Rangers: passion and commitment above all reason

So it is that I find myself covering a venerable Scottish sporting institution, which has caused disappointment, heartache and agony to countless people in recent times and in which the central recurring name is Murray.

But  Dour of Dunblane’s not due on court at Wimbledon for a while, whilst two other, better players slug it out. So just time for a few thoughts on that other Scottish sporting institution…

On Wednesday night the Rangers Fighting Fund held a significant meeting with the current management board of the club – also there, manager Ally McCoist.

The version of minutes I have in front of me has been checked out with a prominent supporter who was at that meeting and he agrees with me that it is a proper version of what happened.

For those who might not know yet, a brief run-down of the key points:

– 76 per cent of 20,000 fans polled say they want Division 3 football – a feeling reflected by a straw- poll at the meeting
– Malcolm Murray explained all assets are owned by Sevco Scotland and Craig Whyte is not involved
– Board said £11m had been raised and injected into the club
– Shareholders list was read out including Blue Pitch Holdings as major 23 per cent shareholders
– Charles Green said the club would be floated giving fans the chance to buy shares
– Green said he accepted overwhelming fans’ desire to go to Division 3
– There was a desire for Donald Findlay, chairman of Cowdenbeath, to view the club’s title deeds, but John Brown stated Mr Findlay did not wish this to be known

And then it came to questions from the floor for manager Ally McCoist. I am told he expressly asked key management figures at the club Malcolm Murray and Brian Stockbridge to stay in the room. They’d offered to leave, to enable him to speak more freely perhaps to fans present.

Mr McCoist was asked:

“Will you be asking the fans to renew their season tickets?”

Again, my source who was present at the meeting confirms the following summary of his answer as accurate:

“…He said he couldn’t ask the fans to renew the season tickets as he didn’t know which players would be there or where we would be playing and he wouldn’t want it on his conscience that our hard-earned cash was being spent on something he couldn’t guarantee. Also, he didn’t have full trust in the current board for two reasons: he hasn’t known them long enough yet and because of the actions of the previous incumbents.”

To renew or not to renew?

Now, my reading of that is a clear warning that, as a manager, fans should not – yet – renew their tickets for five pretty clear reasons. Personally I don’t think there’s much ambiguity here and Mr McCoist’s reticence in recommending renewal seems based on eminently sensible reasons:

– no team
– no league
– personal conscience
– no trust yet in the board
– concerns about previous incumbents

However, my source who was there carefully explained that the summary given doesn’t quite convey the mood and that he was rather more equivocal in his demeanour if not his words. Which explains what happened next and what seems at first a contradiction. He was then asked a hypothetical – would he, if he were a fan, renew and he said:

“…in a heartbeat…”

And, I’m told, later privately thanked the fan for asking a question which allowed him to endorse the faith which true fans will no doubt put in their club, going forward, whatever league they are in.

But speaking as a hypothetical fan in never-never land and pleading for passion and commitment above all reason, is clearly a different thing. It’s a great thing. It’s what keeps all clubs in existence of course and this one has it in abundance – in industrial quantities.

Great stuff – but the practical real world: five reasons why you should not renew – not one in favour of why you should.

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