Let me make a confession here before we start.
Back in the sands of time, when Scottish football’s TV deal was divided between Sky and BT Sport, I wrote a piece saying that Sky’s coverage was vastly superior and more professional. Scottish football coverage, on BT Sport, was all about “dumbing down.” You could see that in the quality of their pundits and in the way they built up games.
Then one of our regular writers, Gavin McCann, wrote a counter piece saying that in his view BT Sport were far superior. In that piece he offered a full accounting as to why, and as I was preparing it for publication something dawned on me; he’d made such a compelling case that I found that I agreed with it. I re-evaluated my own understanding of BT Sport and saw immediately that they had chosen a team who cared passionately about the game.
Sky Sports, for want of a better expression, don’t really give a shit. They regard Scottish football as a bit of an afterthought, which is reflected in their contemptible treatment of it in the last few years, not to mention that they employ the odious Kris Boyd on several fronts now which, frankly, just embarrasses our national sport.
It should come as no surprise that the best show on pay television on Scottish sport is to be found on BT. It does surprise me that it amounts to little more than Chris Sutton and Ally McCoist slagging each other stupid. But amidst the cartoonish nature of it are serious discussions about Scottish football from two guys who understand the game here and want to promote it. The real surprise is that McCoist appears capable of being objective.
So when they discussed the ongoing ticketing “debate” between Celtic and Ibrox they kept it pretty much focussed on the need for a solution. But like so many of these debates, we ended up in the classic impasse with the tired old “both sides are bad as the other” stuff. Both sides have to get around the table. Both sides have to stop being daft.
This isn’t about “both sides” though. Celtic did not do this, and I can repeat that until I’m blue in the face and some people still don’t want to see it. When the Ibrox fan sites started to push the idea that fans should be restricted Celtic told their club what would happen if they cut our allocation. It was known. It was virtually automatic.
It was the Ibrox club who drove this matter, and then to cap it they removed our allocation entirely for earlier in the season. Celtic has attempted to resolve this and has asked for meetings to do so and each and every time we have they have been rebuffed.
It is not down to Celtic to fix this. We can’t. We didn’t start it and we are the club who are actively standing in the way of a solution.
It seems that what some people really want is for us to restore their allocation in full and hope – hope, against logic or precedent – that it melts their collective hearts enough for them to restore ours. But as Harvey Keitel witheringly tells Sly Stallone in Cop Land “Now you come to me with a plan, to set things right. Everyone … holding hands, singing “We Are the World.” That’s very nice, but … your plan is the plan of a boy! You read it on the back of a matchbox, without thinking! Without looking at the cards!”
Nobody genuinely believes that if we moved to do this that they would respond favourably in any way, shape or form. This is the club who can’t be trusted even when there’s a signed contract which commits them to a course of action.
No apostrophe in tickets, James. Also, you’ve written;
“We didn’t start it and we are the club who are actively standing in the way of a solution.”
Are we? I think you’ve missed an “n’t” there.
That aside, spot on. Sutton usually isn’t shy about pointing the finger at the right target so why he persists with this “both sides” pish is beyond me.
James, I think McCoist totally gets it , he is one sleekit man who won’t directly slam his ibrox club, better to put celtic in the mix and blame both but he totally knows what he is up too, he is as false as kris Boyds teeth, hair and tan!
I watch the show why didn’t Sutton call the rat out on his lies if he doesn’t watch it he will become a soup taker like we all know who are it’s bad enough putting up with all the Ebtbigots Sutton you are better than that I hope
There yiu again with your pernickety posting calling out how an article was written giving it I’m the English teacher here,it’s a fans forum blog for people to talk and debate issues,not an English test.
Change your name to Banber Gascoigne either that or the nutty professor.
Quid pro quo.
Perhaps sevco unwittingly stumbled on something ‘progressive’ with their ticketing allocation cut – and which could also come back to bite them.
Simply don’t have any away support – at all – for the Glasgow derby, league fixtures.
