Andy Halliday reckons the relationship between Rangers supporters and the club hasn't been this fractured for "a long time" as the former Ibrox midfielder used an example from over a decade ago involving Mike Ashley to emphasise his point.
Some Rangers fans, led by the vocal ultra group within the Copland Road Stand, vacated the stadium 55 minutes into the 3-1 Scottish Premiership victory over St Johnstone on Sunday as they made their feelings known about the mismanagement at the club.
Debating with a caller on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, who was irked by the Union Bears encouraging "walking away" during a pivotal period of the season, Halliday suggested that manager Philippe Clement has failed to deliver one of his early promises and it's since contributed to rising tensions.
He said: "Like you said, you grew up in a period of time in the 90s where Rangers were dominating like Celtic are dominating now.
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"A lot of this younger generation want to experience the memories that you experienced and they feel as if they are being let down. The way that the club is being run in the background, they feel as if they are falling short of the standards, and that's why there's been protests.
"One thing I will say is I vividly remember Philippe Clement, some of his messages and words during his early press conferences, and a big thing he used to consistency say was he wants to bring back that synergy between the fans and the players.
"I don't think it's been as fractured as this for a long period of time.
"Listen, I remember in 2015 the Union Bears were criticised for protesting against Mike Ashley and I think the people that criticised them back then are on the wrong side of history now. I've got a funny feeling that it might be the same again."
