(Credit: Imago)
Rangers appear set to be taken over by NFL giants San Francisco 49ers in the coming weeks.
The Ibrox faithful have been let down by the club’s boardroom in recent years and trust in the hierarchy appears to be at a low.
Should the 49ers complete their takeover, they will have to repair the damaged relationship between the club and their supporters.
Gers fans expected to be heard by the San Francisco 49ers
As the investment arm of the NFL franchise, 49ers Enterprises, are closing in on the takeover, there are questions to be asked about their plans for the club.
Matt Maiocco, who is a correspondent for the American team for the Santa Rosa Press democrat, has delivered his verdict on how they’re expected to run the club.
As he knows the owners pretty well, in his admission, he has offered his expert insight into the situation.
He told the Rangers Journal podcast: “They’ll be seen as the outsiders.
“Why are they doing this? There’s going to be a healthy amount of scepticism from Rangers supporters about what the San Francisco 49ers are doing running our team?
“Therefore, I think the 49ers have to really prove themselves to the fan base. The last thing they want is for people to be upset or sceptical or cynical about what the 49ers are trying to get out of this.
“So I think they’ll have an open ear like the fans. They’ll want to prove themselves that they’re in it for the right reasons. Part of that is the communication and the outreach to the team, the organisation and the community.
“I know these people pretty well and I know how they think. They want their fanbase to be loyal, they want their fanbase to be happy. Not everything they do is going to be met with approval from the supporters, but I think going in, they know that they have to prove themselves to the supporters of Rangers.”
Paraag Marathe and co need to work doubly as hard to win over the Rangers fans
Paraag Marathe is understood to be one of the driving forces of the Gers takeover and he’ll be aware of how fractured the relationship is with the fans.
In recent years, the supporters, who are the lifeblood of the club, have been lied to by various persons in power at the club.
There has been no real success and in fact, since the last league title win, the side has regressed and has almost become a laughing stock.
| Shareholder | Stake |
| Dave King | 12.96% |
| Douglas Park | 11.54% |
| George Taylor | 10.22% |
| Stuart Gibson | 9.53% |
| Julian Wolhardt | 9.53% |
| John Halsted | 9.53% |
| John Bennett | 7.11% |
At the same time, rivals Celtic appear to be improving year on year and are managing to go toe to toe with clubs in the Champions League as well.
Currently, Gers are a decent way from that and Marathe and the 49ers need to make the right appointments behind the scenes.
If they opt for a clean sweep and replace all key positions, there will be few fans that will look sympathetically on the ones that are in the firing line.
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