Loyalty Needs to Work Both Ways

[djbroxybear 0]

MORE THAN JUST NAMES ?

 

Many Rangers fans have at one point or another been a member of a Rangers supporters club. A great many of these clubs bare the name loyal , be it in a place name like the our own Tyneside True blues RSC, Bridgeton Loyal or the Las Vegas , the Corby , Naples , Dubai all RSC's . There are many many more all around the world and that's before we start naming clubs after famous club servants like the Arthur Numan loyal RSC etc . Also there are as many ,if not more , RSC's with the words True Blues proudly in their name. It would seem loyalty is a trait we admire and respect , something not taken lightly but seen as a commitment and a statement of intent. A pledge or declaration that we are not just glory hunters or part timers but we are linked forever to the club we love. We are not just there when the going is good like supporters of so many other lesser clubs.

 

STANDARDS

 

Once a Ranger always a Ranger was the saying in my younger days . More than a club and Rangers Family are the current sayings , but they mean the same thing . Your never an Ex Rangers supporter , oh sure some may not have been there for years even decades, but they still class themselves as Rangers men and women , and rightly so . I make no apology for quoting , in my opinion the greatest Rangers of them all

 

Mr Wm Struth

"To be a Ranger is to sense the sacred trust of upholding all that such a name means in this shrine of football." .

 

So what does "being a Ranger " mean in today's world of money , share issues and players getting paid huge wages ? To me being a Ranger either as a player , manager , supporter or any member of the Rangers family is all the same and is down to 3 things .

 

1: Never letting the good name of the club down by your actions or your deeds. Knowing that you are only the guardian of the name Rangers supporter, player, manager and that you have been awarded the honour or being called such until your time is over and the next generation takes your place .

 

2: Remembering with pride that you are a Ranger and feel privileged of being so . Standing by each other when things are not going well , thereâ??s enough people out there have hatred in their hearts towards us without us ever fighting amongst ourselves

 

3: Loyalty , both of the fans towards the club and the club towards the fans , because one is nothing without the other

 

 

LOYAL AND TRUE

 

We all know where and why we are at the top of SFL division 3 instead of our rightful place on top of the SPL. We are where we are and we will progress back to our rightful place , the reasons we still have a team to cheer and a club to love is down to loyalty . The loyalty of our supporters who have stood by us while it seemed everyone and anyone lined up to kick us while we were down . The same loyalty that has broken football attendance records and had media crews from all over the world visit our club to see just what it is that makes the most successful football club in the world truly " the people "

 

The loyalty of great servants like Sandy Jardine , who was already rightly regarded as a legend, who led us on a protest and offered us a voice when so many others stood back in silence . We owe him a lot and we will never forget HIS loyalty to us .

 

We also owe a huge debt to our manager Ally McCoist, who many believe held the club together. While deserters fled and the torrents of hatred envy and bile of our haters fell on us in a seemingly relentless tide . Ally stood up for us , not by going into petulant rants as other managers do, but with dignity and upholding the standards befitting the position he holds , by saying the words " we don't do walking away " he steadied the ship and helped galvanise our shell shocked and fragmented support making it something once more to be reckoned with . Ally has had the worst start that any manager could imagine in his worse nightmare . From the time he took over from his mentor , Walter Smith , until now the club has been in turmoil of one kind or another and only of late has any kind of stability returned . He has never been able to spend the time doing the job he loves , coaching the team , and to be honest it shows . Standards have dropped and although we are on top of the league the performances of our players on and off the field is not the standards that should be a prerequisite for wearing the jersey . I myself find some of the press statements he makes about the squads work rate and attitude being ok to be a sign that he has maybe lost touch with the mood of the supporters he was so recently in tune with . That and the odd barbed comment about people not on the inside not understanding whats going on is a worrying sign and but one which I am prepared to put down to his frustration at his players and his reluctance openly criticise them in case it has a negative effect, as the recent statement from our CEO did. I prefer to think he is trying to personally absorb any flack away from his squad , but even his loyalty must have its limits and the players are in his debt as much as the fans so its time for them to step up.

 

Many are openly saying Ally should leave now as he has let things drop so far and that he won't be able to turn it around . Ally had openly admitted he knows of there are shortcomings and he will address them . If ever anyone deserved our loyalty , the time and chance to succeed then it's Alistair Murdoch McCoist MBE . So I say we should stand by him as he has stood by us , we should not be questioning his every move but by the same token he must recognise that we to love Rangers and like him want whats best for the club . No man is bigger than the club and I sure Ally would be the first to agree with that. If Ally can't take the club forward on the park at a pace that matches the supporters aspirations and that of the business then he will go and go with out thanks , but at least give him every opportunity to try. I believe that by turning our backs on one of our own who has stood by us without giving him every chance we would be loosing what makes us more than just a club . We Are The People , and rightly so !

