There's No Use Crying "No Surrender" When The Walls Are Already Falling Down

EARLIER this week, in discussing the travails of Rangers, which have since seen the departure of manager Pedro Caixinha, I referenced the barren years for Celtic – between them winning the league in 1938 and the return of Jock Stein as manager in 1965.

 Sir Robert Kelly - took the criticism, but, saw his vision realised in Lisbon

These 27-years were not entirely barren, however. There was the Scottish Cup win in 1951, the St Mungo Cup success of the same season, the Coronation Cup triumph of 1953, the league and cup double the following season, plus a couple of League Cup wins, including “Hampden in the sun – 7-1 in 1957”. But, these were years in which Celtic were a long way behind Rangers.

However, towards the end of that long spell of under-achievement, there were the first glimmers of hope, some light at the end of that long, dark tunnel. Sir Robert Kelly came in for criticism from the ordinary fans in the Jungle as the years of despair continued. Perhaps some of it was justified, he certainly seemed to be guilty of undue interference in team affairs. However, even when results were not going well for the club – Kelly was building for the future.

During those barren years: goalkeepers Willie Miller and Frank Haffey, full-backs Mike Haughney, Dunky MacKay, Jim Kennedy and Sean Fallon, half-backs Bobby Evans, Bertie Peacock, Eric Smith and Pat Crerand and forwards Bobby Collins, Willie Fernie, John McPhail, Neil Mochan, Bertie Auld and John Hughes all arrived as youngster and were developed into full internationalists.

Goalkeeper Dick Beattie, John Colrain, Bobby Jeffrey, Jim Walsh and Ian Young became Under-23 caps, while other Celtic players such as John Divers came through the ranks to win Scottish League recognition. Yet, of that list, only Auld, sold then bought back, would be a Lisbon Lion (although Hughes and Young were still with the club in May, 1967). It needed the managerial magic of Stein to work to end the long dark years, but, it should be remembered, only goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson and inside forward Willie Wallace of the Lions were bought-in – and only Wallace was a Stein purchase - the other nine were there already, members of what was known as “the Kelly Kids”.

Today, the boot is on the other foot. It is Rangers who are in a dark place, but, there is no sign of a group of, to coin a name - “King's Kids”, ready to be given their chance by a charismatic manager and to be unleashed on an unsuspecting public, to bring the Ibrox club back into the sunshine of trophy-winning.

It is a matter of fact, from Moses McNeil becoming the first Rangers player to win a Scotland cap, in 1876 for 100-years and more, Scotland never won an international without having at least one Rangers player in the team. Today, there is not a single Rangers player good enough to get into the national squad – that is how far the club has fallen.

 Ross McCrorie - will he be given the chance to realise his potential?

Rangers withdrew their Under-20 development squad from the SPFL's Development League, believing that competition was not fit for purpose. The Ibrox club has only two players, defender Ross McCrorie and forward Ryan Hardie in the current Scotland Under-21 squad, while there are Rangers Academy youngsters dotted throughout the Scotland age group squads beneath the Under-21 one. Sadly, past experience indicates few, if any of these promising young players will go on to make more than a handful of first team games for the club.

The management at Ibrox has, for years, concentrated on buying-in ready-made players, to the distress of their development squads. Celtic, in their hours of darkness, built for the future, Rangers have singularly failed to do this.

I could, at this point, type in a lengthy list, of some 50 or more young Rangers' players, starting from 1986, and the arrival of Graeme Souness, who came through the club's development system and won Scotland Under-21 honours, while fringe players at the club. Of these, just one – Barry Ferguson went on to play a significant number of first-team games for the club.

Sure, there were the likes of Charlie Adam and Chris Burke, who were capped by Scotland while with Rangers, but, they were allowed to leave without making a significant number of appearances – the club preferred to buy-in ready-made foreigners.

Clearly there is a flaw in the culture of the club which allows such a bad state of affairs to run on for so long. This culture will not be changed overnight.

Bob Kelly withstood the criticism, he believed in what he was doing, would not be diverted and, while there were maybe a couple of false dawns along the way – in the end, his plan worked when the right manager, got the right group of players together and found the Holy Grail.

 Dave King - the Naked Emperor of Ibrox

The King Emperor has been found to have no clothes, just as the guy before him, and the usurper before him, while the one before that got it badly wrong.

Rangers' big need is not a new manager, it is a new supreme leader to put this lost club back on-track, and persuade the lieges putting things right will be a long term job and there will be no gain without, initially, further pain, but, in the long term, they ought to stick with him and his plan.

Is there such a person out there? And, if there is, will he be given the time to put his plans into place and bring them to fruition, or, will the fans' sense of entitlement – the “We are the people” mentality continue to be a stumbling block to the major change of direction and rebuilding which is required?