Virtuoso 27,180 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Quote England V Scotland – A Tale Of Two Leagues Written by: 1972 Tuesday, 3rd May 2016 In Scotland we love to slate the English game, and have done for as long as I can remember, but in Scotland we can most definitely learn a thing or two about dignity from our brothers across the border at least from the conduct of fans in the last week. As the football community in England came together to support Liverpool after the courts had finally attributed blame at the authorities for Hillsborough, someone in Glasgow was vandalising Ibrox with an offensive slogan about the Ibrox disaster. As Leicester were winning the title last night, there was a genuine warmth across the media and other fans for the club, their players and support. It truly is a remarkable story coming 14 years after the original company that owned the club went in to Administration, with the club ultimately saved, rebuilt within a new operating company, then ultimately sold to the Thai billionaire making dreams come true without the silly outlay previously used by the billionaire owners of Man City, and Chelsea. When clubs are spending hundreds of millions on players, Leicester winning the title spending a fraction of that is irresistible, and the vast majority of fans in England appear to agree. While the Spurs Chelsea match was as feisty a match as has been seen in recent years, Spurs will probably face some level of FA punishment for their conduct, but it will most likely end there. There will be no Government Summits set up to discuss it, no new specific football laws to govern football fans, and no dedicated fans movements and websites where haters of one club all put their own differences aside to cause as much damage as possible to one club. English football learned a lot of lessons as it recovered from the dark days of the late 1980s, and while it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and not everyone’s conduct is perfect, with some of the exchanges between Liverpool and Man Utd supporters as tactless and tasteless as it gets, there is a general common sense of purpose that the league as a whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that, if one of the bigger sides happens to drop out of the Premier league, then the league itself remains a strong attractive product. It also means that, while it has one of the world’s biggest clubs in Manchester United, it’s just one of a number of clubs within the Premier League. When the TV and league payments are made, they are of course weighted towards the top sides, and the most popular sides, but the spread is such that the winner does not earn such an advantage, that it becomes counter-productive for the league. Meanwhile, in Scotland, the ridiculous carve up of the tv deal to suit the winners of the premier league, and punish those at the bottom of the table means that the gap gets wider if the same club wins the league year after year, for instance, if the biggest threat to the winner is not in the league. Our top clubs in 2012 ganged up to kick out the country’s top side, even where it meant damaging the game in Scotland, and damaging their own clubs in the process. Since then Hearts also went in to Administration and back out; Celtic have become a selling club hustling to make ends meet, Hibs have been relegated, and now Dundee United have been relegated, against a background where the league went 3 years without a sponsor. While it’s easy to blame Neil Doncaster for the standard of the tv deal and sponsorship deal, he has been trying to sell a fractured product, where the clubs within the league actively damaged that product in order to damage Rangers It’s worth bearing in mind, that as Rangers attempt to claw their way back to the summit of Scottish football, that obstacles are still in our way, and we enter the Premiership in August with less than £0.5M TV revenue against Celtic’s £2.8M, with the league still pursuing a fine of £250K from Rangers, after already depriving the club of £2.1M prize and TV money in 2012 when the previous operating company went in to Administration. In the summer of 2012, with the club stolen of a licence to play football, Rangers were presented with the infamous 5 way agreement that needed to be signed to allow the club to participate in professional football in August of that same year. One of the conditions was that Rangers waive their right to that money, and it has never been pursued, yet the SPFL are looking for £250k IN ADDITION to the withholding of £2.1M that should have been given to the club. The architects of that agreement, are still in positions of power in Scotland, albeit that Hibs and Dundee Utd have since been relegated. What it shows is that the interests of many are not to build a product that we all benefit from, but to make any sacrifice possible to damage the one club capable of marketing that product. Astonishingly, Rangers, in the Championship, had the highest average attendances in Scotland this season, and the highest tv audiences, while playing in the second tier. The only exception was the Old Firm Semi, which attracted a global audience of 100M, and reminded people across the globe that Scottish football still exists. It is clear that for our game to move on in Scotland, it is not sufficient for our soon-to-be rivals to ask Rangers fans or the club not to be bitter about the events of the last 4 years, or for us to let bygones be bygones, while there are still a small amount of headbangers trying to rob Rangers or our history, and a small amount of leading figures in the game unwilling to take the kind of decisive action that would build the bridges that need to be built in the game. Will one leader in the game in Scotland, take the decisive kind of action required to ignore the hate filled headcases, and make Scottish football the pride of the nation once again? Who has the bottle and the charisma to carry it off? Anyone? http://www.vanguardbears.co.uk/article.php?i=104&a=england-v-scotland-–-a-tale-of-two-leagues Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonofbear 398 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Don't hold your breath lads ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam English Loyal 945 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Superbly written piece. Brilliant. Scottish football has become a toxic cesspit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
