Now that we are at the end of the league season, and with respect to the job still to be done at Tannadice and McDiarmid Park, it seems like a good time for a post holocaust report.
Fig 1 Average Weekly Attendances SPL 2011-2014
Peppered around this page are three charts and a table* showing the attendance figures for the SPL in the last three seasons. A school kid could tell you that there is a positive trend in those charts and figures, but the people who run our national sport will look you straight in the eye and tell you “that can’t be right – Armageddon is coming!”
It is one of the most ridiculous and mendacious situations I have ever come across. The people who run our national game, aided and abetted by those in the MSM (sans the eye contact though) are actually trying to persuade us of how awful our game is and how unsustainable it will be in the absence of one, just one, club.
Think about that. The SFA and the SPFL trying to talk us out of supporting the game unless we all recognise the unique importance of one, just one, club. That is what has happened, no matter how they try to spin it. And despite evidence to the contrary contained in these figures, not one of them has admitted to an error, never mind the downright lies that they told to support the position they held, the one where anyone speaking of sporting integrity was mocked and ridiculed.
Whilst growing up as football supporter in the 60s, one of things I was constantly bombarded with via the medium of the tabloid newspapers was that football clubs should be grateful for the publicity afforded them via their back pages. These were probably reasonable claims, especially in the light of the relative lack of access to players and officials conceded to the hacks in those days, and the pre-eminent cultural position in which they helped to place football. Alongside that, the broadcast media, particularly Archie Macpherson’s Sportscene and Arthur Montford’s Scotsport could be relied on to talk the game up. Of course, there was something in it for the papers – sales. The more column inches devoted to the national sport, the further northward their sales, and consequently advertising revenues travelled.
Fig 2 Avg. Attendances excl Celtic & Rangers
The situation was further cemented by the fact that the press in that ante-interweb era held a monopoly over the exchange and dissemination of information. That symbiotic, win-win relationship between football and the press was as much a part of football reality as the Hampden Roar. It also endured for decades. The press would talk up the game to such an extent that folk often remarked that they hadn’t realised how much they had enjoyed a particular match until they had read Malky Munro or Hughie Taylor’s report the next day. Archie Macpherson is on record as having said the same thing about legendary commentator David Francey, “It was a much better game to listen to than to see!”
Today that symbiosis is broken. The press themselves, in print and in front of microphones consistently belittle the product, talk of crises and Armageddon, of our own version of the Eisenhower domino effect of clubs going to the wall one after another.
Aided and abetted by the two chief bureaucrats in charge of Scottish football, Stuart Regan and Neil Doncaster, who have consistently helped to hammer home the message that Scottish football is not good enough, and cannot sustain itself financially without Rangers, a club that could not itself sustain itself financially to the extent that it is being liquidated.
At a time when Scottish football was clearly in crisis, and badly in need of sponsorship which could mitigate the effects of that crisis, the press and the authorities sought to strengthen their own negotiating hand by making negative claims about the state of the game which never came to pass, and for which they have never apologised. The actual situation, which would not have been hard to predict had anyone actually bothered to analyse the business of Scottish football, is summarised quite easily by saying this;
- Since Rangers’ liquidation and subsequent absence from the top league, the average home attendance of the other clubs has INCREASED overall (See Fig 2).
- In this season, the other clubs have added 50,000 fans to home attendances compared to 2011-12 (the last year Rangers were in competition).
- In that time the league has been won (twice) by Celtic, and the other honours have been claimed by St, Mirren, Aberdeen, Celtic and (either) Dundee United or St Johnstone.
- In that time, both Dunfermline Athletic and Hearts (who both had historical financial problems) entered – and exited – administration after fan-led buyouts.
- Dundee United have cleared off their bank debt.
- Kilmarnock have restructured their bank debt, freeing the club from a precarious long-term situation.
- League reconstruction has allowed some money to trickle down to the second tier clubs in an attempt to mitigate the immediate effects of relegation and to reward ambitious clubs.
Looking at the table of attendances above, it is pretty clear that immediately upon Rangers exit, the overall figures took a dip. However there was little difference the in the figures if you leave Rangers out of the equation (Fig 3) – despite Celtic’s attendance taking a hit that year (down by around 5,000 per home match).
Taking Celtic out of the calculations, it is clear that there is a 6,000 uplift in this average (Fig 2).
It is still undeniable that less people overall are watching football (Fig 1), but the trend is upward if one leaves the Ibrox club out of the picture.
Furthermore, this statistic exposes the double edged sword that is retention of home gates. The fact that gates are not shared is predicated upon the notion that the bigger clubs do not depend on the smaller clubs for income. And since the smaller clubs are no longer recipients of big club largesse, their fortunes are not affected, at least not as much as was suggested by the Regans, Doncasters and Traynors of this parish. The “Trickle-Down” theory of Reganomics said otherwise – but clearly and demonstrably it was wrong.
The abandonment of gate sharing has made Scottish football less interdependent than it once was, but the irony is that it works both ways. There is hardly a club in the country that depends on Rangers for their own existence, and here is the news; small clubs are no longer financially dependent on the former Old Firm.
