Originally Posted by
Lungo--Drom
An open letter to Charles Green from the supporters:
Dear Mr. Green,
As you know, a general meeting of all 12 member
clubs of the Scottish Premier League has been
convened for 10am on Wednesday 4 July 2012 for
members to consider, and decide upon, your
application for the entry of Newco Rangers to the SPL.
Having considered the matter very carefully, and in
light of recent statements by several SPL clubs, I am
compelled to write to you to implore you to
withdraw your application to the SPL in favour of an
application to the Scottish Football League. I do so in the full knowledge of the financial impact
that such a move will undoubtedly have on the
Rangers Football Club, and the uncertainty that a
self imposed exile to the lower divisions of Scottish
football will inevitably generate. However, I have concluded that it would be a more
honourable course of action to take rather than
have the current gang of hypocritical SPL Club
Chairmen decide our future when they have so
vociferously, and so vindictively, demanded the
most excessive and unprecedented sanctions against our club since we suffered the indignity of
administration several weeks ago.
I’m sure the very public statements made by the
likes of Vladimir Romanov of Hearts, Rod Petrie of
Hibernian and Stephen Thompson of Dundee
United in recent weeks, are ample evidence that the majority of the SPL clubs consider punishing
Rangers as a more important objective than
securing the financial future and wellbeing of the
SPL and the Scottish game in general.
There can be no doubt any longer that these
enemies of Rangers Football Club will vote to exclude a Rangers newco from the SPL, and that
they will do everything in their power to ensure we
are emasculated and hamstrung for years to come.
I have also little doubt their real motivation is sheer,
naked hatred for our club rather than the 'sporting
integrity' that they so glibly and dishonestly espouse.
These are the people in whom you appear to
repose your trust and confidence; people who
have demonstrated that trust, confidence and
fidelity are abstract concepts to be cynically
exploited when circumstances are advantageous to their nefarious plans and plots.
Our club has been subjected to much vitriol and
invective over the past few weeks and months by
the very people who will now sit in judgment on
Rangers, and make their decision about admission,
on 4th July. A decision that we all now know to be a foregone conclusion.
Whilst I have yet to encounter a Rangers fan who
believes that we should not be punished for the
behavior of the miscreants who have brought our
great club to this sorry pass, nor have I met one
who believes we should continue to be punished ad infinitum by a group of SPL chairmen, chief
executives and feckless supporters, who have
been overtly, and unrepentantly, hostile to all
things Rangers for countless years, and who have
been particularly malicious in their attacks upon us
in recent days. We are vulnerable and unable to meaningfully
defend ourselves, and they know it and have
concluded that now is the time to strike. Make no
mistake, this is not about sporting integrity, this is
about hatred and bigotry, and clubs like Dundee
Utd, Aberdeen, Celtic will not forgo this opportunity to kick us (and keep on kicking us) when we are
down.
We now find ourselves in the unenviable position
of being totally, and utterly, at the mercy of a hostile
jury, from whom we can expect no quarter. If five
or more clubs vote against your proposal to admit Rangers to the SPL as a newco, a club from Scottish
Football League Division One will replace us in the
SPL and we will, in all likelihood, apply for the
vacancy that would be created in Division Three
after other clubs have moved up a division.
We now know that will the case. There is no need to speculate any longer, so I ask you to very
seriously consider what merit there is in waiting for
our enemies to stab us in the back on 4th July,
when we can be proactive in our approach to the
Scottish Football League for admission.
We all now unequivocally accept that our circumstances are such that we require to take
drastic measures to set our financial position to
rights. Cuts of the magnitude required will
significantly impact upon our ability to compete in
the SPL, and it is clear that we need time and
patience to rebuild our club and our team free of the enmity and hatred of the SPL cowards who
cynically exploit the label of sporting integrity to
mask their desire to destroy our club
That time will be available to us if we voluntarily
drop to the Scottish Football League, Division 3, and
our time spent in the lower divisions will, hopefully, be concurrent with our three year ban on
participating in the major European competitions.
But, perhaps, more importantly, our decision to
seek admission to the Scottish Football League, will
remove the threat of further draconian
punishments by those who clearly nurture the desire to punish us and wish only to exploit our
commercial potential for their own selfish ends.
During the past few weeks and months, I have
often asked the question, “When does the
punishment stop and the rehabilitation start?”, and
I have reluctantly concluded that the answer is, “When the SPL and the SFA consider that we have
suffered enough!”
Clearly the SPL consider that we have not suffered
enough, and it may be some considerable time
before they decide that the time is right to
rehabilitate the Rangers they so clearly despise. In these circumstances, would it not be more prudent
to negate their vindictiveness and Machiavellian
plotting by removing their power to direct our
future and impair our ability to compete?
Wouldn’t it be a wise and sound strategy to take
control of our own destiny by deciding our own fate?
I think so, and many thousands of other Rangers
fans also take that view.
If you have been monitoring the views and
opinions of Rangers fans across the globe, you
cannot fail to have concluded that there is a groundswell of opinion in favour of the Scottish
Football League, Division 3 route and, in a number
of recent polls on various supporter web sites, fans
have voted overwhelmingly for this option, and
those views have been significantly reinforced by
the statements made by Thompson, Romanov and others over the past two days.
Whilst I fully appreciate these are merely ‘straw’
pools, they are nonetheless persuasive, particularly
in the absence of any other meaningful indicators.
These polls are not the ‘knee – jerk’ reactions of a
few disgruntled Rangers fans but, rather, the considered views of fans who are being treated
unjustly and unreasonably by those who have
failed in their bid to obliterate the club and now
wish to emasculate it by other means.
I, therefore, implore you, Mr. Green, to help us
determine our own future. I ask you to ensure that we are not held to ransom by the SPL and its
member clubs. I implore you to withdraw the
application now before the SPL.
I also ask that you consult with the supporters
before accepting any offer that may emanate from
the SPL, particularly if such an offer is founded upon sanctions that will inevitably cripple our club for
years to come.
The future of our club is dependent upon your
judgement, experience and expertise, although I'm
sure you recognise that your judgement,
experience and expertise has, to all intents and purposes, been negated by the recent
pronouncements of prominent SPL club chairmen.
As you know, it only requires 5 or more clubs to
vote no, and Rangers will need to apply to be
admitted to Scottish Football League Division Three;
so why wait for that to come to passm - we now know it will? Why not take control of our own
destiny and opt for the Scottish Football League?
Let me say in conclusion, that I am, personally, very
appreciative of the commitment you, and your
colleagues, have made to our club in very difficult
and trying circumstances, and I am not unmindful of the personal attacks you have endured in recent
weeks.
Ranger's fans are, understandably, suspicious and
anxious and I know that you appreciate that, even
if, at times, you have found their criticisms
unpalatable. We want only what is right and what is just for our
club. We have seen regime's come and go; we have
seen Chairmen come and go; we have seen Boards
and Directors come and go; we have seen
managers and players come and go - but we
remain! We will always be here, and we will always support
our club. I know you understand that, and I trust
you will immediately withdraw your application for
SPL status.
I have written this as an open letter, and it is my
intention to share it, and your response, with Rangers fans through the various Rangers internet
forums.
