Rangers’ new £3M deal will put fans right off

The fallout continues over Rangers’ proposed trip in November to Australia for the Stavros Cup, with Kris Boyd being the latest to decry it.

Sure, a few ex-players have defended it, but the majority of opinion is very much against the participation in a tournament that wouldn’t be happening if Stavros wasn’t their manager.

Why are Rangers agreeing to an Old Firm ‘friendly’ (a pretty embarrassing notion in itself)?

The answer is hard cash.

Rangers will receive 25% of the kitty of this thing, Celtic getting the same.

It amounts to £3M cash, and Rangers can’t say no to that sort of money.

From a business standpoint we absolutely support the board doing what it takes to earn money – James Bisgrove has especially stood out for his genius work securing so many contract.

However, there’s a line, isn’t there?

There’s one thing seeking as many revenue streams as we can, quite another selling out to a tournament which violates so many of the things Rangers FC stands for.

And taking part in a love-in for Celtic and their manager in exchange for £3M is signing a deal with the devil.

We know we need cash, and we remain in deficit.

But this is very much short term gain for long term loss, because this will hurt supporters badly, fans who pay and continue to be paying customers.

Is it worth £3M up front to alienate large swathes of the support who could well protest with their wallets?

We get the business model, but unfortunately this is a massive own goal for Rangers.

And needs to be reversed.