Well, the footballs back tomorrow.
No doubt there’ll be a huge sigh of relief in the boardroom after the directors and CEO received a wave of criticism over their refusal to deal with the Resolution 12 issue.
If we cast our minds back to the death of Rangers, when we stop smiling its worth remembering that Peter Lawwell said it was a loss to Celtic in the region of around £10 million.
What we also remember was that in the immediate years that followed, there was a general decline in attendances, which it appears the media, the club and even some supporters put down to the lack of competition from the south side of Glasgow. Circumstances appeared to back the theory that Scottish football needed a strong Rangers, which gave credence to the actions, behind closed doors, of those who were determined to save them at any cost, by parachuting the new club, which we were told was the same as the old club-the smell certainly was-into as high a level of the league as possible.
Guys like the late great Turnbull Hutton were having none of it, and this idea died a quick death when other clubs were asked to accept the new world order, so new “rangers ” had to work their way through the leagues, a situation much more acceptable as there would be a bit of a cash injection for everyone everywhere.
Which made the glossing over of the truth a little more palatable. For some, anyway.
However, the fact that a large proportion of Scottish football fans were not watching their team in the top league saw a decline on overall attendances, as expected, simply because they still followed what they thought was their club.
We were led to believe by all the experts that Celtics crowds were down, forcing a large chunk of the ground to be closed, because Rangers weren’t in the league.
Yes, season book uptake was down, and only the arrival of Brendan Rodgers reversed that trend. It was not the arrival of “rangers “.
Here’s the bit everyone missed-including me- and it was only through reading the replies to the Diary yesterday, and looking through other bits and bobs , that the real reason for that decline, which was sold to us as missing Rangers, was a little more complex.
After the SFA spent years trying to save the Ibrox club, and the Ibrox club took advantage of their influence at Hampden, in the media and in the banking world, which allowed them in turn to be granted licences they weren’t entitled to. loans no one else would have given them, and no one who was in a position to pose questions could be arsed asking them, there was a quiet rejection of the corruption in Scottish football.
Supporters simply didn’t renew because they had seen what were previously described as honest mistakes become a sort of official policy. Rangers had been helped at every opportunity at every level to gain access to the lucrative champions league, because they needed the money, and many people, without fuss, simply stopped going to the football.
Sponsorship began to dry up, bookmakers excepted, as firms started to consider their image should the shennanigans be exposed…and tv money remained at a pittance, even to the extent where the league actually paid towards the cost of covering “rangers ” games in the lower divisions.
The outside world knew what had happened, and the Scottish football authorities were desperate to pretend it hadn’t
It wouldn’t do to have the press pick up on this, so it was all put down to the liquidation of Rangers, and the subsequent reformation of the club under new ownership was the way to save the game from the problems that Rangers and an incompetent and corrupt SFA had caused in the first place.
The former with their unique financial management, and the latter with their refusal to hold them to account, or at the very least let the public know what was going on.
As a result, fans quietly found better and more honest ways to spend their five hundred notes.
That process will be repeated-without a call for it-if nothing is done before renewal time.
No one wants to pay into a sport which is fixed, or has been fixed.
Why would we want to pay the wages of those who treat us with contempt ?
Now, it begs the question, is the refusal to investigate the implications of Resolution 12 a further part of this massively misdirected effort to save Scottish football ?
Do the Celtic board actually think that the need for a strong Rangers outweighs the need for an honest game ?
Probably, as they interpreted the drop off in season book sales as being down to a lack of those four “old firm ” games, which the media, and especially Sky Sports, tell us that are the only thing worth buying into Scottish football for.
The clubs, and the SFA , are trying to kick the whole issue over to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, in the hope that they will do a Nimmosmith, and deliver the “correct ” verdict.
These are disciplinary matters, matters concerning the abuse of rules and regulations, which have little to do with the functions of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which merely mediates on disputes between parties.
Which makes the moves to send this issue to them a little bizarre, unless the response required is that ” CAS can do nothing in this instance “, which in turn will be sold to the public as nothing anyone did was wrong, and therefore we can now move on.
Thats the only response CAS can give, as its not their job to rule on rule breaches.
Which suits those who perpetuate the status quo, and keeps them all out of jail.
In the meantime, more and more fans will walk away, less money will be spent and we’ll probably be told its all our fault, for harping on about wanting the rules to apply to everyone, like its some sort of game or something.
Scottish football is dying, a long protracted death with occasional bursts of remission, but the long term prognosis is poor.
But, the football is back this weekend, and Celtic face Hamilton, and today there’s a new feature in the diary.
You can fill in this bit yourself, I really can’t be arsed with it any more.
Which brings me to the
Etims Knob of the Week
Well, there’s two of them…
For failing to do their duty, not only on Resolution 12, but in other aspects of standing up for the club, these pair deserve to share the award this week.
Bankier duly criticised the support to give the media their story… thus deflecting from Res 12…
I agree with him, actually, but thats something that should have been dealt with after the airing of these tunes, and not used as clickbait for lazy hacks.
And they’ve only gone and sold our top man…
Caption competition from Wednesday…
Caption:
You may be a cat burglar but your stashing ability is brutal!
today..
For a more balanced outlook on the AGM, you might want to have a look at this…
although the conclusions are similar, just with less swearing.