Rangers fans would have been entitled to feel a modicum of satisfaction, perhaps even optimism, during the course of this summer....
Despite their club’s financial meltdown the previous season, they had managed to escape from the bottom tier of Scottish league football at the first time of asking (despite a few embarrassing moments along the way). Former manager Walter Smith had been installed as Chairman (and new personnel had been appointed to the Board), plus several recruits on the playing front appeared to suggest that matters on the pitch would be on the verge of a serious upturn in fortune and quality.
This apparent feel-good factor was reflected in the fact that no fewer than 34,000 fans parted with their hard-earned cash on season tickets for the forthcoming campaign. Finally, it appeared that everything in the Ibrox garden was distinctly rosy.
Or possibly not. With a ball yet to be kicked in anger as far as the league is concerned, Rangers have been dumped out of the League Cup in the opening round by Forfar Athletic (the north east club’s first ever victory over their illustrious counterparts), and once again rifts within the corridors of power at Ibrox have been laid bare across the back pages.
Former Chief Executive Charles Green, a man who increasingly appears to demonstrate a tendency to open his mouth before engaging his brain, sparked the latest controversy in a newspaper interview at the weekend, in which he repeated his former assertion that the current crop of players are the worst Rangers squad in history. But Green being Green, he didn't stop there – going on to suggest that failure this season to win the league and add one of the main cups would cause serious questions to be asked of manager Ally McCoist’s future at the helm.
McCoist, understandably riled by his side’s capitulation at Forfar, responded in kind, describing Green as ‘an embarrassment’ and, funnily enough, the ‘worst Chief Executive in Rangers’ history’.
Rangers, of course, had been warned when Green first came on board, mainly by those who had first-hand experience of his approach during his stint at Sheffield United. How the fans must now be regretting welcoming him with open arms, although in fairness they had just managed to get rid of their chief tormentor, Craig Whyte, and they would have thought that things could only get better…..
Notwithstanding the veracity of Green’s views on the quality of the current playing squad, (he did have a point – the team played in the third division last season, so it stands to reason that of course they were in a sense the worst ever!) and his fondness for controversy, you have to seriously question why he chose to repeat his remarks at this early stage of the season.
Green’s comments cannot be discounted as the rantings of a deranged and disillusioned former Chief Executive who vacated his post in the spring under a cloud. After all, he continues to be the major shareholder at the club, and is still employed on a consultancy basis.
It’s more likely that the latest outburst reflects yet more uncertainty within the Boardroom. Stories are circulating to the effect that major shareholders are seeking to remove certain prominent figures from the Board. And now Walter Smith has stepped down as Chairman, a move that will almost certainly have far-reaching consequences. Given Smith’s legendary status at Ibrox given his achievements as manager, it will be interesting to watch the impact that has on events from here on.
Smith’s appointment as Chairman appeared to have given the fans a degree of reassurance that, if nothing else, a man with red, white and blue blood coursing through his veins was at the helm, and so it follows that his sudden departure will serve to accentuate the continued fragility of this proud club.
Rangers fans of a nervous disposition – and there must be many who fall within that category right now – will be devastated by this, although it may yet transpire to be a tactical move on Smith’s part to undermine Green and his cohorts.
Of course, whatever the outcome in this sorry saga, the point is this – it sounds depressingly familiar to the club’s fans, and leaves the impression that the club appears determined to shoot itself in the foot every time the seeds of a recovery are sown.
Admittedly an embargo on playing the new recruits before 1st September hasn't exactly helped McCoist’s cause here, but that excuse rang decidedly hollow at the weekend, and, whether McCoist likes it or not, it gave a certain credence to Green’s comments.
Whatever the case, it served to remind that this once great football club has some way to go before it comes even remotely close to re-claiming its place within the upper echelons of Scottish football. Whether fans’ hero McCoist remains in the dugout for the long haul back remains to be seen, but that will take care of itself in due course. For now, Rangers fans’ dreams of reacquainting themselves with their great rivals Celtic must feel a long, long way off, which is in itself a problem – the Old Firm fans were never exactly renowned for their patience.
However, that, at least, will be sorely tested for Rangers fans for some time to come. Then again, they've been getting plenty practice in over the last 18 months or so.
Meanwhile, the mother of all soap operas continues to rumble on.