Football clubs value their history, and Rangers intend to make a celebration of their own.
There were times during last summer when people at Ibrox feared for the team's future, so the very act of planning events to commemorate the 140th anniversary of Rangers' formation must feel like an achievement in itself. "It's about surviving and celebrating," said Sandy Jardine.
The former full-back, who works for the club, was among a number of past and present Rangers players at yesterday's launch of the celebrations, which had been scheduled for May but will now take place on Saturday December 8, when Stirling Albion visit Ibrox. With Walter Smith considering an offer to return to the club as a non-executive director, the new owners are seeking to preserve links with the past. Old habits also die hard.
"I noticed Celtic are celebrating 125 years," said Jardine. "They are a fantastic club but – maybe I'm biased – they don't come anywhere near what we've done in 140 years when you look back through our history. So it's only right we should recognise our history and celebrate it, [particularly] now the club is on its way to getting back on its feet."
The remark was made in the context of the Old Firm rivalry, although Celtic supporters would point to being the first British club to win the European Cup in 1967 in the same way that Rangers fans would point to their club having won a world record 54 league titles. The competitive instincts are relentless, even while the Ibrox side are in the Third Division.
Fans argue about the history, even though Charles Green's consortium bought the business and assets of the club from The Rangers Football Club plc in administration, and were then, eventually, granted SFA membership. In truth, marking the 140th anniversary is also a reminder that, despite the insolvency event, the football club remains in existence.
"It's important that we celebrate our 140 years because six months ago we might not have had a club," said Jardine. "We've come through a difficult period and we've a long way to go. But we have started on a journey of rebuilding. We are the same club, with the same strips, the same stadium and the same ethos. We can't change what's happened, but we can make sure Rangers get back to the level we once were at."
Charlie Miller can recall meeting old friends outside Ibrox during the early days of administration when tears were streaming down their faces because they feared for the existence of their club. The contrast was stark for a player who was part of the nine-in-a-row era and left the club when Dick Advocaat began stockpiling expensive signings to try to make an impact on Europe. Those days eventually led to Rangers' financial crisis, since the debt burden was one of the circumstances that allowed Craig Whyte to buy the club for £1 from Sir David Murray.
Miller broke into the Rangers first team as a 17-year-old, so can empathise with the youngsters now trying to establish themselves in the starting line-up. He urged them to make the most of their opportunity, but also to make their own mark on the club's history, since the journey back from the third division will always be a significant time for Rangers.
"If you are a young boy at Rangers now, you must grasp this with both hands," said Miller. "I don't understand the lad Rhys McCabe, who went to Sheffield Wednesday. He could have been a legend here and part of a legacy which will last through 20 years.
"I had a great time breaking through. I looked at some of the boys I was lucky to play with, but thought I would try to be as good as those guys. Kids these days can sometimes think it will come, but you need to fight for it. Opponents are not going to let you go out there and take the p**s. But it is a great chance for the youngsters to become a Rangers hero and make a name for themselves."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article