Club 1872 wants answers from Rangers over Australia plans
Rangers shareholder group Club 1872 have written to the board demanding an explanation for the proposed friendly tour of Australia alongside Celtic.
Gers fans have reacted angrily to the announcement that the club were set to join their Glasgow rivals in a November tournament against Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers during the season break for the Qatar World Cup.
Club 1872, who say on their website currently own 4.9% of shares in the club, want answers over the apparent disregard for fans.
In a statement, quoted in the Glasgow Times they said: “We can confirm that Club 1872 has written to Stewart Roberson today to seek an explanation for this decision by the Executive and PLC Boards of Rangers Football Club.
“Regardless of the fee involved, alienating a significant portion of your supporter base cannot be seen as a sound commercial decision.
“Furthermore, the way in which this entire episode has been communicated to supporters once again highlights a lack of genuine supporter engagement, which has been replaced in the last two years by saturated marketing activity.
“Supporters remain, by far, the largest contributors to Rangers’ financial health and the Rangers Executives and PLC board would do well to remember that.”
Embarrassing
It’s no surprise that fans are upset at this move as the club appears to be content with filling the role of sideshow for Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou’s homecoming tour.
Despite commercial director James Bisgrove telling Rangers TV that the trip will make as much money for the club as the entire SPFL season, fans are not buying it.
The strength of the rivalry between the Old Firm sides is not something to be mishandled and it looks like the decision-makers at Ibrox are doing just that.
There are plenty of things that are lucrative financially but not advisable for any number of other reasons.
Whether the agreements are mutual at boardroom level between the clubs, the appearance of playing second-fiddle to their city rivals is not a great look for the Light Blues.
The Glasgow Times has highlighted Australian promotional material which is unsurprisingly focused on the Hoops boss.
It is no shock that fans are unhappy at that development and the club have got a job on now to bring them back onside.
In other Rangers news, a BBC man made a joke about the announcement encapsulating exactly the problem.