The club was heavily in debt and the new man's first job was to try and steady the club. Fast forward to 2009 and Rangers are once again in trouble, and once again SDM has stepped down from the chair. This time the new man is Alastair Johnston and once again the job faced by a fledgling chairman is a difficult one.
With the news that Murray has stepped aside from both the chair and the board there will undoubtedly be some very happy bears in FF land. Many have campaigned long and loud for this moment, but before they get carried away it has to be noted that as things stand nothing tangible has changed, nor may it in the near future. Murray still has his overwhelming stake-hold and although the day-to-day running has passed to another man, there may be no quick fix.
Until Murray finds a buyer prepared to meet his demands, or drops his asking price, there is no possibility of any sort of cash injection. Murray is beginning to disassociate himself from Rangers, but until he manages to sever all ties we will be in the same position as we were yesterday and all the days before. Johnston may be a far better chairman, but I cannot see anything other than a man put in as a night-watchman (to use some cricket terminology), someone to see out the fading light of a regime that has run its course. It is hard to imagine an investor or consortium producing the required funds and allowing another to keep the top job at the club, and while Johnston could be a superb chairman, he will have little or no scope to show it in the short term. The financial strictures that have conceivably seen Murray forced into making a premature departure will not have disappeared, we still have no money to spend and with the level of cutbacks seen so-far, spending is likely to be as rare as ever this summer.
As a support we now need two things as a matter of urgency.
Firstly we need Murray to sell up and sell up quick. Murray's departure will have put paid to any lingering notions of a cash injection from the man, he is obviously severing ties, and unless he feels a parting gift is the order of the day his contact with our finances will be minimal. The longer we stay in ownership limbo the greater the potential troubles, and the longer we have to wait to see a sign of any real improvement. I'm positive I am not alone in saying that we have already waited long enough.
Secondly, we need to see the new man make a clear and concise statement of intentions. Intentions towards the fans, indications of how long he sees both himself in the role and SDM as the majority share holder and a clear mission statement detailing both our current troubles and how he plans to lead us through them in the immediate future. We have been frozen out of the clubs workings for over-long and the best possible start for the new chairman will be engaging the support in a meaningful and frank way.
One of the key problems with Murray's Rangers has been the lack of supporter involvement, not in day-to-day decisions, but in the way that the running of the club has been kept as a secret. That now needs to change. The questions that will be at the forefront of supporters' minds are easily answered. Is this move a direct result of our finances? We have heard rumours of bank involvement at the club, is this an extension of that influence? Does Murray have a buyer lined up? Is this move a paving of the way for a new owner to come in? Does the new chairman have the ideas and knowledge to take us forward as a club?
Johnston can make his job that little bit easier by taking these questions head on and provide much needed answers in a time of great upheaval.