When Rangers came crashing back into the Premiership in 2016, they did so with a swagger. Well, their fans did, at least.
Even with a team that they had little right to expect would mount a challenge to a Celtic side that had tooled up and had Brendan Rodgers at the helm to meet their rivals’ return, the supporters expected, nonetheless.
As the players ran out at Ibrox on the opening day, the tifo display in the Sandy Jardine Stand screamed ‘Going for 55’. The subsequent 1-1 draw with Hamilton Accies may have rather tempered expectations, but even then, with a squad containing the likes of Lee Hodson, Rob Kiernan, Jordan Rossiter, Harry Forrester, Michael O’Halloran and later, Philippe Senderos, the Rangers support believed they could win the title.
Fast forward to the present day, just a couple of weeks into the new campaign, and you would be hard pushed to find a single Rangers fan that believes ‘56’ is in the post any time soon.
The start of a new campaign is supposed to be a time of rampant optimism, even if for the vast majority of sides, that turns out to have been unfounded. Rarely, if ever, can I remember such a mood of defeatism – perhaps more accurately, realism – among the Rangers fanbase.
The defeat to Dynamo Kyiv at Hampden that ended any hopes of qualification for the Champions League proper was soul sapping for many reasons. The main one highlighted by manager Philippe Clement in the aftermath was of course the decision by referee Marco Guida to dismiss Jefte, a ludicrous call that clearly hampered Rangers’ chances of progression.
But it was also soul sapping for many other reasons. When the national stadium isn’t full, for instance, as it was far from the other night, it is hard to create any sort of atmosphere, never mind an intimidating one.
There was the performance, which was pretty decent in spells when it was XI vs XI and even for a period thereafter, but that was lacking in attacking verve. Cyriel Dessers had one of his off nights at the point of that attack, with his most notable contribution being his haranguing of the fans for daring to have a go at him after another ball had bounced off his chest to the opposition.
There was then the sinking realisation that the gap between the haves and have nots in Glasgow was only now going to get wider. That any immediate hope of bridging the chasm to Celtic that appears to exist at this moment in time vanished with thousands of supporters when Nazar Voloshyn’s shot flashed beyond Jack Butland to put the tin lid on a night of doom and gloom at Hampden.
This wasn’t only a night that will be remembered for the ineptitude of an Italian official though, but one where the chickens rather came home to roost for Rangers, and the way that the club has been run for a number of years now.
Chairman John Bennett’s intentions cannot be questioned, and he has certainly put his money where his heart is, but Rangers have been set on a course of mismanagement on both the playing and non-playing sides of the club for a long, long time, and it is one he has been unable to correct.
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The Ibrox redevelopment debacle was on his watch. There is still no new CEO following the departure of James Bisgrove in late May.
When the so-called ‘spivs’ were in charge of Rangers, the fans were understandably moved to anger at the way their club was being run. Now - and perhaps this is an even greater threat to the success of any club - the mood is threatening to spill over into apathy. If it is not already there.
The evidence was in the empty seats all around Hampden on Tuesday night, and will be punctuated further still by the size of the crowd on Saturday evening for the League Cup tie against St Johnstone.
Can you blame the fans who stay away? They would be forking out a sizeable sum to travel to a stadium they don’t like to watch a game that is live on the television at quarter to six on a Saturday night, and they will be watching a team that their own manager has constantly told them is short of the level required to bring them success. And I doubt pricing will be coming down to realign with the standard of fare on display.
We are halfway through August and the expectations of the support have been managed to such a degree from those within Ibrox that the season has been all but written off. When fans hear Clement talking of how the rebuild cannot be achieved in this transfer window, what they see is the white flag being run up the Ibrox pole. Well, they would, if they could get into the stadium.
The manager and his head of recruitment, Nils Koppen, can’t escape their own culpability in this current situation. Money may be tight, but that is all the more reason to spend it wisely. Particularly with so much deadwood already hanging around.
As well as heavily investing in the likes of Jefte and Robin Propper and signing Oscar Cortes and Mohamad Diomande on permanent deals, the club have brought in two players in Hamza Igamane and Clinton Nsiala - at no little relative expense - who aren’t even considered ready to be included in the first team squad.
Connor Barron looks to be a sensible purchase and Vaclav Cerny has shown promise too, but if Rangers want to mount any sort of credible challenge this term, they are already past the point where they can afford any mistakes, or carry any players who need time to bed in.
Celtic can afford the odd gamble or two, Rangers cannot, but with a reduced transfer budget now on offer to Clement, it gets much harder to recruit a sure thing.
The club is in an almighty mess. They are staring down the barrel of a season of Celtic domination, which Rangers may well play out a significant portion of in front of a half empty Hampden. If they lose the connection with their support, then the game really will be a bogey.
Many of their fans, at least when it comes to this season, appear to have already made up their minds. Anger has already turned to apathy, and they are voting with their feet.
