There’s something that happens when a club is on top for a long spell. The winning becomes normal, the setbacks feel like an outrage, and before you know it folk are talking like trophies are an entitlement rather than the payoff for getting the basics right.
That’s why this whole reaction we’ve seen across the city reads as mad to me. A bad season, a wobble in form, whatever you want to call it, and suddenly it’s open season on their own people. Not disagreement. Not criticism. The proper ugly stuff.
Winning changes expectations
Rangers fans know all about hard years. We’ve lived through seasons where the standards were rebuilt from the ground up and where the club had to grind, not glide. So when you hear the noise coming from the other lot after one spell of things not going their way, it does make you shake your head.
It’s not that fans can’t be raging. Football is emotion, and Glasgow amplifies everything. But there’s a difference between demanding better recruitment, a clearer plan, or stronger leadership, and acting like the club owes you victory every weekend.
Turning on your own club isn’t “standards”
There’s a line between holding folk accountable and turning toxic. Abuse and threats aren’t “standards”. They’re not passion either. They’re just poison, and they drag the whole support down with them.
Truth is, every club has unhappy fans when results dip. Rangers have had plenty of pressure points over the years, and we’ve argued amongst ourselves often enough. But when it gets personal, when families are being dragged into it, that’s where football loses the plot completely.
The Lawwell statement should make everyone pause
Peter Lawwell’s statement about standing down because the abuse and threats had become intolerable, and had alarmed his family, should be a cold splash of water for anyone who thinks “it’s just part of the game”. It isn’t.
You can want change at your club. You can even want the board out. But once you’re into threats, you’ve crossed a boundary that should be non-negotiable, no matter the colours.
Rivalry is rivalry. It’s fierce, it’s noisy, it’s part of what makes Scottish football what it is. But nobody should be frightened to do their job, or worried about their family, because a team’s had a poor run. If that’s where we’re at, then something’s badly wrong.
Related Articles
About Rangers News Views
Rangers News Views offers daily Glasgow Rangers coverage including match reaction, transfer analysis, SPFL context, tactical breakdowns and opinion-led articles written by supporters for supporters.
