Rangers fans may well have a bit of sympathy for Bordeaux | OneFootball

Ibrox Noise has noted the plight of former French giants Bordeaux with significance – they like Rangers were plunged into the French lower leagues with financial problems, but of course unlike Scotland and its toxic pettiness, France would love to have them back to their best. They produced the likes of Hazard and a certain Zidane.

In Bordeaux’s case they weren’t thrown straight into France’s fourth tier (which is where they now are) but suffered a total financial collapse which saw repeated relegations before falling into National 2.

Rangers fans went through this nightmare, it is one in fact our club is still recovering from. We managed to win 55 and even get to the Europa League final but the progress from those wasn’t permanent and we languish a bit again.

But Ibrox Noise and many other Rangers fans and groups will always have empathy for fans whose clubs have fallen on these kinds of hard times.

Forget the nonsense toxic Sevconians snipe with about how it was Rangers’ own fault and the club and fans deserved it. The fact is the ones who suffer are the supporters no matter the conditions of a club’s fall from grace.

They are the ones who live and breathe the club, and our supporters we’re sure will support Bordeaux having been in a situation similar.

It’s not like we’re massive fans of that club, but thousands are, and they are the ones having to deal with this incredible fall from the top of European football to low league competition.

Bordeaux, like Rangers, were frequently in the Champions League, and have a massive 42,000 stadium. They are a big big club who we remember from those heady days at that level in Europe’s premier club competition.

And now they are languishing in the bottom barrel of French football having lost it all.

But unlike Rangers their crowds at that level are abysmal – average of 3,000 including their home matches. Rangers regularly filled out Ibrox in Division 3, a testament to the supporters’ loyalty.

Will Bordeaux ever return? Well of course it’s harder to regain a footing in France because the standard is far higher than Scotland, but we hope they do.

Their fans would love to have the old club back, the one challenging in Ligue 1.

But from how things look from here, that’s a long way away.