By RICHARD GOUGH: THE EGM notice was handed over as the first ‘Sack the Board’ chants started up outside Ibrox. If those in control of Rangers didn’t realise how unpopular they were before Friday’s highly-charged protest, they do now. As a former captain, it saddened me to see the scenes at Ibrox on Friday night as police tried to control the crowd. But I don’t blame a single Rangers fan who stood outside THEIR stadium and chanted for the board to go. There is a POISON right at the heart of the club and it has to be removed as soon as possible. Slowly, bit by bit, the club I know is dying. A once proud institution is unrecognisable — and it can’t go on. What we saw on Edmiston Drive before and after the Hearts game was three years of frustration spilling over. And the prospect of Ibrox being handed over to Mike Ashley as security for yet another loan was the final straw for many. The Sports Direct tycoon maybe thought he was pulling off a masterstroke with his move this week. But he scored a massive own goal in the eyes of a Rangers support that has been pushed to the brink. Since Ashley arrived on the scene, some fans have welcomed his interest, while others have had their suspicions. Then you have a section of Rangers supporters who have never wanted him anywhere near the club. The fans have been fractured on Ashley and his unknown intentions for the club. But his shock power grab on Ibrox and Murray Park appears to have UNITED the Rangers supporters against him — and the board. What we saw on Friday night was a fanbase mobilising and joining forces to oust those in charge. Enough is enough. Many of those who have stayed silent throughout this period of turmoil are ready to speak up. Nobody wants to see the sort of scenes that dominated the build-up to the Hearts game. But this is what it has come to. The Rangers board have forced the fans to take this action. We are beyond the point of no return now — there is NO way back for the Easdales and David Somers. Given the abuse they were subjected to on Friday, they must know that as much as anyone. What do they expect, though? It was only a few months ago that Somers told Rangers fans Ibrox was sacred. Now it’s being used as leverage for another short-term fix to keep the lights on. It’s not on. That stadium belongs to the fans — not a board of directors who don’t have the first clue about the club. The very fact they sanctioned those bizarre League Cup semi-final commemorative T-shirts tells you that. What was that all about? Since when was reaching a semi-final something to celebrate at Rangers? For the board to even think about mortgaging Ibrox off is unacceptable. Should the directors actually go through with it and hand the stadium over to Ashley? Well, if they think the abuse on Friday was bad, it would be a million times worse. As for Ashley, I just don’t understand his approach. Is he trying to alienate the Rangers fans? He’s a clever guy, so what sort of reaction did he think he was going to get to his actions this week? During his era at Newcastle United, Ashley has shown he doesn’t care what supporters think. But he’s dealing with a totally different animal at Rangers. The fans will not stand for it. Neither will the other shareholders who are vying with him for control. I wrote last week that there were many moves left in this chess game and Ashley made the first one with his Ibrox power play. But Dave King countered that by calling for an EGM — and he did it because he believes he will win. The fans made a lot of noise outside Ibrox on Friday but a growing number of shareholders are also completely disillusioned. Friday night was a watershed moment, with the support uniting at the same time as Dave was making his move. The EGM has been called and we now face a defining few weeks in this neverending saga. If it doesn’t work, I really do fear for the long-term future of the club. Diehards are drifting away. They are sickened by what has happened to Rangers in the last three years. Unless there is change in the boardroom and the club regains its identity, I don’t see them coming back. But those calling the shots right now would do well to remember that the fans ARE Rangers. Somers and Co. are mere custodians of the club and every decision should be made for the benefit of it. They have already shown they are incapable of doing that by even considering pawning off Ibrox and their position is now untenable. The board won’t recover from that ultimate betrayal — the Rangers fans have united to make sure of that. WE are assured the undersoil heating was on full blast at Ibrox on Friday night. It didn’t look as if it had been turned on as the snow never melted. I can’t remember losing a game to snow at Ibrox in my time there and I was stunned at the state of the pitch. The game should never have started but at least Bobby Madden had the common sense to call it off when he did. A lack of fight not right Gers HUGH BURNS has been stunned by the lack of fight in the Rangers team this season. The Ibrox side still trail Championship leaders Hearts by 13 points after their Friday night clash was abandoned due to a snow-covered pitch. Gers have struggled for form despite bringing back experienced strikers Kenny Miller and Kris Boyd in the summer. There has also been more boardroom upheaval as the club continues to lurch from one crisis to the next. But former no-nonsense defender Burns — who played for both Gers and the Jambos — can’t believe the lack of appetite in the Ibrox side. He said: “I’ve been a bit disappointed with the way things have turned out. “I thought the extra experience Rangers have might have pulled them through and cut the gap. “But I genuinely think Hearts are too strong. They’ve got young enthusiastic players who seem to be playing for the club. “It disappoints me that there are a few who haven’t the same desire along the road. “I thought with Boyd and Miller you could have put the kettle on for 30 or 40 goals but it’s not worked out. “I’m sure what’s been happening off the park has affected them on the park as well. I wasn’t buying that at the start. “I thought they might have brushed themselves down and got on with the football, but what’s going on up top is definitely filtering down into the dressing room.” While the big guns haven’t fired, Burns believes that’s as much to do with the lack of quality providing for them. Burns played alongside ex-Gers boss McCoist at Ibrox but is now a pundit on digital radio station RockSport Radio, formerly Eklipse Sports Radio. He added: “There’s no quality coming into the box. Fraser Aird is busy on the right side but his final ball often disappoints. “And there’s nothing down the left. “Ally McCoist was playing Lewis Macleod there. He said he saw him there long-term but I’d have played Wallace left midfield and Stevie Smith left-back
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 08:52:12 +0000