Fig 3 Excluding Celtic
The fact, that is F-A-C-T, is that Scottish Football attendances in the top division are on the increase. The absence of Rangers has made no appreciably negative difference to any other club, far less caused a catastrophe of biblical proportions.
Even if the fools who were the harbingers of our doom were simply guilty of making an honest mistake, it is clear that they are uncontaminated with the slightest notion of how the game in this country operates. The Old Firm may be dead, but the OF prism is still being peered through by Stuart Regan, Neil Doncaster and the vast majority of print journalists. The latter who failed to honour that age-old football/press symbiosis because they believed, erroneously that David Murray’s dinner table was the hand that has fed them for over a century.
The irony is that as job opportunities diminish in the print sector, so too will the fine dining and patronage. I think they call that evolution.
Two years ago, in the wake of the fans’ season ticket revolt which saw the new Rangers forced to apply for membership of the league and begin at the bottom, those same MSM hacks taunted fans about putting their money where their mouths were. The fans responded splendidly as our statistics demonstrate, but typically there has been no recognition of this either at Hampden or in the media.
And the message from those fans is this: Scottish football is not dying. Not any more. At least not as surely as it was when David Murray started to choke the life out of it in the late 80s. The supporters are returning in numbers to see a competition untainted by the outrageous liberty-taking and rule-breaking of the last couple of decades, and all but one club has emerged from the mire of the Moonbeam Millennium looking forward to a new era.
If authorities allow the new era to thrive by restoring sporting integrity to the agenda, then the numbers, like the opportunities available to more and more clubs, will grow. The question is … will they?
Admittedly, these figures, like any set of statistics, can be cherry-picked to suit almost any argument that you care to construct. The fact remains though, that whilst it would be fanciful and ridiculously over-optimistic to claim that they bear witness to a burgeoning industry, it is utterly dishonest to conclude that they represent financial Armageddon. Armageddon? Aye right!
@WOTTPI you mean like Andy Little?? I doubt Miller will have the legs to run for an hour.. 😮
Miller Signing
When the manager does the exact opposite of the CEO’s stated strategy – either someone is totally out of control or someone is telling very obvious porkies.
Or could it be worse? To my mind Mr McCoist shows no signs of knowing where to start building a young team that could be playing in Europe in five to seven years time. So he’s falling back on what he sees as the tried and tested legends with ST appeal who will keep him in his job until the next bonus. Meanwhile Mr Wallace appears to have no strategy whatsoever beyond a few platitudes about balance the books, scouting system, winning every league, back into Europe, blahdie, blahdie, blah.
So another question for the MSM is, £ for £, who is most out of their depth here, McCoist or Wallace?
As a fairly impartial observer (c), it seems that the old saying “cometh the hour, cometh the man” does not apply in Govan – perhaps “cometh the hour, cometh the non-swimmer” would be more apt.
.
fara1968 says:
June 6, 2014 at 10:40 am
1 0 Rate This
We are developing a music theme here …
——
Roy wouldn’t but Norwegian Wood?
PS Totally left field and positive appointment. Got to like the way he achieved success in Norway. Another positive from Armageddon that Celtic have gone for such a manager. I hope he is a success.
@MCFC cannot disagree with that mate, however Waldo would presumably have a say in Miller signing or maybe Waldo has calculated that there will be enough in the pot for bonuses, sal paid up and redundancy for him when it’s time and just doesn’t give a damn..Pretty much like his predecessors. A solid spivs business model.
imBhoy says:
June 6, 2014 at 12:17 pm
1 0 Rate This
Deila is a bold move from Celtic. A progressive coach who seems to be a good motivator, a man who knows the right buttons to press to get the best individual response and seems to be able to harmonize a team.. From what I have read..
——————————————————————————————————-
On the appointment of Celtic’s new manager SSN dedicated at least 10 mins to Andy Walker to give his view on this new appointment. It went along the lines of underwhelming for Celtic fans (this term was mentioned 3 times). Low budget at Celtic mentioned a couple of times (low in comparison to who) League a given (total disregard to all clubs). Rangers, Hearts and Hibs missing so basically weak league. Roy Keane refused role due to financial restrictions ( Was Andy on the panel?). Keane, Malky Mackay Owen Coyle more equipped for role as worked on EPL. Basically there was absolutely nothing positive from Mr Walker on this new appointment. I am looking forward so much to supporting a young manger who has plied his trade in another country.Why could Mr Walker not say anything positive about our game, he should no be given the air time to comment on Scottish football at all. Celtic should be praised for running their club on a sound and financial footing and also praised for this new bold appointment. Cannot wait for SMSM to comment on this appointment.
Sorry but this is a rant as Mr Walker really got on my wick.
@JimBhoy – at the end of the day McCoist and Wallace are minor players in the destiny of RIFC and TRFC so they are riding the gravy train while they can. I don’t expect Wallace gives a damn about his public image in Scotland – he’ll retire back to his home in Surrey. However, I think Ally will be shocked and horrified by the consensus on his role in the whole shabby affair. The best he can hope for is “well meaning village idiot” – at worst – well – “persona non Rangers” – with all that entails.
