Barry Ferguson: Shocked, Dismayed, Speechless.

[ian1964 10,448]

SHOCKED. Dismayed. Speechless.

 

How else is there to feel? Like most other Rangers fans, yesterdayâ??s news that Charles Green has returned to my old club and is picking up another wage as a â??consultantâ? has left me completely confused.

 

Just when it seemed as if the club had moved on and was going in a different direction with Walter Smith leading the way as chairman, Green, below, resurfaces and supporters are left wondering what is really going on behind the old front doors of Ibrox.

 

That horrible feeling of uncertainty has returned at the worst possible time.

 

I donâ??t know what to make of it but there are some questions that spring immediately to mind. Who is running the club? Who is calling the shots and pulling all the strings? And who stands to benefit the most from it?

 

Because, for the last two years, ever since Craig Whyte walked up that staircase for the first time, the best interests of Rangers have been sacrificed by people who are only looking out for themselves and their bank balances. I have to say, it breaks my heart to see what has gone on there since I played my last game in a blue shirt.

 

I havenâ??t spoken much about it in public because Iâ??ve been trying to keep my head down and get on with my own career.

 

But you can only keep your mouth shut for so long when something you love â?? something thatâ??s been such a massive part of your life â?? is being turned upside down and run into the ground.

 

Look, letâ??s get this right. Iâ??m not just a guy who used to play for Rangers. Or who was lucky enough to be made captain and to lift trophies and win league titles. Being a Rangers man was never just a job for me. It was a way of life.

 

I grew up as a Rangers supporter. I was a fan from the time I could speak my first word and take my first step.

 

I still have two season tickets. As soon as I get into the dressing room after playing on a Saturday the TV gets switched on and Iâ??m looking for the Rangers score.

 

And played his part in an unforgettable last day title win at the end of the season.And played his part in an unforgettable last day title win at the end of the season.

Christopher Lee/Getty Images

 

The truth is, one day I would like to go back there as Rangers manager. Iâ??d be lying if I said anything else.

 

I had the privilege of achieving all my childhood dreams as a player there. I made my family proud of me.

 

So, of course, the aim would be to do it all over again in management. Thatâ??s my aim in life and itâ??s what Iâ??m going to focus on the minute I choose to hang up my boots. Rangers manager, that would be my dream job.

 

And by that time, Iâ??d like to think the club will be back where it belongs, at the top of the Scottish game. But thatâ??s why whatâ??s going on right now is important. Rangers have to be taken over by people who have the club in their blood.

 

Iâ??d like to see one person coming in â?? a guy the Rangers fans know they can trust â?? and calling the shots in the best interests of the club. Thatâ??s what I believed would happen when Walter was appointed chairman. I wonder now how Walter is feeling.

 

I canâ??t speak for him but having worked under him for a number of years I know the type of person he is. He wonâ??t shirk his responsibilities and heâ??ll only do what is right for the club.

 

Thatâ??s why Greenâ??s return is a surprise. You see him coming back into the picture and youâ??re left wondering how thatâ??s even possible. Iâ??m not the only one.

 

All the fans will be feeling the same. You have to ask yourself, did this guy ever really go away? Or has he been in the background, working things all this time?

 

People were beginning to think everything was settling down and the club was on the up. So this latest news will hit supporters right between the eyes, just as it has myself. These fans have suffered enough. Theyâ??ve watched the club go into administration, liquidation, the Third Division.

 

Theyâ??ve had to put up with people telling them their club died just to rub their noses in the dirt. Thatâ??s a lot of c***. Itâ??s the same club it always was.

 

But the people who have been running it have a different set of values to the ones that I was brought up with. Thatâ??s why I would like to see change.

 

I would like a guy to come in, a Rangers man through and through and someone the fans can identify with and trust. There are a lot of wealthy, well-meaning Rangers guys out there who have the money to buy up these shares. A few of them tried to rescue the club from administration but they were frozen out in favour of Green. Iâ??d like to think they might get the chance to come in again.

 

Then Iâ??d want to see the fans being given a big chunk of the shares so that what has been done over the last two years can never be repeated.

 

Thatâ??s the ideal scenario but I do appreciate itâ??ll be easier said than done. I mean, would you want to put £10m into Ibrox today when you have no idea who is in charge and where your money would be going? Thatâ??s why we need some kind of clarity. Weâ??ve had Whyte and Green and others like Imran Ahmad all in control of the club. Now Green is back and the confusion continues.

 

The Rangers fans want to see someone in there who only wants to do what is best for Rangers.

 

Thatâ??s the biggest crime in all this, that the clubâ??s interests come second or third behind those of individuals. That should never be the case. It must be Rangers first. Thatâ??s the way I was brought up and thatâ??s how Ally McCoist feels too.

 

Credit must go to Ally and the players for doing the job on the park when thereâ??s been such a circus in the boardroom. Theyâ??ve shown what the real Rangers is all about. They didnâ??t moan when they were sent down to the Third Division. OK, so they grumbled for a few days but then they rolled up the sleeves and got on with it. â??No-one likes us, we donâ??t care.â? Thatâ??s the attitude I like.

 

They can hold their heads high, even if some of the football was pretty dull. It canâ??t have been easy being dropped into places like Peterhead and Annan but they won promotion. That was the aim. Now the club moves on to the next stage in League One.

 

Rangers will get back to the top but it would help if everyone at the club was pulling in the same direction. Rangers first. Anything less is simply not acceptable.

 

 

Record

[Gribz 743]

That’s why Green’s return is a surprise. You see him coming back into the picture and you’re left wondering how that’s even possible. I’m not the only one.

 

All the fans will be feeling the same. You have to ask yourself, did this guy ever really go away? Or has he been in the background, working things all this time?

 

People were beginning to think everything was settling down and the club was on the up

 

TBH the time between Green leaving and Green coming back was the period I had no clue about what was going on. Walter stated he wasn't chairman material and the CE changed hands. There was too much silence for me.

 

I agree with pretty much everything else BF says except people are only interested in lining their bank balances. That may be the case for some, but some are in it to make a success at the same time.

 

Im happy with Green returning, ok so he told a few 'Whyte Lies' to get CW away but that could prove a good move.

 

So long as the club gets steered in the right direction personal opinions of people are put aside for me, its all about doing whats best for Rangers.

 

Oh and Ferguson to manage Rangers one day? He needs to go learn his trade and we'll see on that one.

[andy steel 0]

I know its the Record, but Barry as spokesman? Come on.

[MikeN63 0]

his feelings are an accurate portrayal of how I feel about our Club, currently and I'm sure plenty more feel the same. It is painful to read and hear all this crap. Don't think he's talking as a spokesman, more as a fan.

 

Far too much of these boardroom travails are being exposed in public, which is just manna to the anti-Rangers agenda. None of this is positive, how can any of these people be friends of the Club, if they were then they would understand that drawing on the media to help their personal agenda is about money and not about the well being of Rangers Football Club and their legions of fans.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

i feel similar to barry in many ways.

[Guest nvager]

I think a lot of us are confused just now re Green and who is running the club. I believe it is Mather and Stockbridge and Mather says we are healthy financially. I would however not be unhappy with an AGM/EGM if it meant an audited set of books. I am no fan of the Murrays however and do not want P Murray on the Board.