It is true that he has also reaped outflows from our club but the real cost to this may not be as dramatic as we sometimes get swept along to thinking on here. For example, there is little to suggest that the commercial terms Azure have been given are dramatically at odds with any other non-Murray entity. Its still cause for unease, but in the grand scheme it may not be fatal/
Murray has spent time and money on Rangers and it would be churlish for us not to recognise this.
So why then does he walk a fine line with so many supporters? Well there are two main strands to this I guess.
On the park – it's an accepted football equation that the heat gets turned up when results don't go on the park. We have been lucky that we haven't endured too many dry spells under Murray. Even when the MON juggernaut and adventure was underway down Parkhead way we still won 2/5 (very sweet) championships. This isn't what we want – but if that's what we can win in a dry spell then it IS okay.
We thought we'd gone beyond scrambling behind Celtic with the appointment of the prized PLG. It hasn't worked out so far (I have my doubts that it will, but that doesn't want me desperately hoping it does). And I have sympathy for Murray in that – he doesn't make the football decisions, he has to trust the judgement, training methods etc of the football men he hires. And we did endorse this. Thus far he's got every right to feel sore about how things have been going on the park.
One final niggle though that needs aired, and that's about the profligate spending of the Advocaat era. Some of it was a sign of the times, the information superhighway was going to make football clubs modern day Swiss banks and we did sign some real genuine quality players. But it was out of control and we signed some paupers too. We gave huge contracts to ordinary players – value for money wasn't a consideration – it should have been, even in a boom time.
Off the park – This, I think, is where the relationship and credibility really falls down. There could be books written about this, god knows there are enough examples. But it boils down to the fact that Murray has never tried to build a relationship or rapport with the fans. His suspicion of the RST at the outset shows that Murray sees himself as unanswerable to the punters – they are just nuisance consideration. A really empathetic chairman would have been enthused to hear and work with such committed Rangers supporters willing to volunteer their time in my most humble opinion. It was never ‘we' just me and them for Mr Murray. I hate to say it but Celtic are so comfortable, unrepentant and unified – the same (sometimes admirable, sometimes warped, but always consistent) ethos exists in the Boardroom, dressing room, stands right down to the mhankiest Gallowgate slop house.
Murray has never defended the fans with the vigour he defends himself and Bain. I am a fan, a decent member of the community yet the perception in modern Scotland is that I MUST be a nasty person to support Rangers. David, I'm not having it. Murray never got through to the FTP Brigade to foster a belief, pride and expression of Rangers. I'd have supported him in this difficult task – fans liaison officers, decent PR for the club's name – this never crossed his mind until the RST inception 15 years into his tenure. The embarrassment of the UEFA conviction has changed this in that it may now be unmanageable. There are other things that Murray has presided over that have lowered the quality of Rangers. Our ticket office, our wonderful chain of Shops, our website is below par. Losing talent like Ogilvy, Peel and Adam was reckless and has cost us.
Combine these these factors and it is no surprise that the Bears are restless. Whether we protest or not is almost irrelevant, we just want Rangers to be winning and are worried that may not happen. After 18 years at the helm you'd have thought that Mr Murray would've figured this out and developed a thicker skin to the criticism. A wiser man would have ensured that bridges were in place with the support so as to really develop togetherness. If only he'd invested understanding as well as time and money.
The Future? Well it doesn't look encouraging for a couple of reasons.
- We can no longer rely on Celtic being a pathetic rabble. They are organised as a business and have created more revenue opportunities than we have. Even if we match them commercially, net retail income, broadcasting etc they will still have 10,000 seats filled every home match that we won't.
- There will be no discrete injections of cash for us in the immediate future. Now that Murray has signalled an end to his tenure (and this could still take 2, 5, even 7 years) there is no way any new ENIC, Dave King investor can be enticed into the fold and give a war chest to the manager to up the quality. And all the while other clubs are rifling their sugar daddies.
The concern is that Rangers may be second (or worse) fiddle in the Scottish stage and passing trade in the European arena for the foreseeable future. No wonder people are worried and some choose to express their worries in public. No one is enjoying this. I'd give Murray immortality tablets and eternal control of Rangers football club if he could give us a winning football team and protect the club's name, fans and commercial interests. That's all we want – none of this is about David Murray – its about Rangers.
The support will be there, it may have a doldrums, moments of doubt or crisis of faith, but Rangers are too important to too many people to wither away and die. I'll certainly be there. I've invested so much of my life in Rangers. I know no other way than supporting The Rangers.