Victory over Hearts last Sunday left Rangers just one league victory, or failure to win by our rivals, away from clinching their 53rd League Championship crown. The finishing line which has been talked about since late January time is now finally in Rangers sights, Sunday April 25th can etch itself into the Rangers history books. Our Manager and his background staff, the players and all the support who have follow followed all season long deserve enormous credit to help propel the club to this point in its season. It is a wonderful position to be in and one we should all take just a moment in time to saviour the enormity of what we have achieved.
No one should need to be reminded of the struggle we have endured but just encase here it is all in black and white :
No money spent on any transfers in nearly 2 years
Key first team players sold on without replacements
Management working without contracts
Management working against bids to oust them for the cheaper option
Constant speculation of 'doomsday scenario's' just around the corner
Various tails of boardroom infighting and takeover speculation
Horrific story's of cost cutting and rumours of administration
Tales of banks taking over the day to day running of our club
Indeed the above only scratches the surface of what Rangers and us, the support, have had to endure in the recent years. It really is a magnificent achievement and at this moment, as I said above, savour this and when the whistle blows and we are crowned champions (hopefully this Sunday) celebrate it like you have never celebrated before. It really is against all odds that we find ourselves in this position.
Even now as I sit and enjoy our current position I can't help but think headlines in the coming weeks will not be dominated by our on field success, but rather what is going on off it. Sadly this is the nature of the situation we find ourselves stuck in, but we should forget it all to celebrate when that time comes.
Our very own FF board has been filled with speculation and quite often the worst case scenario's are explored which can leave a certain sense of dread and doom. This is only natural, we must remember that throughout this whole scenario, until it is truly resolved and we are in the hands of new owners, people with agenda's are going to out themselves with speculation to suit the agenda they follow. So what advice I would offer is too sit tight and try and be patient.
At this moment there is not a lot we can do to affect the going's on at the club. We could withdraw our season ticket renewals but as the majority will still renew I am not sure this action will have the desired affect. Why would we do this anyway? At the moment all we actually know is that the club have made significant in roads into clearing its debt, potential champions league moneys should also dent this further. We also know that at the moment the club is currently under negotiations with a potential suitor in Andrew Ellis and despite speculation, this still remains the case.
There has been, even in recent days, speculation that some sinister things are going on at Ibrox with regards to Champions league moneys, even suggestions that we as a support should be questioning where the money for player sales such as Hutton and Cuellar have gone. Words, such as siphoned have been used to make suggestions which could have serious implications both legally and financially to Rangers. Even then this comes only with no substance and only adds to the anxiety the support feel at the moment. We can only treat this sort of talk with the same suspicion we do any other news, although it does nothing for the heart strings of the support who worry daily about the future of our club.
This is not to say any of the above is not credible but until someone with genuine credentials at Rangers actually comes out and leads the support in a certain direction that we can all trust and follow, I believe, there is not a lot we as a support can actually do. As above there is certain actions we can take but what these people need to do is come out and lead the support by making these apparent facts available to us all. The club and management have had ample opportunity to break free and tell the support exactly where we stand, instead they have only told us certain things in mystical proportions only to contradict themselves months later. As a support we cannot continue to be pulled by agendas and propaganda when the only common ground, which seems to be getting lost in the middle of all this, is the future of Rangers which should be number 1 priority. Whilst people worry about agendas and their own well being, the very future of OUR club is at stake.
This will no doubt fill the headlines of the papers and media speculation will be rife in coming months but the only thing we can truly rely on and believe in is that Rangers stand on the brink of a historic title achievement. The rest is propaganda and speculation.
It is going to be an interesting few months ahead and most likely fraught with anxiety and in some points worry. However enjoy this title when it comes, celebrate and rejoice in a wonderful achievement for this club, 53 and counting.
This should not be lost in the politics at the club and it is our job as a support to ensure it doesn't.
Champions again Allez Allez!