I have to admit it but I’d miss the always timely and often quite hilarious interventions by Neil Patey.
I have no idea what his colleagues and fellow professionals think of him but he must be the most positive guy in the world.
He can make black seem like very, very white.
I can imagine him in meetings saying things like “That’s not actually a loss, it’s a negative profit scenario” and “No, it’s not Income and Expenditure, it’s Income and Investment”.
As songs have again started to appear on the blog I started wondering what his Desert Island Discs might be :
“I Can’t Tell The Bottom From The Top”
“Blue Skies (Nothing But Blue Skies)”
“Always Look On The Bright Side”
Or maybe “Won’t Get Fooled Again” or is that too unlikely?
I’m sure there are many more…. 😆
Scottish Football needs to find the village missing Mr Patey.
Danish Pastry says:
June 6, 2014 at 12:42 pm
8 1 Rate This
fara1968 says:
June 6, 2014 at 10:40 am
1 0 Rate This
We are developing a music theme here …
——
Roy wouldn’t but Norwegian Wood?
Or if your a stones man, Ronny wood
🙂
valentinesclown says:
June 6, 2014 at 1:03 pm
32 0 i
Rate This
On the appointment of Celtic’s new manager SSN dedicated at least 10 mins to Andy Walker to give his view on this new appointment…. Keane, Malky Mackay Owen Coyle more equipped for role as worked on EPL.
_____________________________________
In what way does dishing out monopoly money in an EPL relegation dogfight prepare you for the manager’s job at Celtic, where building a team of largely young hungry players with sell on value within a limited sustainable budget whilst being successful is the key aim?
All three managers quoted were either relegated or their clubs were relegated immediately after sacking them. This in itself doesn’t necessarily make them bad managers, but because they managed in the EPL these guys are automatically better than everyone else? Can’t help but think if any of them had been appointed, question marks would;ve been raised about these “failures”. Much emphasis was placed on Gordon Strachan having been relegated with Coventry (despite keeping them up 4 seasons in a row) and never having managed a team in European competition, at the time of his appointment. Plus ca change.
Lazy dinosaur thinking from lazy dinosaur hacks who are grotesquely bloated on a succulent lamb existence and can’t conceive of any alternative.
MoreCelticParanoia says:
June 6, 2014 at 2:15 pm
In what way does dishing out monoopoly money in an EPL relegation dogfight prepare you for the manager’s job at Celtic, where building a team of largely young hungry players with sell on value within a limited budget whilst being successful is the key aim?
=================================================
The bottom line for me is Ronny D is as least as equipped to get Celtic into the CL Groups as Malky MacKay, Steve Clarke, Roy Keane, or Owen Coyle. Do any of them even have experience of managing a team in European competition? I have nothing against any of them but in football terms they have been reared on the notion a club must spend heavily to be successful, but in Scotland that is simply not possible, not even for the richest club.
Last night I watched a video which was the Sky Sports review of season 1997-98, which was the year Celtic stopped Rangers doing ten in a row. The level of money spent by Rangers then does not need any reminding, but clubs such as Aberdeen and Hearts were shelling out fees of £600k, which nowadays is almost unthinkable. Remarkably the level of spending by Celtic was not really that much different from now in real terms, and the books were balanced to an extent with sales. Apart from the disastrous Barnes / Dalglish season, and the mostly successful reign of Martin O’Neill, Celtic have not been a massively spending club in net terms, although they are willing to invest a few million when required.
Going back to Ronny D, the club has made a bold move. It will be interesting.
Looks like a pretty good appointment by Celtic, time will tell. Bottom line is that if he can get them through the the Champions League group stage he’s been an immediate success. Hopefully nobody will turn on him too early though if he doesn’t negotiate a ridiculously long and difficult qualification process.
Best case scenario I can think of would be that he qualifies for the group sta but really struggles domestically. That way Scotland would have representation in the Champions League as well as proper competition in the top division domestically, which would be fantastic! Won’t be as good as the championship, obviously. But would run it a close second.
So which lamb muncher :slamb: will be first to ask Deila a variation of ;
“Do you think Celtic will benefit from having Rangers back in the top league ?”
…if it’s not already been asked.
Interesting choice of manager: lots of potential for minimum risk ?
I bagsy Uruguay for the World Cup. 23 to go – first come first served.
Re Andy Walker
Having met him on a couple of occasions, i have to say him using the phrase underwhelming is really the pot calling the kettle .
Walker is a very unimpressive guy , more than a little full of his own self importance and shallow to a degree thats unusual even for modern day footballers.
Underwhelming would actually be being kind to Walker.
Campbellsmoney says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm
I bagsy Uruguay for the World Cup. 23 to go – first come first served.
==================
No, you are way off Cm…
The stars are aligned to replace the distant memories of 1966 – it has to be England.
