Category: Celtic

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Heroes and Villains: Why our beloved game’s media men should be next under the microscope

By TuttiFruttiBusDriver

The decision to offer Dundee FC a place in the SPL appears to offer a welcome release from the maelstrom of committees, board meetings and legal chicanery that has consumed the thoughts of many during this dreich Scottish Summer of sport. It offers an opportunity for fans of all teams to focus on summer transfer windows, pre-season friendlies, and, perhaps, foster a wee bit of cautious optimism about what the season ahead may bring. Maybe the dust will settle a little and we can concentrate on the football.

However, while it is undoubtedly healthier to look forward with positivity to the new season, it is necessary to get several things in order if this is not to become yet another missed opportunity to address the parlous state of the game. There are many issues that need looked at from a change point of view, none more so than the role of BBC Scotland’s sport department going forward.

The now notorious inability of a vast rump of the Scottish football media to ask questions of David Murray for fear of being banished from the vineyards, private jets and oak-paneled offices is an embarrassment that will haunt many hacks for as long as they continue to eke out an existence in the media. Many key players at the BBC were not immune from this. Similarly when Craig Whyte emerged from the shadows (with a questionable CV to boot) the prevailing practice of parceling up PR-swill while avoiding asking difficult questions continued. On the evidence so far, and with a few notable exceptions as detailed below, Charles Green hasn’t exactly getting the roughest ride either.

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Chick Young and Jim Traynor – Purveyors of questionable coverage?

It is arguable that the senior management at BBC Scotland’s Sportsound conducts a fundamental and radical review of the makeup of their broadcasting team for the forthcoming season. While some have enhanced their reputations with an honest and even-handed approach to the protracted saga (Jim Spence and Richard Gordon spring to mind) others, such as the laughably lightweight Chick Young and the deliberate mendacious Jim Traynor are surely redundant. Young’s grasp of the story is weak and ineffectual. Traynor, meanwhile, has brought nothing to BBC Scotland’s sports output bar a hectoring, bullying, sneering, doom-mongering style that has many listeners reaching for the off-switch.

Traynor can write what he likes in his newspaper (which given the latest circulation figures appears to be living on borrowed time ) but I am sure many license-fee payers resent his views being rammed down their throats in the sake of ‘parity’ or ‘balance’. A slavish desire to see the status quo remain purely out of self-interest has been has main contribution to the debate. Surely this propagandist has no place in a key forum for debate on the issues going forward?

Jim Spence and Richard Gordon, conversely, are notable for the way that they have made room for nuanced arguments. They have focused on complex issues, have tried to make sense of wildly conflicting information and synthesize it into something meaningful for the listening audience. They’ve asked the difficult questions, engaged widely with fans on social media and largely understood that fans are now better informed, more connected, and, with worthwhile opinions (compare that to the loathing of ‘internet bampots’ that you get from Traynor).

It is vital that all those with an interest in the future of Scottish football ensure that the mainstream media charged with holding authorities to account ask the questions that we want asked and provide informed analysis/opinions. Where the pundits are not fulfilling that role then others must be offered the opportunity. Punditry should not be a job for life, it should be determined by an ability to ask the right questions, no matter how uncomfortable those may be, and, a demonstration of sound interpretation of events. The days of the two-dimensional Traynor autocrat or the sycophancy of Young are gone. While social media has radically altered the media landscape by increasing connections, relationships, and, the democratisation of information, it is important that those in charge of the BBC Scotland Sports department fulfill their commitment to serve in the public interest. Weak scrutiny has failed us in the past; it should not be allowed to happen again.

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We are all Neil Lennon?! We most certainly are not…

Hitthebyline reviews the spontaneous combustion of Neil Lennon

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Pushing the self-destruct button – Lennon at the centre of controversy

Congratulations to Neil Lennon for guiding his young Celtic side to the SPL title. What a fantastic achievement, and on the face of it, everything is rosy at Celtic. An average squad age of just 23, operating in a financially prudent manner, and looking forward to launching an attack on the Champions League next season. However, the headlines this season (aside from the financial crisis at Rangers) have been dominated by Lennon’s ill-tempered approaches to officials, when they could so easily have been about the positive aspects of the Glasgow club’s season.

