Barry Ferguson can’t get his head round Sevco’s decision not to bring Steven Naismith to Ibrox.
Yesterday the Norwich forward signed for Hearts on loan until the end of the season explaining that they had wanted him most.
Wee Naisy has spent the best part of a year trying to earn a move to Sevco, appearing regularly on Radio Scotland to back their continuity lie after walking away from Charles Green’s new club.
That decision was made to warn fans about the dangers of Green but after handing out a couple of cups of tea and putting on an orange change strip from 2003 the Yorkshire businessman was awarded lifetime membership of the Rangers Trust.
Ferguson has watched his former team-mate plead for a transfer and can’t believe that no serious attempt was made to sign the 31-year-old.
He told Daily Record readers: “There has to be a good reason why Rangers allowed Steven Naismith to sign for Hearts. I’m sure someone somewhere can explain the thinking behind it.
“But, no matter how hard I try, I just can’t work out why they didn’t move heaven and earth to make sure they brought him back home to Ibrox instead.
“For the life of me, I have no idea why my old team mate wasn’t being paraded around Auchenhowie – back in the one shirt that he always wanted to wear.
“If we’re talking strictly football terms it was an absolute no-brainer. I’m not the manager and Graeme Murty must be allowed to make his own decisions but I just find it hard to believe that he wouldn’t have bitten the board’s hand off if they had offered him the chance to work with a player of Naisy’s ability and experience.”
With the views of the extremist Club 1872 holding sway at Ibrox Ferguson turned to the real reason why Naismith hasn’t joined Sevco.
He added: “So if it wasn’t for footballing reasons there must be some other factor at play here and, given that Hearts have found the money to make it happen, then we can be certain that it wasn’t a financial issue either. Naisy is a wealthy young man who was prepared to bend over backwards to facilitate a return to Rangers so the terms of the contract were never going to be a deal breaker.
“So the only thing I can come up with – and let me state clearly here that I sincerely hope this is not the case -is that someone inside the football club didn’t want to bring him back because they hold a grudge over the way he left back in 2012.
“Let’s remember, this was just after Craig Whyte had run Rangers into the ground and Charles Green’s travelling circus had rolled into town.
“I know there are some Rangers fans who have never forgiven him for leaving the club as a free agent at that time, rather than transfer his contract across to Green.
“I understand how they feel too because they are passionate about their club but, looking back and knowing what we know now, can anyone really blame him?
“He took one look at Green and saw right through him while, at the same time, making a decision to look after his family. Tell me, what was so wrong about that?”
Naismith walking away was one of the pivotal moments in the death of Rangers with a local hero explaining to supporters exactly what had happened to their club.
Green and his media friends alongside the SFA, SFL and SPFL have worked night and day to cover up the facts about liquidation but they can never gloss over the memories of wee Naisy walking away from the tribute act.