[Tin hat on: it was only a bad joke on a slow day, honest… 😀 ]
Campbellsmoney, Italy for me !!!
Campbellsmoney I’ll take Argentina
Campbellsmoney says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm
I bagsy Uruguay for the World Cup. 23 to go – first come first served.
_______________________________________________
If I could remind you, this is The SCOTTISH Football Monitor and the World Cup is therefore way off topic for the likes of us. 😥
However, I’ll take Germany.
Barcabhoy says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:41 pm
…
Underwhelming would actually be being kind to Walker.
===========================================
OT reminiscing.
Andy Walker was a couple of years ahead of me at school, and of all the very good players I played with over the years – including Durrant – I was always most surprised that Walker became a professional – and that he actually played for Celtic.
Not that I am bitter & twisted 🙄 but having a bad leg break as a teenager meant that Celtic’s loss was accountancy’s gain… well you’re allowed to dream sometimes?
StevieBC says:
June 6, 2014 at 3:51 pm
So which lamb muncher :slamb: will be first to ask Deila a variation of ;
“Do you think Celtic will benefit from having Rangers back in the top league ?”
================================================
I remember someone from the BBC told me how difficult it is to get anyone from Celtic on a show. I told him perhaps if they focused on something other than trying to get a sensational headline about Rangers it might be easier. His view is that it is a question that has to be asked, but he couldn’t explain why! What is the point anyway? Doncaster and Regan failed in their utterly disgraceful attempts to gerrymander the situation and fan power won the day. Having lived through that moment I still feel proud that so many fans of so many teams held the same collective view. The fans of Kilmarnock were of the same view despite the weasel words and actions of their Chairman. It’s time they let it rest.
KickerConspiracy
Ah but are we a monitor of Scottish football, or a Scottish monitor of football?
StevieBC says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Not that I am bitter & twisted 🙄 but having a bad leg break as a teenager meant that Celtic’s loss was accountancy’s gain… well you’re allowed to dream sometimes?
=======================================================================
Stevie…you blame your broken leg…I blame my failing eyesight (no affordable contact lenses in those days!)…!
I will plead the Fifth Amendment on any gain or loss to the accountancy “profession”…!
RyanGosling says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:47 pm
Campbellsmoney I’ll take Argentina
====================================
I’ll grab England – before the rush :-))
I think we’ll scrape through the group stage – hoping on other results – but next game against Group C winner (Columbia, Greece, Japan, Ivory Coast) could be OK – bingo Quarter Final – you can guess the rest.
Campbellsmoney
I think the monitor of Scottish football is the holding company and the Scottish monitor of football is the club.
Or is it the other way round?
upthehoops says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:57 pm
‘… Doncaster and Regan failed in their utterly disgraceful attempts to gerrymander the situation and fan power won the day. Having lived through that moment I still feel proud that so many fans of so many teams held the same collective view. ‘
————-
That was without a shadow of a doubt the Scottish Football greatest moment as with virtual unanimity
fans of all clubs shouted ‘Foul!’ to the craven compromisers of integrity who lost all notion of truth,fairness, and the very meaning of sporting competition.And when any kind of trust in the fundamentally biased and blinkered hacks who had sold their souls for a leg of lamb was blown away like yesterday’s newspaper in a gale of wind.
The story of the scorpion who does what he does because that’s what he does was told on here a day or so ago. It seems to be in the nature and blood of many of our SMSM people to distort and mislead at any and every turn in order to protect and defend one club, while using any and every journalistic device to do down every other club by minimising their achievements and fabricating ‘problems’ they have.
Their lodestone was RFC. They did not, could not, handle the fact of its death, so now have to pour their envious bile constantly on the achievements of honest, tax-paying, clubs which did not try to cheat their way to ‘sporting success’.
Bad cess to them all.May the disservice they have done to Scottish Football over a long period come back to bite them good and hard in the ar.e.
Nothing on any MP disposal
Nowt on any share issue
Zilch on Ticket Book Sales
Why`s DK gone quiet
Nothing on the wonga loans
Blanket coverage on KM lark
– [But not the contract terms]
`Magnificent Support` – rolled out – yet again
Bears getting the full PR treatment
Campbellsmoney can I have Spain 😎
redlichtie says:
June 6, 2014 at 1:12 pm
36 0 Rate This
——
36-0? Where have I heard that before? 😀
Scottish Football needs a strong Arbroath.
Red lichtie says 36-0 where have I heard that before?
Bon Accord 1885 !
Campbellsmoney can I have Chile please?
RyanGosling says:
June 6, 2014 at 2:57 pm
27 26 Rate This
Looks like a pretty good appointment by Celtic, time will tell. Bottom line is that if he can get them through the the Champions League group stage he’s been an immediate success. Hopefully nobody will turn on him too early though if he doesn’t negotiate a ridiculously long and difficult qualification process.
Best case scenario I can think of would be that he qualifies for the group sta but really struggles domestically. That way Scotland would have representation in the Champions League as well as proper competition in the top division domestically, which would be fantastic! Won’t be as good as the championship, obviously. But would run it a close second.