This petulant and puzzling behaviour again reared it’s ugly head when Celtic suffered a 2-1 defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final. Of course Celtic and Lennon have the right to feel aggrieved at that penalty decision that was at best, ill-judged and at worst, downright ludicrous, but what the Hoops boss did next was quite unprecedented. In a national semi-final, with 50,000 eyes on him in the stadium, and several million more watching at home, Lennon took it upon himself to dash on to the pitch and confront the referee in an aggressive manner.

Treating this case in isolation, perhaps you could almost put it down to a freak loss of temper, but this is now the third incident in a matter of weeks, and it’s getting to the stage now where the Celtic support are having to watch the name of their great club being besmirched by the manager’s thuggish actions.

18th March, Celtic are denied a debatable penalty in the League Cup final. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon criticises the referee’s decision. Lennon is warned about his conduct. Celtic lose the match (and the Cup).

25th March, Celtic suffer two red cards in an Old Firm match. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon foolishly approaches the referee at half-time. Lennon is reprimanded. Celtic lose the match.

15th April, Celtic concede a dubious penalty in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon gives the ref a mouthful. Lennon will be punished. Celtic lose the match.

See a pattern forming here?

Let’s say for the sake of argument that Celtic have fallen victim to poor officiating in the above matches. Let’s also again take each game on it’s own merit.

First up, the League Cup final. If Celtic require an injury time penalty at Hampden to draw level with a distinctly average Kilmanock side, then the manager has failed to motivate and organise his team to do a job.

Next up, two red cards in an Old Firm match. Lennon decides to drop Kelvin Wilson for this match after a poor performance in the cup final, only to bring in one of the biggest bombscares I’ve ever known in Cha Du Ri. Cha’s sending off was by far the more suspect looking of the two but you’ve got to ask yourself some key questions. Why would this below-par player even be on the field? And why did he allow himself to be caught so far up the park, when Celtic had fielded a 5-man midfield? As much as the decision was a joke, I’m firmly of the opinion that Cha shouldn’t have been anywhere near the team, and even if he was, then he should have the savvy as a professional football player to be able to conservatively hold the right-back position as part of the 4-5-1 tactic deployed. Wanyama’s red card is unquestionably deserved. Two-footed tackle off the ground is a straight red any day of the week. Yet still, Lennon makes a fool of himself by challenging the referee in the tunnel at half-time (something we all know isn’t allowed).

Finally, and most recently, another Hampden park non-event for Celtic. It took Lennon’s Celtic over 35 minutes to register a single shot on target, despite admittedly dominating the game. The longer the match went on, and with Ki hitting the post from close range twice, the match was always going to swing in the Gorgie club’s favour. As previously discussed, perhaps Celtic shouldn’t have had a penalty given against, then, but the fact is that Celtic should have done more to win the match. Many of Celtic’s top players didn’t turn up. Of course Ian Black should have been sent off for that horror tackle on Joe Ledley, and the officiating standard was poor, but at which point was Lennon going to mention the fact that Hooper’s equaliser could have been given as offside?

As if the aggressive confrontation to the officials wasn’t embarrassing enough, the Celtic manager then took to Twitter. Why Celtic’s manager engages actively in social media at all is beyond me. I’ve long cringed at his interaction with what are clearly adolescent teens and ill-informed, angst ridden punters who’re partial to making a call to football phone-ins. His comments via this medium have often been knee-jerk, but Sunday night’s tirade of nonsense was a new low.

For those of you who may have missed it, the Celtic boss indicated that he felt his side had received a disproportionate number of ‘dodgy’ decisions in big games, and these latest ones were “personal”. What a myopic and ill-thought out reaction. There are so many statistics and incidents to counter his argument that I don’t know where to start, but a good place could possibly be the last time Lennon’s men met their Scottish Cup opponents at Tynecastle earlier in the season. Hearts, as we all remember, were denied a clear goal against Celtic early in the match on this occasion, before Celtic went on to score at the other end, and ultimately hammer the Jam Tarts 4-0. Was this officiating blunder “personal” too?

To avoid the inevitable accusations that I’ll be faced with for being selective in my use of facts, let’s look at the penalty awards in the SPL, for this season and last.

2010/2011 season – Which team do you think were awarded the most penalty kicks? Yes, you’ve guessed it. Celtic, with 13 penalties. That same season, Celtic also conceded the fewest penalty kicks. This season, although obviously not finished yet, the Bhoys have again conceded the fewest penalty kicks.

