THEY have been christened as ‘the banter years’. Now Rangers fans are looking to the future with enthusiasm rather than uncertainty.

The last few seasons have provided some of the most extraordinary moments in the Light Blues’ history.

The list of characters is lengthy and each plot line could have taken hours to sculpt, but it has all been very real for a fan base that have suffered more than their share of ignominies and embarrassments through no fault of their own.

Events of the last week are right up there in terms of their importance and another chapter in the tale has now been closed as one of the main protagonists was finally written out.

Excitement levels have risen amongst Gers fans in recent weeks as Pedro Caixinha has added to his squad and the appointment of Mark Allen as Director of Football was another reason to be optimistic ahead of the new campaign.

It was the deal that Dave King and his board struck with Sports Direct that was the real shot in the arm, though. The announcement on Friday that Ashley had sold all his shares, including more than four per cent to Club 1872, was the icing on the cake.

The legacy issues that King, John Gilligan and Paul Murray inherited had the potential to hold Rangers back for years. No matter how much the club wanted to move forward, the progress was always going to be stifled as the former regimes continued to make life difficult.

There was a feeling of closure for many this week and a line in the sand has been drawn. Rangers and the fans can now move on.

It has prompted supporters to look back at what has gone on over the last few years, to relive and remember the highs and the lows, the chaos and the controversy.

Many of the moments are surreal but they did really happen. Amongst the anger and the disbelief, it was a case of if you didn’t laugh you’d cry for the punters.

The drama unfolded everywhere from the steps of Ibrox to Charles Green’s hospital bed. The Yorkshireman handed out tea at the ticket office, delivered a Christmas message and wanted to do a deal with the Dallas Cowboys. He left, came back and left again, but his legacy remained.

The sight of Brian Stockbridge, Imran Ahmad or David Somers would send shivers down the spine of supporters. Don’t forget Craig Mather and Graham Wallace or Derek Llambias either.

The Easdale brothers certainly won’t slip out of mind easily. They became two of the most despised figures of the whole narrative as they were heckled at games and mocked online. At least they did the ice bucket challenge.

There was the infamous ‘winter of discount tent’ General Meeting, the red card protest that Somers said was about apartheid and the setting of alarms for Stock Exchange announcements at seven in the morning.

On the park, there was the capitulation to Alloa, the cup final defeat to Raith Rovers, losing to a Stirling side whose manager was at a wedding and a handful of performances and results that will go down amongst the worst ever from a Gers side.

There was the dancing Elgin fan, the commemorative t-shirts for reaching the League Cup semi-final against Celtic and a pre-season match beside a funfair in America.

The likes of Seb Faure, Emilson Cribari and Anestis Argyriou won’t be fondly remembered, but at least Bilel Mohsni went out with a bang. So did Joey Barton.

The Englishman made more of an impact that Sunil Chhetri and Jeje Lalpekhlua, the Indian trialists, and Fran Stella, right enough.

That Fran Sandaza was sacked for being duped in a prank phone-call can’t be forgotten, and either can the arrival of the ‘Newcastle five’ – Remi Streete, Kevin Mbabu, Gael Bigirimana, Haris Vuckic and Shane Ferguson – when they weren’t fit to play.

Last season, Mark Warburton was respectful every week and a song about Joe Garner prompted a Twitter spat with Little Mix fanatics as they became the latest additions to a lengthy list.

Rangers still have some distance to travel on the road to recovery but a corner looks like it has been turned this summer. There is no other set of supporters that deserve a sense of normality back at their club more.

As Rangers look for a brighter future, the banter years could be consigned to history. They may be gone, but they will never be forgotten.