In January 2014, from the comfort of his home in South Africa Dave King warned about the danger of a Rangers club getting battered 6-0 at Celtic Park.
Whether a 5-1 defeat in front of season ticket holders is more acceptable is open to debate but what can’t be debated is King’s double standards.
Attending one match all season is an incredible achievement but it’s no surprise that the bulk of supporters remain supportive of the South African based crook.
Using traditional media to stir up supporter resentment King managed to alienate a genuine billionaire in Mike Ashley in order to provide blazers for a clutch of real Rangers men.
The result has been devastating. Trailing Celtic by 36 points and Aberdeen by 10 a strong third will be as good as it gets for the team that King build. Add in two semi-final defeats from Celtic where the Ibrox side never caused a moment of concern and the extent of the club’s problems start to emerge.
Talk is cheap, when he was outside the blue room King was easy to contact with the sound-bites matching exactly the fears of the supporters who’ve bought five lots of season tickets and two batches of shares to reach where the club stands today.
Interviewed by the Daily Mail in January 2014 King laid out his own plans- and fears- for the future.
He said: “We have to be in a position to go up to the Premiership and we have to be in the position to launch a challenge to Celtic.
“There is no guarantee we are going to beat Celtic in the first season – in fact it’s unlikely.
“It would be a miracle if Rangers were to go on and win the league the first season back but, similarly, we cannot risk going to Celtic Park and being battered 6-0.
“We can’t start losing 3-1 to Hibs and Aberdeen and accepting it. Saying, “we are in a period of adjustment, it’s not too bad a season,” is not an option. It’s totally unacceptable.”
With King in power it seems that trailing Celtic by 36 points and a bare Blue Room is acceptable to the man described by a South African judge as glib and shameless.
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