Jordan Campbell speaks out as The Athletic confirm cancellation of dedicated Rangers coverage
Jordan Campbell admits he understands why Rangers fans would be upset with The Athletic’s decision to not replace him with a new dedicated reporter on the club.
The Athletic confirmed on 7 March that Campbell is set to take a new role within the organisation on a full-time basis once the season ends and once it does, there’ll be no replacement.
It’s due to the fact that it’s “unfair” to cover the Gers and not Old Firm rivals Celtic because, as confirmed in another article on The Athletic website, the Bhoys refuse to grant them access on matchday and to press conferences.
Campbell admits the decision isn’t something he could control but appreciates how nice Rangers fans have been to him in light of the news.
On Wednesday (8 March), he tweeted: “Had a great four years covering Rangers. It was literally the dream job and to cover 55 and Sevilla was unforgettable.”
He added: “I’ve obviously seen the reaction to the decision not to replace me. That’s way above my pay grade but I obviously understand people are upset.
“Can’t say much to the DMs I’ve received but most have been nice to me personally so just wanted to say thanks again for the support.”
Ridiculous
Something really doesn’t add up here.
Rangers fans don’t care about whether Celtic are being covered or not. And we doubt Celtic fans will be too fussed either.
It’s not a bias, if the Hoops are restricting journalists from doing their jobs then what can they do?
Why should Gers fans miss out because of the actions of another club in the Scottish Premiership?
It feels as though there’s an ulterior motive, in truth, because Rangers and Celtic aren’t the only teams to lose dedicated coverage from The Athletic with West Brom also suffering the same fate.
We know that West Brom isn’t as big a club as the two Old Firm sides but they’re a big club in their own right in England and one of the biggest in the Championship.
Brentford, meanwhile, are well-covered.
It seems there’s a shift at The Athletic that sees Premier League clubs – no matter how many fans they have – take all the focus while there’s also a bit of a move to beef up their MLS coverage, too.
It’s not a great look and is probably a decision The Athletic will come to regret because losing the subscriptions of two of the biggest fanbases in the country will hit them hard.
They should continue to cover Rangers – and they should also continue to cover Celtic too because who follows The Athletic for press conference updates?
In other Rangers news, a pundit with insider information at Ibrox has shared one condition that will make Douglas Park leave Ibrox.