Football Daily | Russell Martin and a side-door Rangers exit that was inevitable

THE HOTLINES ARE OPEN

A mercifully moderated forum set up for Scottish fitba fans to critique their teams in public, the Daily Record hotline pulsed with the power of 10,000 suns on Sunday. So hot that whoever was manning it had to wear asbestos gloves as they sifted through comments left by supporters of one particular Glasgow team, who felt compelled to rant about “the turgid, unwatchable garbage” (Sean in Cumbernauld) they’d just been forced to sit though by “players not good enough or not performing at a level anywhere good enough” (Kenny in Moffat), who “don’t seem to know what they’re doing” (John in location unspecified). Rather remarkably, these appraisals were among the more printable posted by a selection of furious Celtic fans, who had just seen their team win at home to Motherwell.

While there was no shortage of Rangers fans on the forum getting their radge on, those who travelled to Falkirk to see a fifth league draw in seven games took a far more hands-on approach to voicing their displeasure. Having booed their team off the pitch, several made for the stadium car park to stage an intimidating sit-down protest in front of the team bus. What happened in Falkirk ought to stay in Falkirk, seemed to be the prevailing view, even if the main target of their ire sneaked out of a side door and received an escort from mounted police to a waiting car. “I didn’t like what I saw because it looked a bit like mob rule to me and we’ve not got a place for that,” reasoned Rangers legend turned broadcaster Ally McCoist on the wireless, of the toxic and unseemly post-match scenes prompted by furious supporters. “But where I will stand up is to say the fans have every right to protest, have every right to voice their opinion. I do expect that.”

Having made his getaway aided and abetted by the constabulary, it later emerged that Russell Martin had been sacked as Rangers head coach by the brains trust who made the quite baffling decision to appoint him in the first place. A hire so unpopular that even serial Rangers-baiter Chris Sutton would have received a warmer welcome, Martin immediately found himself on the receiving end of abuse from his own fans that only increased in volume during pre-season friendlies, the club’s 6-0 Bigger Cup shellacking by Club Brugge and a league campaign that has been little short of disastrous. Martin leaves as the shortest-serving manager in Rangers’ 153-year history (briefer histories are available), having lasted even less time than that Portuguese fella who famously apologised through a fence to angry fans while standing in a hedge in Luxembourg.

Of course, sorry always seemed to be the hardest word for Martin, who invariably came across as aloof and supercilious when publicly throwing his players under the bus he chose not to board after Sunday’s match or answering valid questions about their and his own myriad shortcomings. A man who always conveyed the impression he felt that all at Ibrox ought to be delighted a coach of his talents had deigned to join them, he leaves with what one presumes is a handsome payoff for his dismal failure. And while his appointment may have been the most predictably disastrous of the off-season, it was not necessarily the most expensive. A summer recruitment drive involved the club’s new 49ers owners spaffing the thick end of £30m on eight new players, the vast majority of whom are so bobbins they can’t even get into a Rangers team that currently sits eighth in the Scottish Premiership with a negative goal difference.

Having been appointed chief executive last November after 18 years in a lesser role at Manchester United, Patrick Stewart has now become the notable exception to the prevailing rule that everyone who leaves Old Trafford goes on to thrive in their new surroundings. Already the subject of several less than flattering diatribes on the Daily Record Hotline, he desperately needs to comes up with a cunning Martin succession plan or he’ll be next out the door, so Glaswegians can expect to see the Dyche-Signal light up the sky over Ibrox any night now.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“I see it as an exciting opportunity. You have to be up for the fight and the struggle. I’d be silly to be sitting here at the age of 60 if I lacked self-belief or fight. Even in the schoolyard I picked fights with people that beat me up” – Ange Postecoglou is feeling bullish, baby, and he’s determined to convince Nottingham Forest’s board to stick with his process when he holds talks with the club’s famously patient owner, Evangelos Marinakis, this week.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Re: Craig Halkett’s winner in the Edinburgh derby. I was born in 1981, so after 40 years Of Old Firm success mixed with total disregard for fans of the ‘other’ teams – and paranoid claims of conspiracy - I do hope Hearts win the Scottish Premiership” – Alexander McMillan.

I don’t suppose there is any chance you will start giving away the Football weekly mugs again, given that you no doubt have 1,057 stashed in a cupboard somewhere in Guardian Towers? I misplaced (i.e. broke) the last one” – Padhraig Higgins.

It is patently obvious that Ange Postecoglou is not the problem at Nottingham Forest. It is Evangelos Marinakis, the Trump-like figure, who cannot be crossed! I, as a longstanding 82-year-old supporter of an EFL club just down the road from the City Ground, have great respect for Nuno because, in the best interests of his club, he stood up to the owner. Let’s hope that the owner looks in the mirror – what a shock –and for once in his life admits he was wrong. I’m not holding my breath” – John Hindson.

Far be it from me to validate the pedantry of Andrew Parker and Thabo Cavos (Football Daily letters passim) but 13 September to 4 October inclusive is 22 days, which is 3.143 weeks not three weeks. Seven games over that time frame is 2.23 games per week not 2.33, which works out to an extra less than 14 minutes per week. And yes, as Chris Harrison pointed out, if you cherry-pick the period where your club played – say Sunday-Wednesday-Saturday – to ‘prove’ how unfair the fixture list is to your team then you are ignoring the elongated rests your club gets before and after that stretch of fixtures. God, I bore myself. Bring back net-spend whingers!” – Kevin Carter.

Having spent the day indoors due to the persistent downpour we had in Essex, a ray of sunshine from The Beta Band to conclude (Friday’s Football Daily last line – full email edition). ‘Take me in and dry the rain’, an essential moment in the film High Fidelity based, of course, upon Arsenal-loving Nick Hornby’s book. What with Mikel Arteta being ‘happy’ and then this, a touch of Arsenal bias emerging in Friday’s edition?” – Chris Burns.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s winner of our letter o’ the day prize is … Padhraig Higgins, who gets some Football Weekly merch (yes, mugs are an option). Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we have them, are here.

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