Rangers fans are reaching breaking point. After the Bruges humiliation, a sign was left at the gates of Ibrox warning of a boycott. That single act summed up the mood of the support. The patience has gone. The excuses have run out. Both the manager and the ownership are now firmly in the firing line. Rangers fans to protest against board and manager.
Ibrox Noise has said it for months. The only way to hurt this regime is with our feet. Do not turn up. Do not fill the stadium for them. We have not milked that line, but we have highlighted it, and fans are now beginning to consider it for real. It is not a good look, and that is exactly why it matters.
Financially, boycotts are limited. Rangers supporters had already sold out season tickets in the summer. Forty-three to forty-four thousand renewals snapped up in blind faith, as always. That guaranteed the regime its income for the year. What remains are six or seven thousand matchday tickets, priced between £18 and £40. Add in hospitality, food and drink, maybe half a million a match in total if we are generous. A boycott would dent that, but not devastate it.
But the optics? That is the real sting. A half-empty Ibrox sends a message no director can ignore. An empty stadium makes the asset look toxic. Even businessmen who see Rangers as a cash cow want their cow to look strong and healthy. Sponsors and investors want their brand in a packed, vibrant stadium, not one filled with empty seats and banners of protest. It looks ugly, and image matters in business as much as finance.
We saw the same with the Glazers at Old Trafford. They hated the optics of yellow and green shirts in the stands. They hated the constant visual reminder of fan fury. Did it shift them overnight? No. But eventually the partial sale came. That constant visual pressure works, even against billionaires. Admittedly they’ve not ended up with much better in Ratcliffe and a gubbing at Grimsby…
So where does that leave Rangers fans? Out of options. Martin is still in the dugout. The Americans still pull the strings. Protests and boycotts may not cripple them financially, but they will strip the veneer. They will expose how rotten this regime is. If Martin does not go, the fans will. And when Ibrox itself becomes the protest ground, the owners will have no hiding place. Rangers fans to protest against board and manager.