Tag: SPL

Posted on

Division 3 for Rangers; but it’s business as usual for Scottish Football

by Johnny Connelly

Image
Charles Green reacts to the news the his Rangers Newco will be playing in the 4th tier of Scottish football

So the Rangers Newco’s first experience of domestic football in Scotland will be in Division 3. The final nail is in the coffin, the four horsemen of the apocalypse have been summoned, the 10 terrible plagues of Egypt will reign upon our game, and the universe will implode around teatime. Well, that’s pretty much what we’re being led to believe by shameless ‘red-top’ tabloid journos.

Give me a break. The seemingly eternal and bureaucratically orchestrated demise of Rangers FC as we knew it has come to an end. Surely this is something to rejoice over? We can actually start thinking about playing football again!

One could be forgiven for thinking that the Scottish media’s handling of the Rangers situation in recent weeks has been one last hurrah for lazy journalists who’ve been spoon fed their copy since the day the HMRC story broke. This “£16m cost” figure is as fictional and unfounded as Craig Whyte’s friendship with Prince Albert of Monaco.

Yes, the absence of Rangers in Scotland’s elite footballing division will have monetary ramifications, but to report only this aspect of the drastic change is an insult to football fans across Scotland.

To illustrate the point, I’ve picked up on two stories reported in the media today on the matter. The first, an understandably stunted and sensationalist piece in the Sunday Mail; while the second is an altogether more surprising angle, from the usually enlightening pen of Graham Spiers.

The Sunday Mail today claimed that 5 current SPL teams will go bust within a month as a result of the Rangers debacle. Sorry, but that’s just factually incorrect to the point that I feel embarrassed for Gordon Parks, who penned the piece. The suggestion was that St Mirren, along with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Motherwell, Dundee United and Kilmarnock will no longer be able to function. This constant scaremongering about such things does nothing for the game in this country. The game is constantly in motion, and will always face new difficulties. Yes, the current Sky & ESPN deals could be subject to a negative change, but doesn’t that ‘crisis’ sound a little familiar?

I seem to remember a similar media frenzy when the proverbial arse fell out of Setanta. Also, on a smaller scale, silly behavior ensued when the Scottish Cup was struggling to find a sponsor. Even in the untouchable land of English football, OnDigital’s meteoric rise, and cataclysmic fall had little or no impact on the day-to-day running of the game. Time has proved that the game always survives, and another option always presents itself.

The SPL clubs will survive too. The Scottish game isn’t exactly wealthy, and never has been. For this reason, the clubs in question have become accustomed to live within their means. A restricted income will simply result in restricted outgoings. It really is that simple.

In the second case I stumbled across today, the aforementioned Mr Spiers put across his usual erudite, punchy and enjoyable opinions on how things have transpired in the last few days. But I took umbrage, not to what he said, but to what he omitted.

A clear focus in his piece was that Peter Lawell, Neil Lennon, and Celtic as a whole will miss Rangers more than they’ve ever missed any aspect of professional football. Perhaps true in some respects. The Old Firm derby is amongst the most prestigious and exciting football encounters on the face of the Earth. Of course the thought of it not being a regular fixture for at least the next three years is somewhat harrowing for football fans, that’s a given, but Spiers failed to highlight the fact that Rangers are where they are by virtue of their own financial mis-management.

Rangers have suffered a fate no different from any other team in Scotland who ever have or ever will go through the liquidation process. There’s no conspiracy, and conversely, no exceptions to be made. Rules and regulations were broken by Rangers. They’ve been punished to the point where their club as they know it, no longer exists. The Rangers Newco begin life in the Irn-Bru Scottish 3rd Division, where they’ll have to claw their way up and rebuild their illustrious 140 history. The world loses one of it’s greatest football derbies, not as a result of an unjust punishment, but as a result of procedures being followed correctly in a structured national football league system.

What everyone seems to be missing is the huge, gaping avenue of opportunity that’s been thrust into focus as a result of the seismic shift in power within Scottish football. Our game has been on it’s knees for many years, this is no secret, nor is it a revelation. Poor crowds, with even poorer revenue streams have been the symptoms of this, but until now these have been portrayed as the illness.

There are so many unexplored options to boost the wavering stature of Scottish Football, and now is the time to throw our collective weight behind them and turn the game around. Expanding to a 14 or 16 team league, summer football, a foreign player quota, wage caps, Friday night football, reintroducing the Glasgow Cup, and TV finance restructuring are all options that instantly spring to mind, so why aren’t we exploring them?!

