Unfinished Business
Although I have been aware that Charles Green has been working away in the background for quite some time, his sudden reappearance on the Ibrox stage is out of the blue. Given that he has bagged one of the biggest elephants on the planet at a time when Rangers are screaming for cash and the impetus a big investor brings, Green can only be unwelcome to the most niggardly of fans. The fact is, Rangers need this injection and, more importantly, they need a titan like George Soros in the camp. Soros is no angel and has distasteful connotations from his name and history. He is a brute and a big beast who can be a formidable enemy. Exactly what Rangers could be doing with.
The puzzle for many is why is Charles Green bothering to help out a club from which he has twice been unceremoniously shown the door? The answer is very simple.
People would scoff if I said that the answer is Rangersitis but they are the ones who believe the negative propaganda about Charles Green. Rangersitis is part of it, for sure. Green is obsessed with Rangers but that is not really what drives him. From my own communications with Green over the past year, I know that what eats him up is that he sees Rangers as unfinished business. It’s well known that he got involved at Rangers looking to make a profit from a quick turn around of the business after liquidation. Yet as soon as he and his colleagues walked into the stadium and saw the marble staircase, they realised that Rangers was a sleeping giant.
The plan changed and Green was gripped with the vision of restoring Rangers to former greatness but going much further. Green sees Rangers as a global brand and, with the right management on and off the park, a potential footballing giant like Manchester United, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. The plan became a long-term one, with Rangers competing seriously for European honours the proof of its completion. The real tragedy of this is that Green’s opposition largely comes from people who don’t want Rangers to be this big. These people are happy for Rangers to be part of the two-horse race that has been Scottish football for over a century until the last couple of years. They are happy for Rangers to be the biggest fish in the small pond of Scottish football.
Rangers being much, much bigger seems to frighten these people. Breaking out of the wee bubble of Scotland scares them.
Taking Rangers to that level is what drives Charles Green. That is why he keeps coming back for more. I have been asked countless times why I have backed Green on this blog. The answer is very simple. I love this vision and share it. I want to see Rangers maximise potential and be the gigantic global brand and football giant that is the club’s destiny. I don’t want Rangers to stay at the level it has been for decades. David Murray tried to break out of that and failed.
The reality is that Rangers MUST join the 21st century and welcome wealthy investors whose money and influence will propel the club to a whole new level. You don’t need to lose the heart and soul of Rangers in doing this. Being a giant on a much bigger stage is Rangers’destiny.
After Rangers lost the Ramsdens Cup Final to Raith Rovers I contacted Charles Green for his reaction. I expected him to be bombastic and full of “I told you so” after his very public spat with Ally McCoist over the need for the Rangers manager to deliver a cup trophy along with the League One title. Instead, he was very morose and said he didn’t want to speak as he was gutted over the result. The reaction of a bluenose, in other words.
Charles Green isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. He has faults and one of them is his propensity to get himself into big trouble. He hypes and embellishes way too much, although as someone who has sold for a living, I have no problem with that aspect of his personality. He is a salesman and a rainmaker and is exceptionally good at it, as is evinced by his bringing George Soros to the table. That’s why he is hated by those who have neither his contacts nor his ability to get them to invest. Charles Green sees Rangers as unfinished business and that he has a job still to do there. That job involves bringing serious funding and massive financial security to the club.
For me – and for many other bears I am aware of – anybody who wants to oppose Charles Green better have very good reasons for doing so. Because this isn’t really about Charles Green. It is about the future of Rangers and the club’s well-being. And nobody should be messing with that. Or opposing those who are seeking what is best for The Rangers. As long as I believe Charles Green is about the business of seeking the best for Rangers, he will have my backing.
