Rangers chairman John Bennett enjoyed a lively AGM this morning after the current boss of Ibrox made some headlines with a phrase or two which got a few tongues wagging to say the least.

Not content with ‘degrading’ a section of the Ibrox support as ‘the Subway Loyal’, Bennett then quipped with rejecting the idea of becoming ‘Statement FC’ in phrases which had fans divided in reaction over them.

The subway loyal comment was in response to an ‘Eddie’ from Northern Ireland explaining that he and his kin needed head off at 90 minutes exactly due to the increased injury time in matches, and that he hoped buses from NI would get a bit of priority due to this.

Bennett then quipped:

“It is good to know you are staying longer than the subway loyal though.”

We’ve actually liked Bennett, and we ironically agree with his sentiments here, but he should never, ever, ever have said this out loud. It was incredibly unprofessional, as if he wanted to show how in touch he was with the supporter base and that he believes in general that the subway loyal are a slightly unpopular issue at Ibrox due to the rapid emptying after about 80 minutes.

But it was a misguided currying of favour, a calculated risk which fell flat and should never have been used publicly. By all means say that stuff in private and the boardroom, but the use of that in an AGM is rather ill-placed.

As for Statement FC… well, under previous regimes we certainly did make a lot of (really bad) statements, with some appalling wording by Jim Traynor then the farcical David Graham.

Thankfully, our statements now are shorter and more concise, and a lot less political.

It was, however, a bit of a quip aimed at the east end, a reference to the barrier years, the protests, and all the club statements they’ve made in the past 5 years.

And it really wasn’t needed – it was the sort of thing Lawwell used to say as CEO – he is of course chairman now over there.

So yes, a colourful performance from Bennett which has divided fans a little…