[der Berliner 3,286]

Maybe I am wrong, but IMHO (and no disrespect to any reader on here) the "internet ultras" as we say over here should not be seen as "the voice of the support". Sure, many go to the grounds and hear disgruntled voices too. Sure, the media hacks scan the boards and twist their headlines accordingly. But is that what the Rangers support really thinks?

Back to the "internet ultras". I've seen it on here, I've seen it on FF, and, for some reason, I've not seen it over on the German board.

Seen that people quickly revert to lambasting the players and the manager for a bad game, a bad performance, a bad result. All too quickly people have fallen back into the rhythm of the fickle and disgruntled supporter who barely sees beyond his blue-tinted nose. That is no new occurance, but it festers much faster in this new age of mass internet info, where people sometimes appear to think that the world revolves around e.g. Rangers FC and e.g. laughs at us for the odd draw or defeat. It does not. No matter how badly the Scottish media want to paint it that way. Yet, the latter festers amongst the online community and as far as I see it, objectivity quickly gets lost. Or let's not call it objectivity, but memory. And the way opinions are dealt with, especially those not in line with e.g. the McCoist critique, is another sign of the times.

 

Rangers supporters are fickle. Always have been, always will be. They see and want a certain standard to be set and maintained by the players and managers and when it does not come to pass, hell breaks loose. No matter what, it seems. While no-one will be happy about the state of the club, the players and the performances, the tactics used by the manager et al, people should still keep in mind why that is the case. IMHO, many have all too easily fallen into the usual rhythm of venting their anger, no matter what. And I'm no exception to this, even though I tend to restrain myself because of what has happened to the club. This will not be the same team next September and if we are still producing anything like what we see this year, the manager will, for IMHO the first time, have things to answer. Till then, one would hope that people adjust their expectations to reality on and off the park. The disappointment levels will be much lower, the sweetness of success a touch better. But we all should not fool ourselves in thinking that for the next couple of years - as it looks - Rangers FC will produce any of the grandstand and quality football that people have seen before and people expect. The pendulum swings both ways. Nigh all of us asked for the Third after admin, we should - even if it hurts - for the time being start to learn to live with it. Rangers FC will always stride on. even if the valley looks rather deep just now.

[GovanAllan 0]

So we aren't a football club then, we are a members club and what happens on the pitch shouldn't be the be all and end all.

 

Can someone tell me why we go to watch the football then, we should just pay our money and stay away after all what does it matter if the manager can't get players to pass to each other and play the game at little more than walking pace.

 

I'll need to remember I'm not a "Football" fan I'm just a customer, who shouldn't complain when what he's watching would get the game banned.

[der Berliner 3,286]

GA ... I cannot follow your line of thought at all.

[Bluedell 5,356]

Maybe I am wrong, but IMHO (and no disrespect to any reader on here) the "internet ultras" as we say over here should not be seen as "the voice of the support". Sure, many go to the grounds and hear disgruntled voices too. Sure, the media hacks scan the boards and twist their headlines accordingly. But is that what the Rangers support really thinks?.

 

Generally you are correct and the views expressed on here (or FF, RM and VB) don't necessarily reflect the voice of the support. However going to games and speaking to people, I do believe that the general view is that Ally doesn't have what it takes and think that it would be better for the club if he was replaced before the start of next season, although not yet calling for him to resign.

[GovanAllan 0]

GA ... I cannot follow your line of thought at all.

 

Tend to agree with you DB.

[simplythebest 0]

Nonsense, we don't owe anyone anything, certainly not the role as manager of RFC anyway. Too important a job to throw about as some sort of gift.

[54andcounting 0]

I suppose I must be an internet ultra, I've been known to slag off the performance of our team on here within reason, but I also do the same when sitting at home or out having a meal or in the pub with family and friends. I haven't been back to Ibrox since the 1-1 draw with Elgin (that is my right), that was the last straw for me. I've been a Rangers fan since before Ally was born and I have to say this is the worst side I've ever seen wearing the jersey.

I've stood in the distant past at the main doors of Ibrox Stadium in protest along with thousands showing their disgust at what goes on at the club...the internet has helped us not to have to do this any more.

[simplythebest 0]

I'd feel this way whether I was on the internet or not, i'm watching it with my own eyes every other week.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

the booing at ibrox isn't just Internet forum members.