Brown Brogues - Between the Lines

BrownBrogues

Well-Known Member
Many of you who know me on here, or before from twitter will know I have spent over 20 years in Marketing and Public Relations. As such you learn tricks of trade, ways to divert from other issues going on etc. So I have started this new thread called “Between the Lines” in which I will point out things you may have missed, second meanings in what people may be saying as well as attempting to dispel any myths from the Press or Bloggers. So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the first entry.

Part 1. Sneaky Pete

Mr Liewell plays the PR game very well. It certainly has not gone un-noticed that Celtics last two transfer windows haven’t really worked out well, and there is no sign of the Champions League war chest. Last Summer they recruited a second tier German CB, who if he was Glaswegian would have great grand weans by now. Marvin Compper is truly turning in to Celtic’s Prodan. In January they bought a kid from St Mirren to loan them back, Charly Musonda who never got many minutes, and to Chelsea’s annoyance, so much so Chelsea cancelled the £2M loan deal and have told Celtic not to bother asking again for another player on loan. They also added a young Centre Back from Dundee, and one of their Keepers on loan. Congratulations on Celtic losing Chelsea with one of the largest available selection of Development players available, as well as Liverpool who are firmly in Camp Gerrard.

Not that I really care what they do, but here is the observation:

Every time Celtic do not intend on spending money, a story comes out about Dembele or Tierney going for mega bucks to a big Club. Nothing ever materialises, but Celtic get to make out the biggest bit of the business they have done in the window is held on to one of these two. Yesterday it was Tierney to Atletico, Today it is “Tierney I am flattered but I will be at Celtic for life” Yawn!. Celtic fans suddenly forget their Board are short changing them but yell “Tierney for life” and the dumb are happy.

In summary if you follow the current trend, the same PR is being used for intended lack of spend this summer, as it has when we outspent them last Summer when the Dembele £60M Stories were on the go, and January when we were hearing of Tierney to Arsenal.

Part 2. Scouse House

Mark Allen made comments at the McGregor announcement yesterday, which are being quoted in some papers today Allen claims meticulous planning means some business may not be concluded until the transfer window closes August 31. I then wish to take you back to a recent Gerrard interview in Dubai, in which Gerrard said “I asked certain things of Liverpool, which gave me the confidence to take on this job”. Now Gerrard may be referring alone to the Coaching Team he is bringing with him. Reading between the lines, could Allen’s comments be referring to having to wait until a certain German gentleman has done his business in the window before Stevie G gets what he wants? Could we see the like of Solanke and/or Ings join on loan at the end of the window? We shall see.
 
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Not really related to this thread & I do apologise but our media team seem to have a new lease of life,gone are spot the f##cking ball & We seem to more proactive on social media rather that reactive.Hopefully it continues.
 
Not really related to this thread & I do apologise but our media team seem to have a new lease of life,gone are spot the f##cking ball & We seem to more proactive on social media rather that reactive.Hopefully it continues.

Noticed it too. Somebody gained some new video editing skills and upped the production quality a fair bit.
 
I didn't know that Chelsea had cancelled the loan? I though they were just unhappy at his lack of game time. Is it fact they have cancelled it?
 
What do you make of Rangers new PR/Comms Director BB (assuming it's not you of course)?

I see improvement, an actual conscious effort both on twitter and the Statements. I can only hope it continues to improve. I had noticed some work is has been going to Stevie Kerr's new Company, Stevie is former Level 5 and formerly Rangers press officer. That may explain the change of tone as Stevie is back on it rather than Traynor.
 
Noticed it too. Somebody gained some new video editing skills and upped the production quality a fair bit.

Has the new Director of Corporate Communications been appointed? My understanding was that was to be their remit , rather than PR/Media spin
 
I have to say we are way behind on the PR front. We also don't appear to have any friends in the media. We are being played just look at the BBC report and no mention of the current court case regarding certain Child abuse allegations. We did well with Gerrard and the timing of the anmoannounce but will have to continue to improve. This battle will be has hard as winning the league
 
I see improvement, an actual conscious effort both on twitter and the Statements. I can only hope it continues to improve. I had noticed some work is has been going to Stevie Kerr's new Company, Stevie is former Level 5 and formerly Rangers press officer. That may explain the change of tone as Stevie is back on it rather than Traynor.

