After having to cope with James Bisgrove’s “catastrophic” disaster, which cost Rangers millions of pounds, Keith Jackson has shown sympathy for John Bennett.
Jackson referred to Bisgrove’s leadership of the Copland Road Stand reconstruction project at Ibrox as “botched.”
Bennett was forced to clean up the damage left by the former’s hasty departure at Ibrox, including the relocation to Hampden Park. Bennett was compelled to invest more millions of pounds in that move and finish the project, which Jackson called “catastrophic.”
“Just when Bennett was starting to make real progress, he was blindsided quite spectacularly by the actions of James Bisgrove – a CEO in whom he had placed his complete and unstinting trust,” he stated, as reported in the Daily Record on December 3.
Knowing that his own reputation as a leader had also been irreparably damaged, Bennett was forced to face the carnage that had been left behind (after Bisgrove’s resignation).
In actuality, he was guilty of making poor character judgements, but the hefty price he has paid for it is incredibly unjust. “The devastating expense of this betrayal also destroyed the books, forcing Bennett to spend millions of pounds hiring Hampden and spending even more money to finish the building project.”
Rangers are a complete shambles both on and off the pitch. Perhaps understandably, the majority of the focus will be on the Gers’ on-field exploits, which have been dreadful under Philippe Clement.
The failure that has been pursued at Ibrox since the Belgian’s hiring is exemplified by Celtic’s 11-point lead over Rangers after just 13 games. Gary Keown referred to the team as a “basket case” in November, and the most recent events only serve to support that assertion.
Although failed transfers bear much of the blame for Glasgow’s financial mismanagement, Bisgrove’s departure during the remodelling process ultimately cost the Gers even more needless money.
To prevent the club from regressing even further than they have since Steven Gerrard’s departure in 2021, things at Ibrox simply must alter, both on and off the pitch. Since they haven’t won a league title since, every bad choice will be examined much more closely, and advancement will continue to stall.