So where’s the conspiracy? Where’s the clandestine collusion? Or is it all just hokum from a paranoid manager with a persecution complex?

Lennon has faced things off the park that no professional, and no human should have to endure. For this reason I retain a modicum of respect for Lennon, solely because he stood up to the bigots and didn’t allow his dreams to be taken from him, but his increasingly bizarre behaviour indicates to me that this job in the goldfish bowl that is Scottish football is an unsuitable one for a clearly unstable individual.

Always a fiery individual during his playing days, but I’m struggling to see why he can’t recapture the discipline that saw him play at the highest level. Lennon’s actions have repercussions not only for himself, but for the club’s reputation, and the next generation of Celtic fans. It seems like a lifetime ago when Lennon was an integral part of the team that made it all the way to Seville, playing “the Celtic way” and winning thousands of plaudits from all over Europe. Celtic were the likeable sleeping giant of European football, with a fanbase that were clean-cut and fun-loving, so much so that they received the FIFA Fair Play award that year. What must those one-time appreciators from all over the continent thing when they see the manager of the famous Glasgow Celtic behaving like a common thug? The fan-base too are in danger of being reeled in by this persecution complex. The “them and us” tribal mentality from bygone years looks as though it could be returning in the minds of many of the more impressionable Celtic fans.

I’d sincerely hope that this doesn’t continue to creep into the Celtic support. Sunday also showed that poor officiating isn’t just a Scottish problem. South of the border a match was decided by a horrendous mistake from the guys calling the shots. Spurs could potentially have lost out on silverware too as a result of Juan Mata’s goal that never was for Chelsea. After the match, did ‘Arry Redknapp (not that he’s fit enough to) dash across the park in pursuit of the referee to vent his anger? No. He also didn’t bring the game into disrepute by insinuating that a conspiracy was behind his side’s failure to capture points from the match. Instead he spoke calmly to the media, and backed the inevitable introduction of goal-line technology. Altogether, a more classy approach to an officiating failure where more was at stake for his men.

There’s so much going for Celtic at the moment, so why do the support and the likes of Lawell tolerate idiotic behaviour from the manager. The fans wouldn’t tolerate this nonsense from Martin O’Neill, Wim Jansen, Gordon Strachan, or anyone for that matter, so why does Lennon get away with it.

It’s time for Neil to hold his hands up when he loses in big matches. It takes a big man to say, “I got it wrong on the day” or “the best team won.” Lennon needs to focus on being the manager of Celtic football club, before his actions make his position at the club untenable. Time to shape up or ship out.

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A World Without Rangers?

Hitthebyline proudly presents our latest contributor, Edward Champagne. In “A World Without Rangers?”, Edward explores the potential pro’s and con’s of Rangers’ hypothetical expulsion from the SPL, given the problems that could ensue as the HMRC tax case draws to a conclusion.

By Edward Champagne

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As Rangers continue to wallow in the perpetual mire thrust upon them by the HMRC tax case and financial misery, one could be excused for beginning to ponder exactly how Scottish Football would be affected by the loss of one of its most successful and well supported teams.

In recent times Scottish football has been dominated by both Celtic and Rangers, with every SPL title since the league’s inception in 1998 having been won by one of the two Glasgow giants. This, however, hasn’t always been the case. In the 80’s both Sir Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen and Jim McLean’s Dundee United won the league title. Who could also forget the memorable 1985 season? – When Alex McDonald’s Hearts side were pipped to the post by Davie Hay’s Celtic
Alex McDonald’s Hearts came so close in 1985 only to be pipped on the line by Davie Hay’s Celtic with the assistance of Dundee’s Albert Kidd.

The question on many fans’ lips in recent weeks is how would Scottish football fair if a Rangers “phoenix” club were not allowed to pick up the SPL licence from the club in administration and to continue to play in the Scottish top flight. Many argue that the loss of TV revenue provided by the Sky TV contract, and the reduced gate receipts would force SPL chairman to accept the new phoenix club back into the SPL, with at worst, a points deduction as punishment.

So for that reason it’s worth looking at the revenue available to SPL clubs. All revenues generated by the SPL in respect of TV, Radio and sponsorship are effectively put into one big pot. A support payment to the SFL and parachute payments to assist relegated clubs are then deducted from that pot.

