R.E.S.P.E.C.T

One of the most irritating aspects of Rangers troubles in the last 2 years has been a culture within the club, and of people who should know better, to fail to communicate the truth to the Rangers support.

I’m sure most Rangers fans will join me in asking that senior officials at the club embrace a new dawn, and endeavour to tell us the truth at all times. That should also apply to footballing management, and friends of the footballing management.

With the recent departure of Brian Stockbridge from the club, there at least is hope within the Rangers support that the business end of the club is being cleansed with a new transparency on its way under the leadership of Graham Wallace.

Is it too much to ask that the footballing side apply the same approach?

As Rangers players trundled off the field on Saturday, lucky to have secured three points against part time Arbroath, I’m told that Manager Ally McCoist welcomed the players back in to the tunnel with words of congratulation for a great performance.

Bear in mind please that his friends in the media have for the last week been telling us how good he is, how good the coaching staff are, and how good their preparation is among many superlatives.

Are they delusional, or are they knowingly lying to us, to support their friend?

Loyalty is an admirable trait, and something sadly lacking in modern day football, however, is loyalty to Ally McCoist more important than loyalty to the Rangers support? Is loyalty to an agenda to attack the board more important than telling the truth?

This Rangers side is an expensively assembled one, and is in fact the second most expensive in Scottish Football

Therefor we should expect that the football be of comparable or superior quality to all Premiership sides and far superior to anything in our division

Can any Rangers fan put their hand on their heart and state they believe this is the case?

I know the events of the last three years have been distressing and that they can cloud the memory somewhat, but can any of us really look at this expensive side, and see any of these players controlling matches in the Premiership as Rangers trounce Celtic to the title?

After all, haven’t we been told that the reason the squad is so expensive is so that we can compete on our return to the top table, and compete for the cups?

If this current squad is only a transitional one that has to be bolstered by significant investment once again on return to the top flight, it begs the question – Will Ally McCoist need to spend multiple amounts more than Celtic just to compete with them?

I’m sorry I’m just not buying any of the superlatives, or even the seemingly reluctant approval of Richard Wilson in the Herald, or the loyalty to McCoist on Follow Follow from those who just happen to be part of the “Spivs Out” movement.

Rangers have missed a golden opportunity to shape a young (and inexpensive) exciting side who could have had a wealth of experience on Rangers return to the top. Much of that is attributable to Ally McCoist, who has chosen to fill his squad with numbers, “experience”, and dodgy foreigners, then leave the supporters under no illusion about what his footballing outlook is by picking sides full of the same. Every week.

Of course, he will point to Rangers scouting being cut, and blame Charles Green or Craig Mather, but ignore the fact that perhaps they could have allocated more resource to it if he demonstrated a real desire and ability to build his squad using youth, and spent less money on “experience”.

As Graham Wallace works his way through the legacy of decades of mismanagement throughout the whole Rangers business, he would be foolish to ignore the beating heart of the business that drives everything else, ie the football side.

If he doesn’t then he’s firefighting and missing a golden opportunity to make changes while we still can.

Bill