King could not have chosen a better time for his abdication
John McGinn isn’t the only man who knows how to time his run perfectly.
The Aston Villa midfielder is the toast of the Tartan Army, thanks to his startling run of seven goals in the last six Scotland games.
Bluenoses, meanwhile, have been raising a glass to Dave King over the past few days.
The Rangers chairman is far more accustomed to dealing with financial markets than the man-markers McGinn’s form is liable to attract in next year’s bid to reach Euro 2020.
Nevertheless, the businessman’s ability to land at the right place at exactly the right time is equally admirable.
Specifically, at the podium at the Clyde Auditorium last Tuesday, announcing plans to step down at the Ibrox club’s AGM.
King himself addressed the obvious question – why now?
One, it suits him in terms of personal circumstances and his business interests in South Africa.
Two, Rangers are in a position where – with the right management and funding in place – he feels able to do so.
All of which is fine, but it misses the essential element of the timing.
At the time of delivery, Rangers were joint-top of the Premiership, looking forward to a Betfred Cup Final appearance and bang in contention for a Europa League place.
They were also the owners of one of Europe’s most on-form strikers, in the shape of one Alfredo Morelos.
Forty million wouldn’t buy the Colombian in January, said the 64-year-old. And he didn’t feel the need to add the old Tommy Docherty punchline: “. . . and I’m one of them.”
As of this morning, all of those points hold true. The tremendous double-strike by Morelos in Rotterdam actually made the quoted figure look not all that inflated.
He became the first Rangers player to score in four consecutive European games. His 13 goals in the Europa League is a new Scottish record, deposing Celtic talisman, Henrik Larsson.
But come April – when The Masters, an event at which King famously caddied for Gary Player, rolls around – fans could be looking at a very different situation.
By then, Rangers could be out of Europe, forgotten runners-up of the Betfred Cup and staring down the barrel of another Celtic nine-in-a-row.
They might even be out of the Scottish Cup as well.
Given that no one knows the future, it is more sensible to focus on what we are sure about with King.
For one, the Govan club are in a better position now than they were when he arrived five years ago, with his chairmanship notoriously beginning with a goal-less draw with Cowdenbeath at a dank Central Park.
Secondly, the rabbit he pulled out of the hat in bringing Steven Gerrard to the club was of a size that would take a JCB to lift.
Recruiting the Liverpool and England icon was a game-changer. It made everything possible.
Without it, signings such as the £7-million recruitment of Ryan Kent would have remained a pipe dream.
And that – rather than the financial intricacies, squabbling with Mike Ashley or overblown rhetoric – is what fans will remember when King is gone.