The money left in the pot is then split to provide each club with 4% of the total revenue based on league participation and with the rest subsequently awarded to the club depending on their league position. The bonus system is heavily weighted towards the teams finishing as SPL winners and the team in the runners up position, with 32% of the overall budget going to these clubs.. Only once in the SPL existence have these slots failed to be filled by Celtic and Rangers when Hearts managed to knock Rangers into third position in season 2005/2006.  In season 2007/2008 which was ironically the last season were a SPL member club in Gretna went out of business, the SPL had £18m to distribute amongst its member clubs. It was split in the following manner:

Club SPL Revenue
Celtic £3.06m
Rangers £2.70m
Motherwell £1.71m
Aberdeen £1.53m
Dundee Utd £1.44m
Hibs £1.35m
Falkirk £1.26m
Hearts £1.17m
Inverness £1.08m
St Mirren £0.99m
Kilmarnock £0.90m
Gretna £0.81m

The table shows that although Celtic and Rangers shared 32% of the budget, the SPL commercial revenue split doesn’t explain the financial gulf between the big two and the rest of Scottish football.  This is more explained by the average attendances and commercial power that the Glasgow clubs have over their rivals and the fact that they are the only ones to ever receive the UEFA Champions League bounty. In season 2010/11 both Celtic and Rangers had 3 times more paying fans on average than nearest rivals Hearts.

Club

 Average Attendance in 2010/11

Celtic

48968

Rangers

45305

Hearts

14185

Hibernian

11756

Aberdeen

9129

Dundee Utd

7389

Kilmarnock

6427

Motherwell

5255

Inverness CT

4526

St Mirren

4450

St Johnstone

3841

Hamilton

2898

The SPL board made up of Ralph Topping (SPL Chairman), Neil Doncaster (SPL Chief Executive), Eric Riley (Celtic FC), Stephen Thompson (Dundee United FC), Derek Weir (Motherwell FC) and Steven Brown (St Johnstone FC) have to decide what punishment the Rangers phoenix club should endure although the first penalty would be taken out of their hands by parent association UEFA.

UEFA rules do not allow a club who has faced financial administration to participate in any of their European competitions for a period of 3 years. This UEFA financial Fair Play ruling was the reason that Harry Rednapp’s Portsmouth were not allowed to participate as an English representative in the UEFA Cup following their FA Cup win in 2008. This would mean that an extra SPL club would have the chance to gain a European place and the associated revenue which they maybe would have seen as beyond their reach

So the SPL Board have to decide if they want to punish Rangers with or without  a points deduction and grant the transfer of the league licence to play in the SPL or make the phoenix club start again at the bottom of SFL Division 3.

In the scenario that Rangers are demoted to Division 3, it would seem given Celtic’s financial advantage and recent points finishes in comparison to other SPL clubs I think it’s fair to say that they would start as overwhelming favourites to win the SPL but how could other clubs try to bridge the gap whilst Rangers worked their way back up the leagues? Increased attendances? Higher league finishing positions bonus?

When you take into account the limited SPL commercial revenues listed above it would seem that they couldn’t be used to bridge the massive revenue gap especially with a reduced TV contract caused by the lack of the 4 Old Firm TV games so attendances would need to drive the revenue increase.  A look at recent attendances in the SPL show little fluctuation amongst top six clubs e.g. Hearts figures show that regardless of league position they finish somewhere between 14 to 16 thousand and its unlikely they would increase beyond 20 thousand even with the potential of 2nd place.

If we look back to when the Old Firm didn’t dominate Scottish football in season 1983/84, the crowds were not dissimilar to the ones that some clubs are achieving now. This was despite the fact the Aberdeen were holders of the European Cup Winners Cup and their fans had recently seen them defeat the European giants of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.  Scottish football fans of a certain vintage will also remember the excellent Dundee Utd team of the time who were the league champions and had exciting times in Europe beating Barcelona in the Nou Camp and reaching the Uefa Cup final against Gothenburg.

