Rangers got off to a good start away to Motherwell last Sunday, beating the Fir Park side 2-1 and looking like they could have scored 9 or 10 had they been so inclined.

All this transpired without top scorer and only recognised goal poacher Kris Boyd, who returns from suspension this weekend.

With Slovakian striker Filip Sebo arriving and the search for a solid right back in full swing, most fans have been united in their praise of the start made by new manager Paul Le Guen.

They remain fundamentally divided on some more important matters however.

Recent statements by UEFA regarding racism and discriminatory chanting have cut right to the core of the Rangers support and there has been a furious debate between three distinct camps.

A repertoire of unsavoury anti-catholic standards have long been favoured by a section of the support and some are unwilling to change one iota, even in the face of their club being sanctioned or even thrown out of Europe.

Thankfully they are a small minority.

A larger group occupy more equivocal ground.

They point to the clubs long standing links with the loyalist community in Northern Ireland and argue that the songs should remain, but with any bigoted reference removed.

The feeling in this camp seems to be that in banning the songs outright, Rangers fans are being denied the right to celebrate what constitutes the roots of many of their number and that they are being forced to comply with a PC neutering of their perception of the clubs identity.

The third group see it as time to move on entirely, focusing on Rangers songs that speak of the club, its achievements and its history on the park.

The feeling in this camp seems to be that songs pertaining to Northern Ireland are less relevant to the club than at any time before and that the continued singing of loyalist songs even in modified form will merely mask use of bigoted versions which will eventually be heard and land the club in all sorts of trouble.

It is also feared that modified versions of loyalist chants and songs will merely afford die hard bigots a cloak of respectability as they nudge and wink their way through the match.

The club at least seem to favour the ?third option?, piping long unheard old standards like ?Wolverhampton Town? (a song celebrating the 1961 Cup Winners Cup Semi Final victory over the then-giants of English football) over the tannoy at recent matches.

Other old standards like ?Every Other Saturday? and ?Blue Sea of Ibrox? have also made a welcome return, as the club seek to comply with UEFA and to become more inclusive and more viable to a family demographic.

RFC have also appointed a PR firm to help publicise their anti-bigotry initiatives.

Where the Rangers support end up on this matter is anyone?s guess.

All fans acknowledge that we must ensure that Ibrox remains an intimidating place to visit.

But the easiest way of doing that - hurling bilious abuse at others ? must end for the good of the club, and simply because it?s right.

Thankfully, most seem determined to find a way of exhibiting pride in the club without the pointless and costly denigration of others.

The great fear of most Rangers fans is that the die-hard bigots who refuse to move on and seem to insist the club somehow belong to them will nullify any sensible debate and will consign the club to a European hinterland we simply can?t afford to occupy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 2:59 pm and is filed under Rangers. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. Both comments and pings are currently closed.