Crisis? Rangers punters still show up in numbers

THERE was, inevitably, much attention paid at Ibrox on Saturday to the number of people who turned up for the Championship fixture against Dumbarton.

Kris Boyd in action at Ibrox. Picture: SNS

It was the kind of occasion, against one of the less glamorous sides in the second tier, which provides an indicator of just how significantly Rangers supporters’ level of discontent with the running of their club will affect 
attendances.

On the face of it, the figure of 31,175 did not make especially healthy reading for chief executive Graham Wallace and the Rangers board of directors as they battle to make the numbers add up off the pitch for the financially fragile club. But, although it illustrates the dramatically reduced number of season ticket sales Rangers have been able to generate this year, it was still the third highest attendance of the day in British football, behind the gates at Chelsea and Everton in the English Premier League.

It is also worth comparing it with the last time Rangers and Dumbarton were in the same division.

In 1984-85, Rangers’ two home games against the Sons were watched by just 16,521 and 8,424 respectively, proving that the extent of any crisis at a club cannot solely be judged by the number of people who pay to watch the team.