Garry Keown goes berserk after bizarre Rangers marketing drive
Garry Keown has slammed the bizarre Rangers marketing policy after the Gers charged a heavy price for a panoramic portrait of the club’s Champions League defeat against Liverpool.
A framed print of Ibrox against Liverpool was on sale to fans as a memorabilia item from the club’s official online store for £50. It was the club’s heaviest defeat (7-1) in any competition since 1957, and the fans were far from happy with the decision.
The club later removed the souvenir picture after the fans’ backlash. It was a nightmare campaign for the Gers in Europe where they failed to register a single point on board.
Keown while writing for the Sunday Scottish Mail (20 November) has branded it as “worthless”, as he found it hard to believe that the club showed the temerity to come to such a decision after a “dismal” European campaign.
“The punters have had their fill of the blokes on the board, manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst tea’s out and ‘55’ feels like it happened in another age, but that’s not to say you can’t still get your own special souvenir of what has been an unforgettable time,” wrote Keown.
“Maybe not quite memorable for all the right reasons, but it’s the willingness to keep digging deep for worthless tat when the team’s not worth tuppence that makes you feel like a real fan, right?
“Fresh from the official European day trips that fly you to the wrong country and the Rangers website briefly selling a £50 panoramic portrait this week of the club’s heaviest home defeat in 150 years to Liverpool, word has it the marketing department have all manner of other treats in store in the run-up to Christmas.
“You missed out on the special £9 mug to remind you every single morning you take a breakfast cuppa of the most dismal showing ever witnessed in the group stage of the Champions League? Fear not. There will soon be a limited-edition pint tumbler engraved with the details of all 22 goals shipped in Group A to let you raise a toast to that historic return to European football’s top table.
“Blew your cash on the one-off white ‘Gallant Pioneers’ strip the marketing bods said the team would wear against Aberdeen last season — then didn’t?”
Pathetic
The present Rangers board and management have made a habit of coming up with bizarre plans to embarrass themselves and the fans.
Be it a mid-season friendly idea with Celtic or the memorabilia marketing, one finds it hard to believe how badly the club is run at the moment.
The struggle is going on both on and off the pitch. The Bears are nine points behind Celtic in the title race, and they will need a heroic comeback to close the gap.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst is struggling to exude confidence in the side, but the Rangers board appears to have tremendous faith in him, although it could be purely driven by financial concerns.
Last season, the club reached the final of the Europa League and did extremely well to reach the group stages of the Champions League as well this season. But they soon found out that the gulf in quality is huge with big boys, although the effort from the players was terribly missing throughout the campaign.
In other Rangers news, the latest Ibrox conspiracy theory drummed up by Celtic fans is ridiculed by Gordon Parks.