‘Europe papered over cracks, now Rangers require revolution’

Barry Ferguson and his Rangers team were playing the bells in a La Catedral stadium.

The manager had a last blast in Europe when he expressed his anger following the game over two penalties that Rangers should have taken in Bilbao. It was a plaintive cry the night their season was officially over.

In Spain, luck did not prevail. Decisions were made in opposition to them. They suffered injuries. Their starting lineup and bench were clearly lacking, and they have since resurrected themselves.

They made one more attempt to address their own flaws, but they were unable to. They wouldn’t let them, according to Atletic.

Not his fault. It’s just the way it is when a club makes a bad decision after bad decision over the course of several years.

Ferguson’s remarks about penalties not being given, however, didn’t really hit home. In the aftermath, his almost resigned voice dominated.

After the regime change, he felt as though any chance he had of keeping this job was now gone.

There was a question about possibly stepping up as an ambassador, and there was a wistful remark about just wanting “my club to get back where it should be.”

Where, then, are Rangers supposed to be? The obvious conclusion is that they are exactly where they deserve to be despite all of their missteps, both on and off the pitch. At least domestically.

They have overachieved in Europe, but that is not their most significant test of skill. It is not their place to compete against their rivals.

How many Rangers fans would wish they could curl up and sleep until the new owners had poured in at Ibrox before the hibernation season officially ended.

At least they are anticipating that. They aspire to a new beginning.

They must wait until then to endure five meaningless league games.

They need to avoid a further Celtic title win and a likely Scottish Cup victory from their closest rivals. They’ll need to find a way to ignore their enemy’s triple yell, which is a good thing.

Some of them might rather wait to serve a brief sentence than wait patiently for all this to happen.

Fans will now have every thought about the takeover and what it will bring. Nothing else is important. Nothing .

Ferguson’s claim that there is a lot of work still needs to be done was understated. It’s a mountain, indeed. a true Everest, indeed.

A new management team, a new hiring process, and a lot of new players must be put together. The picture appears when you consider Ange Postecoglou’s first season at Celtic.

No sense in waiting and hoping for the miracle with a squad of players who have failed domestically so badly. Everyone is familiar with the definition of madness.

With three more years on his contract, millions of dollars in wages, and a fee of £6 million, Danilo cannot be paid for another.

There can’t be another Oscar Cortes, a less-known winger with questionable ability who is currently on loan at Rangers and has what is rumored to be a “must-buy clause” worth between £3 and $4 million.

Nedim Bajrami, Sam Lammers, and Ben Davies cannot be found anywhere else. On those three, roughly £11 million was spent.

Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi, Matt O’Riley, Reo Hatate, and Alistair Johnston were all acquired by Celtic for less than £11 million. Two of their major successes were ultimately combined sales of £35 million, each with a significant trophy value.

Rangers only engage in game play when they are required to climb a mountain’s foothills.

The club’s financial waste is extensive. Ferguson was powerless to address that. In the circumstances, Philippe Clement did as good a job as anyone could have, but he also failed.

Although their European adventures were extraordinary and freakish, they only served to hide the flaws. Now, we need to make a revolution.

The positive note is that everything is going well and that a brand-new, impressive outfit is about to take over.