In the cosy confines of Scottish football, one club reared its head in 2012, donnae be fooled; it goes by the name of Rangers and calls Ibrox Stadium its lair. But this is not your grandfather's Old Firm rivalry, no, this creation is a decade or so fresh. One mustn't confuse stories of old, with the harsh realities of the now.
One may laugh, yet the outfit has accumulated a squad estimated at £78m (or so Transfermarkt says). That can't buy you the Eiffel tower, but it's a few bob more than your local pub team. When you're playing in the muddy world of football finance, every quid counts, right?
A gaggle of 31 players don the Rangers jersey, scurrying around the green like ants proclaimed as gladiators. Their average age? A tender 24, fresh-faced and presumably ready to set the world alight, or perhaps not. Who can say in these uncertain times?
In a season of cheering and booing, of hope and despair, Rangers have so far extended their tentacles in 5 competitions. Premiership? You'd find them sulking at 4th – not top, not bottom, just there. They flirted with glory in the League Cup only to settle for Semi-Finals. Scottish Cup? Booted out in the Fourth Round, a harsh reminder of what might have been. Champions League Qualifiers ended in Play-Offs, whilst they made it to the mysterious territory known as the Europa League League Phase. It'd be a wonderfully illustrative tale if it were written by a cynic, wouldn't it?
