Dave King says Rangers are within ‘tangible reach’ of becoming the ‘dominant force in Scottish football again’

[ian1964 10,724]

The Ibrox chief released a statement after season tickets went on sale for the 2019/20 campaign.

DAVE KING says Rangers are within 'tangible reach' of becoming the 'dominant force in Scottish football again.

The Gers chief released a statement to supporters after season tickets went on sale for the 2019/20 season.

And he said it has been 'extremely gratifying' to have 'witnessed the progress that has been made over the last year'.

King insists Gers playing squad is 'significantly stronger than in recent seasons' as he promised to back Gerrard in the transfer market.

Fans will have to fork out extra after season tickets were increased by five per cent with a waiting list for supporters who don't yet own a season book.

Full Statement

I begin by again offering my most sincere thanks to each and every Rangers supporter for the continued commitment and understanding that you have shown throughout the recent rebuilding of our club.

It was never going to be easy and it is extremely gratifying to have witnessed the progress that has been made over the last year. We are now within tangible reach of Rangers becoming the dominant force in Scottish football again.

Much of the progress on the pitch can be attributed to Mark Allen, Steven Gerrard and their respective management teams. Turning to a young manager was a risk but it was one that Mark and the Board felt we should take because of Steven Gerrard’s football pedigree.

Steven’s passion, professionalism and winning mentality has been inculcated throughout the football activities at all levels and we have seen strong benefits from this. Of significance was our first, strong European campaign for many years.

The team was heroic at times in battling through four very tough qualifiers and went on to narrowly miss making the knock-out stages. However, the inconsistency that inevitably comes with another new management team and a new group of players was also evident. We saw periods where we were rightly regarded as title contenders, followed by periods of varying quality.

However, despite these periods of inconsistency it is clear that the playing squad is significantly stronger than in recent seasons and, importantly for future transfer activity, the overall value of the squad has greatly increased.

This is a tribute to the work that Mark, Steven and their management teams have done to improve the process behind player recruitment and their overhaul of the training methods and the general wellbeing of the football squad at all levels and age groups. The team requires a further upgrade and the Board will continue to back Mark and Steven, who fully understand that Rangers must win titles and cups and plans are already in place for recruitment in the summer window.

Rangers has always been a leader on and off the pitch. Apart from the aim of amassing titles and trophies, being part of Rangers as a fan, player, manager or director means we conduct ourselves in a specific manner. Our club often comes under unfair attack and we are relentless in working hard behind the scenes, and up front when necessary, to make sure we are given the respect our club and our massive support deserves. But we will not engage in unseemly debates through the media.

Conducting ourselves with dignity is a part of who we are and it is up to us to set standards. However, in doing this, we will not allow ourselves to be treated differently or held to a different set of rules.

The institution that is Rangers Football club is special and has a unique place in football history as having won – by quite some distance – more trophies than any other club in the world. We must now start adding to this record but can only achieve this by remaining together and being stronger in our unity than other clubs.

This season, a record number of season tickets were sold and it would be remarkable if we could again hit that number as we lay the foundations for what we hope will be the season which sees Rangers triumphant again. Your Board is committed to providing further funding and we are also asking for supporters’ help through renewing season tickets, which will increase in cost by only 5%. We feel this is not an excessive increase and every fan should know that the season-ticket revenue will solely go towards the first-team squad.

We have also witnessed a significant advancement at the Academy under the guidance of Craig Mulholland and his team. This was evidenced by our under-17s who went to Qatar and won the prestigious Alkass Cup. This triumph – and the fact that more than 20 of our players across all age groups were called up for international duty recently – are clear signs that the Academy is doing a terrific job.

Rangers is a massive club and our importance demands that we contribute to the broader community as a whole. No club in the country does more to help those less fortunate than we do.

The Rangers Charity Foundation’s work goes mostly unheralded but through its various education, health and well-being, employability, diversity and inclusion programmes (as well as many others) it continues to be a force for good and has eased the lives of hundreds of thousands of people who need help in so many ways. In order to further boost our charitable activities we are proud, for the first time, to have included a £2 donation for the Rangers Charity Foundation as part of the Season Ticket payment. I know that all fans will support this initiative to help others.

I sincerely hope that you will renew your season ticket for 2019/20 and thank you in advance for your continued support.

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/4124732/dave-king-rangers-tangible-reach-dominant-force-scottish-football/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1555320989

[compo 7,046]

This is when you know its getting near season ticket renewal time again .

[Bluedell 5,627]

28 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

Conducting ourselves with dignity is a part of who we are and it is up to us to set standards. However, in doing this, we will not allow ourselves to be treated differently or held to a different set of rules.

The board have totally failed in this.

[der Berliner 3,745]

Someone who posts on here says that the club is working hard on changing the whole thing that is the CO and his shadow judges, a system that has failed badly and is openly biased and partial. But they won`t say that in public, of course, as it is them versus the authorities.

[der Berliner 3,745]

BTW, it is interesting that when being talked about, people like to find debatable stuff first, but not the interesting bits:

 

Quote

The team requires a further upgrade and the Board will continue to back Mark and Steven, who fully understand that Rangers must win titles and cups and plans are already in place for recruitment in the summer window.

 

[Bluedell 5,627]

32 minutes ago, der Berliner said:

BTW, it is interesting that when being talked about, people like to find debatable stuff first, but not the interesting bits:

 

 

It's not really that interesting. A bland statement that the club must win something and plans for recruitment are in place? It would be interesting if he hadn't said it but it's just standard season ticket renewal phrases that we've heard every season for the past 30 years.

[JFK-1 1,693]

I'm most interested in the assessment of the playing squad.

 

Quote

We saw periods where we were rightly regarded as title contenders, followed by periods of varying quality.

 

However, despite these periods of inconsistency it is clear that the playing squad is significantly stronger than in recent seasons and, importantly for future transfer activity, the overall value of the squad has greatly increased.

 Have to agree with that and given that further investment in the squad is being promised i'm encouraged for next season. 

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[scotjo 19]

3 hours ago, ian1964 said:

 

What words did they struggle with? Season? Tickets?

[buster. 5,199]

19 hours ago, Bluedell said:

It's not really that interesting. A bland statement that the club must win something and plans for recruitment are in place? It would be interesting if he hadn't said it but it's just standard season ticket renewal phrases that we've heard every season for the past 30 years.

The club (via chairman) would be negligent not to strike an optimistic tone and as you say it's pretty much par for the course.

I think there is a factual base to most of it and as always, the key, we hope the money invested in players is done wisely with positive results.

To get to where we want to go next season, we'll need a near perfect transfer window this summer.

 

All of us want to end up at the same place and one non-negotiable en route is for the ST numbers to stay at a high level.

The support has been amazing in the last few years and numbers keep going up. It's something that is seldom if ever commented on in the media, they are too busy looking for negatives.