The Murrayspeak, endless spin and his notion of "real Rangers fans" is wearing incredibly thin and he shows more than ever that he simply isn't up to the job of running RFC. Let's take a look at what he said this morning.
"Those people who are doing all the shouting are in danger of ruining Rangers Football Club. It is very easy to list complaints and criticisms - and I am not saying we shouldn't be questioned - but solutions should be offered too. However, too many give the impression they have answers but if that's the case then let's hear them."
Ruining Rangers Football Club is not an accusation that can ever be aimed at the people who have ensured sell out crowds for over two decades, who have remained loyal through an abysmal period of Celtic dominance or who have pumped more money into the club over the years than any other group or individual. It IS very easy to list complaints and criticisms but if Murray engaged with the support in any manner, which he doesn't, he would also see that people are offering solutions to the problems; answers that may not be immediate, but which would be embraced by the support as a whole. For example:
i. Why is there no genuine youth policy at Ibrox? By genuine youth policy I don't mean producing only two top quality players in a decade, I mean making it the club culture to give the talented youngsters a proper chance, regardless of age, rather than playing deadwood and dross in the first team. A focus on youth echoes right back to the formative years of Rangers. We were founded by teenagers and became famous largely down to the youthfulness of the team in these early years.
ii. Why, for years, have our players been unable to master the basics of football? Players aren't born legends. They become better through intensive training and practice, yet the top facilities we have at Murray Park are simply not being put to proper use. Are players staying behind after training for hours a day to master shooting, corners, free kicks and passing? Are they ensuring they are fitter than ever?
iii. Why has there never been a proper a proper scouting network put in place at Rangers? Let's have half a dozen top scouts to scour Europe, ensuring potential signings are watched a few times before we spend money on them. The thought of relying on agents, DVDs or simply signing players the manager knows from the national team is terrifying and completely unacceptable for a club like Rangers.
He continues: "That's the reality and in the absence of another individual or a group willing to put in the kind of money required to run this club I will continue to do everything I can to make sure we remain at the top of the business."
A very simple question: what is your plan? What are you doing to ensure Rangers remain at the top?
"What would happen if I did step back and wash my hands of it? Is that what people really want? What kind of future would Rangers have then?"
Yes, that is exactly what many supporters want. Then we may have people in charge who understand Rangers, who understand what they're running, who can embrace the history and tradition of Scotland's greatest sporting institution and who can run us properly as a club, not just a business.
"I am here, I believe in this club and I won't turn my back."
If you believe in this club, why are you incapable of understanding the history, putting in place a proper youth system, a scouting network, overhauling the club's transfer policy (and sticking to it) or engaging a pro-active PR department? They are all failures that you are fully culpable for. None of them would cost a fortune.
"But while I am here I must make the decisions I believe will benefit Rangers in the long term."
What decisions are you making to benefit the club and in what way are they going to work in the long term? Let's not have Murrayspeak - let's have the plan and some details.
"Right now and more than at any other time in my 20 years we have to make difficult decisions which won't always please the fans. But if we don't act now in a responsible manner the future might not be too bright. But I don't understand the sniping from within our own ranks."
I refuse to believe that an intelligent, successful businessman can't see that the "sniping" is down to the fact that you have failed on so many levels in the last decade. Running the club to the brink of bankruptcy, failing with establishing things that will genuinely benefit the club in the long term and defending Rangers and the support has lead to the "sniping". Do you accept no responsibility for causing the current supporter unrest?
"They have no idea but if they were to come into the real world and look around to see what's happening they might understand."
Using the "real world" as an excuse for your failures at Ibrox is the weakest argument yet. I don't see why the three points above should be beyond us as a club, even during a financial crisis, since none of them would break the bank. We just want them done properly and for the right reasons.
"It doesn't help either when there are journalists who won't lift the phone and speak to me because they don't want to hear the truth. It doesn't suit their stories about Rangers in danger of going under."
Finally, a good point within the Murrayspin! It has been obvious for a generation that certain people don't want to paint Rangers in a positive light, but where is the action from within Ibrox to counter this? Why are we incapable of putting in place an active PR department to feed good stories and cut out the lies? Does anyone on Edmiston Drive have the ability to take responsibility for this and make it work? If not, why are they employed by the club and paid handsomely for not doing their job properly?
"If it were not for certain individuals who will not turn their backs on this club and the real fans Rangers would finish up in more serious financial trouble. But the correct decisions now, no matter how unpopular, will make sure Rangers will be a major power in the game."
The people that do not turn their backs on this club are the supporters. We were here before you and we'll be here long after you're gone. We understand the club like no one inside Ibrox today and it's us coming up with suggestions and ideas to change things for the better. Declaring in public that your club is a shambles is gut-wrenching - no one likes doing that - but when the people in charge are so absent of ideas to take the club forward, when they demonstrate no leadership or ability to engage with the support, when they aren't capable of ensuring the long-term future of the club on and off the field is secure, then the real Rangers fans speak up.
I'll leave it with a very simple question: what exactly is David Murray doing to ensure Rangers will be a major power in the game?
We need action and leadership. Not words.
Strathclyde Bear