Clement called an “imposter” who “disnae know what R*****s are all aboot”, at this point in time, does ANYBODY know what the Ibrox side is all about?
Eric Knott 
Ian MacNicol/Getty Images Sport
Well, it appears Philippe Clement was subjected to some savage abuse from Ibrox supporters after Sunday’s shock 1-0 loss to Queens Park.
When he was walking through the carpark after the game, and a disgruntled Ibrox fan roared at him:
“Clement, get yourself tae f***, you f***ing imposter. You dinnae know what R*****s are all aboot.”
Which begs the question, at this point in time, does ANYBODY know what R*****s are all about?
It seems to me that the only few people remaining who do, as in the old diehards from the pre-liquidation days, are a dying breed.
It is now almost 13 years to the day the old club announced they were in serious financial difficulty, which as we all know would end in their eventual liquidation.
And when I refer to diehards, I’m referring to the likes of Ally McCoist, John Brown, and Derek Ferguson.
Players of that ilk.
Ex-Ibrox players who are in their late fifties and early sixties.
Players from a generation ago, who knew what it was “all about.”
Men who will soon be of pensionable age.
This is how long it’s been since we all got to witness what R*****s were all about.
One things is for certain, the current entity playing out of Ibrox has no resemblance whatsoever to the one that played there pre-2012.
And let’s be clear here, Rangers 1872 ran itself into the grave in the early part of this century in a fatal attempt to keep pace with Celtic.
Which brings me back to the abuse aimed at Philippe Clement in the Ibrox carpark.
The likelihood is that the fan who shouted that abuse at him grew up with posters of players like John ‘Bomber’ Brown and Andy Goram on his wall.
He has a 30+ year old memory of what R*****s were all about.
And just like the players of that time, while he may be slightly younger, it probably will not be too long before he is of pensionable age as well.
So what am I trying to say here?
I guess what I’m trying to say is what the Ibrox side WAS about and what it IS about now are two completely different things.
As different as night and day.
Clearly the fan who shouted abuse at Clement on Sunday knows what it WAS about, but Clement, as someone relatively new to Ibrox, is only really aware of what it IS about now.
And what it is now is a club that has a fraction of the financial resources the old club had when it was it’s pomp and lording it over the rest of Scottish football.
Including Celtic.
This, folks, is one of the main reasons Clement will NOT quit his role as Ibrox manager.
He doesn’t care about what went on at Ibrox 30 years ago.
To him, that’s irrelevant.
He was never a part of that culture, and therefore, does not understand it.
Nor is it his job to understand it.
He cares about the here and now, and what he has to deal with in the here and now.
And if you extract yourself from the Glasgow rivalry, and look at it clearly, not through green or blue tinted glasses, Clement has been dealt a pretty shitty hand.
And I can guarantee you, that’s exactly how he feels.
Which is why he’s determined to dig his heels in.
He has a generation of fans who probably make up a third or more of the fanbase, who are constantly ramming down his throat what the club is “all about.”
They unrealistically expect him to deliver what say, Walter Smith toward the latter end of the 20th century, and Dick Advocaat in the early part of this century delivered.
On a fraction of the resources.
In a time when player costs and wages are a hell of a lot higher than they were then.
He is NEVER going to have the luxury of spending £12 million on a Tore Andre Flo.
And he is NEVER going to have players like Brian Laudrup and Paul Gascoigne in their prime.
He has to work with the tools he’s been given, and they resemble nothing like the tools Walter Smith, Dick Advocaat or Alex McLeish had.
Whether those tools were acquired through ill-gotten gains or not doesn’t matter
That is also irrelevant and synonymous with a club that is dead now.
Clement understands exactly what he has to deal with.
The fans shouting abuse at him on the carpark at Ibrox do not.
They live in the past, reminiscing about a time that is long gone, celebrating a battle that happened in 1690, and following a monarchy that is as outdated as it is grotesque.
Philippe Clement cares about none of those things.
In fact, he probably wonders what the hell the Onion Bears were playing at when they were singing God save the King when his side were desperately trying to secure an equaliser against lowly Queens Park on Sunday.
What relevance did THAT have to the situation at hand?
In reality, it is meaningless to him.
Clement is defiant about his situation because he firmly believes he has been given a raw deal.
That’s why he renegotiated his contract, he did it to insulate himself from the bullshit he is dealing with now.