Let us also not forget the positive consequences of Rangers holding a place in Scotland’s lower leagues. As the Newco inevitably work their way up the divisions over the coming years, the clubs who are really in the financial doldrums can expect a monetary shot in the arm like they’ve never seen before. Each club in the 3rd division this season can guarantee 2 full houses against Ally McCoist’s men, with the added bonus of two trips to Ibrox too. The money this brings in, and the spectacle for the league itself is something that would be beyond the wildest dreams of clubs like Annan, East Stirling, Clyde, and Stranraer (to name but a few).

This redistribution of wealth, and media attention on our lower leagues can only bring good things. Prior to this odd turn of events, when would any of you have considered going to a Scottish third division game?

The ubiquitous notion that Scottish football is, ‘on its knees’ is being reported as though the troubles have come in the form of a bullet in the head; when it’s really more like a slow debilitating illness.

Now is the time to make football an enjoyable commodity once more. A brief and inadvertent break from the drudgery of the ‘Gers in Crisis’ news stories, and renewed passion behind restructuring Scottish football from top to bottom gives me hope for this season, and seasons beyond. The ultimate goal is to develop a football industry in Scotland where all aspects of society can support their team of choice at a reasonable cost, viewing a decent standard of play, with levels of hospitality and consumer amenities that are on a par with the elite divisions across Europe.

That’s the dream, and there’s no reason why it can’t become a reality.

Yes Rangers are down, but they will return. Cleansed, well structured, and most welcome in Scotland’s top division.

Next season will be a bizarre one. Perhaps the most bizarre yet, but the game goes on.

It always has, and it always will.

Posted on

The Only Way is Ayrshire

By Hitthebyline’s Rangers Opinion Columnist, Ewan McQueen

Seeing is believing - Killie overcame the odds

Scottish football fans have long endured Glasgow and Edinburgh as the purveyors of footballing product for many years, but this season, perhaps another region in our ‘wee nation’ merits a note.

Despite my love for Rangers, I can’t help but feel a little proud this season to hail from Ayrshire.

Ayrshire’s two ‘big clubs’, Kilmarnock and 1st division outfit Ayr United have had seasons that I’d describe as nothing short of remarkable. Despite their bitter rivalry, it’s fair comment to praise the progress that both clubs have made this season.

The pair of course met in the Scottish League Cup semi-finals this season. Kilmarnock may have went on to win the game 1-0 to reach the final (more on that later), but for both teams to get this far was a magnificent achievement in itself. Kenny Shiels’ Kilmarnock hadn’t reached this stage since they made the 2007 final, while Brian Reid’s Ayr United hadn’t reached the last four since they made it through to the final in 2002.

Ayr fans may have been gutted coming back down the road to Ayrshire, but the game showed off the passion amongst Ayrshire football supporters. 25,000 of them made the trip to Hampden and the atmosphere was electric throughout with both sets of supporters getting right behind their teams.

In the build-up to the game, my Facebook ‘newsfeed’ was filled for weeks with comments about the match, which showed how great the rivalry and indeed the spectacle was.

I’m not suggesting that the rivalry is up there with the derby matches in Glasgow and Edinburgh, but there can be no doubting friendships go out the window on a day of a Kilmarnock V Ayr game.

Kilmarnock did have a fairly comfortable route through to facing Ayr, beating lower league teams Queen of the South and East Fife. But you can only beat what is put in front of you and Kenny Shiels made sure that his team didn’t suffer any shocks.

However, that paled in comparison with Ayr’s run in order to face their Ayrshire rivals. Brian Reid’s men are a part-time side but completed three superb victories over top division sides Inverness, Hearts and St Mirren.

Their football may have not been the prettiest, but it was certainly effective. And although they were criticised by Shiels for their performance in the semi-final, it almost worked a treat. To hold an SPL team with far greater resources for 109 minutes of a Hampden semi-final was something to admire.

And something else to admire was Kilmarnock reaching the final. It was the first time they had done it in five years and only the fourth time they had reached a domestic cup final in the last 15 years.

Not many football fans including, let alone Kilmarnock fans, gave Killie much hope of winning the League Cup Final against Celtic. Neil Lennon’s men had been on a great run of form domestically having not lost since 2nd October.

