Past the Event Horizon

On the Old Club vs New Club (OCNC) debate, the SFA’s silence has been arguably the most damaging factor with respect to the future of the game. Of course people get frustrated when there is a deliberate policy of silence on the part of the SFA which results in the endless cycle of arguments being trotted out again and again with no resolution or closure possible.

The irony (it’s only irony if you assume that the SFA have gone to great lengths to create the conditions for the unbroken history status of the new club) is that the mealy-mouthed attitude they have adopted has actually polarised opinion in a far more serious and irreconcilable way than had they just made a clear statement when Sevco were handed SFA membership. A bit of leadership, with a decision either way at that time would have spiked a lot of OCNC guns very early on, but as history shows, they were afraid of a backlash from wherever it came.

I am now convinced that Scottish Football has passed the Event Horizon and is broken beyond the possibility of any repair that might have taken it back to its pre-2010 condition. Rangers fans will never – no matter what any eventual pronouncement from Hampden may be – accept that their next trophy will be their first. The trouble is that no-one else – again despite anything from Hampden – will cast them as anything else other than a new club who were given a free passage into the higher echelons of the game. Furthermore, they will forever force that down the throats of Rangers fans whenever and wherever they play. A recipe for discord, threats of violence, actual violence, and a general ramping up of the sectarian gas that we had all hoped, only a year or so ago, was to be set to an all-time low peep.

There is a saying in politics that we get the government we deserve. It works both ways though, and the SFA will get the audience it deserves. In actual fact it is the one it has actively sought over the last couple of years, for they have tacitly (and even perhaps explicitly) admitted that Scottish Football is a dish best served garnished with sectarianism. They have effectively told us that without it, the game cannot flourish, and they stick to that fallacy even although the empirical evidence of the past year indicates otherwise.

That belief is an intellectual black-hole they have now thrust the game into. They have effectively said that only two clubs actually matter in Scottish football. The crazy thing is that to put their plans into action they have successfully persuaded enough of the other clubs to jump into the chasm and hence vote themselves into irrelevance and permanent semi-obscurity.

That belief is also shared by the majority in the MSM, who despite their lofty, self-righteous and ostensibly anti-sectarian stance, have done everything they can to stir the hornet’s nest in the interests of greater sales.
Act as an unpaid wing of a PR company, check nothing, ask nothing, help to create unrest, and then tut-tut away indignantly like Monty Python Pepperpots when people take them to task.

Consequently the victims of all the wrongdoing (creditors and clubs) walk away without any redress or compensation for the loss of income and opportunity (and history) – stripped of any pride and dignity since they do so in the full knowledge of what has happened. But even as they wipe away the sand kicked in their faces, those clubs still insist on the loyalty of their own fanbases, the same fans whose trust they have betrayed with their meek acceptance of the new, old order.

The kinder interpretation of the impotence of the clubs is that they want to avoid the hassle and move on, the more cynical view that they are interested only in money, not people. In either case, sporting integrity, in the words of Lord Traynor of Winhall (Airdrie, not Vermont), is “crap”.

The question is; which constituency of 21st century Scotland subscribes to that 17th century paradigm?
Sadly, this massive hoax, this gigantic insult to our collective intelligence, is working. Many will leave the game – many already have in view of the spineless absence of intervention from their own clubs – but many, many more will stay and support the charade.

If you doubt my prediction, ask yourself how many tickets will be unsold the first time the New Rangers play Celtic at Parkhead? That my friends will be final imprimatur of authenticity on just exactly who New Rangers are, no matter the proclamations of both sides of the OCNC argument.

This entry was posted in General by Big Pink. Bookmark the permalink.
John Cole

About Big Pink

Big Pink is John Cole; a former schoolteacher based in the West of Scotland, He is also a print and broadcast journalist who is engaged in the running of SFM . Former gigs include Newstalk 106, the Celtic View, and Channel67. A Celtic fan, he is also the voice of our podcast initiative.

3,926 thoughts on “Past the Event Horizon


  1. A Happy Christmas to all, hope you have a great time with you loved ones.


  2. Season Greetings and all the best to everyone including those who lurk but never post πŸ™‚


  3. May I take this opportunity to wish all contributors and their families a very peaceful and joyful Christmas and prosperous new year…and I raise a glass to those dear friends who are no longer with us in person but most certainly in spirit…god bless to one and all…

    Merry Christmas


  4. Happy Christmas to all on here. Keep up the good work.


  5. Paulmac2 says:
    December 24, 2013 at 10:27 pm

    May I take this opportunity to wish all contributors and their families a very peaceful and joyful Christmas and prosperous new year…and I raise a glass to those dear friends who are no longer with us in person but most certainly in spirit…god bless to one and all…

    Merry Christmas
    =============================

    I can’t put it better than that!

