A year scarcely goes by without some kind of nonsense in the background of Rangers.
Whether it’s being sued over memorial walls or the club’s stuttering progress on the retail front, Rangers supporters have gotten used to calamity after calamity.
It’s been so frequent that some fans have even tried to see the funny side.
But ahead of what will be a crucial season at Ibrox, news that the incoming swell of new players won’t be able to play at the famous ground for an as of yet undetermined length of time has raised few laughs.
Now, the axe has swung at Rangers as renovations to the Copland Stand run into major issues and the dynamic of the Ibrox side’s Champions League qualification campaign shifts.
What happened with Ibrox renovations?
Rangers released a statement to supporters confirming that ongoing works to Ibrox stadium would not be completed in time for the new season.
Specifically, the renovations concern the upgrading of wheelchair accessible seating in the Copland Road stand and the rehousing of the club’s ultras from the Broomloan.
As part of this, the club are constructing a new cantilever on the stand which will increase capacity by 600 and offer ‘some of the best views of the Ibrox pitch’.
However due to issues with sourcing the necessary steel for the project from suppliers in Asia, the renovations have been hit with a delay for an as of yet undetermined amount of time.
What it means is that Rangers will have to find an alternative home until the stadium is fit for purpose with the only genuine options being Hampden in Glasgow’s Mount Florida or Murrayfield in Edinburgh.
An official Rangers statement reads:
“Rangers has recently been advised of a delay in a materials shipment from Asia which is likely to have an impact on the programme for the completion of the Copland Stand works.
“It is therefore expected, unfortunately, that there will be an impact on matches at Ibrox at the beginning of the 2024/25 competitive season.
“The club has engaged with the SPFL and UEFA in order to review planned contingency arrangements. Naturally, everyone at Rangers is deeply disappointed with this news.
“The club is working intensively to ensure that all steps are taken to deliver the project at the earliest possible date and a further progress update will be issued to supporters in due course.”
Bisgrove narrowly avoids Rangers axe
The timing of this latest nonsense could probably not have been any worse.
There is no good time for planned construction works at your home stadium to be hit with delays and force you to host matches elsewhere.
But with Rangers in the midst of a monumental rebuild under Philippe Clement, the loss of home advantage is a stinging one for what will be a new look team at Ibrox.
The mention of UEFA in the statement is telling too; Rangers face a challenging Champions League qualification campaign which will now be impacted by this news.
Everyone knows Ibrox is a fortress on European nights and the club have lost a huge advantage in the power of the stadium during this campaign.
Now, one head has rolled with the situation quite patently unacceptable from the point of view of season ticket holders, UEFA and the SPFL.
At least that’s according to the host of Heart & Hand David Edgar, who claims an unnamed senior Rangers staffer has already lost his job over the fiasco.
“It’s a huge blow,” Edgar told the platform’s Daily Update for 20/06. “We are not starting the season with any stability and we will be starting as we know with a whole brand new team.
“So this is the last thing that we needed and I believe already that someone at Rangers has been fired for this. That I think has already taken place, someone has lost their job over it.”
David Edgar then suggested that outgoing CEO James Bisgrove – who has just signed a deal in Saudi Arabia – narrowly avoided a high-profile sacking himself.
Claiming that the ex-UEFA representative would’ve faced serious questions had he still been in charge it gives an inclination into the seriousness of the situation.
“Had James Bisgrove not already left then there would certainly be questions over whether he could continue in his job after this,” said Edgar.
“These are huge, huge mistakes from the people that were driving this and unfortunately we as supporters are going to pay the price for it, at best with massive inconvenience.”
Later David Edgar added: “Somebody has already lost their job over it and if Bisgrove was here I think he would’ve as well and I don’t think they can have any complaints over it because it shouldn’t have happened.”
Rangers return to pre-season training on Monday 24th June with the SPFL season set to begin on the weekend of 3rd August.
Champions League QR3 takes place on 6/7th & 13th August with the playoff round scheduled for 20/21st & 27/28th August.