Kilmarnock on the other hand had been inconsistent all season and sat in the bottom half of the SPL before the game. They were also without their inspirational captain Manuel Pascali who had broken his leg, days after the victory over Ayr.

But less than two weeks ago, Kilmarnock won the League Cup for the first time in their history, thanks to a solitary goal by Belgian striker Dieter Van Tornhout. Goalkeeper Cammy Bell also produced a world-class performance to deny Celtic on many occasions.

The aftermath was tinged with sadness following the death of Kilmarnock midfielder Liam Kelly’s father but the town still came out to celebrate the glorious achievement afterwards. It was Kilmarnock’s first trophy in 15 years and their brand of passing football had been richly rewarded.

Their brand of passing football has also seen them achieve many memorable SPL results this season, most notably two victories over Rangers. Back in November they became the first SPL team to beat Ally McCoist’s men thanks to a late goal from Manuel Pascali and then in February they stunned the sell-out Ibrox crowd by beating them by the same scoreline again.

Kilmarnock may currently be 7th in the table with only a remote chance of reaching the top 6, but that does deserve to be praised. Many pundits tipped them to go down at the start of the season but there has never been any danger of that. Players such as Dean Shiels, Cammy Bell and Pascali have been very consistent all season. Kenny Shiels hasn’t spent long in the Scottish game, but this hasn’t stopped him winning many plaudits, and standing an outside chance of winning manager of the year.

Ayr United have toiled as the season has gone on, despite their bravery, willingness to attack, great record against SPL clubs, and overall lack of resource. They currently sit 8th in the table, and look likely to hold on to 1st division status this year. Remaining financially prudent generally, despite being a part-time club is a formidable feat.

Killie, with Shiels at the helm have been galvanised and continue to punch above their weight, proving to be a tough customer for the very top clubs in Scotland. If Ayr are to fulfil the potential they’ve shown, they must continue to take a leaf out of the book of their rivals. They are capable, and there’s no doubting that the SPL has been a stronger and more attractive league with Kilmarnock playing the way they are.

As a local, I always like to see both Ayrshire teams do well. It is good for the local economy, the people of the towns, and has created a buzz for football again in this area. It just goes to show that Scottish football doesn’t need a complicated masterplan to get back to it’s best, just the right people in the right places, some attacking football, and a bit of belief.

Let’s hope they finish the season in style and give some of the nation’s other struggling football areas some food for thought next season.

Posted on

EXCLUSIVE : Scottish multimillionaire mulling over Rangers takeover

On a day that will go down as one of the darkest in Rangers’ history to date, Hitthebyline can reveal what could prove to be a shining light at the end of a tunnel of turmoil for the club.

A Hitthebyline insider has had advanced discussions with Jim McColl OBE, who has expressed a desire to end the disastrous reign of Craig Whyte.

Jim McColl - Scottish Multimillionaire
Jim McColl - The saviour of Rangers?

Last month, McColl was mentioned by former Rangers director Paul Murray as being a key figure in a potential consortium to mount a takeover bid. However, it would seem since then that McColl has had a change of heart, and would now like to champion the takeover on his own, (as our insider learned at the weekend while speaking to him at a local golf outing).

McColl is understood to be watching intently and mulling over his options as he looks to become the successor to Craig Whyte, and ultimately end the suffering of the Ibrox faithful.

The Carmunnock born businessman has a reported fortune of over £800m, with a far more transparent and upstanding reputation than the clandestine Mr Whyte. The Daily Record reported in November of 2008 that McColl had overtaken Tom Hunter as Scotland’s richest man, and with recognition in the Queen’s Birthday Honors list of 2001, Rangers would be inclined to put to put their faith in the seemingly upstanding businessman, should any takeover bid emerge.

As a lifelong Rangers fan, McColl has long been rumoured to enter into financial involvement with his boyhood heroes. In 2010, the Sunday Herald also reported that he was to be the bankroller of a Rangers Supporters Trust takeover bid, which was to make the club wholly owned by the supporters (in a similar setup to how Barcelona currently operate). This has since proved to be not entirely true, but the multimillionaire conceded to the fact he was providing financial advice to the supporters trust.

In this age of uncertainty for the Glasgow giants, it remains to be seen whether the successful entrepreneur will firm up his interest in the club. With his interest in the club now declared, all eyes will now be on him to see when and if he takes the next step.

