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Title: The Asterisk Years Documentary
Release Date: 2015
Synopsis
Were EBT's Rangers only advantage?
Join author Paul Larkin as he takes you on a guided tour of the privilege, prejudice and prestige that was used to try and put Rangers at the top of European football and consign Celtic to the annals of history for good.
Running parallel to it are the author's own experiences of growing up in poverty just two miles from where Celtic's downfall was plotted, who managed to stop that plot and why Celtic survived and Rangers didn't despite a firm grip on every aspect of Scottish society.
This is The Edinburgh Establishment…
N.B.: This page is for the documentary based on the book, see: Books – The Asterisk Years.
Review
(review by joebloggscity)
You got to hand it to Paul Larkin. He isn’t trying to be a rebel, he’s just fighting for fair rights. Many in the mainstream media may wish to wash their hands of the issues, but there’s a lot to be gained by tackling them. Sadly, it’s only once the rest have risked their own necks to take on the issues, that the rest will jump on board just as all the hard work has been done. Take for example, the laughable claim by the Daily Record that they were at the forefront of the investigations into Craig Whyte at Rangers.
Paul Larkin in this documentary is using this medium to bring to light some issues & revelations on the David Murray years, bringing to the small screen his well received book on the topic.
I was lucky enough to manage to get to see it on his ‘World Tour Screenings’, seeing a viewing at a local CSC at which to my pleasant surprise there was an excellent turnout and a Q&A with Paul Larkin. The doc was well received and the Q&A with Paul Larkin was worth the trip alone, as he is an entertaining, intelligent & engaging fellow. Not all may agree with his forthright views, but he can’t be ignored and is worth listening to.
What we have is actually a relatively short documentary, that uses Paul Larkin at his acerbic best rip into much of the OldCo Rangers management since the arrival of the now discredited owner David Murray, and the strings he pulled and the favours he used to fund Rangers hegemony. We have Paul take us on a stroll into Edinburgh and the institutions used by David Murray, and explains how these fed a monster and played against Celtic and the rest of Scottish football, and how we are all paying for the fallout.
There are some easy to target holes in the whole documentary, such as comparing the financial issues at Celtic in 1994 to Rangers and their respective treatment by banks. The ‘establishment’ support in Edinburgh all being complicit in the whole matter can be a bit lame. The truth is that it doesn’t need a wide net to get these sort of transactions done. Also they could have done better with some of the talking heads, for example ‘Average Joe Miller’ of Not the View fanzine is entertaining but carried no real weight here, and didn’t add any value.
Critics can argue that the financial review is generally crude, and some of the financial analysis easy to tear apart. However, this is only meant to be an introduction, and despite any errors it does more right than wrong, and brings out to the open various points that must be discussed rather than be swept under the carpet. The issues he brings to light have cost many people their careers, and deserves examination.
This documentary is a great start and a good platform to bring to a wider audience the corruption and complicity at the heart of the Rangers/David Murray scandals. Paul Larkin deserves to be commended. Not necessarily all is new in this vid, but it will engage a wider number to discuss and take action. Too many have got away with crimes in this.
This is a wonderful documentary that sums up all that is best about the Internet Bampots and their thankless work in bringing down OldCo Rangers.
Just remember we won and this documentary shows it, but reminds us that there is still work to be done. It's a short documentary, so here's hoping for a director's cut to see it doubled in length.
Product Details
Publisher: [This doc will be eventually put on the web for streaming for free]
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