Friday 13 February 2015 19:55, UK
Former Rangers defender John Brown has urged his old team-mates to unite with him outside Ibrox Stadium on Friday night as fans join him in protest at the way the Scottish side is being run.
Thousands of supporters of the financially-troubled Championship club are expected to voice their feelings 45 minutes before the league game against Hibernian kicks off.
Brown will address them nearly three years after doing the same thing from the front step of the Main Stand, when he vociferously expressed his displeasure at Charles Green's takeover in the summer of 2012.
Look at what they have done to the club and the amount of money that has disappeared. These people have not been proper guardians of the club.
The former Dundee manager - who played for Rangers between 1988 and 1997 - was derided by many for his impromptu actions back then due to his unpolished, boistrous delivery.
Yet with the club currently relying on loans from shareholder and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to stay solvent, he now has far more backing from the fanbase.
Discontent at Rangers' situation continues to grow, with an EGM to remove the current board of directors still scheduled for March 4 despite the venue, the Millennium Gloucester Hotel in Kensington, being cancelled on Monday.
The London hotel is understood to have withdrawn availability because of a furious reaction from shareholders at the fact the meeting would be held 400 miles from Glasgow.
An alternative location in the capital is being sought by the club nevertheless and that has only fuelled opposition to the board further.
Rangers First, an organisation aimed at instigating fan ownership, this week became the biggest such group in British football with a membership of over 8,000 and has increased its holding to 1.56%.
Many supporters of the club are now putting more energy and finance into such ventures than attending games, with an official crowd of just 11,422 at Sunday's 2-1 Scottish Cup defeat to Raith Rovers.
The actual figure is thought to have been nearer 9,000 and a large percentage of those who will be at Ibrox tonight will stay outside to protest rather than go through the turnstiles.
Brown is buoyed by that but wants more former players to back his rallying cry after feeling let down by the support some of them have given up to now.
'Responsibility'
He told the Daily Record: “I would say to any ex-player that, together, we have a responsibility to that club. We had some of the greatest moments of our lives playing football for Rangers.
"Now it’s time for us to give something back. The least we can do is jump in a taxi and get over to Ibrox for an hour or so. That’s all it takes.
"Just being there will say everything. It will send out a very loud message. Everyone can see the club is being mismanaged by this present board, as it was by previous directors.
"Look at what they have done to the club and the amount of money that has disappeared. These people have not been proper guardians of the club.
“As ex-players we have to let them know how we feel about that. It is about time that more former players stood up to do the right thing for the club.
"Over the last three years not enough of us have stood up to be counted and I suspect that’s mostly because they didn’t really know what was going on behind the scenes.
"It was a bit different for me. From the very early days of Green’s takeover I was privy to a fair bit of information and that’s why I was prepared to put myself out there.
"Everyone can see the truth for themselves now. Everyone can see what’s going on with their own eyes.
“That is why I am asking all ex-players, ex-staff, coaches and even managers to get down to Ibrox and join the protest at the front doors.
"I’m not asking them to go to the game, I’m just asking them to turn up, to be seen and to let it be known that they agree with the protests. Just seeing these guys there in force would mean so much to the fans.
"Don’t be sitting in your living rooms. Get yourselves down there and make your feelings known. Let’s show this board everyone has had enough.
"It’s time for them to give the club back to proper people because it is on a life-support machine and it’s not going to last much longer. If this board stays in charge it is doomed.”
