Strawpoll: what do Rangers fans want for the Newco?

First off, some housekeeping matters. No, this isn’t scientific. Yes, some who responded could be fans of other clubs impersonating “Rangers” fans. And no, don’t waste time whining about those speech marks, that’s the only way to describe the current car crash.

For fairness, balance and to get a fuller picture, I asked “Rangers” fans to say what they want to happen to the new company (Newco) now steering their club and football culture into unprecedented waters for Ibrox.

There were hundreds of emails and Twitter responses which I condense below.

Regrettably, everything must be anonymous due to the amount of bile, poison and general nonsense that pervades this saga and which – as many kindly recognise – I’ve tried hard to steer clear of in recent months.

The Ibrox faithful responded in great numbers and were without exception polite, intelligent and thoughtful in their observations. Well, all right – mostly polite. These are people well aware of what their club has done to football, to public life and to the culture of Scotland, and they are not ducking that. Unlike their sorry legion of recent directors, the fans are not walking away.

Precisely seven responses in almost 1,000 say that “Rangers” should be in the SPL. Fewer than 30 favour the Division 1 option – in fact, more want to play in the English leagues than either SPL or Division 1.

So what is happening in Scottish football? In short, when the chairman of Caley Thistle last week described being inundated by his fans telling him that “Rangers” should not play in the SPL (Scottish Premier League), he may as well have been listening to “Rangers” fans themselves!

Across Scottish football and across the leagues, there seems little divergence from the one overwhelming fact currently being completely ignored by Scotland’s football authorities: the evidence here suggests fans – all fans – want “Rangers” in Division 3 and starting all over again.

So what would happen if people acted as if football fans mattered? As if the customer was important? As if the long-term sustainability of the ‘product’ was important at all?

I contend the answer is simple: Scottish football’s governing bodies would be moving heaven and earth, right now, this week, to ensure “Rangers” are where most fans desire them to be.

So to “Rangers” fans. I thank them again. I am fully aware from the insults heaped on me daily that many regard my work over recent months as somehow anti-Ibrox, when in fact it’s all about ensuring, to quote Mr Townsend, that the Bears “won’t get fooled again” and they assuredly will if it’s a case of “meet the new boss- same as the old boss”.

Enough Who lyrics – to the fans.

Hundreds just want to take the punishment – they know fine well the club’s bent, corrupt, finished as Rangers (past tense, no quote marks).

“I have followed Rangers all my life, saw my first game in 1956, never ever did I think I would see such a day. Murray and Whyte have ruined our club. The only way we can look people in the eye is by starting again, build up our reputation and start again. We must not allow the SFA to use us for financial means, it will only rebound on us.”

Or try this. Simple, to the point and speaking, it seems, for tens, hundreds, of thousands in and out of the club:

” 3rd.Reasons:

1. Punishment is due. Take it with dignity.

2. Not beholding to anyone/team for preferential treatment.

3. Remodel the team within a workable budget.”

And –

“Bottom line is we cheated – far to much ignorance coming from Rangers and the Rangers fans in terms of it’s an old regime’s fault. I find this farcical as we’ve got to face the music.”

And –

“Alex, they should voluntarily apply to SFL & publicly announce that they will not count the trophies won whilst players were getting paid dual contacts. A mute point perhaps as they are now a Newco but it shows some contrition, which has been sadly l lacking. David Murray et al broke the rules / law & I don’t feel I could ho back unless something similar to the above happened.”

While some of these issues remain to be decided in the courts, there was email after email along these lines: “shame”…”contrition”…”punishment” and “guilt”. This is not the easily depicted picture of the supremacist Blue Army incapable of seeing that its club could have been anything less than perfect.

And don’t just take my random poll as evidence. Clearly lots of polls are being taken on fans’ sites across the country, and one person was kind enough to send me his. Should “Rangers” play in Division Three – yes or no?:

“Results below:

Yes 92.96 per cent

No  00.04 per cent

As you can see massive majority agreed go to Div 3. It would destroy the SPL and a few clubs with it. The Sky deal would be null and void and the SPL a laughing stock, Celtic probably winning every year by 20 – 30 points. It would be tough on us too, vastly lower quality of squad, smaller crowds, decreased revenue, probably not able to maintain running costs for Auchenhowie. Massive hit on Uefa coefficient both for us personally and Scotland overall. When we returned 3-4 years later the SPL would be destroyed along with some teams if it survived that long. But it would also provide a big cash boost for the Div1 – Div3.”

So clearly motives for going down are varied as one might expect. Not all are blue hair-shirters. Though many straightforwardly are, and fans of other clubs should applaud that and temper the easy mantra that all “Rangers” fans are of a certain mindset etc.

