Dermot Desmond’s latest plea for Celtic to be admitted to the FA Premiership is further proof, if it was needed, that the ‘Old Firm for England’ story just won’t go away. However, it bothers this Bear that the Great Unwashed are taking the lead, while Rangers’ are saying and doing nothing.
Given the state of Rangers’ finances, I would have thought it was in our interests to beat the drum for a place in the Premiership. When relatively modest clubs like Blackburn Rovers and Southampton can lure a players like Lorenzo Amoruso and Neil McCall away from Ibrox, our status as a major player is under threat. Instead of moaning about the mismanagement of yesteryear which got us into so much debt, we should be actively pursuing new income and a route into the English money pot is one avenue which should be explored in great detail.
Lets be clear about one thing, if we sit back and wait until we are invited, we will wait for a long, long time. Rangers must be proactive here, going out to cultivate the English clubs who might be less inclined to support our presence, and we should put our case to Sky TV who, regardless of what anyone else might say, are the guys who call the shots down south. Spell it out loud and clear, let them know what we can bring to their league and their TV schedules and, if we present our case properly, outlining the financial benefits for THEM, they will welcome us with open arms.
Think about it. What would make you switch to Sky? Leicester City v Southampton or Leicester City v Rangers? And knowing the increased viewing figures, advertising time would be much more sellable, bringing in more dosh which, sooner or later, would filter back to our club. And if we were to push ourselves into that league, it would then be easier for Big Eck to attract better players to the Brox and we would soon be on our way out of our current trough.
We might have to spend a year or two finding our feet but, once we settle, we would be able to go head-to-head with Man U, Arsenal, Chelsea and the rest. Surely, this must be what the men in the boardroom want to see. If it is to Rangers’ benefit, they are duty-bound to do what they can to make it happen. Or are they content to sit back, swan around Scotland like Billy Big-Timers when, in fact, they are small-minded, unambitious nobodies, only too happy to amble on in this cosy little backwater?
Parkhead directors like Quinn and Desmond are not going to let this go. They will keep chipping away at the resistance and, sooner or later, they will have their way. Are Rangers content to let them make the running, happy to coast along on Celtic’s coat-tails, then reap the benefit like shifty opportunists? I certainly hope not because, make no mistake about it, if they are allowed to lead the way, Celtic will make sure they go straight to the head of the top table, while Rangers are left to pick up the scraps with the lesser clubs.
If David Murray and John McClelland really are the shrewd businessmen they want us to believe they are, they should give this topic the priority it deserves. As things stand, we can only hope to gradually reduce our debt, bit by bit, but if we go about this bit of business with some urgency, we might be back in the black pretty quickly and ready to go on to even bigger and better things.
Why not?
LITTLE BOY BLUE