How new Rangers bosses aim to turn club into global, cash-generating machine

[ian1964 10,386]

ALI RUSSELL took the fast track to success under F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone at QPR.

 

Now Russell wants to put the REAL Rangers in pole position for global expansion.

 

New Gers owner Craig Whyte has made the ex-Hearts whizzkid his Chief Operating Officer at Ibrox.

 

He'll chase off-field success while Ally McCoist goes for glory on the park.

 

Russell, 39, says the lessons learned under billionaire Bernie will be crucial in moving the SPL champions into top gear.

 

The man who will replace outgoing chief executive Martin Bain said: "I very much learned the Formula 1 model on football, working with people like Bernie Ecclestone, Flavio Briatore and the Mittals.

 

"That's been very useful for me to see a parallel commercial environment being used in football and I think they had a huge amount of success in those sort of areas.

 

"I've had a fair degree of involvement with football.

 

"I've been part of two new management teams that have come into football and been very, very successful.

 

"This is a fantastic club and it has got a fantastic fan base.

 

"What we want to do is to take this club forward and today is the start of that. I'm looking forward to helping develop the brand of this club, not just in Scotland but internationally.

 

"I think we've got some huge opportunities.

 

"The club has been under some challenging financial circumstances over the last couple of years. I think, moving forward, we've got to challenge ourselves.

 

"How do we generate more interest in Scottish football?

 

"How do we become central to that?

 

"It's very early days but we're looking at how we move Rangers forward considerably and I'm thrilled to be part of this new management team."

 

Russell has a wide-ranging remit in the new regime.

 

He plans to take Gers to every corner of the globe on a massive marketing drive.

 

Celtic have already targeted the Asian and American markets and Russell sees no reason why Gers can't do the same. For too long, he argues, Rangers have been a selling club. Now he hopes to sell Rangers to the world.

 

Russell stressed: "It's about looking at all avenues.

 

"It's about looking at the real estate here.

 

"How do we maximise that? Is it just a football ground used for football or does it have more uses?

 

"Obviously, football is the core focus, but can we use the rooms on non-match days more effectively?

 

"What do we do to grow the brand, where do we play as a football team?

 

"How do we integrate international players so that we're building the brand?

 

"Where do we go with our own broadcast rights?

 

"There are numerous areas we are looking to investigate.

 

"What are the core markets that we're going to be focusing on - and really focus and be strategic about that, so that we reinforce it every time we do a tour?

 

"So we don't just go where the biggest cheque is - we look at growing a fan base in different areas of the world which strategically fit back very well into the club itself."

 

Russell knows Rangers and Scottish football must rebuild its image after the shame of last season. He said: "There's a sense that Scottish football's reputation bottomed out last season.

 

"I think if you look at the Championship, that hit rock bottom some time ago.

 

"I think the league reconstruction that they had there had a lot of innovation at the time.

 

"There's a huge amount of interest in that play-off game at the end of the season.

 

"We've met with Neil Doncaster and I think the SPL are looking at a lot of innovative aspects to move Scottish football forward and we want to be part of that."

 

Russell will now look to maximise income at every opportunity. He's determined to prove the Champions League gravy train is not the only one Rangers can hop aboard and he's hinted at a cross-border cup competition which Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are thought to be keen on.

 

Russell revealed: "There's been a lot of talk about cross-border cup competitions.

 

"Also the Old Firm game is a fantastic game. It's about making it the biggest rivalry in world football.

 

"How do we ensure that without some of the negativity that maybe came to the surface last season?

 

"Looking at a cross-border cup I think the League Cup over the last couple of years is one that's had some issues in terms of teams like Arsenal and Manchester United playing their first teams in the early stages of that competition.

 

"A cross-border aspect to that tournament would most certainly generate a lot more interest.

 

"It's not something that's necessarily been discussed at this point in time but should we be involved in those sort of discussions? Absolutely."

 

Read more: http://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/scotsol/homepage/sport/spl/3653319/The-Ali-shuffle.html#ixzz1Q40HqBds

[pete 2,494]

 

Jun 23 2011 By Keith Jackson

 

THEY could flog the rights to Ibrox and make a quick killing just as Arsenal did when Highbury morphed into the Emirates.

 

They could push for an all-new league cup competition which would see Rangers and Celtic go head to head with Chelsea, Liverpool and Man United.