Posted on

Kenny Shiels: A shot in the arm for the SPL

By Ewan McQueen

Hitthebyline’s Ewan McQueen reveals why he thinks Kilmarnock boss Kenny Shiels has impacted positively in more ways than one on the Scottish game.

Image

The man in question – Killie boss, Kenny Shiels

Since filling the void left by the inimitable Mixu Paatelainen at Killie, an unlikely cult hero in Kenny Shiels has emerged, and has scarcely been away from the headlines.

Things didn’t look good at the start for Shiels, as the Northern Irishman failed to win any of his 8 games as caretaker manager of the Ayrshire club. Many doubted whether he even had it in him to carry on the Finn’s good work.

However, this season he has dragged his team by the scruff of the neck up to 6th position in the table, and has made many shrewd signings including his own son Dean, whilst at the same time retaining the easy-on-the-eye style of play introduced by his predecessor.

To put the icing on the cake for the Rugby Park faithful, he has also led Kilmarnock to their first cup final in five years, as his men now prepare to lock horns with the might of Neil Lennon’s Celtic on March 18th.

But there’s much more to Shiels than just his success on the pitch. As a wavering SPL continues to face the ever-present danger of becoming stagnant, Shiels has introduced a colourful personality to the league at just the right time, and his comments that have landed him in hot water are undoubtedly a breath of fresh air, regardless of whether you agree with him or not. I feel the strong criticism he’s had is completely wrong. Infact, his honesty is a quality that should be admired.

Until recently the Northern Irishman hadn’t really got involved in any spats with fellow managers.

Instead, he went about re-building the Kilmarnock team who had lost some real quality in terms of Conor Sammon, Craig Bryson and Alexi Eremenko in the previous two transfer windows.

But in the past few weeks Shiels has been involved in many disagreements that have threatened to overshadow the football on the pitch. The first of these came to light in the aftermath of Kilmarnock’s 1-0 win over their rivals Ayr United in the League Cup Semi Final.

Despite requiring extra-time to beat the first division side, Shiels’s side were utterly dominate throughout, having an incredible 31 shots on goal and also enjoying 69% of the possession.

Afterwards, many criticised the Kilmarnock manager for showing a lack of disrespect towards Brian Reid’s men by saying only one side had tried to win the game and said it would have been a travesty if his side hadn’t won the game.

But in my eyes, Shiels was well within his rights to say what he liked about the Ayr side. Despite being a part-time club, Ayr had already beaten Inverness, Hearts and St Mirren on their way to Hampden.

This was a game in which Ayr played for penalties, which when it was a derby game and a chance to return to Hampden was nothing short of disgraceful in my eyes.

All Shiels did was being honest about the standard of his opponents in the game. More managers should be like this rather than trying to be nice to all.

Shiels had just seen his side rack up 31 shots and enjoy 69% of the possession. In my eyes, Shiels was entirely justified to say only one side tried to win the game.

The following week Shiels and Kilmarnock found themselves on the wrong end of a 1-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Hibs. Afterwards, Shiels had a pop at Hibs goalkeeper Graham Stack who he said had held onto the ball for long periods of the game.

Some said he was having a moan for the sake of having a moan. But he had every right to be aggrieved. Stack had clearly timewasted during the game, and this is something that should be clamped down on by referees.

Instead of being lambasted, Shiels should have been praised for his honesty.

And now on to his biggest spat (so far). His argument with Hearts boss Paulo Sergio last week threatened to spill over into something akin to World War 3. And it certainly seems it won’t be ending anytime soon.

Once again, I really enjoyed Shiels’s honesty. He merely put himself in Sergio’s shoes and said he would stand up to Hearts owner Vladimir Romanov over his handling of the team.

For Sergio to label the Northern Irishman a “clown” was absolutely laughable.

The Portuguese man was the manager who was the clown when he refused to shake Shiels’s hand not once but twice when they played at Rugby Park last weekend. And then Sergio had an altercation with Dean Shiels at the final whistle, which again showed his immaturity.

So let’s hear it for Kenny Shiels; a man whose positivity and honesty has been a breath of fresh air for Scottish football.

Let’s hope it continues for a long time yet.

Posted on

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

Image

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

Posted on

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’?

