Official James Bisgrove to be appointed as CEO, Stewart Robertson to depart

The Australian debacle, and subsequent defence of it, just shows Bisgrove is woefully out of touch with what being a Rangers supporter is and also that he makes big mistakes on a senior level. Anyone leading the commercial and marketing aspects of a big organisations should be expected to be able to understand the audience and customer base. He couldn't and didn't.

He also told us that MyGers was introduced as some sort of justice based venture after he heard someone complain about not getting tickets at an AGM. So we know what we are getting - someone happy to spout any old shite and who doesn't get the support.
Absolutely unbelievable that people are defending the Australia deal. Agreeing to be a junior partner to support a homecoming tour for that lots manager for the "massive" sum of £3 million. If Martin Bain or Green had came out with that deal we would have had protests at the front door.
 
Good move for Rangers.

Let’s see how he goes.

My only issue here is, and bear this in mind.

The last time we appointed a CEO from the commercial department was none other than Martin Bain.

Let’s hope it doesn’t turn out the same way!
And when Martin Bain was in position rumour has it that David Murray overruled him on a number of occasions.
 
Absolutely unbelievable that people are defending the Australia deal. Agreeing to be a junior partner to support a homecoming tour for that lots manager for the "massive" sum of £3 million. If Martin Bain or Green had came out with that deal we would have had protests at the front door.
Mate, it is being defended because there are some people on here will defend absolutely anything. There was huge support for Green and every other spiv at points on here. All after Whyte! I remember being banned for saying that Charles Green was a liar.

There's a massive part of the support that just need to live their life believing there is someone bigger and richer than then that is looking after things for them.

The Australia thing was the clearest 'wow what a f*ck up' you could imagine. Yet there are posters who will still say it was a good decision from Bisgrove. Mental.
 
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And when Martin Bain was in position rumour has it that David Murray overruled him on a number of occasions.
That’s because Murray is a narcissistic fool. Bain wasn’t much better right enough and his ego would have took a doing on those occasions, and I’ve had dealings with Bain both at Rangers and a personal level and let’s just say he liked to look after himself in a financial manner. Bain was sharp, but very very greedy and egotistical. He suited Rangers at that time because there was lots of money swishing around just before the shit started to hit the fan. But he wasn’t the sharpest negotiator and that’s where he fell down in that regard.

Bisgrove is as sharp as a tack and knows how to get a good deal and negotiate properly. He will be just fine I reckon, but he needs good people around him too or else it’ll end up the same echo chamber but with different faces among it.
 
It was you using him being from England as an excuse for Sydney. If you are using it as an excuse then surely it can be used against him? My point being he was in the club long enough to surely know a 'friendly' against them was a no go.
It’s abundantly clear the point I was making was he didn’t grow up in Scotland so didn’t grasp the dynamics. English rivals have friendlies abroad but none of them have the type of rivalry we have up here. I wasn’t meaning his nationality was an issue
 
Many thinking it would be a good idea, for the sake of freshness and a new broom about the place, to bring in a complete outsider, even an “overseas” individual.
In some jobs, this would be fine. We may get a new DOF, a new Commercial Head. They can bring in as much freshness as they like.
I think it would be madness to bring in a complete stranger to the Club to replace Robertson.
The learning curve would be a colossal handicap. The SFA, SPFL, the Media, not to mention the likes of Lawwell, would run rings round such an appointment.
In this case promotion from within is the wise move, we don’t need someone in this job, who needs a Sat Nav to find Ibrox.
At least Bisgrove has his feet under the table, will understand the Club by now and should hit the ground running, by comparison.
Good luck to him, how about supporting him instead of condemning him before he starts.
This only makes real sense if the people leaving have been good at their jobs. The bottom line is that the new man only has the old man as a frame of reference and unless he is widely experienced in his new role (he isn’t) or he has a team around him capable of delivering different outcomes under the same circumstances (he doesn’t) then any benefits in him knowing the role are outweighed by exactly how he knows his role.

