Barry Ferguson: Rangers Australia plans make sense, PR was big mistake
The “only big mistake” involved in Rangers planning to join Celtic in a tour of Australia was the PR, as the move itself makes sense, says Barry Ferguson.
News leaked this week that the Light Blues are due to feature alongside their Glasgow rivals in a four-team friendly tournament with Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers in November.
And fans were furious that the club appeared to be a passenger in a Hoops vehicle promoting manager Ange Postecoglou’s “homecoming”, which Ferguson says is “almost as far from the truth as the Opera House is from the Armadillo”.
Writing in the Daily Record the ex-Gers captain said: “Memo to Rangers: If you want to know how to [expletive] off your own fans then just keep on keeping them out of the loop.
“But if it was explained correctly from the start then maybe they could have learned to live with it.
“Trust me, Rangers are a big deal in Australia and my old mate Craig Moore has told me fans down there are buzzing over the prospect of the game.
“This isn’t an Angeball world tour. It’s about one of the biggest clubs in the world meeting fans in another country. That’s the message Rangers should have put out from the start.”
Too late
The former Ibrox favourite is probably right in the cold light of day but the club are going to struggle to put the toothpaste back in the tube.
There is understandable traditionalist unhappiness at the idea of the Old Firm derby being marketed out abroad as a friendly, and there is something in that stance.
But despite the heroics against Borussia Dortmund recently, Gers are arguably putting themselves at an ongoing disadvantage to not follow much of European football in tapping into their global fan base this way.
But that argument is moot when it comes to the message that has accompanied the news.
As Ferguson says, the fans were blindsided and had to put up with the appearance that they were playing second fiddle to their biggest rivals.
Of course the Hoops boss is going to be a big draw back in his home country, and Ibrox chiefs should have known that would be the focus if they did not ensure they got their own perspective out clearly.
The bad feeling generated from the way the news came out is likely to make it hard to convince fans of the financial benefits, however significant they are.
In other Rangers news, The Athletic shared a potential snag that could complicate the plans.