———–
Well Ryan, I (think) know what you mean. All you needed at the end of your post was a 😛 or a 😀 The TDs might be because folks took your every word seriously and missed the irony, or because it wasn’t in Norwegian (which has been popping up on my twitter timeline all Deila … er … day, and great fun it is too 🙂 )
I seem to remember a certain Monsieur Polly Gwen being turned on quickly by a very self-important person. Very few valued the progress he had made in Europe because old RFC were being duffed up by all and sundry in the SPL. But if his Euro results had not been as good there would have been no Euro campaign for the jump-ship, I-do-walking-away Scotland manager to inherit.
Hopefully Ronny will be given lots of time to adapt and settle in.
Interesting?
Football Loyalty `monetised` to be hawked around the AIM flea circus as penny shares
Pants
twopanda says:
June 6, 2014 at 7:17 pm
3 0 Rate This
Interesting?
Football Loyalty `monetised` to be hawked around the AIM flea circus as penny shares
Pants
————-
And to think most of the £67m burned in 2 years arrived via the goodwill sold for £1. Some deal for the creditors.
Campbellsmoney
Can I have Scotland please ?
What do you mean, they didn’t qualify ?
Has anyone told the SFA, or have they been too busy on other matters ?
I think we should be told.
smartie1947 says:
June 6, 2014 at 8:13 pm
Campbellsmoney
Can I have Scotland please ?
What do you mean, they didn’t qualify ?
Has anyone told the SFA, or have they been too busy on other matters ?
I think we should be told.
===================
IMO, the only way Scotland will qualify again is if the country co-hosts with England – which is never. 🙁
And it’s a great pity the kids in Scotland are missing out on cheering their team at the World Cup again.
I’m sure we all have our favourite World Cup memories, e.g. Narey’s ‘toe-poke’.
And does anyone know if any of the SFA blazers are off on a jolly to Brazil ? Would the super-brass-necked Ogilvie be going ?
I think we should be told… 🙄
Campbellsmoney says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm
5 1 Rate This
I bagsy Uruguay for the World Cup. 23 to go – first come first served.
_________________
got to be brazil for me
oddjob says: June 6, 2014 at 6:39 pm
Red lichtie says 36-0 where have I heard that before?
Bon Accord 1885 !
========================
Don’t forget that Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rovers 35-0 on the same day!
Imran / Tommy `chat`
http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/user/glasgow-radio-online/live-afternoon-show-4-6-14
– From 52 mins
5WA / SFA seems to be a bit hush-hush
Judge for yourself
The poster Exiled Celt wanted to post this link by way of contribution to the youth development debate (Exiled can not post for some reason? I have some contact with him via twitter: @The_Exiled_Celt ).
So exiled Celt has actually been exiled?! Ironic 😆
I’m torn. .,..,,….,,.
Spain or Argentina
I’m going for Leo
Argentina for me
I remember as a boy in Scotland watching a World Cup and being mesmerised as the defender was by the “Cruyff feint”. I practiced next day it till I perfected it. Anyone here know what I am talking about. I also watched Brazilians in Mexico bending a ball better than Beckham. I set up a sheet hanging from a clothes line to simulate a wall (at the usual but illegal 9 yards) in my back yard and practiced curving it into the goal area in my back garden. I can still do that with ease with my right foot. My left is for standing on. Shame on me. Had I my time again I would have worked on being ambipedal. What plans do the SFA have to capitalise on the TV coverage of the World Cup to foster youth football in Scotland. If the answer is none then they are derelict in their duty.
twopanda says:
June 7, 2014 at 3:36 am
3 0 Rate This
Imran / Tommy `chat`
http://www.spreaker.com/page#!/user/glasgow-radio-online/live-afternoon-show-4-6-14
– From 52 mins
5WA / SFA seems to be a bit hush-hush
Judge for yourself
———–
Amazing that Imran is willing to give an extended interview. But it is a platform to get his side of the story out. Seems very aware of the influence and exposure of underground media. Well done to Tommy. I had wondered what had become of him. Hounded out of Glasgow? Lost his job?
* Car park purchase to save on £350,000 rental (against the £100,000 income generated)
* After year one loss of £10m club /company would have broke even in year two (but for court cases, etc)
* Players signed under Mather unnecessary
* All player deals run by the management team before signing off
* Deals with Puma and Sports Direct fantastic [obviously, there’s a court case hanging on that]
* Imran willing to help raise more money for the current regime
* Investors do want to remain anonymous especially with Club in current state, yet …
* TRFC still a good investment opportunity — once the football authorities in England or Europe allow Glasgow’s two best-supported clubs into other leagues [pots of gold at rainbows end]
* 5WA a binding confidentiality agreement. My lips are sealed.
* Mentions of D&P / deals with Whyte
* Whyte only puts out ‘edited soundbites’ via CF [seems no doubt in Imran’s mind that Whyte is source of CF materials]
PS Yes Tommy, your feedback was spot on, voice levels a bit distorted (use an audio limiter) and too many interjections, Imran was actually willing to put a lot on record, felt you shouted him down too much. Very persuasive guy is IA. Actually agreed with him on that the Sandaza stunt was a mistake.