There is no benefit to employing from within when ‘within’ is failing and the person being promoted is experienced in a different field and has no record to speak of doing the new job. Under those circumstances fresh, experienced blood is always better.


Obviously we need to hope he is ideal for the role, and he may be, but I certainly would not be trying to dress this up in fancy clothes to make it seem more attractive.
 
It’s abundantly clear the point I was making was he didn’t grow up in Scotland so didn’t grasp the dynamics. English rivals have friendlies abroad but none of them have the type of rivalry we have up here. I wasn’t meaning his nationality was an issue
And what I'm making clear is that after many years at Rangers he still thought a friendly with them was OK, that is the concern.
 
That’s Ross Wilson gone with Stewart Robertson going. Two men a large % of support wanted rid of.

A step in the right direction, off the park. A shake up was long overdue. Douglas Park also stepped down as Chairman. Let’s hope we see similar within the playing staff.

Haven’t a clue if James Bisgrove is the right man for the job - time will tell.
 
I am not comparing the retail sales, just the actual commercial contract for being the kit supplier. Castore deal was reported £20 million over 5 years. Their deal with Adidas was reported £30 million over 5 years. Both deals were signed in 2020 and we included the retail distribution as part of the agreement so we have sold away more for less.
You might have noticed we were in a bit of a tricky situation when signing this deal. :rolleyes:
 
And what I'm making clear is that after many years at Rangers he still thought a friendly with them was OK, that is the concern.
But being a club employee is a bit different. Remember this idea was signed off by Rangers fans on the football/executive board too. So if he seen rangers fans signing it off, why would he think it’s an issue?
 
I am an old guy who has been supporting Rangers since the 1950’s. Some great experiences and memories along with heartbreaks and big disappointments. One disappointment that has surfaced, particularly in recent years, is the increasing number of followers of our club who seem to go out of their way to find fault with nearly every decision taken on behalf of our club.
 
But being a club employee is a bit different. Remember this idea was signed off by Rangers fans on the football/executive board too. So if he seen rangers fans signing it off, why would he think it’s an issue?
Well done in missing the point.
The board were also wrong in signing it off.
As CEO he had better realise that noone likes us and he better be up for the fight.
 
For all you know Bisgrove has a world of new ideas which he can now act upon which he couldn't before.

Ill hold judgment once he has been in the role a while.
Exactly my outlook.
Let's not kick the guy to death, until he's been given adequate time to prove whether or not he's the man for the job.
 
See. Fan power can/does work.

Wilson and Robertson gone like in a Cilit Bang commercial.

Only thing is, the banner should have had "But no Bisgrove" on it as well !!

Does it still count as fan power even if Wilson indicated to Beale he was offski before the protests?
 
I am an old guy who has been supporting Rangers since the 1950’s. Some great experiences and memories along with heartbreaks and big disappointments. One disappointment that has surfaced, particularly in recent years, is the increasing number of followers of our club who seem to go out of their way to find fault with nearly every decision taken on behalf of our club.

Its a FF speciality…

Some of the posters on here must live a truly miserable existence.
 
The upside to this from the fans’ perspective, it is much more likely that someone with Bisgrove‘s background, and Bennett’s, is likely to have the attitude of speculate to accumulate.
Both of these will understand chances have to be taken in business and be aggressive, staying within the boundaries that the financial regulations demand.
 
Robertson met with fans, discussed safe standing, disabled facilities. Years down the road, how's it going? As I say listening is the easy part, actions are the hard part.

Saw an announcement today re the disabled facilities.

Quarterly meetings have not been held. It's a positive start, too easy to be constantly cynical.
 
He seems a very capable person and done a great job with the commercial side. Don't know how it will translate to him being the CEO though.

Happy to see the outgoings. Time was up for Park, Wilson and Robertson and I'm glad Bennett also realised we needed the change.
 
Well done in missing the point.
The board were also wrong in signing it off.
As CEO he had better realise that noone likes us and he better be up for the fight.
Missed no point. I don’t believe he properly understood the dynamics and when his proposal was signed off, he probably didn’t understand what the reaction would be
 
I’m happy, pissed aff, pleased, fucked aff, raging and calm, about these changes.