 

They could even take the Old Firm derby halfway across the world to stage it in the United States or in Australia.

 

This is the future under Craig Whyte and his newly-assembled executive team at Ibrox.

 

Right now, as far as Ali Russell is concerned, Rangers could do just about anything as they set about their quest to turn a debt-ridden Scottish institution into a global money-making machine.

 

No idea to bring home the big bucks will be dismissed. No potential little earner ignored until each of its avenues has been completely explored and exhausted.

 

These people did not take over this club for the hell of it. Now that they've stormed through the front doors of Ibrox they have no intention of making a loss out of the old place.

 

And after Whyte's radical restructuring of the boardroom, the burden will fall chiefly on operations executive Russell to show them the money.

 

His credentials are impressive enough, having held down - and been headhunted from - top marketing and commercial posts at the Scottish Rugby Union and Hearts before being appointed as deputy MD by the mega-rich owners of Queens Park Rangers.

 

He's young - having yet to turn 40 - he's slick and he has all the jargon off pat too. Russell talks about "core markets" and "brand development" much more comfortably than he does about 4-5-1s or 4-4-2s.

 

But that's what Gordon Smith is for, isn't it? Russell's job is to concentrate on an altogether different set of numbers. And to inflate them from every conceivable angle.

 

"It's about looking at all avenues," Russell says, after being asked how on earth he plans to turn a financially stricken club into some kind of golden goose laying eggs on a global scale.

 

"It's about looking at the real estate here. How do we maximise that? Is it just a ground for football or does it have more uses?

 

"Can we use rooms on non-match days more effectively? What do we do to grow the brand, where do we play as a team? How do we integrate international players so that we're building the brand in different markets? Where do we go with our own broadcast rights? There are numerous areas we are looking to investigate."

 

And Russell will be charged of the task of probing each and every one. Even those ideas which to many Rangers fans may seem strictly off limits, like the possible rebranding of Ibrox.

 

Now that really would test the levels of goodwill which have been soaring sky high for these people ever since Whyte and his group manoeuvred Sir David Murray out of power for the price of just a single pound.

 

In fact, the club could stand to rake in many millions of pounds just by agreeing to sell a name. Russell doesn't completely rule such a scenario out. If truth be told the businessman inside him must be bursting to strike a deal which would see Rangers gain so much from giving away so little.

 

But, with so much emotional investment to protect, neither is he in a rush to rule it in.

 

Instead he chooses his words with great care as he says: "At this stage of the new era we consider everything but it's not something we'd go out and look at.

 

"Ibrox is synonymous with Rangers so I don't think it's something we would consider at this stage. We are very protective of our intellectual property."

 

Clearly, the sanctioning of such a break with tradition would have to be treated with great caution. But Russell belongs to a modern world of bold thinkers.

 

And there are plenty more ideas where that one came from.

 

Challenge He adds: "I'm looking forward to helping develop the brand of this club, not just in Scotland but internationally.

 

"I think we have some huge opportunities. The club has been under some challenging financial circumstances. Moving forward, we have to challenge ourselves.

 

"How do we generate more interest in Scottish football?

 

"How do we become central to that and move it forward? In terms of pre-season, we went to Australia last year - do we now go to the US or Japan?

 

"What are the core markets we are going to be focusing on so that we reinforce it every time we do a tour. So we don't just go where the biggest cheque is - we look at growing a fan base in different areas of the world which strategically fit back well into the club itself."

 

Russell and Whyte also plan to quickly develop the land around Ibrox or whatever else it's called somewhere down the line.

 

Hotels, retail outlets and new residential developments are on the cards and Russell is already in talks with Glasgow council chiefs about how best to fund this work.

 

He has also opened discussions with SPL chief Neil Doncaster on how best to maximise the Scottish game's earning potential. And that may well include the breaking down of many borders.

 

Russell says: "There has been a lot of talk about cross-border cup competitions.

 

"Arsenal and Manchester United have not been playing their best teams in the early stages of the League Cup.

 

"A cross-border aspect would generate a lot more interest. Should we be involved in those sort of discussions? Absolutely. If we feel there's an appetite from the fans I see no reason why we wouldn't look at it."

 

The prospect of picking up the Glasgow derby and dropping it somewhere on the other side of the planet, in the form of a pre-season friendly, has also been mooted in recent years.

 

Russell's Spidey senses are tingling. "It's about making it the biggest rivalry in world football," he says.

