Shoulder to shoulder on the pitch – at each other’s throats off it.
Quite how things have reached such a state of bitterness in a year when Rangers should be celebrating their 150th anniversary is hard to fathom.
While Gio van Bronckhorst ’s squad were fighting at Dens Park on Sunday to snatch a late win that keeps their dual dream of glory at home and in Europe alive, the club’s biggest supporter group was sharpening the knives and preparing to swipe at the men at the top of the marble staircase.
And the directors didn’t hold back once the first punch had been thrown, hitting back at “disruptors” they claimed were engaging in a “propaganda war” while brushing off their complaints because some of those raising concerns once “craved” an Ibrox blazer.
Like a birthday party where revellers have had one too many, it’s all turning a bit ugly. The Rangers board promised they would deal with the enemy within at the end of the season. Right now “nothing matters but results on the field,” they insisted.
But for a significant chunk of the support it’s decisions taken off it that are continuing to vex.
The club statement speaks of its desire for a “unity of purpose” as they chase Premiership, Scottish Cup and Europa League glory but the one thing the punters all agree on is their opposition to November’s planned friendly with Celtic in Australia. With every game that passes, the protests grow louder and more disruptive.
Van Bronckhorst was visibly upset by the fans ticker tape “bullsh*t” as the repeated interruptions at Dens threatened to derail his side’s stuttering title charge for good.
But the Dutchman could just have easily been casting his rebuke toward the directors box, after all it was the board who signed off on the Derby Down Under and ignited this internal revolt in the first place.
The jubilant scenes that followed last year’s title seem a long way off now and even if van Bronckhorst’s team do go on to claim league victory or Europa League joy, you get the feeling even another round of wild celebrations won’t mask the simmering tensions.
Certainly the Club 1872 bigwigs – who it should be made clear have chosen to align themselves with former chairman Dave King rather than the current board and also have a patchy reputation among the wider support – have a long list of complaints, starting with the actions of managing director Stewart Robertson, commercial boss James Bisgrove and PR supremo David Graham.
Their statement read: “When Club 1872 attempted to represent the interests and concerns of supporters on a variety of topics such as ticketing, safe standing, disabled facilities, season ticket renewals, Scottish football governance and merchandise issues, the reaction of the executive team between March and July 2020 was dismissive, patronising and at times openly hostile. Rangers’ MyGers scheme, rather than being presented honestly as a commercial levy on away and European tickets, has been marketed around a false concept of loyalty based purely on fans’ ability to spend and from which the vast majority have not seen a single benefit.
“The reality is it has simply been a vehicle to try to find more and more ways to monetise the support.
“We have also been extremely concerned to see Rangers, under commercial director James Bisgrove, sign up to dubious commercial partnerships with cryptocurrency and NFT providers despite the obvious pitfalls of promoting these types of high risk, unregulated, third-party ‘investments’ to supporters. The ‘Fan Token’ which Bitci launched in partnership with Rangers has dropped in value by around 90 per cent since its high shortly after launch in August 2021 – leaving supporters who purchased them out of pocket.
“Club 1872 also has documentary and other evidence that over the past two years, since the appointment of new communications director, David Graham, supporters have been regularly fed inaccurate information on issues ranging from player transfers, commercial activities and merchandise to shareholder relations.
“Stewart Robertson even went as far as to fabricate a grievance with Club 1872 and falsely accuse Club 1872 Directors of breaching confidentiality.
“It is the Club 1872 Board’s opinion that this was simply an excuse to cut off all dialogue with us as it became apparent to Mr Robertson that we would not accept supporters being misled on important issues.
“Mr Robertson then attempted to force Club 1872 into signing a blanket Non-Disclosure Agreement which would have had the effect of preventing us from making any public comment about Rangers and required us to report any information we received from third parties to Rangers executives.
“When Club 1872 took legal advice, and on the basis of that advice declined to sign this agreement, Mr Robertson refused our offer to sign amended NDAs for specific, commercially sensitive matters.
“This was a clear and obvious attempt to silence Club 1872 and restrict our ability to effectively represent our contributors and the wider support.”
For the last 18 months the fan group has been trying to raise cash in order to buy out Kings shares but claim their moves were frustrated by a “concerted campaign by individuals very close to the club to forcefully remove Club 1872 Directors”.
The statement continued: “Although this attempt ultimately failed thanks to our contributors, the smears and lies which were regularly broadcast created a false, negative perception of Club 1872 and our attempts to reach a 25 per cent shareholding for supporters through the purchase of Dave King’s shares.
“This was nothing more than a dishonest attack on Club 1872 and fan representation which started immediately after it became clear to Rangers’ executives that we would not collaborate with the way in which they were conducting themselves.
“Indeed, on more than one occasion we had to refuse David Graham’s urging to disseminate information to supporters that was simply not true.” Now Club 1872 are seeking out Gers vice-chairman John Bennett and fellow investors Barry Scott, Alastair Johnston, Julian Wolhardt, Stuart Gibson, George Letham and George Taylor in the hope they “will work with us to improve the way the club is being run”.
Notably, chairman Douglas Park’s name is missing from that list.
Rangers have refused to display the name of the SPFL’s title sponsor cinch on their shirts and around Ibrox this season after claiming the league’s deal with the second-hand car firm breaches the terms of a tie-up with Park’s own motor group.
The Club 1972 statement adds: “Rangers supporters did not go through the events of 2012 to find ourselves
back in a situation where individuals at the club put their own interests ahead of Rangers.
“April is a huge month for the club and the ongoing behaviour of the Rangers hierarchy and their refusal to engage properly with supporters is threatening to distract from important matters on the pitch.
“As supporters we unconditionally support the team, the players and the club but the days of blindly following the club’s custodians when they are not, in our opinion, acting in Rangers’ best interests are long gone.”
