I’m back in the old country for a few weeks after many years overseas.
I have actually journeyed here a few times over the last 12 years but not really had the time to drift around Glasgow and see the changes. Last time I was here, work had barely started on the Commonwealth Games stuff and it’s been a real eye-opener for me to see what’s come down and what’s gone up.
It has been very thought-provoking that my “sightseeing” today has coincided with Suck’s article on the “Battle of Communications” and with the publication of that insidious picture of Ibrox on Twitter, which I highlighted on the same thread. That thread contained many hard-to-bear truths regarding just what we as a support - and a people group - are up against.
As I drove through the streets of Bridgeton and then slightly further east, I noticed the splendour of the Emirates Arena and how the area surrounding it had been cleared of all the grubby, austere buildings which once blotted the landscape there. You don’t have to consult a tourist guide or map to know what else is in that vicinity. The levelling of properties around this polished carbuncle has served to present Breezeblock Boulevard in the best possible light. Much as it pains me to say it, and much as I detest the content thereof, what they have done with the exterior is impressive. It is a shrine for the patron and a gallery for the neutral. Sakes! they’ve even managed to spell the name of their club correctly.
That this has even been possible is where celtc fc have played a blinder. Although they have consistently failed to match Rangers on the pitch over the decades, apart from a few blips here and there, where they have wiped the floor with us - and I know I am preaching to the converted here in many respects - is in politicking and PR. This has been going on quietly for decades and is now bearing the richest of fruits for them.
The celtc-minded in local and national government have not only created the political environment which have made this new landscape possible, they have ensured that many of you actually pay for it! Doesn’t that feel like a real kick in the nuts?
Contrast and compare that with the Evening Times image of Ibrox, and think of what you witness as you walk in the environs of one of the grandest old stadiums in the world. The landscape there is one of neglect and dilapidation, as was The Stadium itself until the Kingsmen got the keys.
Planning permission for various developments have been sought and denied over the years, yet in the East End there couldn’t have been a much better job done if an architect/designer was given a blank canvas and told to do what was needed to present a particular property in the very best light. To think that all this surgery and make-over was done for an opening ceremony! My goodness, they’ve even managed to rid themselves of a listed building on their doorstep. Our rancid neighbours have been laughing at us - and all the way to the bank.
I’ve been reading of and conversing with Bears who state we are “on our way back to the top”. That may be so, but I would contend that we face many severe battles ahead; perhaps greater battles than we have ever faced before.
It has taken the dark side a long time to get into the position they have, and they’ve done it largely while we as a Club - and an electorate - have stood by and watched. They are not about to easily surrender what they have gained, however ill-gotten these gains might have been.
Our battles will take place on many fronts - on the pitch, in the media, in politics, in the legal system, in finance and possibly elsewhere. As a support we not only need to be united (no laughing at the back please) we need to be active - and preferably pro-active. I know this has been talked about greatly but a single supporters’ body would be a good start. Just think of every sphere where we have a justifiable grievance with how we are treated and portrayed. These are the areas that, immediately and going forward, we need to target and challenge.
As I see it, we are only a small part of the way back to the top. The landscape has changed and it’s up to us - all of us, no matter where we are located (we can even do our bit from overseas) - to make sure things happen in the best way for Rangers Football Club. It certainly won’t happen if we allow the status quo to remain. We need to remember too, that the majority of Bears are not on FF. They need to be told - so tell them.