The last year has seen Ibrox embark on a major public relations offensive which the media was right behind and happy to promote not just as something that was good for their club but something that, actually, was beneficial to Scottish football as a whole.
Part of the media’s rationale was that it was somehow in the best interests of the game for there to be a counterpoint to Celtic’s alleged dominance at the top. This is not a new idea; however discredited it might be, people continue to push the line that we are somehow pulling the strings for the whole sport. The other idea which underpinned this theory was that Ibrox “belongs” at the top table, an idea I find absurd and even dangerous.
For the record, those same people would make the same claim about Celtic and I consider that idea to be just as bad. This is why I’ve long urged the ditching of this annual farce where the two clubs swap seats on the executive committees as though they were ours by right. No such right should exist. A seat at the table should be earned, not bestowed.
Still, for all this talk of entitlement, the Ibrox club has never, at any time, been considered to be a leader in our national game. This is why the current board have, in the last 12 months, began the task of promoting themselves as responsible partners and reached out in a bid to build alliances now that people like King and Park are out of the way.
No rapprochement was possible whilst the people whose names was all over the dodgy dossier and the Cinch fiasco were still in charge, but once they were gone – or allegedly gone – Ibrox’s PR offensive swung into gear. It was a “new beginning.”
The press ate it up. They started talking about the Ibrox club taking its “rightful place” in Scottish football again. Only the Celtic sites scorned this as a fantasy, and warned that nobody should be fooled because, of course, these were the very Ibrox directors who had warned about settling scores and who’d made it clear what they had in mind.
This morning, Keith Jackson was spitting in fury at the way he and others have been utterly humiliated by the club in the past week. Dupes. Morons. His article, which reads very much like some you might be familiar with, right down to its assertion that the club has behaved in a “Trumpian” fashion, is not cut and pasted from our sites but, like that written by Keown the other day, is very obviously inspired by them … and that must hurt most of all.
Imagine being one of those guys and having to resort to the language of the Celtic blogs to express your own anger over being played for an absolute fool. I’ll get to Jackson’s article later on or perhaps tomorrow because there is stuff in there that needs dragging out into the harsh light of scrutiny, but for the moment let’s just say that he is correct in his assessment of their behaviour this past week as reputationally disastrous, although he completely fails to accept that he and others are at least partly responsible for enabling this behaviour in the past.
I wrote over the weekend about how we should not let the media off the hook here; there are so many of them slithering on it right now, talking about how Ibrox was right, about how they would have had support up until the moment they mentioned Collum by name and in doing so ignoring the fact that this was very obviously all about Collum from the first.
They never made any real secret about what the objective here was. It’s the hack’s own fault if they were not able to recognise that until they were too late and had already as good as thrown their support behind the club. Inside football, there was no doubt what this nasty little game was about and other clubs acted accordingly.
Not one club spoke up to lend them support. Not one. There are plenty who harbour deep concerns about VAR, plenty who are angry about the lack of transparency. Even when the Ibrox club appeared only to be asking “legitimate questions” not one club echoed their views. Because inside those clubs everyone already knew what this was really about.
I have no idea how “successful” Ibrox had been at trying to build relationships with other clubs and in terms of creating the appearance of sanity and stability under its roof. But I do know that whatever progress they made has been undone, spectacularly, in the space of the last seven days, rendering all of it a waste and making them look further away from the mainstream than they’ve ever been. As Jackson and others have twigged, the decision to leak the Collum story to their “official fan media partners” is seen by other clubs as almost unfathomably irresponsible.
And there is no fixing this, at least not in the short to medium term. Ibrox is the source of such constant drama and manufactured crisis that the directors of other clubs must sigh in frustration every time their media departments inform them that another story is set to break from there.
If it’s not harassment of officials, it is trying to decapitate the upper echelons of the SPFL and the SFA, and when it isn’t that it is screwing with the commercial contracts for no reason other than they can … we’ve seen everything from resignation demands to dodgy dossiers in the past few years and nobody sensible really thought those days were over with … but the club’s media allies so badly wanted to. I’ll say it again; these people are mugs, just begging to be lied to.
The clubs, thankfully, always knew better. It will be years before they have faith in anything out of that club. It will be years before the damage of the past week can be repaired. But it can, never, ever be undone. It is a colossal self-inflicted wound, revealing them at their very worst, reminding all those who needed it what really lies beneath Ibrox’s veneer of professionalism and calm.
When Sevco were in the lower division, seemingly, Celtic were the only club to suffer finacially and because of that Lawwell welcomed any team from Ibrox back into the fold.
What it taught me was that other teams’ fans including families were flooding back due to the lack of toxicity attached to the Ibrox fan base. In time that would have grown and the SPL would have been a more healthier arena. Maybe bringing back the strong Aberdeen and Dundee United days.
As it is Lawwell blinked and Scotland as a nation is paying the cost.
I’ve said it before, they royally screwed up in 2012 for seeing the collapse of the original Rainjurz as a calamity and not the opportunity it could have been. Juventus do not need Torino, their biggest rivalries are with the Milan duo and the Roman clubs and Napoli. Bayern don’t need TSV 1860 to fill their ground, they Dortmund, Moenchegladbach and Schalke. The superclubs left parochial rivalries behind years ago. We didn’t need to be locked into this disfiguring rivalry in perpetuity and history will judge Lawwell and co very harshly for shackling our club to it.