    Time to put the pitchforks away, enjoy some family time for a few days, and also remember those who were close to us.

    Merry Christmas


  6. Seasons greetings to one and all, especially those who diligent and meticulous research has informed us all in here of the chaos and duplicity in our governing bodies and elsewhere.

    Peace on earth to all mankind……. even those who do us wrong, maybe their consciences will finally break through the blue fug and the truth will out. Guess we can all dream….

    Just a lurker, but nowadays a much more informed and wiser lurker.

    Slainte…. πŸ˜›


  7. Merry Christmas to all from this committed lurker 😎


  8. As another lurker I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and also special thoughts to the families of contributors that have passed this year


  9. Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy new year to all onTSFM …… Not posted much lately due to work commitments and to be honest pretty much losing the plot ( does anyone really know what’s going on down govan way) have a lovely day and I really hope Santa pays you all a wee visit πŸ˜‰


  10. A very Happy Christmas to everyone on TSFM. Here’s hoping for a warm and happy day with friends and family for everyone who has made this year a fun-filled, instructional episode in my life πŸ™‚

    Thanks!

    Also a time to remember absent friends like Paul McC and Corsica.
    Also to my very good friend Stunney, who is still lurking.


  11. Incidentally, a good Christmas present those in the MSM :slamb: who advocate more spending in pursuit of European glory;

    • a copy of Downfall or,
    • a list of European successes of Scottish teams over the last ten years where you will find Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon’s Austerity Celts have performed way better than Hectors Millions or even O’Neill’s Opulence :mrgreen:

  12. Merry Christmas bampots ❗

    Many thanks to all for educating me as well as keeping me informed and entertained.

    I am also thinking of absent friends – some of whom, I never even met.

    For Christmas I wished for the governing bodies and the SMSM to grow a set – and I have been a very good boy 😎


  13. Seasons greetings to everyone on here, posters, lurkers, and even the chaps from Media House.

    I would like to express our grateful thanks to those intrepid souls who set this site up, and who have put a huge amount of their own time and energy into the project. I’m sure that at times it has seemed a thankless task for no reward, but as a result of those efforts we all have access to a brilliant forum which bypasses the smoke, mirrors and downright lies which sadly are the stock in trade of the Scottish Media. If anyone doubts the value of TSFM, just consider for a moment where we would be if the RTC forum had been wiped out with no successor. A very dark place, I would suggest. Which, of course, is where “they” want us- completely in the dark.

    So to that small band of “seekers after truth” behind the scenes at TSFM, have a great Christmas, and know that your efforts are truly appreciated my many, many people.


  14. Merry Christmas to everybody on the blog and a glass raised later for absent friends.


  15. Tis the season to be jolly. pic.twitter.com/hwDAASYqCP πŸ˜› πŸ˜›


  16. Merry Christmas everyone.
    Hope Santa was good to you and you have a great day.


  17. Merry Christmas to one and all who help to make this blog the best by far. Been following this site from the beginning as well as the RTC blog when it was in its Infancy, and need to get my daily fix!
    Keep up the good work everyone, would be great if some of the awol posters come back on, especially RTC, nice to hear from you now and again.
    All the very best
    Palacio67


  18. Merry Xmas to all who post here and especially those who put in a wheen of unpaid work and lots of effort trying to clean-up the SFA.

    It’s also a time to remember those who have gone and won’t be with their loved ones at this time and I feel sure many will be thinking of a guy who gave so much and taught everyone of us a helluva lot and not just about legal technicalities but the meaning of compassion and the ability to forgive.

    We also have to remember that Scottish football is a tiny and very insignificant affair when we think of all the tragedies that beset the world and the millions out there who die needlessly from war, starvation and disease – let’s also commit to do what we can to help even though it might not be a lot individually we must always remember that when we act together we can be an unstoppable force for change.


  19. Merry Xmas to everyone and I look forward to another period of free education from all you internet bampots out there.

    πŸ˜€


  20. Would be a good day to announce administration for sevco!

    Then again…..any day would be good for that

    Merry christmas everyone


  21. Merry Christmas to One and All !!
    .
    tp & mrstp πŸ˜‰


  22. Thanks to all who have done the research, followed up the stories and written the blog and posts. It’s done a great service for those of us who mainly read the findings.

    Happy Christmas to all.

Comments are closed.