Posted on

SPL journeymen will see Dons crack the top 6

Long suffering Aberdeen fans could have been forgiven for releasing a sigh of release when Craig Brown took over from the disastrous tenure of Mark McGhee.

Under McGhee, the Dons found themselves as prime candidates for relegation from the SPL, after winning just 3 games from the opening 15 of the season. This horrendous run reached its’ destructive epicentre in a 9-0 drubbing at Celtic Park. Aberdeen’s biggest problem has been a lack of cohesion in the squad, and a failure to competently handle simple set piece situations like corners and free-kicks. Despite Brown’s vast experience, and fantastic time of it at Motherwell, it looked at one point as though he’d never get it right at Pittodrie.

Although Brown’s arrival failed to reverse the club’s fortune’s initially, it now appears, after just over a year in the job, he’s finally starting to get it right. The Dons are currently sitting 6th in the table, and have lost 10 of the 25 matches they’ve contested in the league this season. However, of those 10 losses, just two of them have been more than a single goal (3-0 loss to Hearts and 2-0 loss to Kilmarnock earlier in the season)

Given the high number of narrow losses, Brown’s men were again faced with the very real threat of relegation. Losing three matches in a row at the start of the season, and a run of no wins in 4 matches in October left the Dons rooted to the bottom of the SPL. Despite the short term nature of their time at the bottom of the league, it looks as though alarm bells began to ring, and an inspirational, but simple transfer policy was to ensue for the approaching window.

Far from the notion of the ‘marquee signing’, Brown entrusted his transfer budget and the hopes of the Aberdeen to a quartet of journeymen, a quartet that I believe will cement the club’s position in the top 6 of the SPL.  In came ex-Motherwell starlet, Mark Reynolds, former Aberdeen hero Russell Anderson, the once forgotten man of Rangers, Gavin Rae, and another ex-Ger, Stephen Hughes.

Mark Reynolds has been loaned back to rejoin the man who brought him through at Motherwell. Reynolds, despite still being a young at 24 years old, played 166 times for Motherwell, was on the verge of a Scotland call up, and attracted serious attention from both halves of the Old Firm and a couple of Premiership clubs. Somehow the move to Sheffield Wednesday didn’t quite work out for the player, but under Brown, only a fool would bet against him recapturing the form that led to the player being proclaimed by many as one of Scottish football’s hottest prospects.

A somewhat surprising homecoming for Russell Anderson was also arranged by Aberdeen’s wily manager. Anderson is no spring chicken, but the likelihood is that his vast experience will shore up the defence and help eradicate the aforementioned defensive frailties that have been synonymous with the Dons in recent years. 33-year old Anderson returns to the north of Scotland, where he played 280 times before. He has experience at the top level, playing for Sunderland in the Premiership, as well as Plymouth, Burnley and Derby down south too. Deservedly, he’s picked up 11 caps for the Scottish national side, a figure that many believe should be considerably more given the player’s formidable record.

Brown made another unexpected swoop for Dundee’s Gavin Rae. After a failed spell at Rangers and a productive time at Cardiff, many expected Rae to see out the remainder of his career, quietly playing in the Scottish First Division. However, anyone who’d took the time to watch Gavin Rae in recent times will have observed his resolute positional sense and shrewd passing ability. Rae, at 34, has perhaps lost a yard of pace, but again his experience and ability to retain possession against the very best opponents that the Scottish league has to offer will surely make him a hit at Pittodrie.

Last but not least, industrious midfielder Stephen Hughes. Still under 30, Hughes burst on to the scene at Rangers, and was a surprise departure for many of the Ibrox faithful as he went to ply his trade at Leicester City. Hughes also spent time working under Brown at Motherwell, in arguably his most successful spell of his career. More experience in England came for the player at Norwich for two years, and a short spell at MK Dons brought the player’s time down south to a halt. Hughes failed to make an impact under Stuart McCall in a second spell at Motherwell, before Craig Brown made a move to bring the player to Pittodrie. Hughes will no doubt slot nicely into the Dons’ midfield, as Brown again opts for something of a safe, ‘tried and tested’ player to plug the gaps in a once leaky and inefficient midfield.

These four experienced signings will make up a significant portion of the collective group that’ll galvanise Brown’s Aberdeen side; the remaining key factor in my opinion is the goalscoring prowess of Scott Vernon. It seems to be overlooked by many that Vernon has made the net bulge on 10 occasions this season, a figure that’s no mean feat for a side who’ve been languishing in the bottom half of the table for much of the season. Vernon will no doubt see his spirits lifted by the arrival of the three journeymen, and things are indeed looking up for Aberdeen, as the club remain unbeaten in the month of January.