Stevie Kerr is an excellent professional and a good Rangers man.
 
I have to say we are way behind on the PR front. We also don't appear to have any friends in the media. We are being played just look at the BBC report and no mention of the current court case regarding certain Child abuse allegations. We did well with Gerrard and the timing of the anmoannounce but will have to continue to improve. This battle will be has hard as winning the league


Have to agree with this we are the target of an ongoing sectarian and cultural onslaught on our club and support which demonises us and damages our brand image we really need to very seriously address our PR strategy or we will continue to be on the backfoot. It reminds me of the military strategem that says 'conflicts are not always resolved by force of arms but victory can be achieved by the humiliation and demoralisation of your enemy.' This is essentially the policy that is being carried out by our enemies on an almost daily basis.
 
We also have the equivalent to the on-line Opus Dei. The mhanky dark web to contend with.

They have been active for decades, infiltrating every football forum in the land.... writing demonisation pieces.... blackening our name.... devaluing our players. At the same time inflating the value of their players and protecting their image.

We cannot match them.

Their digital control is immense and we just don't come anywhere near it.

We don't have the same level of obsession with them and that is why threads like this should be encouraged.

More power to you bud. Keep it up.
 
Many of you who know me on here, or before from twitter will know I have spent over 20 years in Marketing and Public Relations. As such you learn tricks of trade, ways to divert from other issues going on etc. So I have started this new thread called “Between the Lines” in which I will point out things you may have missed, second meanings in what people may be saying as well as attempting to dispel any myths from the Press or Bloggers. So thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the first entry.

Part 1. Sneaky Pete

Mr Liewell plays the PR game very well. It certainly has not gone un-noticed that Celtics last two transfer windows haven’t really worked out well, and there is no sign of the Champions League war chest. Last Summer they recruited a second tier German CB, who if he was Glaswegian would have great grand weans by now. Marvin Compper is truly turning in to Celtic’s Prodan. In January they bought a kid from St Mirren to loan them back, Charly Musonda who never got many minutes, and to Chelsea’s annoyance, so much so Chelsea cancelled the £2M loan deal and have told Celtic not to bother asking again for another player on loan. They also added a young Centre Back from Dundee, and one of their Keepers on loan. Congratulations on Celtic losing Chelsea with one of the largest available selection of Development players available, as well as Liverpool who are firmly in Camp Gerrard.

Not that I really care what they do, but here is the observation:

Every time Celtic do not intend on spending money, a story comes out about Dembele or Tierney going for mega bucks to a big Club. Nothing ever materialises, but Celtic get to make out the biggest bit of the business they have done in the window is held on to one of these two. Yesterday it was Tierney to Atletico, Today it is “Tierney I am flattered but I will be at Celtic for life” Yawn!. Celtic fans suddenly forget their Board are short changing them but yell “Tierney for life” and the dumb are happy.

In summary if you follow the current trend, the same PR is being used for intended lack of spend this summer, as it has when we outspent them last Summer when the Dembele £60M Stories were on the go, and January when we were hearing of Tierney to Arsenal.

Part 2. Scouse House

Mark Allen made comments at the McGregor announcement yesterday, which are being quoted in some papers today Allen claims meticulous planning means some business may not be concluded until the transfer window closes August 31. I then wish to take you back to a recent Gerrard interview in Dubai, in which Gerrard said “I asked certain things of Liverpool, which gave me the confidence to take on this job”. Now Gerrard may be referring alone to the Coaching Team he is bringing with him. Reading between the lines, could Allen’s comments be referring to having to wait until a certain German gentleman has done his business in the window before Stevie G gets what he wants? Could we see the like of Solanke and/or Ings join on loan at the end of the window? We shall see.


Lawwell and his cohorts practice both proactive and retroactive PR as has been witnessed this week in relation to Torbett, an historical event for which the repercussions can be damaging today. Sadly and quite unbelievably our PR dept did not second guess that Lawwells compliant media lackeys would use the Neely incident as a subterfuge to the Torbett Court case.

We should have deployed some retroactively pro active PR in advance of the entirely expected media onslaught. Something like ‘Neely’s despicable practices were suppressed by his previous club and as soon as we were aware of his alleged assault on a youth player the he was removed from post and the authorities informed.

