Did you feel the same way, or would you, if you once again had all the money? I never heard a word about how the disparity in wealth was an issue in the 90’s. It was all great and you had a fantastic Captain of industry who served moist lamb to reporters of a certain persuasion, every time they took their heads out of his arse.
No, it’s a problem now because we have taken over. Let’s face it, the only one with real money being earned.
That’s a fair question. I don’t remember such a huge disparity in the 80s/ 90s. I could be wrong but I don’t remember the prize money in European competitions being so great. During that time we had the ‘New Firm’ competing with Celtic for major trophies and also competing in Europe. Then we had the great Hearts team under McDonald / Jardine. At this time Rangers were spending decent amounts on Ian Redford and the original Ian Ferguson. I could be mistaken but I think they were both record signings. The financial gap didn’t seem to hold back Fergie and McLeans teams.
Celtic were handicapped by the old families neglecting the stadium and holding onto power for too long. They were saved by Wee Fergus who incidentally was a hate figure among your support at the time. I think in years to come , when he’s long gone, Lawwell will be revered in the same way McCann is now. Anyway this let Rangers in to dominate for a while.
The real gulf has emerged with the huge rise in TV money / prize money from European competition. With the pittance our clubs get from our domestic TV deal , negotiated in part by Lawwell, they are going to fall further behind unless something is done.
I know among the Rangers support there is little to no appetite to help out other clubs. I can understand why they feel that way but just because I support one of the Ugly Sisters doesn’t mean I have to believe everything they do is great for the game.
Scott Brown famously blamed the lack of domestic competition for Celtics annual abysmal performances in Europe. I’m pretty sure they dropped points the weekend after that story was published. Hes completely ignoring that the Old Firm have stifled competition for years by divvying up the prize money between them!!
The answer is not just handing out money to the other clubs. It’ll take a helluva lot more than that to fix our game but is there the will to do it? I honestly don’t think there is. Clubs are happy to plod along accepting the scraps the Old Firm see fit to throw them.
Anyway I’ll keep my season ticket going as I have done for over 40 years but I get far more enjoyment these days following Junior football and Largs Thistle in particular. I know there are many feel the same way as the crowds grow.
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