PPS If he’ll talk to Tommy why not a Skype interview for TSFM?
Re this upcoming FIFA Moneyfest.
/1/ I will not be watching it. The Fraudulent International Fraud Agency and their associated sponsors will not be getting one swiss franc from me.
/2/ Belgium will win it.
/3/ I have tickets for Germany v Scotland in Dortmund, our first qualifier for the UEFA European Championships 2016. Happy enough to put money into the pockets of the DFB.
cowanpete says:
June 7, 2014 at 7:38 am
1 0 Rate This
Re this upcoming FIFA Moneyfest.
/1/ I will not be watching it. The Fraudulent International Fraud Agency and their associated sponsors will not be getting one swiss franc from me.
/2/ Belgium will win it.
/3/ I have tickets for Germany v Scotland in Dortmund, our first qualifier for the UEFA European Championships 2016. Happy enough to put money into the pockets of the DFB.
————
Moneyfest indeed. It’s got me just slightly less excited than the Eurovision Song Contest 🙂
PS The tickets for the match in Dortmund — from the DFB directly?
I’ll back Belgium then. This is their moment to be do what France did when their team with Platini as their leader made an initial World Cup impact, or Cruyff’s Holland – make a dent in the big countries’ reputations and establish themselves for the next few decades, raise expectations from within and outside the country. Or they could become big-time Charlies, who qualify for a couple of tournaments and expect to win it by just turning up, and become an international laughing stock instead. (As this is the Scottish football monitor, I draw the jury’s attention to a certain team who set the template for this at Argentina 1978). Allez les Belges! And in Flemish too!
UPTHEHOOPS is a bit too negative about Coyle in particular and MacKay also. OC managed Falkirk, St Johnstone and Burnley in the Championship before making the mistake of jumping ship to Bolton. That CV hardly equates to being brought into management in a “loadsamoney” culture. MacKay managed Watford before Cardiff.
That is not to say that either would be better than Celtic’s ultimate choice. Andy Walker was one of the most underwhelming players I have ever seen in red and yellow. He is a rent-a-mouth. Not to be taken at all seriously.
Time will tell as to how RD does at Parkhead.
Am i left with Mexico?…….Thanks alot 🙁
EastHam says,
JUNE 6 2014 11.11pm
Don’t forget Dundee Harp beat Aberdeen Rivers 35-0 on the same day.
I confess I did forget, but then I was very young at the time !!! A bad day for Aberdonians.
Re my post moments ago, “EastHam” should read EasyJambo, and ” Rivers” = “Rovers” My apologies, age you know !
Allys back on the scene ,hold the front and back pages.
Campbell, I’ll take the Netherlands please. Always been a fan of cafe culture. 😯
Jagsman says:
June 7, 2014 at 8:40 am
UPTHEHOOPS is a bit too negative about Coyle in particular and MacKay also. OC managed Falkirk, St Johnstone and Burnley in the Championship before making the mistake of jumping ship to Bolton. That CV hardly equates to being brought into management in a “loadsamoney” culture. MacKay managed Watford before Cardiff.
That is not to say that either would be better than Celtic’s ultimate choice. Andy Walker was one of the most underwhelming players I have ever seen in red and yellow. He is a rent-a-mouth. Not to be taken at all seriously.
Time will tell as to how RD does at Parkhead.
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I totally disagree. Coyle had his chance to join Celtic when his stock was high, but chose to stay with Burnley. The five years since he has been a complete and utter failure as a manager despite heavy financial backing and would IMO have been an appalling choice. As for Mackay what has he achieved to make him an outstanding candidate, and he is very much of the loadsamoney culture view you talk about. The one I would have liked to see the club taking a punt on was Steve Clarke, but I am happy with the choice they made. It is a bold move but he is a more successful manager already than Coyle or Mackay and appears willing to work to a budget the club can realistically afford. As I have said many times on here Celtic, and indeed every other club bar one, can only spend what they earn. Quite how one club continues to get away with doing the opposite not only baffles me, it totally appalls me, the reason being that it appears to happen with the full blessing of the SFA.
upthehoops says:
June 7, 2014 at 11:44 am
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Jagsman says:
June 7, 2014 at 8:40 am
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I know this stuff is OT but Coyle did no different than Roy Keane, possibly Paul Lambert (was he asked?) or any other manager. Even Ronny Deila is now opting to test himself in a bigger league just as Coyle chose to do in 2010. And OC is on record as saying he could have increased his wages fourfold by taking the Celtic job, so he didn’t make a cynical money move. Comes across as a very decent human being with a good football brain.
I’ve listened to him quite a bit, also personal interviews about his Glasgow childhood, football dreams, and the time surrounding the player Fabrice Muamba who was nursed back to life during Coyle’s time at Bolton. Seems a really top guy to me.