Our thoughts are with the victim of his alleged assault, not to mention those victims who suffered during his tenures with other football clubs. We also feel inclined to suggest that Rangers FC acted with transparency, in the immediacy of alleged assault and with the best interests of the alleged victim and to protect other vulnerable young men from this alleged sexual predator.

To that end we believe that other clubs could learn and benefit from using the Neely case and our ‘text book’ response as a benchmark for dealing with such situations. Sadly for those brutalised and traumatised by the systemic abuse carried out under the auspices of certain other clubs it is too late.

Our PR dept should be proactively protecting our brand and reputation and should have no fear in getting in the first dig. As long as it is packaged in the right manner and avoids libel law breached etc. The neglect of the past 20 years have been absolutely detrimental and disastrous to our brand equity. Ten years ago many on here were telling me we were a football club and not a brand, where did that get us.
 
Enjoyed that OP

Our PR is very poor and has been for many years

Traynor and Level 5 are not effective and the club is suffering

Hope the board are willing to implement changes to address the weakness in our PR team and bring in fresh ideas as the current set up clearly isn’t working
 
Interesting post B.B.!

What are you thoughts on the other big story affecting Rangers yesterday around Gordon Neely? Why a media blackout of the start of the actual trial for Jim Torbett? As a layman, it easy for conspiracy theories to take shape due to the timing of the Rangers story....
 
I like the part of how Lawwell has his way. they know how to brush over some absolute howling signings.

Here is a list of signings under Rodgers, there's an argument that Rodgers is a very good coach, but he couldn't pick a player out a line up.

(note Dembele was signed pre Rodgers)

Gamboa -flop
Sinclair - started well, faded big time this season, wants out
Toure - miss
de Vries - flop
Roberts - flop, spent the season in the hospital
Kouassi - flop
Benyu - flop
Ntcham - hit
Hayes - flop
Edouard - hit
Hendry - ?
Compper - flop
Musonda - flop


Now that on the whole is a waste of cash. Yet they've got by, with Rodgers tactically being spot on.
 
Interesting post B.B.!

What are you thoughts on the other big story affecting Rangers yesterday around Gordon Neely? Why a media blackout of the start of the actual trial for Jim Torbett? As a layman, it easy for conspiracy theories to take shape due to the timing of the Rangers story....

A complete hatchet job to detract from the big story which was Torbett back in Court.

The big give away was for Daly to mention in the story that Neely had abused at Hibs before joining Rangers, but failed to state again what he did on his original documentary, that Hibs sacked him but did not call the police and covered up the issue, Rangers therefore received no warning of what they were letting in the door. The allegations are unfounded from a mystery man. The Police confirming last night there is no active investigation in to Neely committing crimes at Rangers really reaffirms that Daly is not fact checking before putting out damaging content.
 
Interesting post B.B.!

What are you thoughts on the other big story affecting Rangers yesterday around Gordon Neely? Why a media blackout of the start of the actual trial for Jim Torbett? As a layman, it easy for conspiracy theories to take shape due to the timing of the Rangers story....

I would hope that the media black out is due to reporting restrictions imposed by the courts relating to all the cases in this sordid state of affairs.

However, it is probably the media not wanting to touch it with a barge pole to avoid pissing off their precious team in the East.
 
I like the part of how Lawwell has his way. they know how to brush over some absolute howling signings.

Here is a list of signings under Rodgers, there's an argument that Rodgers is a very good coach, but he couldn't pick a player out a line up.

(note Dembele was signed pre Rodgers)

Gamboa -flop
Sinclair - started well, faded big time this season, wants out
Toure - miss
de Vries - flop
Roberts - flop, spent the season in the hospital
Kouassi - flop
Benyu - flop
Ntcham - hit
Hayes - flop
Edouard - hit
Hendry - ?
Compper - flop
Musonda - flop


Now that on the whole is a waste of cash. Yet they've got by, with Rodgers tactically being spot on.

Rogic and Armstrong in their last 12 months, not interested in new deals, no way Celtic let them walk for free, those two will be off in the Summer, if recruitment is down to Brendan I think they will struggle to find similar quality.
 
Part 3 and your take on the biased reporting yesterday @BrownBrogues ?.. BBC smearing the reputation of the club and turning a blind eye to the Torbett case.

