing can exacerbate the situation. It was a response to your suggestion of water canons and "a good kicking" as potential solutions to the problem. The article that i linked gives an idea of how angry aggressive policing can make peaceful protesters.

As for the comment about everybody paying for Uni, why should I pay for some layabout to go to Uni? Will they pay for my road tax? When they are highly paid professionals will they repay me? No they won't.

Surely you accept that society benefits from having trained doctors, nurses, engineers and teachers? I would take it further and say that we all benefit from having artists, historians, theologians and sociologists - educated people in general. Grudgingly, i even accept the need for lawyers, economists and accountants. If these people end up earning significantly more than you then they will subsidise the roads you drive on under our system of progressive taxation.

No man is an island and we have to pool money together in order to improve the lot of the population at large. I don't benefit from some stranger undergoing heart surgery on the NHS and i may never need to use that service myself but i certainly don't object to my taxes being used for that purpose.

While we are discussing this, what is your take on the "students" attacking the car of Prince Charles and his good lady? I suppose that was the police's fault as well. They were nothing to do with the "protest" and should not have been attacked like that.

I applaud them for their efforts and lament that they didn't go far enough! The fact that the royal couple were out in central London in the middle of a large student protest is a testament to the stupidity of that pointless, inbred family. I was at the Laphroaig distillery recently and was informed that the Duke of Rothesay has a standing order for 6 bottles of 18 year-old every month at a cost of ?300 to the British taxpayer. If you want to get your knickers in a twist about wasting money than i suggest that he is a more suitable target for your ire than the students.

spot feckin on.

125 years in 2011 since the formation of Caley. Made me think of the centenary season, not that I have any outstanding memories of it. The only memento I have is an official centenary tie.

Anyone mind what the official celebrations were?