A failsafe, as it were, to secure him from the unrealistic expectations of a fanbase that cannot accept its current predicament.
It’s clear that he has.
It’s also clear that the Ibrox board is starting to too.
And it’s probably a big part of the reason Clement is still in situ at Ibrox today.
Because sacking Clement and expecting a new manager to come in and get a tune out of the same resources available to Clement, is to literally start the same cycle all over again.
A cycle that has failed consistently since 2012.
The board also knows that to bring back someone like Steven Gerrard in an act of appeasement for the fans would result in failure as well.
It would be an act of pure folly.
The optics of it would be great from a fan perspective, but not from the board’s perspective.
They do not have the financial resources to pay him, or support him in the transfer market.
They are also not stupid.
And they can see his track record since he left Ibrox.
And it is a track record steeped in failure.
If Gerrard couldn’t make it in Saudi Arabia with huge financial resources, then how the hell could he make it at Ibrox with limited resources, facing a Celtic side with Brendan Rodgers at the helm that just posted over £44 million in profits?
And if they choose the only other option available to them, to bring in some real Raynjurz men, then mediocrity will most definitely continue to be the path forward.
But there is one thing that fan in the carpark was definitely right about.
Clement IS an imposter.
Because Clement lives in the real world, he knows the real situation he and the club he is at, is in.
The reason he is an imposter, is because the Ibrox fans cannot accept or face the reality of the real world.
He has, its why he was smart enough to insulate himself financially from it.
Before his departure, I’m pretty sure John Bennett apprised Clement of the bleak path ahead.
There is no doubting the loss to Queens Park in the cup on Sunday has damaged his reputation, but if the board were going to display a knee-jerk reaction, it would have happened by now.
It looks like the Ibrox board and Clement have accepted the reality of their situation.
The Ibrox fans cannot and will not.
I guess that’s why Celtic will just have to continue to beat it into them.
Eventually, something’s got to give.
You’d think they’d be getting that after 25 years.
3 trophies out of a possible 40+ in the last 13 years speaks volumes.
That’s the same succes rate as St. Johnstone, in the same time frame.
Levels and all that…
Sunday’s catastrophic result for theRangers against lowly Queens Park is part of the reason why Park and Bennett and Bisgrove and others all bolted the course before this inevitability happened . They all saw it happening ….right in front of their eyes and did not want to be associated with such dire failures …yet never uttered one word of warning . Or then again maybe they did to their nodding dog pals in the desperate SMSM and those ranch hands never uttered one syllable , like in 2012 ? Take your pick !
The warning signs were there, for all to see, since 2012.
The Old Ragers fans did not want to see them.
They happily donned the burial shroud of the deceased Club and pretended to wear the ‘Suit, tie and Broon Brogues’ synonymous with the faux veneers of respectability and entitlement that the departed Club ascribed to itself. If they wore the Emperor’s regalia and acted Imperially then surely the World at large would recognise their claims.
Except that, despite the SFA & SPFL giving their blessing to the subterfuge and a compliant and conflicted Mainstream Media blocking the voices of Reality, objective reality won through. The wider world sees through the charade.
The Tribute Act is that and only that. A pale reflection of the original Club. A side show peopled with Clowns and Charlatans and pretenders to the Crown that is no more.
They will never again amount to much. They are a product of a bye gone age with no relevance in the modern world.
They seeded the same field that bore rotten fruit in its final days. All that has grown is more headstones. The Europa league has been a financial defibrillator, shrouding the true decay beneath. Even the rats have left the ground, unwilling to be present for the wake. For there will be nowt left for them to nibble on. The food supply is poisoned, yet the fans are forced to eat scraps whilst expecting a banquet. A dark shadow is being cast on RFC mark 2, with the signatory ink barely dry. False prophets proclaimed a golden path. Give us your money and your worship, we will make it rain red, white and blue! Now the rain runs red only, and the ink is spoiled, blotted and stained. Much like the snapshot history of RFC mark 1 and now, mark 2. A phoenix that never escaped the fire… A phoenix born without wings! Go gently into that good night…
I couldn’t add anything to the great and accurate comments above.
Except.
Long may they suffer.
More a burnt Turkey coming out the oven thinking its a phoenix .
Long may they stew in their shit of their own making! 👍