It would seem that for the other teams in Scottish football success would bring increased supporters no doubt but their average attendance would always have a ceiling due to their demographic. When you take into consideration the difference in football now and the absence of live TV the average attendances at the time are quite surprising

Average attendances 1983/84:

Rangers – 21,996
Celtic – 18,390
Aberdeen – 17,138
Hearts – 11,914
Dundee Utd – 10,894
Hibernian – 8,334
Dundee – 7,442
Motherwell – 5,566
St. Mirren – 4,900
St. Johnstone – 4,859

I think everyone in Scottish football would love to see the return of a competitive SPL and have teams from all parts of the country challenging for honours but this looks, given the evidence, to be wishful thinking. Football has changed dramatically since Aberdeen, Dundee United and Hearts were able to challenge the Old Firm and the financial gap is surely too large to bridge given the SPL winner each year would only move further away with the potential of Champions League money.

In summary, a large proportion of SPL fans will agree with the feelings of many Celtic fans that during the well documented period of Rangers’ financial mismanagement, the Ibrox club had an unfair spending advantage, and as such should be punished by the football authorities. The question is however, would that punishment be best served by demoting Rangers into Division 3?

There is no doubt that the dominance of the Old Firm in Scottish Football has caused the competition to become stale and I for one think the other teams would quite enjoy a shot at 2nd or 3rd place if only for 3 seasons. The new Rangers 2012 club clear of debt and with the sizeable support would inevitably return up to the SPL and return it back to a sense of normality in three seasons. One negative facing the SPL chairman would be the loss of 2 potential visits by Rangers to their ground for 3 seasons. However, this would only effect top six finishing clubs and in recent years only Hearts have enjoyed anything close to a full house with a game against Rangers so there is the potential to plug this gap with increased crowds due to their own team performance

The punishment to place Rangers in Division 3 will not change Scottish football dramatically and return it to past glories but it will give the other clubs a chance to compete for the reward of top places finishes, the chance to compete in Europe , give Scottish football a time to cool down with the absence of 4 Old Firm games a season and most importantly maintain sporting integrity

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Celtic….. A club for all?

Given the high profile incidents in football regarding censorship of songs and banners, Celtic supporters club, ‘The Celtic Trust’ have responded with their opinion on how things stand at Celtic, why there’s no need for draconian law enforcement, and why Celtic always has, and always will be a club that opens it’s doors to all.

 

The Celtic Support
Let the people sing?

Before every home game at Celtic Park the Stadium announcer reminds us that “Celtic was founded in 1888 as a club for all”, and invites us to remember and celebrate that heritage. I imagine that all Celtic supporters are happy to do just that, but recent events have shown that there is sometimes a wide gulf between aspiration and realisation. The main problem with being a member of such a ‘broad church’ is that the legitimate opinions and views of each member have to be respected and accepted even by those who might hold contrary views and opinions. That does pose problems for some supporters and indeed for the Club officials, the very people who presumably sanction the match day announcement. It is no easy matter to embrace Voltaire’s maxim “I disapprove of what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it”. It is challenging, and for some, a bridge too far.

Differing opinions are part of the very fabric of football. Put a dozen football supporters in a room and they will come up with a dozen different opinions. Growing up in a Celtic supporting family and living close to Celtic Park, I have abiding memories of uncles and other male relatives congregating in our house around tea-time on home match days (before the days when women at football was as widespread).  Discussion mainly centred around that afternoon’s match and  regularly one of those  present  would demand of another with whom he had walked to and from the ground and stood beside on the terracing “Wur you even at the gemme?” Ah yes, reasoned debate was alive and well!

Add to these historic tendencies the implications of the recently passed draconian “Offensive Behaviour at Football/Threatening Communications” legislation and we entering into uncharted waters.  The trouble with concepts like “offensive behaviour” is that like individual viewpoints it is very subjective and open to many interpretations.  For example UEFA, admittedly aided and abetted by one of Strathclyde’s finest (and perhaps a certain Chief Exec.) deemed as ‘illicit’, one phrase in a nonsense song, while the serried ranks of the Strathclyde force failed to find anything offensive or illicit, in 120 minutes of sustained sectarian/racist chanting and indeed had their Assistant Chief Constable and a government minister laud the wonderful atmosphere created. I don’t know why but the words “double standards” spring to mind!

