A win for King won’t be the cure for all Rangers’ ills

All the signs are that Dave King has won the Game of Thrones at Ibrox.

James Easdale’s decision to resign from the Board in midweek is a clear indication that is the case.

One of four directors who faced being voted out at Friday’s meeting, he said surviving such a vote would be a “hollow victory” without the backing of the club’s fans. I expect he won’t be the last.

Chief Executive Derek Lambias, chairman David Somers and Barry Leach are the others who have been targeted by King’s resolutions.

It is proposed they be replaced by Paul Murray the former Blue Knight businessman John Gilligan and King himself.

I think the next man to go will probably be James Easdale’s brother, Sandy, another Rangers director.

If the vote goes ahead and a pre-emptive deal cannot be ruled out it should be tight.

I have heard suggestions we could be looking at somewhere in the region of 55% for King, 45% against.

Those are figures which invoke comparisons with the Scottish Referendum results last year.

Although it might be tight, it will be a mandate to continue.

The big difference is that such a result would be not divisive.

If King and the Three Bears George Letham, George Taylor and Douglas Park get in, the decision will be welcomed by almost all supporters.

They know all four men to be Rangers-minded, with a deep emotional commitment to the club.

Quite a few shareholders will be unhappy, but that is a different thing.

Ultimately football now is a retail business, and its fans are the customers.

To move forward, Rangers need their supporters with them.

When that is the case, they can bring in much-needed revenue through the gates.

When it is not, the business model simply doesn’t work.

King and Co will know this, and using that same logic I expect them to reach agreement with Mike Ashley.

Ashley doesn’t have their Rangers background, but he does have his commercial dealings in place.

That is not going to change not, anyway, without a very large amount of money changing hands.

The pragmatic answer, as I have said for some time now, will be for the parties to work together for the betterment of Rangers Football Club.

This won’t, I would warn, be a cure for all ills. It would be naive to imagine so.

What it can be is a big step forward to a future in which there is more stability and more clarity moving forward.

After all that Rangers and their fans have been through, that is to be welcomed.