Celtic Football Club’s manager Tony Mowbray looks out over the vast wasteland of a ten point gap behind Rangers in the SPL. The howling of the wind in the wilderness Celtic currently inhabit is still not loud enough to drown out the cries of anguish of the club’s devoted fans. So how does Mowbray boost morale? Unaccountably, he gives vent to a tirade of abuse of one of his star players Aiden McGeady.
A quick recap for those who do not inhabit the planet Footie: McGeady complained that referee Dougie MacDonald was not impartial. Mowbray’s response? “I‘m pretty sure he doesn’t know what the word means.” Bad enough, but that was just the start. Warming to his theme, Mowbray explained: “I think probably Aiden got baffled by the science of the words”. What does this say about McGeady? Nothing. What does it say about Manager Mowbray? That the strain has finally got to him. This is evidence of someone cracking under the pressure of repeated failure. And it could not be a worse process of communication.
Our advice? The audience is first in everything you do – think of them first, and you won’t go wrong. For Mowbray the audiences are many and varied. Fans. Journalists. Investors. The Team. The result of his unguarded (we hope) remarks? Complete lack of respect from fans. Derision from journalists. Nervous anxiety amongst investors. And a team that won’t do anything for you. Well…it’s a result.
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