Now something I personally  find offensive is the current assault on the English language and in particular the use and abuse of a word which was originally a verb but is now used as a noun, an adjective and indeed any other part of speech you care to name. You know the one I mean…starts with an ‘f’ ends with a ‘k’, has four letters..aye that one.  It is heard on every street, every bus, in shops, during most conversations, and even, I suspect within Lennoxtown and the hallowed corridors of Celtic Park. Yet when that word appeared on a banner in an Italian football stadium it unleashed a great wave of shock and hysteria.  Now I happen to think that the aforementioned banner was at best ill advised, and at worst, like the word itself, crass and inappropriate, but it did not merit the hysterical, hypocritical, and completely disproportionate reaction and from the same folk who seemed happy to accept, without challenge or sanction, unfounded accusations against their own fans made by our national broadcaster.

And of course the banner was blamed on the much maligned section of the Celtic support, The Green Brigade. I do not know to what extent this group were responsible, if at all. However one thing I am sure of is, that without the Green Brigade, the match day experience at Celtic Park would be much poorer, dire even. They bring colour and noise and support the team no matter what kind of football is being served up on the pitch. If the thunder has returned to Celtic Park it is largely due to them. And it is great to hear songs about individual players re-emerging, something which has been sadly missing since the days of the King of Kings and Big Bad John.  Oh there was the one about the Holy Goalie, I suppose, but didn’t it contain that dreaded word as well?

Much has been made of other songs sung by the Green Brigade and this has has given rise to debate on what songs may or may not be appropriate in a football setting.  My view is that we are often told that we are all members of the ‘Celtic Family’, and in my experience the best families sort out any problem and reach a consensus within the family. We do not want or need those from outside who have no concept of, nor any empathy with, our origins and heritage to impose their views on us. Nor do we need that imposition to come from Club officials who seem to think that by dancing to the tune of these outsiders they will gain their acceptance and favour. Poor deluded souls that they are! Don’t they know that sufferance is the best they can hope for and even that will be grudged?

I suggest that it is now time for all who love Celtic and have the well being of the Club at heart to engage in this debate. To ensure that this is successful we must respect and tolerate all shades of opinion and it may be that each of us will have to give a little to gain a lot.

Celtic was formed out of an impoverished marginalised community but those people had the vision and the humanity to include everyone. Surely we, inheritors of that vision have the capacity to find a consensus which recognises our origins and history while at the same time excludes no one from ‘Glasgow’s green and white’?

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How would the Old Firm fare in the English Premier League?

by Johnny Connelly

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How would this look South of the border?

For as long as Celtic and Rangers have held their seemingly relentless stranglehold on Scottish football, fans both north and south of the border have speculated as to how the Glasgow giants would handle themselves against the top clubs in the English Premiership. The Old Firm over the past decade to 15 years or so have regularly met with English opposition in European competition. These battles of Britain have rarely led to the Glasgow clubs taking a real heavy defeat, which does indicate that they can rough it up with the best, but how would the Old Firm do if English opposition was on the fixture list on a weekly basis?

The truth is we can only speculate, as there is little we can do to identify any kind of common denominator to allow a clear, direct comparison.

The first, well documented factor that puts the respective leagues at polar opposites in terms of stature is TV and prize money. Celtic or Rangers can expect a paltry £2.7m for winning the SPL title this year, while the teams who’ll suffer the cruel fate of relegation from England’s elite division can be comforted by a ‘parachute payment’ of £48m over 4 years. The same disparate revenue totals are echoed when it comes to TV money. The Old Firm will pick up a reasonable few million pounds per year for their troubles in the SPL; but some of the top English clubs are raking in up to £4.3m per televised game!

This almost embarrassing difference allows teams who’re far smaller in stature than Celtic or Rangers to make significant inroads in the transfer market. I’m sure all readers would unanimously agree that the Old Firm dwarf clubs like Bolton, Fulham, Aston Villa or Stoke to name but a few – but just look at the money these ‘wee English teams’ can throw at players.

  • Bolton sign David N’Gog for £4.5m
  • Fulham sign Bryan Ruiz for £12m
  • Aston Villa sign Charles N’Zogbia for £10.8m
  • Stoke City sign Peter Crouch for £11.3m

The Old Firm, and Scottish clubs in general can only dream of these budgets. The truth of this hits home when you see Dundee United, one of Scotland’s biggest clubs, bid a miserly £25,000 for Hamilton’s Dougie Imrie, without the means to increase their bid to capture the player’s signature.

Another prime example is the once legendary Fernando Torres. Chelsea splashed an exorbitant £50m on their misfiring striker; a fee that if levied to Rangers in the ongoing HMRC tax case could be enough to force the club into liquidation (hypothetically speaking of course).

