I warned you earlier this was coming, and frankly the man has earned and deserves it.
Andy Halliday’s Rangers fairytale came to an end yesterday after five years in Govan were confirmed as done and dusted.
As of June, Halliday will no longer be a Rangers player, but if anyone has earned his place more, loved his place more, carried himself better and generally conducted himself with more impeccable class, while managing to play a bit, we’d love to hear about it.
Halliday, of course, is one of our own – the lad would concede his own limitations, and he was never good enough to become part of a Rangers capable of winning the league, but my God the boy had a lion heart and gave everything to try.
When he was first signed, his goal v Chelsea and the fact he was our own youth product not to mention the ridiculously overmentioned background of his ‘stones throw away from Ibrox’ heritage all meant he was a very, very popular signing.
He was part of our rise from the ashes, an end to the absolutely terrible rank rotten lower division Rangers and a bit of a step up under new manager Mark Warburton.
And he was and is one of our own, a fan himself, representing the supporters in a way few else could.
Warby played him slightly out of position from the start, always placing him in defensive midfield, where the lad was a CM by trade, and despite arguably having ‘better’ options (Barton, Crooks) always stuck with his earliest signing.
And as his time at Ibrox wore on, he became more established as a left back, due to a complete poverty of quality on that slot, which took until Borna Barisic’s bloom in September to resolve.
But Halliday didn’t complain – he’d be the goalpost if it meant playing for his team, and the lad has lived a boyhood dream for all of us.
We all dream of playing for the Famous, we all want to put on the shirt and run out the tunnel. Few ever get that honour.
Halliday not only got it, but the captaincy too, and he carried it with aplomb.
Of course he wasn’t good enough, he knows that well as anyone, but he often played out of his skin to defy his own quality, and never more so than that titanic performance at Ibrox v Celtic to help in that stunning win in December 2018.
Sadly, Halliday has taken some unfair abuse and criticism these past 12 months, all for the crime of not being quite good enough.
We’ve always been fair about his quality, but supportive of his ability, especially since adapting so well to LB and giving Barisic a run for his money.
End of the day Halliday moves on to a new adventure, and he leaves with the blessing of most fans (there are some shameful ‘supporters’ who continue to smear him) and our best wishes.
You lives the dream Andy, f*ck the haters and you are most certainly One of Our Own.