3 days ago
Why Rangers fans owe ex-Ibrox chairman Dave King a debt of gratitude
The improbable coming together of the two parties came, to pour further fuel onto an already combustible concoction, just two days before the bitter rivals met at Ibrox in the opening Old Firm game of the season. What could possibly go wrong? Quick, somebody call security!
Mercifully, things passed off without incident. The Parkhead supporters, still elated in the wake of an emphatic 4-1 win over AIK which had secured their qualification for the group stages, were tickled by the unexpected encounter. King, meanwhile, appeared delighted by the attention. He happily posed for photographs, signed autographs, shook hands and chatted about the weekend fixture.
Relations between the South Africa-based financier and Rangers fans have not always been quite so convivial. The scathing criticism which he has regularly aimed at his erstwhile associates on the board from afar since standing down as chairman five years ago have not gone down well in the Govan stands.
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There has not been a lot of love for Douglas Park, John Bennett and their fellow directors of late as Celtic have continued to dominate the Scottish game. Still, the very public potshots which their old ally has taken at them have not met with widespread approval. Quite the opposite. The general feeling is that his constant sniping has done nothing to help their cause and has even made them something of a laughing stock. He has tarnished his reputation.
John Gilligan stated what many were thinking when he chatted to the media after being appointed interim chairman back in September. 'I just say to Dave, 'Please take it below the radar, behave like a proper shareholder, don't do what you are doing',' he said. 'It's just a shame because he is a great character and he had a massive influence on the club.'
The narrative which King has consistently aired - that all was going swimmingly on the good ship Rangers when he, his work at his boyhood heroes complete, had sailed off into the sunset and his successors had shamefully taken their hands off the tiller and lost their bearings in his absence – was flawed.
Those who came after him would argue they were left in the lurch, that they were forced to sort out the almighty mess they inherited, that he had high tailed it to the Highveld in their hour of need. Park and Bennett have certainly stumped up millions, tens of millions in fact, to keep them afloat since his sudden exit.
(Image: SNS Group Craig Williamson) That came after he was 'cold-shouldered' – a punishment which meant that no company or individual authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority was allowed to act on his behalf - by the Takeover Panel for four years for acting in concert with Park, George Letham and George Taylor when he seized power in 2015. Would the majority shareholder have been able to continue in his role?
Everything about the Glasgow-born, Castlemilk-raised businessman, it sometimes seemed, was shrouded in uncertainty. He was an enigmatic as well as an egotistical operator and then some. His tenure was beset by off-field legal wrangles, petty squabbles and internal strife. He was more mercurial than the flakiest winger who arrived on his watch.
All of that said, there is a great deal that he can look back on and be immensely proud of. That day we bumped into each other in Frankfurt, for instance, he spoke stridently about ridding Rangers of the scourge of sectarianism.
They had just been ordered by UEFA to close off 3,000 seats in the second leg of their Europa League play-off match against Legia Warsaw for the 'racist' behaviour of their fans in the qualifier against St Joseph's the previous month. The 'please stay away' statement which had been released sent out a very strong message to the 'FTP brigade' indeed.
Chants about 'Fenian b*******' persist on match days. Still, King did not, despite the risk of angering a sizeable portion of the fanbase, shy away from the thorny issue. On top of that, he invested considerable sums of his own personal fortune, offset heavy annual losses, in an attempt to make Rangers a major force again domestically and in Europe.
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Bringing in Steven Gerrard as manager proved to be nothing short a masterstroke. The former Liverpool and England captain proved to be a huge personality who was unfazed by the scrutiny he was under, lifted everyone around him and drove up standards. The former Champions League winner enjoyed success on the continent and ultimately delivered the Scottish title.
But most importantly Dave King, with a little help from Gilligan, Letham, Paul Murray, Park, Taylor and others, stepped up when Rangers needed him to and wrested control of the Ibrox club away from a despised and distrusted regime at a time when they were hurtling head first towards another cataclysmic financial implosion.
The Scot has sold up his stake to a consortium of investors that comprises American billionaire Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers and severed his ties completely. But he will forever be owed a debt of gratitude for the important part he played in ensuring their survival.
If he ever boards a flight to Glasgow to take in a game, he should be greeted as warmly as he was by those stunned Celtic fans in Germany.
