Apologies there hasn't been much blogging recently - work, personal commitments and technical issues have all got in the way. We're back again now, though, and the most recent post is published tonight.
Thanks for your patience and understanding.
Monday, November 24, 2008
20 years and still got something to prove
In case you missed it, Sir David Murray celebrated twenty years at the helm of Rangers Football Club last weekend. Being unaware of this anniversary would almost certainly require you to be living outside Scotland, because various arms of the media at home have ensured that this is recognised as a BIG STORY.
On the face of it, this is strange, because Rangers are palpably a club in decline, and simply not the best anymore, on any level. Murray's legacy is hardly unambiguous, either... the transformation of Rangers into a big spending, "modern" club started before he bought in, and while the stamping out of any unofficial "no Catholics" signing policy can only be positive, this remains an institution with sectarian demons left to slay.
Why, then, is some coverage of Sir David Murray, Sir, so fawning? Well, there's old journalistic traditions - a defiantly Establishment profession, which naturally gravitated towards the Establishment's club. There was also the success in the 1980s and 1990s, which attracted followers like moths to a flame. No doubt, Rangers benefit from partisan media coverage, and this anniversary has given all the usual suspects a chance to celebrate their favoured club.
Sir David Murray, Sir, Dear Sir, never wanted to reach this milestone. He's been keen to sell the club for some time, if only someone would buy it. But it hasn't happened, and it won't happen in the forseeable future... this is a club with significant debts, and a toxic brand damaged by, amongst other things, the yobbishness of the fans in Manchester at the UEFA Cup Final. An event that should have been a great showcase for the club, win or lose (just look how Celtic exploited their defeat at the same stage a few years ago), instead became a reminder why no new investor should get involved.
So, for the meantime, Rangers and Murray are stuck with each other, the big spending days of the past now long gone. They really, really need to win something significant to turn their fortunes around, but that looks more difficult than ever this season.
Ultimately, his chairmanship is looking less succcessful the longer it goes on.
On the face of it, this is strange, because Rangers are palpably a club in decline, and simply not the best anymore, on any level. Murray's legacy is hardly unambiguous, either... the transformation of Rangers into a big spending, "modern" club started before he bought in, and while the stamping out of any unofficial "no Catholics" signing policy can only be positive, this remains an institution with sectarian demons left to slay.
Why, then, is some coverage of Sir David Murray, Sir, so fawning? Well, there's old journalistic traditions - a defiantly Establishment profession, which naturally gravitated towards the Establishment's club. There was also the success in the 1980s and 1990s, which attracted followers like moths to a flame. No doubt, Rangers benefit from partisan media coverage, and this anniversary has given all the usual suspects a chance to celebrate their favoured club.
Sir David Murray, Sir, Dear Sir, never wanted to reach this milestone. He's been keen to sell the club for some time, if only someone would buy it. But it hasn't happened, and it won't happen in the forseeable future... this is a club with significant debts, and a toxic brand damaged by, amongst other things, the yobbishness of the fans in Manchester at the UEFA Cup Final. An event that should have been a great showcase for the club, win or lose (just look how Celtic exploited their defeat at the same stage a few years ago), instead became a reminder why no new investor should get involved.
So, for the meantime, Rangers and Murray are stuck with each other, the big spending days of the past now long gone. They really, really need to win something significant to turn their fortunes around, but that looks more difficult than ever this season.
Ultimately, his chairmanship is looking less succcessful the longer it goes on.
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