By Mark Dingwall
Greg Mailer started work today as our Chief Communications Officer – effectively sitting on top of the current Press Office team. He comes with an impressive CV, is a Bluenose and we wish him well.
Immediately his reporting lines have been cleared up – previously the PR function at the club came under the Commercial Director – there was no particular reason for this other than that empire building in the past meant that ended up being how things were. He will also deal with internal corporate communications which has been neglected for yonks.
The current folks have built quite a professional operation – it’s quite cute in it’s own way. Journalists are treated well by helpful staff, they and fed before games, they have working space and then a large and modern Press Room for post-match interviews. The unwritten and unspoken subtext to this is that the media are treated well, given great facilities and Rangers are spending millions on players and the stadium – so why defecate in your own nest?
How the club and in particular Rangers fans were portrayed was a major motivating force for starting the fanzine away back in 1988. I’d never seen portrayal of us which matched the reality I had experienced following the club. I need hardly related the stereotypes and lies yet again .
Believe it or not but it has been so bad for so long that most of our directors treated it like the weather. Somethings it’s good sometimes it’s bad. Amazing naive but that is how it was.
When we got rid of the Spivs myself, John Gilligan and Paul Murray lined up a chap to get the job. He was ideal with a vast range of experience, a committed Bluenose and who had a clear idea of how to tackle the problems. Modern and bright and staunch as they come. The problem was so bad he reckoned it needed a place on the Board as the negativity was clearly costing the club millions every year – or reporting directly to the managing director.
Needless to say the club fumbled the ball. Our man got an interview and then silence and we couldn’t get answers to what was going on. Under the leadership the hapless Stewart Robertson the club then went through interviews and then decided to appoint headhunting recruitment specialist. Lo and behold they contacted our man (unaware he has already been interviewed) and several others – including the head of PR at Aston Villa who was a Celtic fan and who graciously declined.
And that’s been our problem – chop and change and firefighting and empire building whilst being unable to get a proper handle on the real problems. It will not be easy – for all of my lifetime the club had been leaden footed and a free fire zone for bigoted critics, unwilling to call them out. Reforms and good work were done by Jim Traynor and David Graham but our fanbase and it’s relentless negativity have simply dismissed that.
In the last few years I’ve detected some lessening of the assault on us but I put that almost entirely down to the terrorist Mardi Gras in full swing at Celtic Park aided and abetted with gusto by their Board. Even in Scotland it would require the red neck of all red necks to slaughter us whilst ignoring Timothy Elephant in the room.
Our rivals have a mantra from the guy at the front door to the Boardroom which goes something like “open to all from the first day.” It’s a lie but as Slim Charles said in The Wire – “If it’s a lie, then we fight on that lie.” Rangers have never as a club been able to find the words to explain were we came from and what we are.
If he accepts the status quo he will fail. If he panders to the gallery he will fail. It’s not an easy job but it’s a doable job. We must wish him well.