I firmly believe that if given the lavish financial buoyancy aids that come along with the Premiership, the Old Firm would be a force to be reckoned with, but again, it’s just a speculative thought in the seemingly infinite cyberspace cosmos that is the football forums of Twitter, Facebook and social media in general.

So, an alternative means of comparison is necessary. An altogether more simplistic one. The crystal clear comparison created by the monitoring of clubs’ ability to put bums on seats.

In Scotland, England, and across Europe as a whole, for decades upon decades, the clubs with the highest attendance figures tend to celebrate more domestic success than those with smaller crowds. This direct correlation is not relative to circumstance, and does stand up to our cross border comparison.

Celtic and Rangers, despite the shocking state of Scottish football, are still pulling in crowds at a remarkable rate, so much so that the average gates would currently put Celtic and Rangers 3rd and 4th in the English Premier League table in this respect.

Team

Average Attendance

Stadium Capactiy

% full
Man Utd

74,864

75,769

98.8%
Arsenal

59,927

60,361

99.3%
Celtic

49,462

60,832

81.3%
Rangers

45,943

51,082

89.9%
Man City

45,513

47,805

95.2%
Newcastle

43,388

52,339

82.9%
Liverpool

42,864

45,276

94.7%
Chelsea

41,439

42,449

97.6%
Sunderland

40,355

48,707

82.9%
Aston Villa

38,573

42,783

90.2%
Everton

36,725

40,157

91.5%
Tottenham

35,794

36,230

98.8%
Wolves

28,366

29,303

96.8%
Stoke

27,162

27,500

98.8%
Norwich

26,515

27,033

98.1%
Blackburn

25,428

31,154

81.6%
Fulham

23,909

25,478

93.8%
West Brom

22,199

26,500

83.8%
Bolton

21,881

28,101

77.9%
Swansea

19,822

20,532

96.5%
Wigan

18,006

25,133

71.6%
QPR

17,024

18,360

92.7%

However, the statistics also bare out that Celtic and Rangers would see a significant rise in attendance figures if they ever did play in the Premiership. Looking at the SPL as a whole, on average, a whopping 43.6% of seats are empty. This figure is heavily skewed by the smaller clubs in the league; if we judge it purely on matches at Celtic Park and Ibrox, the empty seats figure shrinks to just 14.4%.

The story in the Premiership is somewhat different as you’d expect. Across the board in the EPL, you’ll find just 8.8% of seats are empty. If we assume that by playing in the Premiership, the Old Firm saw a similar level of ticket uptake (conservatively estimating the aforementioned calculated 5.6% increase between the leagues) the approximate average attendance at Celtic Park would jump to 52,232 with fixtures at Ibrox being 48,007. These figures put the Glasgow clubs even further afield of the likes of Manchester City, Newcastle, Liverpool, and Chelsea; but still considerably short of Manchester United and Arsenal at the summit of the Premiership. Surely it’s more than just a coincidence that those clubs with the highest attendance figures are the clubs who, buy in large, are fighting it out for the illustrious crown that is the English Premier League title?

Supposing entry was ever granted to the Premiership, Celtic and Rangers would be given an equal share of the over inflated TV money, putting them on an even financial playing field with the rest of the teams. This would make the Glasgow clubs a much more viable option for the top players in Europe and beyond, as the Old Firm could engage in an evenly matched bidding war with any of the other English Premiership club, with the added draw of the huge crowds, legendary atmosphere, adoring fans, and largely incomparable history.

The international brand identity and marketable commodity that Celtic and Rangers possess perhaps may not be as grand in scale as Manchester United or Liverpool currently; but it dwarfs the bottom 10 clubs in the Premiership, and is at least on a par with the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs, and Arsenal in my opinion.

Given the opportunity to compete in what’s billed as ‘the greatest league in the world’ by many, would see the Glasgow clubs (after a few years of bedding in) replicate the attendance table positions in the actual league standings.

The Old Firm have everything that a global footballing giant would need, except the financial galvanising that a league like the Premiership offers. The remarkable history and the passion of the adoring fans who turn out in phenomenal numbers, together with the abundant budgets that come as part of the EPL, would almost certainly see Celtic and Rangers challenge for honours with the very best England has to offer.

