THROWING good money after bad is never a good idea.
In football, however, it has become something fans expect of owners.
Even at clubs who have suffered from financial mismanagement, refusal to spend is seen as a heinous crime by success-hungry supporters. There can be few groups of fans in the country more starved of glory in recent years than Rangers’.
That’s why their frustration over Dave King’s latest revelations about the state of the Ibrox club’s finances is understandable.
After all, King once pledged to pump £30m of his kids’ inheritance into the club. Since then, he’s put in a single loan of £1.5m.
That’s bound to raise questions. But I have some sympathy for King.
This is a man who lost an absolute fortune when Rangers went bust in 2012 but he came back to help save the club.
He spoke passionately about his love for Rangers, he got the fans onside, then was voted in as chairman.
But now he’s on the inside, I can’t help but think he has looked at the books, seen the reality of the situation, and re-assessed his willingness to dump more cash into the club.
For me, that’s entirely sensible and that’s the kind of approach Rangers need.
Instead of judging the guy on what he hasn’t done, why not judge him on what he has achieved?
His talk at Ibrox last Thursday about resurrecting the oldco will go down well in some quarters, but I don’t think that’s a claim he needed to make.
Not when he’s already sorted out the managerial situation at Ibrox, ensured the club is funded through until next season and allowed Mark Warburton to build a young, hungry side with re-sale potential.
That’s enough on its own or at least it should be.
Given the legal issues still hanging over the club, attracting greater investment is going to be nigh-on impossible.
So why should King himself be expected to spend his personal fortune?
The fact is that he shouldn’t be.
Instead, he should be allowed to continue steering the club cautiously, to ensure that when Rangers return to the top league, they are in a position to challenge Celtic.
That’s not just what the Gers need it’s what Scottish football needs too.
At this stage, spending big is not the way to get there.
Read more from Alan Brazil – click here
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