Not wanting him at Celtic for pure footballing reasons is fair enough, but just because he chose to stay in place and further his EPL ambitions in 2010, is that reason to put him on a list of Celtic Park undesirables?
Andy Walker was a huge favourite of mine when he burst onto the scene at Fir Park – he moved on to Celtic and scored a barrel load in that centenary season at Parkhead. A really exciting striker and a great finisher as a young man.
As a ‘grown up’ he’s everything that’s wrong with Scottish Fitba punditry. Negative, glum, nit picking doommonger in the mould of a wee depressed Gerry McNee. Should be banned from all media forms.
Owen Coyle is quite clearly holding out for the Motherwell job
It’s The Way I Tell ‘Em
Season Ticket Waiting List – http://www.rangers.co.uk/news/club-news/item/7003-season-ticket-waiting-list
Danish Pastry says:
June 7, 2014 at 12:20 pm
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Some clarification required from me. My misgivings about Owen Coyle are as a manager, not as a person. He seems a decent guy when you hear him as a pundit, and very down to earth. I don’t class him as ‘undesirable’ at all but in my view only a select band of managers should be able to reject the Celtic job and expect to be offered it a second time. Coyle has done nothing in the interim to deserve another chance.
As for Andy Walker, a friend of mine met him recently and described him as an absolute gentleman. I’ve never met him myself but his negativity as a pundit does annoy me greatly. None more so than the tiresome view that the league can never be good without Rangers. His strong defence of players who blatantly cheat by going down in the box at the slightest touch does him no favours either. I spoke recently to a grade one official I met through work who complained how difficult cheating makes his job, and said he cringes when he hears ex-pros like Walker defending it.
Doonhamer says:
June 7, 2014 at 12:48 pm
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Campbellsmoney says:
June 6, 2014 at 4:38 pm
I got Portugal in the office sweep – we have another for golden boot, I got Falcao – hope his knee surgery went well…………..
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No one supporting our English brothers?
In spite of a childhood listening to anti-Scottish bias from English commentators I like to see the actual England team do well. Sensibly flying well below the radar this time, too.
Para Handy says:
June 7, 2014 at 1:34 pm
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I have some English colleagues, all fine men. While they are dismissive of the Scottish league to an extent, some of them have season tickets for teams in Scotland because they love the game. None of them are under any illusions about England’s chances in the World Cup though. Perhaps not living in England any more makes it easier to be realistic, although in my lifetime I can never recall such little English media hype before a major finals.
I see the club from Ibrox have reportedly agreed a deal with out of contract St Mirren player Darren McGregor, which comes just after signing Kenny Miller. Where do they get all the money to make these signings when they already lose money hand over fist and are not exactly selling out season tickets?
Neepheid – you only hear the noisy (and usually idiotic, ignorant, ill-informed, ill-educated) ones is any crowd.It would probably sound like passion if heard in Spanish, French or Italian – but when you understand everyword – it’s often just depressing. From recent discussion I think most thinking England fans have accepted that we are no where near good enough to win, have not been for a very long time and we’d better get used to the idea. There’s definitely a feeling of low expectations about England – anyone who thinks otherwise is a sad victim of media hype or just too thick to work it out. But still looking forward to some great football from elsewhere.
If you applied “Their sickening arrogance and revolting sense of entitlement have only one point of comparison in all of world football” to the remnants of the “Golden Generation” I’d have to agree 🙂
Rangersitis Defined !
For anyone wondering why The Rangers will never be able to compete with other clubs on an equal budget, here is the whole psychosis in one brief rant:
Boss Ally McCoist was keen to keep Telfer at Ibrox and DJ (Derek Johnstone) reckons the 18-year-old’s decision has been influenced.
He told SportTimes: “If your contract is up and you don’t want to be at the club, fine. Rangers don’t want people that don’t want to be there.
“There is no doubt he is a talent, but that is all he is just now.
“If he doesn’t want to be at Rangers then what else can Ally do? He has offered him a contract and he has said no.
“I think his problem is the people who advise him. His dad wasn’t happy with Rangers not giving him games.
“If it was down to the kid, I think he would have stayed where he was. Just because gaffer Jackie McNamara is playing youngsters does not mean he is going to go up there and go straight in and play.
“It might take him a year or so and if that is what he wants to do, fine.
“Ally had no option. If the player says he doesn’t want to sign then you need to let him go.”
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/rangers/dj-dont-fault-rangers-over-telfer-exit-166439n.24425440
I have cancelled my Sky Sports package ,for the summer at least,as Ido not want to listen to the constant drum beating that is sure to come ,but for anyone that wants to continue when you call Sky to cancel they offer a reduction to get you to keep the package,so ,anyone thats keeping the package ,go save some money,it will help pay for the earplugs for certain games.
mcfc says:
June 7, 2014 at 2:04 pm
I think the problem a lot of people had with the English national team actually came from the media. For years with each successive qualification the first question asked in the studio was “Can we win it? We MUST be one of the favourites!”. Even after the most dubious of qualifying campaigns.
Thankfully these ideas have been tempered in the last couple of competitions and Roy Hodgson has brought a level of reality back to the situation.
