As Rangers fail to read the room with this nonsense (there is no) Old Firm in Australia, the club has been further embarrassed by the truly awful PR surrounding the move.
Marketed as “Ange’s homecoming” by everyone but Rangers, it appears the Ibrox club are a footnote to the ex-Australia manager returning to the country.
Not only that, but Rangers have stuttered in getting the information out and have been caught short by an angry support who were already riled enough before James Bisgrove made an announcement this afternoon [Rangers].
Celtic – conveniently burying some less savoury news with their own release – got their noses out in front by lauding Ange’s homecoming a day early [Celtic].
Whilst there was no mention of Rangers, this is the same team who are “not half of anything” – unless it suits them – and who can’t even bring themselves to call it the Old Firm.
Rangers, by agreeing to take part in it, have somewhat surrendered to this notion and in doing so have let their supporters down. And badly.
News had already leaked in Australia that Rangers were involved but – even more embarrassingly – West Sydney Wanderers were the Sydney Super Cup’s first participants to announce this.
Then comes the actual official Isuzu A-League account, who couldn’t bring themselves to call it the Old Firm and hooked the entire thing around – you guessed it – Ange’s homecoming.
If this tournament isn’t all about Celtic and Ange Postecoglou returning to Australia, then it appears it is only Rangers who didn’t get the memo.
And in our 150th anniversary year no less.
Rangers embarrassed by shoddy PR campaign ahead of Celtic Australia trip
This has been a massive embarrassment to the football club and whilst Bisgrove can speak about SPFL TV deals and Rangers can rope Giovanni van Bronckhorst into it all they like, the fans are left with bright red cheeks.
That Rangers should be a footnote to our rivals on such an iconic year for the club, whilst potentially chucking the title on the pitch, is just absolute nonsensery from the board.
But that they should let the PR campaign around the tournament be fundamentally insulting to the supporters and be caught wanting in the media is an oversight worthy of a scene from the Thick of It.
If the board have any courage at all they’ll bite back against this and salvage some of the pride they’ve so gleefully skutched for a few shillings.
If you want a winter friendly tournament, why not ask club partners Bengaluru, Orange County and HSV and tell our fiercest rivals to keep their money?
Because if there is going to be a winner in this – regardless of who wins this stupid tournament – then it most certainly won’t be Rangers.
Rangers fans have made their feelings perfectly clear about the Celtic clash in Australia with fan media leaders claiming the board are “out of touch”.
