Today The Daily Record’s website is giving free advertising to Sevco’s latest wheeze; the “opportunity” for their fans to get in to watch their team for free. Sort of. This is ridiculous on so many levels. First, there are companies which pay fortunes to advertise in that paper, and others who pay digital advertising organisations to get them in the online version, and those running it are perfectly happy to give a full infomercial to their favourite football club for sod all.
The ad – and I am calling it that, although it’s disguised as an article – is a cut and paste job of what was on Sevco’s own website yesterday, and what I wrote in my early evening piece; a plea for “volunteer fans” to come forward to work as stewards.
Neither the Sevco website nor the Daily Record advert uses that word, but that’s what it is just the same.
You know money is tight at Sevco, but this is an embarrassing new low. It’s nice that The Record is doing its bit to help. There’s no reason why they couldn’t just have stuck this info into their jobs section, except that it’s not really a job as there’s no money on offer.
I worked as a steward for a while. When I was based at Celtic Park one of the ancillary benefits was that you got to see the games. I saw us beat Manchester United in the Champions League, on the night of Nakamura’s pile-driver, whilst wearing a steward’s jacket, high up in the North Stand. It was no less incredible for me being “on the clock.” I got paid for it too, because you’re supposed to. You’re also trained, and certified.
There’s nothing in the article on the Sevco site about getting to see games; that’s new information in The Record’s version, which means they were given that by the club. Which means the article idea itself came from the club, and The Record was only too happy to do it.
Sevco is asking its own fans to work for free, to do pre and maybe even post-match stewarding. Their reward will be to watch the game for nothing; many of the guys who would apply for this “opportunity” will already have season tickets so they’d be working for sod all.
Will they get certification? A guy in a yellow jacket or club outfit will be seen as a steward whether they are or not, and in an emergency would be looked to for assistance. What professional training will they have to undergo in advance of that?
This is typical of everyone involved; Sevco are so skint they are willing to pull a stroke like this and The Record, as per usual, is happy to help although it’s pretty clear no-one’s thought through any of it beyond that it’ll save the club a few quid.
This is what passes for Scotland’s impartial media, eah?