Of course you are correct in the fact that the media stir everything up.
Remember the World Cup where reporters were sent to Scotland to ask people “Why are you NOT supporting England?”
That was just patronising in the extreme.
I’m old enough though to remember when Scotland went through the same cycle.
In 1978 we were told by the media, and even the manager, that we were going to win the trophy and a shambolic campaign ensued.
That was a defining tournament for our nation. Never again have we displayed that level of arrogance or even complacency.
Anyway I can’t wait for the tournament to begin. Games at 5pm, 8pm, and 11pm.
What’s not to like,
Good luck to all.
ECO –> Maybe you could call in mate…. http://www.rangerschat.com/forum/#topic/Land-Deal-show.htm
AMcC says Hearts and Hibs have told him they will make it a great league this season… In the words of Agnes Brown, That’s nice..!!!!
twopanda says:
June 7, 2014 at 3:36 am
“Imran / Tommy `chat`”
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That’s great stuff. I notice Danish has provided a summary so apologies for any repetition but I’ll make my observations whilst they’re fresh in my mind.
Imran confirms Charlotte is CW.
Assets bought out of administration to prevent them falling into the liquidators pot essentially. Tommy casts aspersions on the mechanism but essentially Imran cites this as a reason for CW’s interest in the Newco. It sounds as if the Sevco 5088/Scotland switcheroo might have been pre-engineered with the assistance of Patrick Cannon of Field Fisher Waterhouse to dis-entitle CW from any ongoing interest in TRFCL. Imran appears to take credit for arranging the finance and if this is true then it may have been possible to persuade the financiers to switch cars at the last minute to the vehicle that IA/CG were in control of. If so then this potentially leaves CW’s claim on a shaky nail though IA’s recent attempt for an arrestment of TRFCL funds cited CW’s claim as an ongoing concern.
Imran reckons RFC(IL) were stuffed from the very start with the big tax case bill casting a shadow over them. He also revealed he had met with the disgraced David Murray and the conflicted Campbell Ogilvie. Still could be that CW was a patsy traveling in hope rather than expectation and never fully aware that all roads had only one destination. The leaked e:mails did seem to imply CW thought a negotiation with HMRC was possible and that a CVA was a realistic possibility.
Imran seems to have been infected with Rangersness. It appears he was unable to tell Ally to reign in his demands for a top flight playing staff irrespective of what division his team currently plied its trade. The inability to downsize was so ingrained that perhaps Imran just gave up and threw the clumpany to the wolves.
Tommy’s approach is a little bit ramshackle but it does have the effect of making Imran feel he can control the conversation to some extent. For this reason I think Imran possibly gave away a wee bit more than he would have done in a more guarded mode. As Tommy says, the SMSM could have contacted Imran and had a similar conversation but have judiciously failed to do so.
The fact that newspaper money pays big DJ’s salary should be enough for any reasonable human being to put their 30p (or whatever a paper costs these days) in the charity box at the newsagents..
Fisiani says:
June 7, 2014 at 6:58 am
“I can still do that with ease with my right foot. My left is for standing on.”
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Even in my later years I was still prone to indulge in such exercises. It is never too late to learn.
The absolutely most basic element that could be advanced to improve footballing ability is two footedness. After all, every player will have two feet as a prerequisite. The limited ability I had was so greatly enhanced by developing the use of the standing foot that it astonishes me that every professional player does not have this skill to some extent. You don’t even need special equipment to develop the aptitude; just the desire to try something you wouldn’t naturally do.
Thought I’d post this link to an article in the guardian on Belgium football.
http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/06/belgium-blueprint-gave-birth-golden-generation-world-cup-
Interesting reading, well, I thought so.
As it’s quiet…
Absolutely, I can’t believe that any pro footballer would not be 2 footed.
It just takes lots of practice and gives you extra confidence – and options e.g. when taking corners.
But one ‘skill’ that was drilled into me by a manager when I was about 15 was to always “put a name with the ball” – shout out the team mate’s name you are passing/crossing to as you strike the ball.
Very effective – and amazing how it improves your accuracy.
Para Handy says:
June 7, 2014 at 11:28 am
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Snap!!
Re two footedness. The drill at my little un’s coaching is if a player scores ( as the better players quickly do at that age) with one foot then for the rest of the kickabout they can only score with the other. Works well especially since the first kid to moan “it’s not fair” is quickly told to find a pass instead. The huffy kid then either scores with his weaker foot or picks the perfect pass out of nothing but huffy spite! Everybody wins!
StevieBC says:
June 7, 2014 at 4:26 pm
‘…It just takes lots of practice and gives you extra confidence..’
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In my case, I gave myself such a sore one in early left-foot shooting practice that I never attempted any kind of power-shot with the left foot thereafter. I could manage side-foot passes and the occasional successful left foot dribble or left foot volley. But I simply chickened out of striking a ball on the ground with any kind of force. Couldn’t even contemplate taking a free kick or corner with my left foot.Sad thing was that everybody else reckoned that was my better foot!