Russell Martin’s got The Bears Singing the Blues | OneFootball

The Banter Years in Scottish football are back with a bang, as the latest club playing out of Ibrox provide us all with a bellyful of laughs, as they have been doing on a consistent basis since founding father Charles Green got the Phoenix club’s show on the road in late July 2012 up at Brechin.

New Head Coach of theRangers Russell Martin talks with the media alongside Chief Executive Officer Patrick Stewart, Sporting Director Kevin Thelwell and Nick Thomson. Russell Martin unveiled as the new Head Coach of theRangers at Ibrox, – 05 June 2025 Photo: O Rourke Shutterstock

A quick recap: Rangers FC were liquidate in 2012. Sir David Murray ran up huge debts, and created a tax avoidance scheme that was eventually declared unlawful by the Supreme Court. By that time he’d sold the club (no mention of a holding company that owns the club at this stage) for £1 to thousandaire Craig Whyte who was at the helm when the ship went under. Murray though was the real culprit as the best sportsbooks will all state, with Stephen O’Donnell’s Fergus McCann v David Murray – How Celtic Turned the Tables on Their Glasgow Rivals, being especially enlightening.

Despite the mega rich San Francisco 49ers making the Ibrox club the richest in Scottish football overnight, thus allowing the Green voting vegan Russell Martin to spend over £25 million on assembling a new era of blue-nosed Galacticos, they currently find themselves occupying 8th place in the Scottish Premiership without registering a league win until the weekend  after five unsuccessful attempts at the start of their campaign.

Part of that bounty was raised due to the sale of Brazilian great Jefte and the future R9, Humza Igamane, the latter had refused to play away at St Mirren citing injury before quickly starring for new club Lille. The recover was miraculous as was the fact that he must have passed his medical with the ambitious French club.

Callum McGregor of Celtic clashes with Nicolas Raskin of Rangers FC during the Cinch Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and theRangers at Celtic Park on April 08, 2023 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Kevin De Bruyne mark II and the best ever midfielder to grace Scottish football, Nico Raskin has been made to sit in the stands due to allegedly leaking team news, leading to the Union Bears leading several vigils for their shunned soon the be forgotten favourite.

As a consequence results have suffered, rendering Ibrox to the familiar sound of booing on a regular basis as the angry Bears vocally demand the head of new boss Russell Martin after just a few short months in charge.

However so far his bosses, the consortium who have already spent over £70m on their new football club, have stood firm and offered the man who got Southampton relegated their unequivocal backing. One fan noted that neither the Titanic nor Russell Martin should ever have left Southampton, and it’s fair to say his tenure at Ibrox Is going down like a sinking hship.

theRangers manager Russell Martin. St Mirren v theRangers, 24 August 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Martin, much to the everyone’s amusement decided to take his under fire stars on a bonding trip to the stunning location of Loch Lomond putting them through a rigorous work out in the cold and murky loch waters.

Wild water swimming, he reckoned, could perhaps be the answer to theRangers problems as Martin tried to raise team morale ahead of the Premier Sports League Cup quarter final against Hibs at Ibrox recently, but it didn’t exactly please the Ibrox support.

Ticket sales for that encounter were extremely low with the long suffering Ibrox fans realising that it was much more enjoyable following their old club as this phoenix outfit has brought them nothing but despair and disappointment, while the rest of Scottish football has had 13 years of belly laughs. And long may it continue.

Russell Martin talks with the media alongside Chief Executive Officer Patrick Stewart. Russell Martin unveiled as the new Head Coach of Rangers Football Club, Ibrox, 05 Jun 2025 Photo O Rourke Shutterstock

The banter years never fail to entertain as the Ibrox comedy club always deliver the belly laughs.

More Stories / Latest News

Russell Martin’s got The Bears Singing the Blues

Oct 2 2025, 9:51

Motherwell boss insists his side can win at Celtic Park

Oct 2 2025, 9:27

Martin O’Neill takes brilliant Seville swipe at Jose Mourinho

Oct 2 2025, 8:48