A further cushion this season for the Dons will be the continuing shambles that is the league form of Hibs and Dunfermline. They’ll be the two clubs who’re fighting it out for the drop this year, not Aberdeen. Brown’s transfer strategy will tide them over this season, and perhaps another, but if Aberdeen are to become the club they have the potential to be, their strategy of player development and transfers will need to change again. The Dons will weather this storm and in my opinion, hang on to the top six place that has eluded them in recent years, but Brown’s biggest challenge will be to propel this sleeping giant of Scottish football back to its’ rightful place, up knocking on the door of the Old Firm for honours.

Posted on

Aluko’s the man to keep Gers in the Hunt

Rangers fan Ewan McQueen explains why Sone Aluko could be an unlikely hero for Ally McCoist’s men

In the beginning...

It’s fair to say that since his arrival at Rangers in November, Sone Aluko has rarely been far from the headlines in the world of Scottish football. Even before his arrival, Aluko was surrounded by controversy as rumours flew around the Scottish media world that the former Aberdeen star had paid for his move to Rangers out of his own back pocket. Whilst there was conflicting reports over that, most Rangers fans including myself were pleasantly surprised to see Aluko at the club. Yes, it was a gamble that was being taken by manager Ally McCoist, but on a personal level, I always rated Aluko at Aberdeen. His trickery and eye for goal was impressive; but others did label him as lazy and inconsistent. Having lost Steven Naismith to injury a few weeks earlier, in a match against Aluko’s former club Aberdeen, McCoist recognised he needed someone to give his team the energy and drive that Naismith had provided in the first few months of the season.

Whilst Aluko was and never is going to be a like-for like replacement for the Scotland star, everyone associated with Rangers could clearly see that since Naismith’s injury, the Ibrox side had been extremely sluggish and devoid of ideas. Three days after signing, Aluko was thrown in from the start against Kilmarnock, where he showed in glimpses what he could bring to the team. During the first half in particular, he attacked the Kilmarnock defence and just before half-time was arguably denied what looked to be a stonewall penalty. However, he was to play a significant role in handing Kilmarnock a 1-0 victory and condemning his new side to their first SPL defeat of the season. As Kilmarnock put the ball back into the box, Manuel Pascali headed home from what looked an offside position, but infact Aluko had failed to rush out the box along with his teammates, therefore the goal stood.

This spoiled what was otherwise a very good debut by Aluko. The following week against Dunfermline, the Englishman was yet again at the centre of the action. He showed in patches what he could bring to the Rangers team over the course of the season. This was shown when he attacked the Dunfermline defence and won a penalty which was duly converted by Nikica Jelavic. However, after the match Aluko was found guilty of diving to win that aforementioned penalty and was banned for Rangers next two games.

Despite Rangers winning their next two games, Aluko’s absence was keenly felt. Against Hibs and Inverness respectively, Rangers were once again devoid of ideas and energy just as they had been before Aluko’s arrival at the club. The match against Terry Butcher’s men was torturous viewing and Rangers really got out of jail with a winner from Kyle Lafferty in the 83rd minute. Already Rangers fans could see that Aluko was a big player for them in an attacking sense. I don’t wish to gloss over the Christmas period defeats to St Mirren and Celtic that Rangers suffered, but in these games avoidable red cards and errors in defence were the reasons for Rangers surrendering their lead at the top of the table.

Once again though, Aluko showed that he was just about the only player in the Rangers team with perhaps the exception of youngster Gregg Wylde that was willing to run at opposition full-backs. Indeed, his cross in the Glasgow derby game that picked out Lee Wallace almost gave Rangers an early lead. But it has been in the first three games of 2012, where Aluko has taken his game to a new level and really stamped his influence on the Rangers team.

In the first match of the year against Motherwell, Aluko scored his first goal for the club and produced an all-round display that regularly got fans out of their seats in admiration and he was a constant menace for the Motherwell defence. Next up was a tie against Arbroath. Perhaps routine on paper, but Rangers were yet to win a cup game under McCoist and needed to avoid a further embarrassment. Aluko was key to doing this and his shining moment was when he showed great skill to set up Jelavic for a killer third goal.

