Rangers board accused of 'diabolical mismanagement' and 'treating fans like dirt' by former Ibrox favourite
Charlie Miller has slaughtered Ibrox chiefs and admits it’s the fans he feels for most
Rangers hero Charlie Miller admits he still retains “full faith” in Philippe Clement bringing success to the club - but has slaughtered the Ibrox board for their “diabolical” mismanagement of key decisions.
The former Light Blues star reckons fans been left to pay the price for shoddy decision-making by members of the Gers hierarchy, insisting he is quickly losing confidence in senior figures who have failed to back Clement sufficiently in the transfer market, resulting in a new-look team that “simply aren’t good enough.”
Tuesday night’s £40 million Champions League elimination at the hands of Dynamo Kyiv marks the latest in a long line of costly mishaps overseen by chairman John Bennett and his directors. The situation has been capped off for the nine-in-a-row legend by Rangers need to seek an alternative home venue while delayed work continues to be carried out at Ibrox stadium.
Citing a number of different factors, Miller has expressed his sympathy for supporters and revealed he’s still struggling to understand the position Rangers currently find themselves in just two years on from seeing his old club follow up an unbeaten title-winning campaign with a run to the Europa League final and a future money-spinning place in the Champions League group stages.
Those on-field successes mixed in with the sales of star players Calvin Bassey, Nathan Patterson and Joe Aribo raked in a vast sum of money, which somehow hasn’t been reinvested in Clement’s current squad. Anf Miller insists now is time to get behind the manager rather than wield the axe after their latest disappointment.
Speaking to the Daily Record, he said: “Oh 100 percent I believe we need to stick by Clement. I think he’s shown last season that with a fully fit squad, he can be an effective coach. The trouble is that he’s just not had the money to spend. The squad he had last season is better than the one he’s got this time round and that’s saying something.
“In general, the last few years since Steven Gerrard left have been a shambles signing-wise. The club had a great opportunity after winning the league but didn’t take the chance to move forward. In fact they’ve stood still which is so disappointing. We should have backed Gerrard after winning 55 and allowed his side to kick on.
“The fans understand the situation. We’ve no money to sign players - but how there’s no money left I don’t understand. It’s only a couple of years since the run to the Europa League final and the Champions League groups. That most have brought in millions and millions. But it’s hard to see where any of that’s been reinvested in the most important thing, which is the team. If you have a winning football team, then everything else at a club takes care of itself.
“All these mistakes off the pitch add up and take away from money that could be better spent on it. How on earth do we end up in this situation with the stadium being out of use? It’s diabolical. You’ve got Edmiston House costing millions more than it should. How? HOW? Honestly it’s just been one thing after another and the fans are the ones bearing the brunt. They’re left with a team who while they do work hard, just simply aren’t good enough. It’s the fans I feel sorry for. They’ve put in bloody fortunes and this is how they’re repaid. The situation with the stadium, the whole thing is so amateurish. The fans have been treated like dirt.