Sadly though, it’s not as simple and as straightforward as this. Now, and for the foreseeable future, Sky television hold all the cards in this stagnant game of poker. As the Scottish game continues to dwindle and the English game reaches financial saturation, we can but hope that those who call the shots at the television companies come to realise that the royal flush they’re in search of, lies north of the border in the heart of Glasgow.

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Have Celtic signed the wrong Bangura?

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Will Mo start ‘Bang’ing in the goals?

You’d think that there’d be no better judge of striking ability for Celtic to call upon than the Swedish sensation, Henrik Larsson. Larsson’s name will forever echo throughout European football as a great of the game, but did Celtic’s ‘magnificent’ no.7 get it wrong when it comes to the signing of Mohammed Bangura?

On the 30th of August last year, Neil Lennon’s side splashed the cash to the value of £2.2million on AIK’s highly regarded Sierra Leone international, Mohammed Bangura. The Parkhead faithful salivated at the thought of another forward with the guile of Larsson, but 4 months in Bangura has yet to find the back of the net.

Ironically, at the time of his signing, AIK also had another ‘Bangura’ on their books. Teteh Bangura (no relation) plays the same position, is the same age, and the same nationality as Mohammed. However, the similarities end when it comes to on the field matters.

Both Banguras played together at Kallon, and remarkably, Mo was the more prolific of the two, netting a remarkable 39 times in 58 appearances. Mo, after a semi-successful spell at AIK, made the move to Celtic, while Teteh proved to be the Bangura who was ‘banging’ in the goals.

Teteh scored a superb 15 goals in 17 appearances for AIK this season, before making the switch to Turkish top-flight club Bursaspor. Since his switch to the Super Lig, Teteh has managed 3 goals in 9 appearances. This clearly is a dip in conversion, but given that Bursaspor are fighting against relegation, his haul for the season still remains decent.

Mohammed however, looks as though he’s finding it a little tougher to find his form. He’s turned out on 12 fruitless occasions for Celtic (granted that only 1 of these has been a start). Altogether, he’s played 5.5 hours of football for the Glasgow giants, and it would seem as though he’ll not have long left to convince Neil Lennon or the Celtic fans that he’s the man for the job.

Match Time on the field Date Details
1 23 mins 10/9/11 4-0 win over Motherwell
2 9 mins 18/9/11 4-2 loss against Rangers
3 14 mins 21/9/11 2-0 win over Ross County
4 39 mins 24/9/11 2-0 win over ICT
5 90 mins 29/9/11 1-1 draw against Udinese
6 59 mins 2/10/11 2-0 loss against Hearts
7 45 mins 15/10/11 3-3 draw against Killie
8 3 mins 20/10/11 1-1 draw against Rennes
9 27 mins 26/11/11 5-0 win against St Mirren
10 1 minute 10/12/11 1-0 win over Hearts
11 9 mins 15/12/11 1-1 draw against Udinese
12 11 mins 18/12/11 2-0 win over St Johnstone

Total : 330 minutes (5.5 hours)

Points can be made for and against Mo Bangura’s performances. He’s young, and has a history of goalscoring. Perhaps Celtic’s style of play isn’t utilising his ability in the best way? Take the recent form of Giorgios Samaras for example. Six months ago, the Celtic support were almost unanimous in the opinion that the player wasn’t a valuable asset to the club. Now, after a stint as more of a floating left-sided forward, he’s scoring goals and causing problems to top clubs in the Europa League. I also seem to remember John Hartson taking around 8 or so appearances before he got that Parkhead goalscoring monkey off his back.

On the negative side, even the most run of the mill Celtic strikers throughout the ages have managed a decent goal scoring record. Andy Paton, Darren Jackson, Tony Cascarino, Marc-Antoine Fortune, and even the much ridiculed Harald Brattbakk notched up a decent tally – so why is this £2.2million acquisition seemingly incapable of doing the same?

The clock is ticking for Bangura. As a Celtic striker, the pressure is on, by hook or by crook to score goals. Not all strikers get to make a dream start, in such a way that the likes of Jorge Cadete did in his debut against Aberdeen. The approval of such a legend as Henrik Larsson doesn’t come lightly, but with the SPL title looking to go down to the wire, and with Lennon in the market for another striker, Bangura’s time to find his form is of the essence.