No surprise my good man, BBC Scotland senior head of content Clare Fulton is the Daughter of Former Celtic Chairman Kevin Kelly, the man who brought back Torbett to Celtic, handed him a £1M trophy deal and joined the board of his Trophy Centre business. Keep attention off Daddy.
 
They love a good deflection. “Aye but look at that paedophile case over the West” “We play hunners of youth players!.... your grass is too long!”

They’re for giving me an aneurysm with their sleekit bastard drivel.
 
Interesting post and anything that puts things in perspective in regards to us and them can only be good, along with these ridiculous charges brought by the SFA from years gone by under a different administration which the club appear to robustly tacklingX attack for me is the best form of defence as it makes our detractors think twice?
 
100% mate, Musonda and Chelsea both unhappy, feel it has been a year wasted in his development. Suspect Celtic were happy to get out of year 2, as clear Musonda wasn't made for the Scottish game.

Gutted, thats wages free'd up they could have tied to the bench.
 
Just another thing to add for today. I understand from Gerrard's time at BT Sports he had a very good relationship with top brass at BT Sport. Mr Sutton may wish to tred carefully next season.

It would be refreshing next season if only positive things were said about us on BT sports...i may even put the sound back on.
The goat defiler will look like he's on the jaggy nettle chewin gum saying anything positive about us...he'll do it though skint media whore that he is.
 
We also have the equivalent to the on-line Opus Dei. The mhanky dark web to contend with.

They have been active for decades, infiltrating every football forum in the land.... writing demonisation pieces.... blackening our name.... devaluing our players. At the same time inflating the value of their players and protecting their image.

We cannot match them.

Their digital control is immense and we just don't come anywhere near it.

We don't have the same level of obsession with them and that is why threads like this should be encouraged.

More power to you bud. Keep it up.

Take a couple of them to court knowing it is one we can win an they will not be so keen on trashing Rangers
 
Lawwell and his cohorts practice both proactive and retroactive PR as has been witnessed this week in relation to Torbett, an historical event for which the repercussions can be damaging today. Sadly and quite unbelievably our PR dept did not second guess that Lawwells compliant media lackeys would use the Neely incident as a subterfuge to the Torbett Court case.

We should have deployed some retroactively pro active PR in advance of the entirely expected media onslaught. Something like ‘Neely’s despicable practices were suppressed by his previous club and as soon as we were aware of his alleged assault on a youth player the he was removed from post and the authorities informed.

Our thoughts are with the victim of his alleged assault, not to mention those victims who suffered during his tenures with other football clubs. We also feel inclined to suggest that Rangers FC acted with transparency, in the immediacy of alleged assault and with the best interests of the alleged victim and to protect other vulnerable young men from this alleged sexual predator.

To that end we believe that other clubs could learn and benefit from using the Neely case and our ‘text book’ response as a benchmark for dealing with such situations. Sadly for those brutalised and traumatised by the systemic abuse carried out under the auspices of certain other clubs it is too late.

Our PR dept should be proactively protecting our brand and reputation and should have no fear in getting in the first dig. As long as it is packaged in the right manner and avoids libel law breached etc. The neglect of the past 20 years have been absolutely detrimental and disastrous to our brand equity. Ten years ago many on here were telling me we were a football club and not a brand, where did that get us.
You are of course perfectly correct, for some reason the club wants to play nicey nicey up against absolute animals in the PR game. Good informative post by BB, well done.
 
We also have the equivalent to the on-line Opus Dei. The mhanky dark web to contend with.

They have been active for decades, infiltrating every football forum in the land.... writing demonisation pieces.... blackening our name.... devaluing our players. At the same time inflating the value of their players and protecting their image.

We cannot match them.

Their digital control is immense and we just don't come anywhere near it.

We don't have the same level of obsession with them and that is why threads like this should be encouraged.

More power to you bud. Keep it up.

I’ll go back to one I’ve raised a few times. In the pre-internet days of the early to mid-90’s, I knew a guy whose job was to get up at the crack of dawn to review the early editions of all the newspapers.

Amongst the clients requiring this service was Celtic and they used this service to shut down any negative stories right away where they could.

I think of those low tech days and can only imagine their modern day equivalent but it’s pretty clear it exists. The Scottish media are basically fawning sycophants with a negative Celtic story as rare as hens teeth.
 
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