And last weekend against St Johnstone, he was once again the key man for Rangers. He set up Jelavic for both his goals; one a bursting run into the box and the other a superb free-kick delivery. And once again he tormented the Saints fullbacks with his level of skill, pace and trickery and this made sure Rangers saw out a vital 2-1 victory in Perth. Despite a lacklustre draw most recently against Aluko’s former club, again the Nigerian looked lively and was a shining light in an otherwise dark and dank Rangers line-up.

Some would argue that keeping Nikica Jelavic at the club (however unlikely that may seem), as well as Allan McGregor and Steven Davis will determine whether or not Rangers are to secure a fourth SPL title on the spin, but perhaps it’s not as clean cut as that.

It’s no mean feat to endear yourself to the Ibrox faithful, yet Aluko has managed this in no time at all. He’s had little or no time to settle, and I for one believe, particularly at such a young age, that Aluko’s form could be the paramount factor in Rangers’ title hopes this season, and for seasons to come.

Agree with Ewan? Got a point to make about this piece? Leave a comment below.

Got a point you’d like to make on Hitthebyline.com? – Email hitthebyline@yahoo.co.uk with your idea

Posted on

The Jelavic Effect

Why Rangers can’t afford to sell Nikicia Jelavic

By Johnny Connelly

Image

Given the financial difficulties facing current SPL champions Rangers, football fans from up and down the country have been speculating ‘where’ and ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ talisman Nikica Jelavic will be departing the club. During the transfer window, it’s open season for ‘red-top’ journalists to pen tales that’d be more suited to Jackanory than the back pages of their downmarket publications. Before the transfer window even opened, Rangers fans have been conditioned to believe that their most prized asset will be headed for the exit. However, after a little statistical analysis, to my mind Rangers have no option but to retain the services of their leading scorer.

Look familiar? This is the SPL table as it stands:

Pl

W

D

L

Points
1 Celtic

23

18

2

3

56
2 Rangers

23

17

3

3

54
3 Hearts

23

10

5

8

35
4 Motherwell

21

10

4

7

34
5 St Johnstone

22

9

5

8

32
6 Kilmarnock

22

6

9

7

27
7 Dundee Utd

23

6

8

9

26
8 St Mirren

23

6

8

9

26
9 Aberdeen

23

6

7

10

25
10 Inverness CT

22

6

4

12

22
11 Hibernian

22

4

6

12

18
12 Dunfermline

21

3

5

13

14

Currently, the SPL title look as though we could be in for another nail biting crescendo at the end of the season. Celtic hold a narrow lead at the top of the table, and Rangers’ are close behind. Everyone knows that Rangers’ title challenge so far has leaned heavily on the abilities of the aforementioned Nikica Jelavic.

So where would Rangers be currently without Jelavic? This is hard to determine. He’s scored 14 goals in the 23 matches the Gers have played so far this season, as well as providing several assists. Let’s take a look at how things would look if we remove the contributions of the former Rapid Vienna hitman. Of course Rangers would have had another player in Jelavic’s place who’d have impacted positively on the team, but for argument’s sake, let’s deal with the cold hard facts of Jelavic’s impact on the SPL this season.

After reviewing in detail, each of Rangers’ 23 SPL encounters this season, it turns out that Jelavic’s contributions have been critical in gaining points on 7 occasions.

Date Opposition Result Result without Jelavic Jelavic Impact Point Shift

15/10/11

 St Mirren @ Ibrox 1-1 Draw 1-0 Defeat 1 Goal – 48th minute

-1

29/10/11

 Aberdeen @ Pittodrie 2-1 Win 1-1 Draw 1 Goal – 70th minute

-2

05/11/11

 Dundee United @ Ibrox 3-1 Win 1-1 Draw 2 Goals – 19th & 63rd minute

-2

03/12/11

 Dunfermline @ Ibrox 2-1 Win 1-1 Draw 1 Goal – 29th minute

-2

10/12/11

 Hibs @ Easter Road 2-0 Win 0-0 Draw 2 Goals – 61st & 69th minute

-2

17/12/11

 ICT @ Ibrox 2-1 Win 1-1 Draw 1 Assist – 55th minute

-2

14/01/12

 St Johnstone @ McDairmid Park 2-1 Win 1-0 Defeat 2 Goals – 24th & 81st minute

-3
Total

-14

 

