The Rangers' Regime

Written by Calum (rangersmedia.co.uk)

I was brought up a Rangers man, and I’ll die a Rangers man, and although being fairly young and inexperienced compared to other bears, I feel our traditions and morals are slipping and becoming not so important in our day to day lives.

I believe “Rangers” has become an answer to a question for a lot of people: a part-time hobby, a weekend thing.

To me, Rangers is a way of life. Long gone are the days of terracing, where you stood shoulder to shoulder with like-minded dignified bears without fear of singing about what you believed in, and it’s been replaced by an almost graveyard like experience where you are ushered along nicely by a £4-an-hour rent-a-cop who tells you what you can and cannot sing.

I've not experienced anything like the "true" Rangers that I’ve been told about over the years. The closest I’ve ever came was Manchester, spoiled by a few hundred idiots out for the day claiming to be Rangers fans. I've read over the last few months that Manchester was a complete and utter disaster, and yes, on the field we did not turn up.

However, 250,000 Rangers fans did turn up. They turned up to show support to Rangers. Even being fairly young, I never imagined I would experience a European final that the Rangers would feature in, but I did.

It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; one which I will not forget. It gave me the smallest insight to what Rangers once was. I remember waking up early that morning and feeling nervous. I remember the Hotel receptionist, Bus Drivers, and passersby in the street shouting "Good luck tonight" when they seen the famous Rangers shirt.

I remember seeing evidence that "The Rangers are coming" before even being within 150 miles of Manchester. I remember stepping off that bus with my Rangers scarf in my hand, union jack around my waist, screaming, "We are the people," and thinking, "We are unique. No-one else could do this."

But are we? Are we indeed a unique club? Or have we been reduced to being labelled simply as any other football club in the world today? It’s indubitable that we are something special and not just your normal run of the mill club, but is it slowly disappearing under Murray and all his cronies?

Or did we lose it when The Billy Boys were banned? I, for one, will not let the PC brigade and hand-wringers win, while it may not seem like much there are more than enough like-minded individuals who will not let this club become something it’s not.

Enough is enough, in my opinion. Poor management and running of this club will only lead to further disaster. We need to get out of this mentality of its Walter Smith and David Murray are the untouchable's because they have done great things in the past—which yes, they have. It's undeniable that they have both done fantastic thing in the past.

But what are they doing now? Playing second fiddle to Celtic and putting warnings that you may be arrested if you sing a certain song up on the screens is not the Rangers way.

Unless things change soon, I fear it may be too late to save the mighty Glasgow Rangers.