The Chairman’s malaise

Several years of mismanagement and poor decisions has come home to roost for Rangers as things look extremely uncomfortable on and off the pitch.

There has been severe unrest over the last decade supporter wise, but it’s probably now as unforgiving as I can ever remember it. Especially in a pre season where things are at least supposed to be optimistic.

I’m not sure I can sit here honestly and finger point the blame to one specific or one area to improve when there is so many throughout the club. Fans are fed up of mixed messages when we do hear them and poor communication at other times.

It’s now at the point where the faith in those leading us is at absolute rock bottom.

Being honest, it will take a lot for this Chairman to survive this fan feeling, a vote of no confidence is a certainty amongst the support and a series of poor decisions has got us here, I’m not sure that feeling can be turned around.

The stadium situation is chronic but the vague responses and lack of communication has pushed the support to the brink. I don’t think any of us live in a world where we expect perfection, but simple ownership of situations is badly missing.

The support would react better if we were told, bluntly, ‘It’s a fuck up, this is how it happened, this is what we are looking at both good and bad scenarios, this is how we will learn from it’

All I hear is supporters say ‘Treat us like adults’.

That on top of several projects that never really seem to go as forecasted, (then we are left sitting about wondering what is going on), has pushed everyone’s patience to the limit.

That patience then throws up the anger of Australia, not pushing on after 55, money squandered since generating player sales, Gerrard, Gio etc etc and people are just left pissed off.

Everyone is just a little bit fed up.

Optimism for the new season is probably as low as I can remember and we need a hell of a lot of work done. The mismanagement of a squad, which is littered with average players who are getting too much money that other teams won’t touch, is the definition of this squad and our situation.

There’s very little excitement and by Philippe Clements weekend comments I think he realises now the extent of the job ahead.

“You need a different philosophy and that’s what we are working towards, this is a massive rebuilding job”

Then you look at his other line

“I had other expectations when I came into the club in October, I must say”

Everyone has assumed that means he’s talking about the board and promises he has made. The board have committed to spending £11m with him as manager and more is ring fenced with more faces to arrive. Only two months ago he sat in a press conference and said he was completely aligned with the board and the job he has to do.

See what I mean about mixed messages?

We should not have to fear he is being screwed over by this board but that’s what we jump too because everyone has lost faith in them.

This is a theme from our club that has to stop, everyone has to be aligned. What did Clement actually mean?

The reality is probably an equally uncomfortable one. Clement is having to reconfigure this squad, a bloated wage bill and fill it with potential and assets he can hopefully mature and nurture to greater effect.

That’s what Cortes, Nsiala, Jefte, Barron and Diomande are, potential diamonds that we have to hope can flourish.

The fans shouldn’t have to fear he is ‘working his ticket’ or has been ‘shafted by this board’ because that is unbearable to consider. If we can’t trust the boardroom then that’s an unhealthy place to be.

This squad needs urgent action still and perhaps Clement has to set out his vision. Not cryptically, but it goes back to requesting we be treated like adults. He says it’s a huge rebuilding job, take us with him on that.

We know we need first team players, we need almost every position and several have to leave which we have to ensure that we don’t ever become a safe haven for average journeymen, as we have now.

Six players could leave Rangers tomorrow and no one would bat an eyelid.

The issue we have is finding buyers and finding them homes because no one will offer what we have given them.

But the support won’t tolerate another season of the same old faces doing the same old things.

And by the way I’m absolutely guilty, guilty of getting excited over signings or what Rangers do. Putting faith in the club and knowing what they are doing is probably for the best. Guilty of perhaps not examining exactly what we are doing, call it optimism as a supporter. But even Rangers have sucked the optimism out of even me lately.

Rangers need some strong manoeuvres off the pitch. A CEO that is smart and with a football brain isn’t easy to find but it is an absolute necessity. We need an Academy director that can find a way to nurture talent from our systems and run the youth in way we have craved. That’s just for starters.

The Rangers boardroom also need to learn and listen to the support. It’s extremely easy to say chase this board and sack the chairman, the reality is these men are there until someone buys them out and as we have seen we even the biggest clubs, like Manchester United, that’s difficult.

Rangers fans patience is growing thin if it’s not already evaporated. It’s a long way back now for many at Rangers but if they intend on doing that they better start quickly.

Accountability and normality have to be what we deliver, this constant daily nonsense has to stop. If you ask so much of the supporters then we are entitled to ask for that in return as a minimum.

The malaise of this football club starts at the top. Even if it doesn’t, even if currently feeling is affecting the reality of things, maybe things aren’t as bad as they seem?

The reality is however that a large percentage of our support actually does feel this way.

We aren’t asking for miracles, or millions to be spent or even huge names to come in.

We are asking for normality and accountability, how bad is it if that’s our sole ambition currently?

It’s a tired cliche but we deserve better, starting with the Chairman down.