 How would this affect the current table? Take a look:

Pl

W

D

L

Points
1 Celtic

23

18

2

3

56
2 Rangers

23

11

7

5

40
3 Hearts

23

10

5

8

35
5 St Johnstone

22

10

5

7

35
4 Motherwell

21

10

4

7

34
7 Dundee Utd

23

6

9

8

27
6 Kilmarnock

22

6

9

7

27
8 St Mirren

23

7

7

9

28
9 Aberdeen

23

6

8

9

26
10 Inverness CT

22

6

5

11

23
11 Hibernian

22

4

7

11

19
12 Dunfermline

21

3

6

12

15

 

Of course, just to reiterate, this is all a hypothetical worst case scenario for Rangers, but it does make for interesting reading. Rangers are not alone in their heavy dependency on one or small number of players. (i.e Celtic – Hooper/Stokes, Barcelona – Messi, Arsenal – Van Persie, Man Utd – Rooney etc)

Perhaps coincidence, but perhaps not, that 6 of the 7 crucial Jelavic matches occurred after Rangers lost Steven Naismith for the season to that horrific injury against Hearts. This would imply that Jelavic has stepped up to the mark and carried Rangers through, again highlighting his paramount importance to the team. This poses the question, who, if anyone at Rangers could step up to the mark to replace Jelavic?

Rangers have been fortunate in recent years, that when they’ve lost a prolific goal scorer, another one has emerged from within the squad. After Kris Boyd moved on, Kenny Miller couldn’t stop scoring. When Miller was sold, in stepped Steven Naismith and latterly Nikicia Jelavic.
But who, in a such a threadbare Rangers squad, could step up to fill Jelavic’s boots? – Lafferty? Healy? (Really?)

The names that have been thrown around as potential replacements for Jelavic are unlikely to fill the Ibrox faithful with much hope. The return of an overweight and out of touch Kris Boyd or Nacho Novo is not what the fans want, or the team needs. Even the likes of Garry O’Connor, despite his impressive goal scoring record this season, has neither the prowess or finesse to replace Jelavic.

So in this myopic and seemingly inevitable shifting of Rangers’ top scorer to pastures new, I wonder if the money men at the club have considered weighing up the potential benefits of keeping him against selling him?

The benefits of keeping him are clear, having top-drawer goal scorer like the big Croatian in the team could be the difference between Rangers winning or losing the league. This in turn affects the chances of Rangers qualifying for the lucrative Champions League next season.

So what of the benefits of selling him? Transfer fees of between £7-£10m are being batted around, but in the grand scheme of things, does that money really dig Ally McCoist’s men out of any kind of trouble? Supposing Rangers do flounder in the conclusion of the HMRC tax case, and end up owing the tax man in the region of £50m, does selling your star man to pay off just a fraction of a mammoth debt seem like shrewd business? For me it doesn’t.

To my mind, Rangers currently have 3 top drawer players in their team: Alan McGregor, Steven Davis, and Nikica Jelavic. Now, tax case or no tax case, if Rangers are to survive this difficult spell in their history, this solid core unit of players has to be kept together.

Even for Celtic fans, or fans of any other team in the SPL, the retention of Jelavic should be a concern. The SPL is constantly under fire for being poor in quality, with very few real stars. To lose yet another one to the Premiership or beyond would be a real kick in the teeth. Obviously scoring 30 times in 44 outings for Rangers is going to attract attention, but for the good of Scottish football, and their own future, the Ibrox club must fight valiantly to keep Jelavic.

As much as Celtic fans would love to see their side win the league, given the choice, would they rather beat a strong Rangers side, or a significantly weakened one? The classic Old Firm battles throughout they decades have been when both sides have been at their strongest, with a spattering of world class players dawning both famous jerseys. Although Jelavic perhaps doesn’t quite live up to the Gascoigne’s, De Boer’s or Laudrup’s of the past, he’s the best they have, and as such, is invaluable.

Only time will tell as Scottish football fans look on anxiously, peering through the smoke and mirrors of the Craig Whyte regime to see if he’ll hold on to Jelavic and try to steer Rangers to glory; or cash in on the player in order to make the club’s accounts look a little more robust.

Leave your thoughts below:  


Posted on

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

by Johnny Connelly

Image
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.

Have your say – vote in the poll or comment below.