7troop 187 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 That's a good article. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobby Hume 13,069 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Cheers V, that was a well written to the point article, well done again from VB's. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
North Antrim Bear 129 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Superb piece. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ritchieshearercaldow 22,137 Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 It's good to be reminded of the injustice done to our club......lest we forget Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
siddiqi_drinker 14,635 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Yet we have some only interested in bridge building? Good article except much as we may wish it to be so, Hibs are not yet relegated. Why have details of this five way agreement never been made public, will it come out in any of the upcoming out cases? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thewhitesettler 2,711 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 We may, through the passage of time, learn to forgive those that kicked us while we were down. However, I for one, will NEVER forget the way we were treated by everyone here in Scotland. The SFA, the SPL, the Scottish Government, all did nothing to help us. Yet when Hearts were in deep, deep, trouble our First Minister at the time, Alex Salmond stood up, and said that he'd do whatever he could to help them stay alive, as did the SFA, & the SPL. What about Rangers? Who stood up for us? Nobody, apart from ourselves. The rest of the Scottish football were too interested in trying to punish us, and looking for reasons not to award prize money. The SPL wanted us out of their league, but they STILL NEEDED Rangers to get a tv deal, no Rangers, meant no tv deal. I could go on, but I'm preaching to the converted, as I'm sure that all Rangers fans will never forget, those dark, gloomy days in 2012. In time, most of us will forgive some, if not all, of the things that went on & around us back then, as our hearts soften, but forgetting about it? NO! NEVER! Rant over. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearson83 1,059 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Will never forgive or forget what was done to us and how others put the boot in it still hurts. The SFA are beyond on joke and a laughing stock. Now that we are back they will be up our arse and Rangers should be telling them to fuck right off! Great article btw Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
centenarystand 2,227 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 One of the best articles to come from VB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill8972 479 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 That's an excellent article .Well done VB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bears 792 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 but but but we dinnae need yees ... wur better off without yees ... yoor no rainjurs any more Wrong. We're back. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cushynumber 25,178 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Excellent piece. Some of the stuff from the VB is a bit patchy - but thats excellent. I still firmly believe that far more pressure can now be put on sky to up the ante with the TV money. The have a product to sell and they want viewers. Therefore make the product more attractive and you get more viewers. Sky can do that on a fraction of the money they give England and Scottish football would see huge benefits and starving Scottish football of cash while handing every cent to our English is self defeating in that respect as the Scottish product will simply get weaker - as has been shown in the last few years. Cellics £2.8 million against Leicesters £93 Million shows the gap between the top in each division - but last season Leicester got £72 million for coming 14th - thats the true gulf - £165 Million in 2 years. It boggles the mind that we are treated so badly when a tenth of that would see the product in Scotland increase immeasurably, attract more investment and clubs could stop living hand to mouth. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
B1872 20,718 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Fantastic again! ?? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
