We’ll start with the manager. We’re an uptown up-tempo club and support managed by a downtown downbeat guy. Hindsight is a wonderful thing true, but this was never going to be a marriage made in Heaven.
I’ll say it again, Alex McLeish has given me the two most important league title wins of my lifetime. (Celtic finished 3rd in 1974/75 remember) If it weren’t for this man McLeish we’d be staring down the barrel of another Celtic 6-in-a-row. And for that fact alone Alex McLeish might, just might be fondly remembered Chez Gub.
I say ‘might’ but because of his steadfast refusal to walk at this point as he takes the club under still further means any sympathies I’ve had for the man in terms of what has basically been a bargain basements financial policy heaped upon his shoulders have long since gone. Alan Morton once asked; "What has happened to the spirit of Ibrox?" I’m now asking; what has happened to the maxim that; "The club is always greater than the man?"
It looks from this lowly vantage point that Alex McLeish is now hanging on purely for a financial cheerio. I’m sorry he should be sacked even now on the eve of the Milan game for industrial misconduct and a dereliction of duties and NO bye bye package. And if he wants to dispute where he has put our club then let this ‘dignified’ big fella take Rangers FC to court. A court he’d be laughed out of at this moment in time.
Think about it, two goals up at Livi and at home to Falkirk and only two points culled from these matches? Four points dropped to Falkirk already this season, four to Aberdeen, and six to Hibs. It’s ironic, way back in the mists of time Rangers fielded a trialist goalkeeper against Hibs, who won 3-2 and this goalkeeper was so distraught at his performance that after the match he promptly changed, walked out of Ibrox and was never seen again. If only Eck had that sort of professional pride, eh?
Of course for a large chunk of the support a sort of blue tinted myopia has helped faze the issue. Yup, there are some out there who will take relief in maybe making the 2nd stage of the CL. Because of the dire straits we are in domestically, making the knock out phase has now been made redundant. But that’s the position that our club has been brought to.
Now to the main culprit, a man who should have been put in the dock years ago. It takes a special sort of financial genius to not only allow a decade long start in terms of stadium, quality of player, financial strategy and marketing to be not only matched by your smaller (and only) rivals but to be overtaken. And make no mistake in David Murray we have that culprit.
Every area of Rangers FC is a shambles, from PR (what a hoot) to the safety of the support away from home to how it is treated by the Police at home. You name it we make a mess of it. And it is all down to the negligence and the apathy of one man.
David Murray is possibly the most charismatic human being I’ve ever met. But he just doesn’t view Rangers in the way that we the fans do. Big Marv may well believe, the Chairman doesn’t. He came it the start of good times, made no provisions in the time of plenty for the lean years and we are now a runaway train that cannot be headed off at the pass.
That’s because there was never any vision or planning for the future. No long term strategy just this conceit and self-belief that he could keep us simpletons happy as long as we were winning at home against teams for the most part with a fraction of our spending power and resources. Well, we can’t even do that anymore. And someone has to pay the price.
Apparently there was a demonstration outside Ibrox on Saturday. Typically we will have some telling us this is not "The Rangers way." The naivety never mind the lethargy here beggars belief. It’s like a footballing Rohypnol is being secreted into our half time Bovrils.
It’s not The Rangers way, but slinking out off home, too stunned to saying anything and watching the club slither still further down the league is acting with dignity? It’s a truly mind-boggling concept.
I know that football has a habit of lifting you out of the doldrums when it is least expected and this season’s CL has offered up two tremendous results as opposed to performances against Porto. (And to be fair I’ll take that anytime) But I just don’t see that the soulless and gutless apology of a Rangers side that brought us to a new low on Saturday is capable of creating even one chance against Inter Milan tomorrow night no matter how weakened they are.
I also think it is odds on that Porto will finally get lucky and wallop the pub team. So if that leaves us in third place as opposed to the Promised Land of the next phase of the CL then expect to see some more anger vented outside after the game. After all, a support can only be cuckolded so often before it says enough is enough. The resignation of the manager will assuredly not be enough. In fact that may only serve to inflame the situation as everyone and their dog knows McLeish should have been kicked into touch a couple of months ago.
Make no mistake the ‘small demo’ on Saturday is but a taste of what is to come and although Alex McLeish is now history the Chairman had better let the message sink in. Only a real class act, Grade A appointment later this week as the 12th manager in Rangers history will take away the bitter tears. In fact if he doesn’t then he maybe find that any future demos may well be aimed at him.
The Govanhill Gub