Gary Keown of the Daily Mail has put out an impassioned plea for John Bennett to engage with the Scottish media.
On April 4 Douglas Park walked away from the club, other than a standard statement announcing Bennett’s elevation nothing has been heard from the new Chairman.
Last September Bennett made a couple of surprise appearances on in-house media, strangely criticising the level of communication with supporters, soon afterwards David Graham left to take up fresh challenges. He is now the General Manager of Linfield.
Just last week Bennett lost his Sporting Director while an Ibrox coach picked up a six match SFA ban for head-butting an opposing coach. Not a word has been heard beyond the statement template thanking Ross Wilson for his legacy of Murray Park and the Ladies team winning a title.
Season Tickets were launched with an embarrassing spelling error but still the new Chairman has still to speak to in-house media let alone the Daily Mail and what is termed the mainstream.
In the Daily Mail Keown puts out a call for Bennett to find his voice and answer questions:
All the momentum built by winning that Premiership crown and reaching a Europa League final the following season has evaporated. Fan protests are now the norm. Sporting director Ross Wilson has now gone, not before time, and Robertson should certainly follow.
But that’s just the start of it. That’s just the start of listening to the supporters. The amateurism of allowing themselves to be painted as the support act in the Ange Postecoglou Homecoming Super Series after signing up for the Sydney Super Cup — with marketing director James Bisgrove pushed out front to say the board were ‘disappointed’ by the reaction — still rankles with the rank and file.
Punters have been milked rotten by this powerbase. That has to alter, too. The club hierarchy need to find a way to lose this reputation of being aware of the price of everything and value of very little.
They need to make sure their online shop isn’t selling £50 panoramic portraits of a 7-1 home loss to Liverpool, the worst result in their existence.
The club, as a whole, needs to become more politically astute. They need to win hearts and minds, gain greater influence behind the scenes, instead of falling out with folk over next to nothing and indulging in self-defeating rows over sponsorship deals and Old Firm ticket allocations.
Bennett also needs to try to broker some kind of peace deal with King. It feels like Rangers are only ever one bad result away from another missive from South Africa, another round of accusations, another bout of mudslinging. Civil war is rarely a backdrop in which to build for the future.
Rangers also need to implement a proper, consistent transfer model. Not just talk about it and then pat themselves on the back over Calvin Bassey and Nathan Patterson when Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent are about to walk for nothing and there are no other obvious multi-million pound assets in the squad.
They need to get recruitment right. They need to stay on top of their medical and sports science departments and let the public know what’s going on with developments there. They need to drop the bad blood over what happened prior to them starting again in the old Third Division in 2012 and focus on the now.
Bennett needs to show he has a grip on what is needed to improve a record of just two major trophies in the eight years since regime change. He needs to show he is committed to really improving communication rather than just talking about it in once-in-a-blue moon appearances on the in-house telly channel.
He surely can’t hide away like Park did. He certainly can’t keep running the place the same way. He needs to be open to questions.
As of this moment, there’s an obvious one to start with. Where are you?
Bennet has been involved in fan podcasts in the past, a session with Jonny McFarlane and the Rangers Review is probably his next media step.
Our Head of Partnership Management, Oli Pfeiffer, in the Liverpool end last night.
Immediate sackable offence. https://t.co/VTqMjV6Mtc
— Amateus Ljungstrand ? (@CLMWSN_10) October 13, 2022
The communication interview was initially behind a club paywall.
It sounds like a few people need to sit down and have a stiff Glens Vodka drink ! Jeez ,what am I thinking about …
Offfftttt – ‘starting again’ in The old third Division…. This guy that wrote that is gonna join the long and lengthy hit list for sure !
7-1 loss to Liverpool was worst in their History he wrote as well.
Keown needs to ask himself if Bennet is another in the long line of Ibrox incompetents that have taken the dafties for plenty by fostering a siege mentality since their unfortunate reincarnation in 2012.
I expect to see Keowns email and phone number appearing anytime on one of their hate filled forums for having the temerity of putting his thoughts into print. He must be really hurting to put his head above the parapet.
Mr. Keown is right. Except for one thing. ‘Rangers’ didn’t ‘start again’, they just ‘started’ with the assets of the old club.
What he really means is…
When does succulent lamb go back on the menu?
Two parasites feeding off each other.
Incestuous cannibalism producing Zombies on the street.
Nae wunner theyre fooked.