During an Annual General Meeting two years ago, Rangers deputy-chairman, John Bennett, outlined the four pillars on which the club’s business model has been built upon; the supporters, commercial revenue, European football and player trading.
Since 2015, the Rangers board of directors have been battling to unravel the financially prohibitive legacy issues they inherited from the previous regime. To their credit, though, they have gradually untangled the complicated web of onerous contracts and used their wherewithal to revitalise a club that was teetering on the brink.
The make-up of the boardroom has changed in recent years, but importantly, Rangers supporters remain in control of the club’s destiny. Their collective feeling towards the club is evident, and if many of the directors did not have obligations to fulfil on a matchday, they would be shoulder to shoulder with the rank and file in the stands.
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It is difficult to comprehend how disconnected the directors have become from the supporters. The fanbase was the first pillar identified by Bennett, yet the board appears unwilling to engage or indulge their primary source of income.
The club were not always silent. Dave King, the previous chairman, was never timid, although he tended to stoke controversy. The managing director, Stewart Robertson, was also a regular speaker, but in the last 12 months, he has decided to slip from view – not ideal when the chairman, Douglas Park, is camera-shy.
The club’s strained relationship with the press has ensured almost all communication from the hierarchy is via the website, social media platforms or the television channel. The questions on Rangers TV are never probing, and the responses are rarely enlightening - guaranteeing blandness and a sense of pointlessness.
Due to Rangers’ lack of openness in a digital age, gripes regarding merchandise, membership schemes, ticketing, stadium issues and player recruitment often remain unanswered. Frustrations within the fanbase linger, ensuring resentment and negative sentiment are never far from the surface.
A dreadful few days for Rangers culminated in a chastening defeat to Ajax in Amsterdam. The listlessness evident in yet another meek display has led to concerns surrounding the commitment of the squad, many of whom, oddly, looked like they would have preferred to be anywhere else but competing in the Champions League.
On their travels, Rangers have no discernable style of play, and their inability to defend set-plays raises questions regarding the competency of the coaching. An aspect behind the current malaise is a lack of freshness in the starting XI - and the weary old guard is beginning to wilt under a burden that never seems to ease.
Managers rarely require encouragement to blood new recruits - players often are enticed to a club because of a persuasive sales pitch from the head coach. Giovanni Van Bronckhorst appears to operate differently, and he was never overly enamoured with the qualities of his three January signings; Aaron Ramsey, Amad Diallo and Mateusz Zukowski.
The pattern has continued into this season, with expensive arrivals Rabbi Matondo and Ridvan Yilmaz struggling for minutes - while Ben Davies, although hampered by injury, is also not yet assured a starting jersey.
The season is still in its infancy, but the influx of first-team-ready players sought did not arrive during the summer months. Van Bronckhorst's reluctance to integrate his signings into a side suffering from disjointedness raises questions surrounding his input, or lack of it, in the recruitment process.
Ross Wilson, the sporting director who oversees the football department, is under pressure to outline and describe recent workings in the transfer market. The first team squad is bloated, imbalanced and lacking in quality - and poor recruitment over an extended period is the primary cause.
The number of concerns regarding the club's long-term strategy and structure increases with each passing week, yet the silence from the hierarchy remains.
*18+ | BeGambleAware