James Bisgrove RSC anyone, maybe establish it in Sydney B-D

On a serious note, thank f*ck the Motherwell level MD that never defended us is gone.
 
The fact he even brought it to the table is a concern. Of he doesn't know the feelings of the fans about that then he will benout of his depth as CEO
It’s not just Australia though, it’s Castore, the crypto currency deals, sportemongo, hospitality packages etc.

All made (or had the potential to) make money, but in many cases, completely disregarded either the opinion of fans or the experience and customer service the fans received. It felt often like the fans were there to be milked.

There was a layer of insulation (or should have been) from the board that meant JB perhaps didn’t have the same level of accountability or didn’t need to consider the fans to a large extent. That will all change now and there will be need to be a huge shift in mentality.

That’s before we start talking about outside influences, dealing with other clubs, the SFA, SPFL etc. It also remains to be seen how much room he’ll have to operate other whether the investors will simply micro manage him.

Like all fans, I wish him well but I’m concerned that once again we seem to have gone for the easy option.
 
That’s Ross Wilson gone with Stewart Robertson going. Two men a large % of support wanted rid of.

A step in the right direction, off the park. A shake up was long overdue. Douglas Park also stepped down as Chairman. Let’s hope we see similar within the playing staff.

Haven’t a clue if James Bisgrove is the right man for the job - time will tell.
Exactly this

Absolutely delighted Wilson and Robertson are gone.
 
Its a FF speciality…

Some of the posters on here must live a truly miserable existence.
There's no distinction for me between the fans that find fault with absolutely everything and the fans that just won't hear a single bit of criticism of the club, both are boring and predictable.

They seem to spend all day talking about the dynamics of this forum rather than our football club; neither seem to actually like this space but neither are ever off it.
 
Almost every fan wanted rid of Robertson so let’s give Bisgrove a chance.

I’m very happy he’s gone, he’s been here far too long.
Not understanding how wanting rid of Robertson equates to having to be happy with Bisgrove tbh
 
This is a very interesting appointment in my opinion.

In my view, James Bisgrove has done a very good job as Director of Commercial and Marketing at Rangers. He's also a slightly younger man, and brings the drive that you can expect with that.

On Stewart Robertson's departure: I personally do not subscribe to the view that Stewart Robertson did a bad job. In fact, I thought he was quietly efficient in his work. Everyone has their own personal style in management, and I felt he got things done for the most part.

Overall though, I see this change as a positive development for the club.

The key now, in my view, is to support Beale with all the resources at the club's disposal.
 
This is a very interesting appointment in my opinion.

In my view, James Bisgrove has done a very good job as Director of Commercial and Marketing at Rangers. He's also a slightly younger man, and brings the drive that you can expect with that.

On Stewart Robertson's departure: I personally do not subscribe to the view that Stewart Robertson did a bad job. In fact, I thought he was quietly efficient in his work. Everyone has their own personal style in management, and I felt he got things done for the most part.

Overall though, I see change as a positive development for the club.

The key now, in my view, is to support Beale with all the resources at the club's disposal.
Excellent post
 
Absolutely unbelievable that people are defending the Australia deal. Agreeing to be a junior partner to support a homecoming tour for that lots manager for the "massive" sum of £3 million. If Martin Bain or Green had came out with that deal we would have had protests at the front door.

Defending and rationalising are two very different things.

I disagreed with the concept from the word go and backed the protests.

I also listened to Bisgrove's perspective on the matter and despite disagreeing with him still. I understood why he brought the option for, let's face it, an easy £3 million boost to the clubvcoffers to his bosses. There were multiple points of failure and a severe lack of oversight involved in the Sydney Cup fiasco. Multiple parties failed to consider the ramifications of it. Including Bisgrove. We are going to find out if he's learned any lessons from that whole experience. You would hope he has, but only time will tell.
 
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