MONEY talks. Today, the Rangers board stands accused of being tone-deaf by those who they should, who they must, listen to at all times.

No matter how big the cheque is from the organisers of the Sydney Super Cup, it will never be enough. Some things, especially at Rangers, matter more than the pounds and pence that they incessantly chase these days.

It is quite the achievement to take the shine from Rangers’ status as champions and their 150th anniversary celebrations but that the is feat the directors and executives are pulling off right now. Issues and failures on the park are one thing, but Rangers need to have a serious look at themselves off it as well.

True legends of the club have been treated with disdain. Such were Dave King’s concerns over how Rangers are being run, he voted against the reappointment of Graeme Park at the AGM last year in what was a protest move founded on knowledge that caused alarm.

This time, they have made the biggest error of all. This time, they have angered those who they really do need and the call for heads to roll on forums and social media is indicative of the hole that Rangers have dug for themselves here.

Right now, Rangers are under friendly fire from their own and they deserve every bit of flak that flies. On every level – sporting, commercial and communication – there are questions that supporters feel can never be answered satisfactorily.

What possible good can come from a weakened Rangers side flying across the world to play bounce games midway through a Premiership title campaign?

Where is the benefit in a short-term commercial boost when it has alienated supporters and potentially threatened the most important income stream Rangers have?

Given the obvious upset this was going to cause, why were the feelings of the fans not taken into account and why has the communication – once again – been so abject?

And why would you deal with a club who show nothing but contempt for Rangers and avoid the ‘Old Firm’ brand that you are aiming to cash in on?

If this proposal had been floated to a madcap Italian or an American with no understanding of his own supporters and the Old Firm history, it is possible to see how it could happen.

But this board have good, staunch, dyed-in-the-wool Rangers men, right? So how can they so badly misjudge the strength of feelings - the anger, the despair, the disappointment - that this would cause amongst their own?

It took until lunchtime on Wednesday for Rangers to confirm their place on a trip that further erodes the Old Firm fixture and that has already been billed as Ange Postecoglou’s Australian homecoming.

In truth, the reasons behind it don’t matter. The fact that Rangers thought it was in any way acceptable tells its own story and nobody can talk their way out of this one.

As for an apology? Don’t even bother. The damage has been done and the goodwill has been lost with such a spectacular own goal.

Rangers were lagging behind – not that such a state of affairs is unusual these days - in PR terms from the off. It was Celtic that set the agenda, Celtic that set the tone.

Rangers are not equal partners in this four-team tournament. They are a side show to the Angeball Party and the worst part is that they, once again, put themselves in that position with their own extraordinary ineptitude.

While Celtic were releasing statements from their manager and quotes were dominating the agenda in Scotland, and latterly in Australia, Rangers said nothing in public.

Requests for clarity on Tuesday evening were met with a one-line response stating that plans for March, June and July and November were still to be finalised.

Within hours, the whole tournament – which also includes A-League clubs Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers – was confirmed Down Under. Those i’s must have been dotted and t’s crossed at some speed at Ibrox.

By the time a video of James Bisgrove was posted on Rangers’ Twitter page on Wednesday, it was too late. The news agenda had come and gone, the chance to control the narrative was lost.

The genie cannot be put back in the bottle. Reputations have been damaged and time will tell who ultimately has to carry the can and pay the price for this shambles.

It would be wrong to question the affection that the likes of Douglas Park or John Bennett have for Rangers. Whatever decisions supporters disagree with, they should be eternally grateful that they, and others, stepped up in Rangers’ hours of need and the financial backing and generosity should never be taken for granted.

They were the right men at the right time to save and restore Rangers. They are now being judged on whether they are capable of running Rangers and that is a very different issue.

The behaviour towards so many sections of the game has been unacceptable for too long but Rangers have got away with it. Not this time, not when they really upset their own.

A club synonymous with class, dignity and respect now conducts its business in a manner that just doesn’t sit right. Somewhere along the line, those that should know better lost their way.

They say that people make Glasgow. People also make Rangers. It is up to supporters to decide if the right men are at Ibrox.