Equally, for a substantial minority, Division 3 is too good a place for the club they love and loathe simultaneously:

“I must say, however, that it still feels dirty starting in the 3rd division, because of the colossal amount of money that the club owes. Particularly to HMRC and Scottish businesses. I worry that very little of this money will ever be recovered.”

And –

“…we deserve expulsion never mind getting into any league but I think we’ll end up in div3. I would actually prefer to see a year ban followed by Div 3 but I can’t see that being workable with regard to running of the leagues this year…”

A widely recognised sentiment by “Rangers” supporters is precisely that often shouted loudly by other fans – that Rangers historically have been deemed too big to fail – until they failed – and even now can somehow not be relegated below Division 1:

“I would like to see Rangers Newco dealt the same punishment that both Airdrie and Livingston were: sent to the third division of Scottish football.”

So why is the Division 1 option, currently being touted by the football authorities for consideration, such a no-no for the Bears?

“Basically we need to rebuild and we don’t want to be hamstrung by penalties imposed by other SPL clubs who want us weak but not dead, so they can continue fleecing our fans and keep there TV deal which basically relies on 4 old firm games a season.”

However, there are some takers for the Division 1 option – which, if the top two leagues are merged, is effectively SPL-lite:

“I have looked upon it from a shoe on the other foot perspective and feel Rangers should be relegated to the first division. If we look at Italy when sporting integrity had been brought into question then titles taken and relegation the equivalent first division was deemed appropriate.”

But –

“I will not renew my season ticket, I have lost a lot of faith in Rangers and Scottish football and I worry this will be the beginning of the end for Scottish football.

So what of the tiny number who do want the club to continue on the top flight as presently set-up. The main argument always advanced is that the SPL cannot function effectively without “Rangers”:

“Through hatred and bigotry (non-RFC fans) cannot see that many innocent people will suffer greatly in all of this. Players will loose their jobs and many ordinary people will loose out also. With less travelling fans there will be less need for ancillary things like bus hire, catering, pubs to open for fans etc. The government purse will loose out on less VAT paid on tickets and the Police will receive less income as there will be less fans to manage.  The list of the knock on effect will be felt in the whole economy and not just on the clubs P and L and balance sheets.”

And –

“Most fans I speak to prefer the Division 3 route, but with two ideas in mind that to me are misguided: one, that we can be proved right as financial carnage takes a grip on the SPL (I don’t want other teams in Scotland to go bust); two, that we will rocket through the divisions with a crack team of young Scots like Ness, McCabe and Hutton, and emerge in the SPL with a production line of talent playing great passing football. I think the reality will be somewhat less exciting.”

There is also understandable confusion from many about just what the Newco is and how it can work its way back into any league beyond starting from scratch. One fan had some intriguing analogies –

“I don’t see how they can consider this application, Newco is a new club and should be treated as such, simply owning Rangers assets for me doesn’t automatically make Newco rangers, would Tesco be trying to persuade us that they are Rangers had they bought the assets with the intention of raising them to the ground before building yet another super market? They would have no more right to do so than I would have the right to call myself Tiger Woods if I bought a second hand set of his golf clubs, similarly I wouldn’t expect to take his place on the US PGA tour just because I’ve taken possession of the clubs.”

Many fans within and outwith Ibrox sense we are at some kind of real turning point with the game in Scotland. The reaction to that for some is to look south, though in doing so many recognise this is little more than a pipe-dream at present:

“The model is not sustainable as a entertainment business. In the medium term avenues should be explored to take Scottish clubs who have a sound financial model, out of Scotland and into the English Leagues. Starting at the Blue Square Premiership and working their way up (or down!) – I would think we are talking about 6 or 7 clubs at most.”

What comes across from a deluge, cruelly edited into a short blog is a whole lot of pain and honesty at how cynically the fans have been used by the club they loved. A recognition in words like “cheating” freely used, that the old club went completely off the tracks. This is not a band-aid solution but major surgery and a long period of painful recovery. All fans know that. Almost.

In short, there’s a huge common ground coming into my inbox between Ibrox and other centres of football culture. A huge consensus. It does not seem to be seriously considered by the bodies charged with governing this sport in Scotland, since none of them is canvassing what fans want: Division 3.

And why? Well since the only argument ever advanced seems to be money – let’s go for money.

It’s a depressing picture. Not least for fans who will not simply go away, anymore than “Rangers” will. Thousands will still want to go to Ibrox. That’s not going to change and nor should it. As one fan said – if we play in the streets, we’ll be supporting from the pavements.

Follow Alex on Twitter via @alextomo