Setting the Standard: Redeveloping RSC Links with the Club

[Tannochsidebear 2,405]

I will post my reply to this article in here seeing as RM is currently being repaired.

 

A very good article which gives some feesible and constructive recommendations for ways of improving the current relationship between the RSCs and Rangers Football Club. I have been an RSC member for the last 8 years and in that time it has become pretty evident that the club are valuing the contribution of RSCs less and less.

 

A few years ago our club would generally recieve enough tickets for every away game to satisfy the demand of most of our members our members. And for matches like Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Celtic all of our members would recieve tickets. In comparison, for a club with 23 members and 30-plus years of following Rangers to every game, home and away, we recieved only 5 tickets for Celtic Park on Sunday. We also recieved a grand total of 2 tickets for matches at both Pittordie and Inverness this season. I see that as akin to a betrayal from the club.

 

David Murray has reaffirmed time and again that he wants to distribute away tickets to Ibrox season book holders rather than RSCs. I believe that this is simply to control what kind of supporter goes to these games. This was particularly heightened after the Villareal fiasco. The last thing we want is for away game atmospheres to go down the route of the Ibrox matchday and if the current trend of tickets going away from RSCs then this seems inevitable to me.

 

The economic slowdown is also affecting many RSCs, mine included. Bus companies are raising their prices pretty sharply due to running costs and therefore we are having to raise our prices just to stay aloat. This is where i feel the club should be helping us out by maybe providing a small fund, not alot, to each RSC so that they can keep the prices for their members down. It is the least the club could do given the amount of money RSC members shell-out every season going to support the club.

 

 

Firstly, on your point re Murray. That is of course a bit part of the problem with the current way of thinking at the club. DM thinks supporters are a total nuisance, and RSC's probably the worst of the lot (apart from the RST of course). This thinking has to change. Yes there are still some buses who leave far too early and get too tanked up, fine if you can handle it but we all know that is not always the case, especially with the younger bears, and it is those same ones that always seem to forget what songs are "acceptable" these days! The tarring with the same brush effect is certainly in use here.

 

As for a fighting fund for RSC's, that is part of what I was meaning in my article when I mentioned the annual fundraiser. With the club's help, each RSC could run an event with the proceeds split between the club and the RSC. If the club donated some prizes (signed shirt, pair of tickets etc) for a raffle/auction at the event, the event could surely raise enough for both aprties to get a worthwhile turn out of it. I am sure your RSC already does some fundraisers throughout the season, so therefore I am sure you could see the benefit of getting some prizes donated by the club, and perhaps a player appearance for a photoshoot with our latest trophy.

 

The current thinking is poles apart from where it should be, and I am not sure if there is the will to change at the moment if I am being honest, but that is not to say we just shrug our shoulders and do nothing.

[chilledbear 16]

Changed days indeed, I remember early seventies at our RSC Dinner Dance [ok ok], but a good way of raising funds for the next season. We had John Greig, Alex McDonald and Stewart Kennedy all attending, and usually a young reserve, they would sign autographs and get photos taken with memberrs. Some players would even give us a song, especially AMcD. I think all Clubs tried to have Alex attend their do's.

[Bluedell 5,624]

The problem with the CCCS is that there are very few guys like yourself that really really want the tickets for your Kilmarnocks and Motherwells. I believe that a large number of ST holders only tick the box in the hope of getting a celtic ticket.

 

There are a lot of members of my RSC that get their pals to tick the CCCS box and we take any tickets they get. We also have members who are always offered tickets for unglamorous games from ST holders who fall into the above category.

 

I quick look at the number of buses at any away ground and a quick calculation of the number of tickets allocated to Rangers for that game will tell you that a very large percentage of bears still use the buses to travel to the games.

 

I have every respect for bears like yourself who prefer to use their own transport to go to the games for any variety of reasons, and of course we must look after them as well, but I feel that while the RSC's are the large majority of travelling fans, they should be put to the forefront of the thinking at the club.

 

Would any of the perks mentioned in my article make you consider rejoining a RSC? What would make you rejoin?

Is it just down to the buses running in your area and the people running them?

Fair points, and a good argument as to why the RSCs should be looked after. However I guess it depends where you park as there are obviously a large number of bears who don't go by bus and my view is that they would be in the majority, but I'll admit that you could be better placed to have a more accurate view on this.

 

It'd be interesting to know how many CCCS people are like who you describe.

 

No, none of the perks in your article would make me rejoin. I already get 10% off in the shops, for example.

 

I left my club due to family commitments, and the club subsequently folded shortly afterwards for a number of reasons but partly due to the timing of games (eg 6pm on a Sunday) and a large number of members found themselves unable to attend.

