scotzine

blatant extremist Celtic site? Hope you are not lumping my site in with that given more non-OF fans write for it than celtic fans

First up - what makes me a bigot? Simply by supporting Celtic and being open about it? Or are you just tagging me with the same brush as elements of the Celtic support singing IRA songs? Guilt by association and all that? What if I made a sweeping statement about you as a St.Mirren fan? Would that be right? Would that be factual or would it just be a load of pish? Its funny, despite all these claims about me being a bigot I have still to see one shred of evidence proving that I am one. Always thought in Scotland you were innocent until proven guilty?? Secondly - I have to point out that at no time have we ever stated that we are neutral. We state time and again that we are a Scottish football site - our contributors are filled with more non-Old Firm fans than those supporting Celtic and Rangers actually. As for all these sites kicking about - we have been on the go for seven years now and we have asked questions of all clubs including Celtic. Personally I have been outspoken on the site, on my ESPN blog and on twitter over the actions and failure of the club to target elements of the support. But again that fact is always ignored. Thirdly - as for TSFM - started by the guy who did RTC I believe - whether he is a Celtic fan or not I dont know. But the posters on that site are mixed not just Celtic. You will have to ask them why they do not question Celtic issues - it has nothing to do with our work. And just for reference - you may see Celtic and their fans as Catholics [does that mean you are a bigot also for such a sweeping statement?] but I am not. I am not religious at all, have not been baptised, christened etc. My mum is Protestant my Dad is Catholic. My wife is Catholic I am not. Also if you actually look at the fans of both Rangers and Celtic now - you will see many creeds, colours and faiths in their ranks. They are not all white protestants and catholics despite what you think.

What you mean this article - http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/andy-muirhead/lance-armstrong-cheating-and-football-hypocrisy_b_2537552.html maybe you should read it again properly this time. It was far from just singling out Rangers - but who needs to know about anything else when you have tunnel vision eh? Did you actually read the article or did you come by the opinion from reading a comment on a Rangers forum?

Don't you know they don't need proof. Just like today's hilarity when they claimed that a Celtic banner at Hampden which read Achill Island CSC actually stated Islam CSC and claimed that it was celebrating the death of that poor bloke down in Woolwich. They didnt need photographic or video evidence then to prove what the banner actually said - they saw what they wanted to see and spat the dummy. Safe to say they all went silent like Tedi there when presented with the truth.

I have seen plenty of comments coming from Rangers fans claiming that I am a bigot - yet have never seen any proof of this so-called fact. Funny that isn't it? Lets discuss your comments: 1. I never stated that Charles Green was a KKK member or the like - here is the one and only reference to the KKK on the site - http://www.scotzine.com/2012/12/lynch-mob-mentality-over-rangers-tax-case/ it was in relation to the lynch mob mentality from Rangers fans targetting those who spoke out against them none more so than the Rangers tax case blogger. I await an apology. 2. When have I ever defended any Celtic fan singing IRA songs? In fact I have been pretty outspoken against those who do sing Pro-IRA songs none more so than the Green Brigade. Check the archives of Scotzine as well as the ESPN blog I write - http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/celtic/id/291?cc=5739 or if you can't be bothered with those facts publish the proof that shows I defended Celtic fans singing IRA songs. I shall wait for an apology. 3. As for the so-called death threats of Rangersmedia - X - wrong again. It wasn't Rangers media, it was the vanguard bears - http://www.scotzine.com/2009/12/sectarian-vile-bigoted-racist-%E2%80%93-vanguard-bears-on-the-offensive-after-being-outed/ and you will see from the screenshots within the article, that those perpetrating the threats were in fact site administrators and long standing members and not myself. I await an apology. 4. As for my argument over twitter with Andrew Dickson - can you remember what it was over because I certainly do. I contacted Rangers after they went into administration and asked if funding would be pulled for the Rangers Ladies team. Minutes later Dickson foams at the mouth on twitter claiming that my card was marked. He then peddled a few choice statements which can be likened to threats although he turned tail and ran before he actually explained himself - although not before he sent out a tweet to his 'followers' who then descended on me like a plague of locusts. On top of that Part two of my argument with Dickson came after he mocked threats aimed at my family - my wife and baby. At the time of the threats - which were reported to Strathclyde Police at the time and who came out to the house and took away the screenshots to prove it - my wife was expecting our baby. And threats were made not only on my twitter account but certain comments were made directly to her via her facebook and twitter accounts. As you can expect I was less than happy about this, none more so given the fact that my wife miscarried the year before. So you can understand why I let rip at Dickson trying to make a mockery of it all. Given that the above ARE the facts of the matter - I await your apology on calling me a bigot and your other baseless lies. But I don't expect you to do so, because those who have claimed all of the above time and again disappear quick sharpish or peddle more lies like a so-called video of me singing IRA songs. Three years on from that claim I have still to see it. The REAL issue here is that I am open about who I support and do not hide it unlike some in the MSM. Also the fact that I call things how I see it when writing articles -backed up by proof - no matter what club it is including Celtic and Rangers. Not my fault that Rangers have imploded over the past season or so and have been making headlines for all the wrong reasons. But some would do anything to deflect away from the truth, from the facts including slinging mud hoping it would stick.

Hi Guys we are looking for someone to do a wee preview for the game tomorrow to accompany the Jags one and also the starting eleven that you think should be playing. If anyone is interested can you fire over an email to editor@scotzine.com On another note we are going to be at the game tomorrow - doing match report as per usual. But also a live blog during the game on our site AND we shall have two photographers as well. Who will be outside the ground from 2.30ish taking pics of the fans. We will also have two guys (inc myself) outside asking fans a few questions on their match prediction, views of players and season etc So if you are about we shall be in front of the main entrance for a while. Keep tabs on @scotzine twitter account for our whereabouts and what we are doing pre-match and post-match. Obviously we will look to speak to fans leaving the game their thoughts also. All this will be on the site later that night - although pre-match comments- we will be looking to fire up before kick off.

Ged O'Brien who used to work in the Football Museum at Hampden as Director wrote a wee piece on Andrew Watson, published it on the site - http://scotzine.com/blog/?page_id=1982 Would like to do a large piece on the guy but there is not a lot of info on him doing the rounds though.