Then, each club could be held fully accountable for any bad behaviours in their own ground for these games in future.
The SFA & SPFL can’t continue to look the other way indefinitely.
Attitudes outside the Scottish football bubble are changing, even if very slowly.
Somebody kindly point out to Scud the roaster fud that articles are not comments and that as written James’s sentence meant the opposite of what he intended. I thought he may wish to correct it to accurately get his point across.
I don’t call out everyone’s spelling and grammar in the comments, we all make mistakes and it’s not the end of the world. But if there’s are a trolling walloper who is accusing folk of being mentally challenged whilst barely being able to form a coherent sentence themselves then yes I’m going to point that out. Maybe said walloper would find a more welcoming shower of similarly simple-minded clowns on another forum, perhaps one for the team he really supports?
See? I made a mistake. But then, I’m not writing a blog so no biggie.
Wee seppy back to biting love it.
Ok Professor.
Wee scud, alwsys “ready” to be a fud.
And McCoist’s sudden comments on the crowd attendance situation is based on what…..? on his opinion that last week’s semi final had a brilliant atmosphere. A toxic atmosphere more like, but like all the huns, they actually wallow in that kind of poisonous surrounding. Also had Celtic won the match, he probably would have made no comment at all on the atmosphere and crowd split.
Lol here’s me thinking you said you would ignore me as well lol,it’s mind over matter,I don’t mind and you don’t matter.
Another hook line and sinker your so gullible.
I’ll make an exception, one final time, and directly address you.
I didn’t reply to you directly. You want to talk about “biting”? You can’t see me post anything without coming out with yet more tedious-ass trolling. I don’t have to say ANYTHING to you and yet you obsessively reply…so who’s the one that’s actually biting here, really?
I responded to you in all seriousness in another of James’s post about your comments regarding the huns in NI not getting to vote but James deleted your comments and mine’s so I don’t know if you’d replied. I had tried to be civil, God only knows if you did the same but somehow I don’t think you’re actually capable of doing that.
All you do is show yourself up for the utter roaster we all know you to be, it seems you truly are nothing but a totally pathetic little troll child. I’d say your mother~sister brought you up wrong but when it comes to screamers like you there’s no such thing as a “good” upbringing, is there? I suppose she must have sat you down in front of a picture of Walter the Legned, stuck on her old scratchy “God save the Queen” record and went into another room to be serviced bareback by her next fat sweaty sash-wearing client, eh?
Anyway, enough time-wasting with the latest iteration of TED. May you live in interesting times.
Oh dear wee seppy away off on one,your the one being disrespectful with some of the language you have used to try and have a pop at me.
You need to let it go now as your really showing yourself up HENCE your comments being removed previously because of the way your conducting your disagreement with my good self.
Super i dont do walking away left a shambles finishing 26 points behind the leaders in the second tier in scotland in a one horse race then horsed 6-1 in the play off
That leagie cup semi i jtust wish we had went all out in that second half and done them proper .
One more time for the hard of reading; the comment that was removed was in no way offensive…in fact, I couldn’t understand why James had removed yours either as it was actually a good comment, unlike just about every other thing you post. As for my language none of it comes close to your “Bennys” pish in terms of offensiveness. At least I only aim my invective at you instead of absolutely everyone on the blog including James, so climb off that high horse why don’t you? You’re fooling no-one with the fake sanctimony.
Here endeth our interactions.
Ok sir.
Rangers appear to be running Scottish football
Will not accept that the leagues sponsor be shown on any of their games or interviews.
The SPL and SFA should intervene do their job and ensure the league sponsors is shown by the Ibrox club.
The after match interview with Gio had the leagues sponsors name covered up by tape and then removed for the Motherwells manager interview.
Again this is confirmation that Rangers are running Scottish football and that the SPL and SFA as someone instructed that the advertisement board at Motherwell be taped up so that the leagues sponsors name was not shown