I’m not so sure about the first part of your hypothesis Charlie. I reckon Lawell would be happy with THEM not there to prevent us winning the league, basically unopposed, with a free route to the CL qualifiers and hopefully beyond, generating much more money than the domestic scene could ever do.
I do agree though that without THEM the league was a breath of fresh air.
I hate them as much as the next Tim, mate. But please try to remember how awful those two seasons with Ronny Deila in charge were. Also try to remember that the fans agreed with me because half the Lisbon Lions upper stand was blocked off due to lack of season ticket sales.
As for for a free route to the CL qualifiers and “hopefully beyond”. I think Peter Lawwell much prefers guaranteed income. And we have to face facts. Without the huns, the Scottish coefficient in Europe wouldn’t facilitate that.
I am not saying we need the huns. I am saying that Celtic fans voted with their feet when they weren’t around. As to why that was the case is a more nuanced discussion. I am fairly sure I know what Peter Lawwell thinks, though.
The new club rangers international football club is appeasing there supporters not all but I’d say 60 percent and trying to get the other 40 percent them against us we all play in the spl yes clubs voted to make this new club start from lower league due to tax dodging and unpaid dates they were liquidated and are o longer the club they were before liquidation yes white was willing to be the fall guy for some reason the supporters think and the new club run by green supported that every club in Scotland were against them the truth is Murray bought and payed for players he could not afford but found a loop hole not to pay tax and it was rover to be illegal it was fraud why any one would say rfc dud not benefit the club in winning trophies and leagues that allowed them in to Europe and the money that brought them Lord nimmo was the cheat protecting a institutional club and lord Murray now this new club are chasing after a man and his family could it be cause of his faith
It’s not just other clubs and their directors that are pissed of with Sevco James – Lots of fans of other clubs are as well and even were before this latest ‘I wanna fight the world’ fiasco…
At one time – say forty years ago – out of us and them a lot of other clubs’ fans would probably side with them, but that’s well flipped on it’s head for sure around these shores anyway nowadays –
I just think their hatred of everything and everyone that’s not rabidly ‘them’ has swung things big time and long may that trajectory continue going forward in the future…
I also think their open adoration of The Butchers Apron and equal open hatred of The independent Scotland Saltire flag is not helping their cause one little bit –
The young population also predominantly love The Independent Scottish Saltire flag and scorn The Butchers Apron and with it – it’s sordid and blood filled history…
And Thank God for that going forward !
James
Another great read ,but Jackson is an easy target , due to his own Bias ,hell mend him, continue the great writing
This is an outfit remember , who as a previous incarnation was guilty of the single most illegal ,corrupt practices in the history of UK sport yet had it’s back covered by all kinds of SMSM charlatans . In other words it doesn’t matter how bent and dishonest the clumpany is , their pals from all walks of Scottish life shall always forgive them …in all kinds of weather !
Aye Charlie We should Rid out Big bad Peter. And his £££££ 70. Million. Bring back Old Kelly and Jack Skint Flint. Terry Cassidy or even The lying King.
9 INAROW
DOUBLES
TREBLES
QUADRUPLES…?????
sevco-an absolute shocker of a footy klub…constant stain in the real world!!
Great to see the mighty Glasgow Celtic in the top tier for attendance figures in 23-almost 60k..incredible really!
As always well written and directly to the truth
The two clubs swapping seats on executive committees is indeed a farce. So, too, is the annual Ne’erday game in which we are complicit. That game gives them a place in our calendar which they shouldn’t have. They should be treated like any other team.
Nothing will change they are not interested in their reputation no one likes them they dont care it will all be soon forgotten covid breaches, george square riots, celtic physio scarred by bottle attack, broken glass on pitch , scores to settle off the pitch as the song goes nothing ever happens.
I’m not sure how much or with whom the additional reputational damage can be with. It seems to me the other clubs, organisations and institutions will maintain their current and historical rooted positions. HH
The bell, once rung cannot be unrung. Thats the outcome of the last week, ” the collum week” mark it well.
Since the Murray years rangers have had a major influence on the sfa and the media. He exerted a power over them that should have been stopped in it’s tracks but he had the money and power to treat them to freebies, information, Succulent lamb, wee, shot in the private jet, free tickets, hospitality, celeb pals. That’s my recollection.
The sfa and media helped sink rangers. The information was there, it wasn’t pleasant reading but they stuck with the positive narrative. Then the inevitable survival myth and your earlier fantastic article James. We are still on the same record even though Celtic have wiped the floor with them in trophy haul, finances etc.
They are in dire financial health, hand to mouth, more investors who will likely get nothing back but hoping for success to bring in big cash. They’d need to win the CL for two seasons to break even and pay some debts.
There is a constant reputational harm but it’s contained to Scotland and will never really be exposed or hurt them until the SFA apply proper rules and grow a set. Won’t happen the rangers can do and say as they wish forever. I see nothing changing that.
Jackson might be a little pissed off and may not be thrown a rangers bone for a while because of his wee outburst but it will blow over next month and he’ll be creaming himself to the slightest positive from Ibrox.
Until we rid ourselves of Doncaster and the SFA/SPFL feeloaders and have pro-refs and rid ourselves of var nothing will change. The cinch thing told the story. Special dispensation not to advertise this country’s football main sponsor allowed by the governing bodies. The SFA should have stopped that in it’s tracks. Maybe UEFA will have a say soon.
The SFA members are effectively personally scared to go against the rancid klub and klan for fear of threats and violence.
Come on James, this will pass over like always. The ‘peepul’ will ensure it does. A lepoard never changes its spots.
Once again, right on the ball James.