Yesterday, after I had published an article on Hampden and the things the SFA must require from the Ibrox club, the club itself did two things. It issued its latest strategic leak and then released a statement to the fans.
As with all other things involving them, you have to take what they push out into the public domain with a rather large grain of salt.
The leaks to the media came first, and they contained one of the most misleading statements I’ve ever seen in mainstream publications, and it was there in full public view leading people in their support to all the wrong conclusions.
It was so flagrant it was jaw dropping.
The phrase in question was “as many as.”
As in “they expect to have to play as many as five games there.”
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw that statement, because if you do the bare minimum of study – which involves no more than looking at the fixture list – those five games, which the article helpfully outlines, would cover two league matches, two in Europe and quite possibly one in the League Cup.
As many as five. I like to read not only what an article says but what the words in it actually mean in their literal form. As many as five means up to and including five but no more than that. And to say that the club expected that this would be the extent of this crisis was as close to a barefaced lie as you’ll get.
That would have barely taken them into September, and their leak of only a few days ago said that the steel shipment isn’t even going to get to Glasgow until August now. Beyond that they need to do the work, fix the pitch and have everything in place for the opening again. That’s not going to be done by then.
There is virtually no chance of that ground being ready until October at the earliest, which may bring its own problems as I’ll discuss later. I thought it was astonishing that their leak to the press made a claim like that.
And then they released their statement, and it was supposed to inform the fans as to what was going on. And what it “information” came from it? That they still don’t know for definite where they are going to be playing but they think it’s Hampden. That they don’t know how long they will be playing wherever they end up, but they hope that it won’t be a long time. And they will have another update in a few weeks.
Nowhere in the statement do they blame anyone. They continue to claim the problem is with the steel delivery. They made the incredible claim that they will not know the full scale of the timeframe for a fix until the materials arrive.
I find that incomprehensible.
Whatever is going on over there they surely must now know the extent of it and have some kind of loose timeframe to work from, and both a best and a worse case scenario and they are treating their paying customers with utter contempt by not spelling out what the extent of this problem is going to be.
If they don’t want to simply level with them, how bad do you think it has to be? As one of their fans pointed out, if you paid for a season ticket and miss just six games that’s fully one third of all your home league matches gone. And they didn’t pay to sit at Hampden, a ground that nobody really likes that much. Whatever argument they make to their supporters, a lot of refunds are a certainty.
They have made a right mess of this and whilst they have now fronted up to the fans, albeit offering them not one shred of actual information, they acknowledge that the problem exists. Yet their reluctance to admit to the scale of it hints at the seriousness of it. That’s not something they can, or will, be able to hide indefinitely. Their fans are not impressed in the least by what they’ve heard … and the suspicion continues to grow that the really bad news is still to come.
While it’s entertaining banter about the bog hoose falling down, and the lack of information surrounding its relative decrepitude, our own board appears just as incompetent over the lack of signings, news of signings or even rumours of signings. All we are hearing about is outgoings. And I am beginning to feel a bit like Corporal Jones screaming at others not to panic, while in abject terror.
The SFA will bend over backwards to help them and take part in whatever cover story they settle on. This won’t cost Sevco as much as it should and their fans are still talking about signing players in the £5m bracket. You can’t get blood from an asbestos riddled, RAAC stone.
Daily Record exclusive reveals where sevco sourced their steel. As per a headline on an on-line article.
“Poundland summer stock delayed after Red Sea shipping disruption”
It would be nice if our board spoke to us once in a while.
Lies lies and more lies -right from the start you just know there’s more to come , I still feel that. No idea what it is is , just a feeling there’s worse for them to come – loving it personally tho it would be nice if the media in this country did a bit of investigative work !! oh wait……
So it’s Hampden, it always was imho Murrayfield was just a convenient distraction . The steel issue surely they know someone connected or at least has contacts they could call . Duped again ?? it has ever been thus.
Im sure they said
As to the close proximity of Hampden to Ibrokes there will be NO refunds.
Some bears were not happy to say the least
One word – LIEBROX !
It’s telling that The Scottish Rugby Union cannot let Murrayfield out any later than October due to the scheduled Autumn International Series which commences on November 2nd for 4 home matches,
This would suggest a longer term is required and a lot longer than the liebrox will admit too,
Wouldn’t be surprised for New Year Derby at Hampden HH
And we all know how this will end.
Like that friend or relative, who always needs help, and invariably
you do help – even though you know you won’t get any thanks for it
but you’ll get loudly criticised for not helping enough!
And you’ll be kicking yourself – again – for even getting involved.
That’s the SFA and Scottish football’s bar steward, youngest club!
And that could be the cup finals – and the pitch – further degraded by having
Hampden as sevco’s ‘home ground’.
And suppose the club fans live down to their reputation, and trash the joint after a few bad results, the prospect of them getting banned, and the Huns playing in an empty Hampden for a spell as punishment is not an unrealistic possibility.
Hampden is a crap place to watch football. It’s a crap place to get to football. Good luck to the locals. Good luck to the staff at Asda Toryglen.
‘Mon the Hampden Bogs…!
THEY/THEM knew the work was reqd for MONTHS,and someone didn’t plan ahead got it all wrong THEY should face sanctions for this INCOMPETENCE,and the SFA,SPFL,have to look at themselves the way handled it,RIDICULOUS.