That Monday Morning Feeling: Gers Heading For The Top?

Last updated : 19 January 2009 By SHERBET DAB
If anybody doubted Kris Boyd's value to Rangers' SPL challenge, the big fella underlined the point by battering in two goals which got the Teddy Bears out of jail on Saturday.  With Falkirk 1-0 up as the interval approached, I was seriously worried about them getting back to the dressing room with their lead intact but, when Boydie put himself about in the box and Lee Bullen tried to take the jersey off his back, it was a clear penalty kick and the main man duly did the business.
 
Even when they were down to ten men for much of the second half, Falkirk defended well, with Steven Pressley doing a superb job of assisting the referee and the linesmen, and there was every chance they would get the point they wanted, only for Nacho Novo's pace and shot forcing a good save from Olejnik, leaving Krissie to pounce and rattle in the second goal eleven minutes from the end.
 
Steven Davis' superb solo goal right at the end was the icing on the cake but, be in no doubt about it, this was Kris Boyd's day.  Without him in the side, there is every likelihood points would have been dropped and, in view of events at Pittodrie 24 hours later, it would have been a very frustrating weekend.
 
Regardless of the dire straits our finances might be in, there is surely a case for Rangers biting the bullet, juggling the pennies around until the end of the season, with everything being totally focused on recapturing the league flag.  Winning the title guarantees entry to the Champions League and the cash bonanza therein and I simply refuse to believe that our great club and the man who calls himself the Custodian cannot get through the next six months without selling our top goalscorer.
 
Of course, by taking his goals tally to 22 for the season, Kris Boyd has further highlighted his ability in front of goal and the vultures might be more inclined to offer the sort of fee which will have Murray and Bain doing high fives all around the boardroom.  But with our team having the chance to go to the top of the table at Aberdeen next weekend, it will be our rivals who are celebrating if we handicap ourselves by cashing in on such an asset.
 
Listening to Radio Scotland on the way to Saturday's game, the Beeb managed to find enough Murrayites to have me roaring in fury in the car.  Having lost the league title by selling our best player a year ago, you would think fans would be ever so reluctant to go down that road again but that is exactly what is in the pipeline at this moment and I wonder how they will be feeling in May when Gordon The Garden Gnome wriggles off the hook yet again and the Tims get another free passage to the Champions League, with Rangers facing another potential banana skin in the qualifying rounds.
 
As the Sheepies proved conclusively on Sunday, FC Semtex are nothing special and it is nothing short of disgraceful that, at a time when we really should turning up the heat on them, we are poised to shoot ourselves in the foot instead of sticking the boot right into them.  The SPL title is up for grabs.  Do we want to win it and enjoy the financial relief from the Champions League or are we going to muddle on from one cost-cutting measure to the next, effectively lowering our ambitions at the same time?
 
This really is a no brainer and for a man with David Murray's business acumen and personal fortune to fail to grasp the very basic principle of investing in quality to compete at the top is hard to understand, unless he is indulging on some pig-headed scheme to bring our proud club to its knees.  If he allows Kris Boyd, or any other first team player, to move on while our SPL title challenge is alive and kicking he will stand accused and convicted of the rape of the Rangers.
 
SHERBET DAB