 

"How do we ensure that without the negativity that maybe came to the surface last term?

 

"Could we take it to the States or abroad? Again, we would look at things. However, it would have to be right for the fans.

 

"They come first in terms of moving forward. There's a lot of history here. The brand can't be tarnished. We can't move too far too quickly but we have to be open-minded."

 

Murray had all these dreams as well but he could only talk the talk. Lets hope the new team can actually get something done to improve our global sales and redevelop the stadium for other uses. Having it lying dormant all week really is a total waste of space and money.

[Frankie 8,136]

All reasonable ideas but they will require solid investment to make them work - both financially and logistically.

 

Obviously our financial circumstances haven't changed a huge amount despite the takeover but I am hoping new blood such as Russell will provide the imagination and ambition that was lacking under the previous owner.

[Tumshie RFC 0]

The holy grail for Whyte and Russell is for Rangers to turn a profit without needing Champions League money to do so. How they do that I don't know but there are avenues that we have to explore across the globe.

A good starting point would be North America and Australia where we already have huge fanbases. We have to tap into those markets before we progress to Asia IMO.

Re-developing the area around Ibrox is all well and good but it would have to income that would continue to come in and not just a one off payment.

As much as I hate to admit it Celtic are far better in a commercial sense than we are at the moment. We have went backwards in the last 10 years off the park by quite a bit.

In the dying days of the Murray reign there was no bright ideas to generate revenue, no spark just a hope against hope that we would make the Champions League. IMO that outlook has to change.

 

Over to you Mr Whyte and Mr Russell!!

[Guest Dutchy]

I've heard all this before and I'm still waiting for something to happen. Most of the fanbase in Australia and USA are ex-pats and we need to expand into the Asian countries to really make a diffirence to this plan producing.

 

I want some players now, not waiting until 'The best laid plans' prove to be a false hope.

 

But I do think that Ali Russel is the right guy, so hopefully he can get something going.

[Danny 0]

Murray had all these dreams as well but he could only talk the talk. Lets hope the new team can actually get something done to improve our global sales and redevelop the stadium for other uses. Having it lying dormant all week really is a total waste of space and money.

 

SDM only came out with this stuff once he basically decided he was selling. As for the stadium being dormant, well the hospitality is all year round, and there's the occasional concert there. I wouldn't say there are many stadiums which are in intensive use all the time.

[Zappa 0]

All very grandiose sounding, but also very loose and vague by Ali Russell.

 

They might not be saying it right now, but I predict that if they're not already discussing it between themselves, Whyte and Russell will soon be planning to increase ticket costs to supporters in order to fund certain developments and budget requirements.

 

Time will tell, but despite a few marketing successes, Ali Russell was NOT a popular man with QPR fans. It might well have been that he was just a fall guy for the owners and their grandiose plans for the club, but over the past few seasons QPR fans have been subjected to price increases ranging from 30 or 40 percent up to almost 100%. Let's hope Mr. Russell hasn't learned toooo much from the rich Formula 1 hot shots who previously employed him...

Edited June 23, 2011 by Zappa

[Guest Dutchy]

They would be cutting their noses off to spite their faces if their only plan was to 'increase' ticket prices.

[Zappa 0]

They would be cutting their noses off to spite their faces if their only plan was to 'increase' ticket prices.

 

How would they?

 

If they DO eventually (like next year or the year after) try to back up the subject of significant ticket price increases by saying they have all these club development plans to fund and that it will be worth it for the good and future of the club, would that be 'cutting their noses off to spite their faces'??

 

I'm not trying to be a scaremonger btw, but we need to be realistic about these new guys running the club considering what information we have to go on at the moment.

[54andcounting 0]

ALI RUSSELL took the fast track to success under F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone at QPR.

 

Now Russell wants to put the REAL Rangers in pole position for global expansion.

 

New Gers owner Craig Whyte has made the ex-Hearts whizzkid his Chief Operating Officer at Ibrox.

 

He'll chase off-field success while Ally McCoist goes for glory on the park.

 

Russell, 39, says the lessons learned under billionaire Bernie will be crucial in moving the SPL champions into top gear.

 

Maybe we could ask Jeremy Clarkson to take over 1st team training.....? and wee Hamster could talk tactics, and the other bloke on how to build a Scalextric set?

Edited June 23, 2011 by 54andcounting