Neil Lennon as Rangers chairman verdict issued by Tom English amid Dave King verbal assault

Dave King has as much chance as becoming Rangers chairman against as Neil Lennon does as he continues to alienate himself from the board, says Tom English.

 

The BBC writer reacted via X on 20 September after the South Africa-based business man followed up his pitch to replace John Bennett on a two-year basis [Rangers Review, 15 September] with heavy criticism of the board as he called for an EGM to vote on the way forward [Rangers Review, 19 September].

Bennett resigned on health grounds on 14 September and English believes King’s explosive criticism of those at the club put his chances of a return on a par with former Celtic boss Lennon.

 

He wrote: “Dave King continues to run his ‘Return of the King’ campaign via the pages of the Daily Record. Good copy, but it’s further alienating himself from the board.

 

“It’s all just noise and mischief-making. He has as much chance of becoming Rangers chairman as Neil Lennon.”

John Bennett resignation at Rangers sets off power struggle

Clearly the fact that King actually wants to be the Rangers chairman makes his chances of getting back in at Ibrox higher than Lennon’s.

 

But he is going to need some support from somewhere if he is to make it a reality, and if he was already expected to be opposed by the likes of Douglas Park [Daily Record, 16 September] and the rest of the board he clearly isn’t building any bridges with his criticism.

It looks like he is instead looking to get it from fan shareholders at an EGM, while attempting to make the current regime sound so unpopular that they will be turfed out.

That may be an ambitious plan but in light of where the Gers have slipped to in the seasons since Steven Gerrard last won the Scottish Premiership there are plenty of supporters who already feel that way.

Philippe Clement and the players could probably do with a bit of peace and stability around them at the club, but with John Gilligan in as temporary chair and no CEO in place there won’t be much certainty for now anyway.

 

The former director is tasked with finding a new chief executive as a priority after Jim Gillespie dropped out following advanced talks with Bennett [Daily Mail, 10 September].

 

But in the mean time King looks to be pursuing a scorched earth policy as he looks to return to power, and whether it works or not the club would probably benefit from a quick solution.