We Deserve Better: time for a little Realism.

The WDB campaign covers a range of points both on and off the field of play, all of them valid and all of them realistic, given time. Some of those concerns have already been addressed; the trophy haul mentioned has doubled and now includes a much needed title, the transfer dealings appear to be being handled more professionally - we are not just accepting the first received offer for Charlie Adam as an example - and with news of a wage cap and signing policy there appears to be a more viable plan for the longer term future of the club beginning to show itself. There are, however, areas that have shown no movement whatsoever - the Clubs relationship with fans away from the alliance and the lack of official comment on our future, or indeed our present, are two that jump out immediately.

The campaign came at a time of great hardship, Rangers well behind in the league and official club statements painting a bleaker picture than at any time since the reign of big Eck.  It would be easy therefore to pass off the campaigns emergence as one born merely of short term necessity. It was not: the concerns raised have been present, with a few exceptions at different times, for a decade or more. Indeed many of the concerns have been championed before emerging to the wider support by guys who saw them coming and although the 'WDB' campaign has been around for a scant 6 months, it has been 10 years in the making.

So, you ask, why the question 'time for a little realism'?

The vast majority of the campaign contains issues that won't and cannot be changed overnight. The title win may be seen as no more than papering over cracks by some, and to an extent it is, but undeniably it shows a sign of certain movement, the same goes for the players we have signed and those who are leaving, the squad's age and cost is reducing, the quality improving. The questions of long term vision may on the surface seem easy to address, but in reality football is an ever changing field, strategies cannot just be cobbled together and adhered to for lengths of time in anything more than the basest terms. They take time and the process is more evolution than intelligent design. So long as improvements are in evidence, then a certain happiness should be felt by all those who created the campaign.

The last sentence should not be read as advocating a softening of the approach, for the contrary is needed. WDB should be being pushed as much or more now than in the past, the title win does not change many of the basic requirements outlined in the campaign, they are still there and still a problem. If you advance from a position of strength you are more likely to succeed, and the Rangers board need this message to be repeated to them ad infinitum, as do elements of our support.

The one single issue that should unite our support is that we, as a club, are not functioning at our potential, and while we need to keep in mind that our environment may seek to limit that potential, the improvements needed are not earth shattering or revolutionary. They are eminently feasible, they require no blame to be laid at the door of any one person or group, they simply need action.