 

I now tend to take my son to the away games now, and I prefer the flexibility and comfort that not being an RSC member gives.

[Bluedell 5,624]

Changed days indeed, I remember early seventies at our RSC Dinner Dance [ok ok], but a good way of raising funds for the next season. We had John Greig, Alex McDonald and Stewart Kennedy all attending, and usually a young reserve, they would sign autographs and get photos taken with memberrs. Some players would even give us a song, especially AMcD. I think all Clubs tried to have Alex attend their do's.

 

Before the advent of camera phones.

[chilledbear 16]

Before the advent of camera phones.

 

I can promise you if there had been camera phones, NO ONE would have used them in the way they have been used recently.

[Tannochsidebear 2,405]

Fair points, and a good argument as to why the RSCs should be looked after. However I guess it depends where you park as there are obviously a large number of bears who don't go by bus and my view is that they would be in the majority, but I'll admit that you could be better placed to have a more accurate view on this.

 

It'd be interesting to know how many CCCS people are like who you describe.

 

No, none of the perks in your article would make me rejoin. I already get 10% off in the shops, for example.

 

I left my club due to family commitments, and the club subsequently folded shortly afterwards for a number of reasons but partly due to the timing of games (eg 6pm on a Sunday) and a large number of members found themselves unable to attend.

 

I now tend to take my son to the away games now, and I prefer the flexibility and comfort that not being an RSC member gives.

 

 

Fair enough.

 

For every bus at an away ground you probably need about 10 cars to equate the numbers. The recent match at Pittodrie is one example. There must have been about 30 buses in the bus park beside the ground. That equates to around 1500 tickets out of the 2200 we get. Like you, I would be keen to see the splits, but it is unlikely this would ever become available information.

 

I obviously have no facts to back up how many CCCS members are like the ones I mentioned. But if there are about a dozen or so examples of it on our bus with 50 members, and this is replicated around other buses which I can think of no reason why it would not be the case, then that is why I came to the conclusion I did.

 

For further example, our RSC has 50 members. After work commitments etc, probably around 40 will go to any particular game. From that number around 10-15 will get tickets from the CCCS directly. The RSC will get perhaps another 10 from their allocation. This means the rest are made up from CCCS members not intending to go to the game, and passing their tickets on to us.

[Tannochsidebear 2,405]

Changed days indeed, I remember early seventies at our RSC Dinner Dance [ok ok], but a good way of raising funds for the next season. We had John Greig, Alex McDonald and Stewart Kennedy all attending, and usually a young reserve, they would sign autographs and get photos taken with memberrs. Some players would even give us a song, especially AMcD. I think all Clubs tried to have Alex attend their do's.

 

You go further back than I can chilledbear, but I loved our dances at Edmiston House in the 90's. A certain Ian Ferguson would normally be chief chanter, ably backed up by bomber, McCall and Durranty.

 

Those were the days right enough eh!!

[Bluedell 5,624]

I can promise you if there had been camera phones, NO ONE would have used them in the way they have been used recently.

 

Tell that to Donald Findlay.

[Bluedell 5,624]

For every bus at an away ground you probably need about 10 cars to equate the numbers. The recent match at Pittodrie is one example. There must have been about 30 buses in the bus park beside the ground. That equates to around 1500 tickets out of the 2200 we get. Like you, I would be keen to see the splits, but it is unlikely this would ever become available information.

 

I obviously have no facts to back up how many CCCS members are like the ones I mentioned. But if there are about a dozen or so examples of it on our bus with 50 members, and this is replicated around other buses which I can think of no reason why it would not be the case, then that is why I came to the conclusion I did.

 

For further example, our RSC has 50 members. After work commitments etc, probably around 40 will go to any particular game. From that number around 10-15 will get tickets from the CCCS directly. The RSC will get perhaps another 10 from their allocation. This means the rest are made up from CCCS members not intending to go to the game, and passing their tickets on to us.

But surely there weren't 50 people on these 30 coaches? Would a better average not be 30-35, which could result in under 50%?

 

Your experience with fans on the CCCS is very interesting.

[Bluedell 5,624]

You go further back than I can chilledbear, but I loved our dances at Edmiston House in the 90's. A certain Ian Ferguson would normally be chief chanter, ably backed up by bomber, McCall and Durranty.

 

Those were the days right enough eh!!

 

The nights in the Edmiston were great. Was in there after more than a few cup finals, and also watched the Leeds away game in 1992 in there. What a night that was.

 

My supporters club used to leave from there.