reallyruff 622 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Well written article, good job VB. Must admit I've yet to be exposed to any desire amongst fans on either side for bridge building. From the your not Rangers anymore arseholes to the justifiable never forgive or forget amongst our own support, Scottish football appears to be as toxic as ever. So it seems unlikely that anyone from any club will stick their head above the parapet and serve the needs of the game. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ranter 136 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Great article. When English teams are in trouble their FA and league do everything they can to help them. Just as ours would for every club except us. I will never forgive or forget. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AljayBoy 2,298 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Good stuff. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Avenger 22,567 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 If only it was all about the football in this backwater, but the flames of hate are fanned by the mhedia and politicians alike for their divisive self serving agendas. Politically and institutionally we are led by the small minded. We have witnessed the erosion of our civil liberties and the very fabric of our society under SNPIRA rule, as they pander to the taig minority, without whose vote they could not remain in power. They will continue to perpetuate the lie of sectarianism that they readily level against us, to deflect from failed polices and pander to their core taig vote. None of it is going away any time soon, remember the vicTIMS want us dead, which is nothing unusual and even exected from them, but what is unacceptable, is that a political party also desire the same, as we are the ony hurdle in preventing them from remaining in power indefinitely, so they both feed off one another as they construe our demise. A new office in Dublin, celebration of the uprising, a partnership with SFIRA on cross border issues. FFS, there is little stopping them. Whilst this government also continues with the policy of state sponsored sectarian schools that we pay for, the vicTIMS are set apart, given special status in our society and we are both stupid enough and apathetic enough to accept this. The SNPIRA tactics and policies of division are straight from the SFIRA handbook, ye we accept them in our silence. One could be forgiven for thinking that we deserve the government we get and deserve all that we get to our detriment on following on from that. Both we and our club live in a political and institutional back drop where the deck of cards are stacked against us. In the cold light of day, in a supposed free democratic society, why would anyone so readily accept the above and why would a so called democratic government be so openly divisive? Because they can, as we both allow it and perpetuate it with our apathy and appeasement. We are without a voice, but have an opportunity to start righting the wrongs at the polling stations tomorrow and take back our democratic rights and engender a society of liberty an equality, but will we?! NB. Why would anyone invest and pay a premium in this cesspit, when we have a government who are openly anti English. A government with a record of failed policies and footballing institutions as in the SFA/SPFL with a record of abject failure, poor product and poor governance, devoid of any business acumen. Our footballing lanscape is indeed a toxic cesspit, so I won't be expecting change anytime soon, or indeed in my lifetime Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 One of the best articles ive seen from VB Unfortunately for Scottish Football, 140+ years of bitterness and hatred for the Countries most successful Club has ensured that the fans and owners of lesser Clubs like the vhermin, the hivs, the dundee hivs etc will never put their own Club before their hatred of ours. So Scottish Football will remain stsagnant and boring. Fortunately for us we are and always will be the top Club in the country and dont have to live in mediocrity like the rest of them. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
minstral 5,375 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Top class article from VB. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corky True Legend 2,682 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 1 hour ago, cushynumber said: Excellent piece. Some of the stuff from the VB is a bit patchy - but thats excellent. I still firmly believe that far more pressure can now be put on sky to up the ante with the TV money. The have a product to sell and they want viewers. Therefore make the product more attractive and you get more viewers. Sky can do that on a fraction of the money they give England and Scottish football would see huge benefits and starving Scottish football of cash while handing every cent to our English is self defeating in that respect as the Scottish product will simply get weaker - as has been shown in the last few years. Cellics £2.8 million against Leicesters £93 Million shows the gap between the top in each division - but last season Leicester got £72 million for coming 14th - thats the true gulf - £165 Million in 2 years. It boggles the mind that we are treated so badly when a tenth of that would see the product in Scotland increase immeasurably, attract more investment and clubs could stop living hand to mouth. The way to put pressure on Sky is to not buy their packages. Remember, this is run by the same man whose newspapers blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster. At least the BBC did not stoop to that level, even at the time of the Ibrox disaster. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cushynumber 25,178 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 21 minutes ago, Corky True Legend said: The way to put pressure on Sky is to not buy their packages. Remember, this is run by the same man whose newspapers blamed the Liverpool fans for the disaster. At least the BBC did not stoop to that level, even at the time of the Ibrox disaster. the way sky seem to approach scottish football, the more we turn off, the less they will give us. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
WGOH 2,344 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 Brilliant from the VB, again. In regards the TV deal, is it a contractual agreement, or is it re-negotiated every year? There must be a way that the SPFL can make BT and Sky battle it out for the OF games, surely that would increase the worth of the annual TV deals and pump more money into the club(s). Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
magic8ball 27,901 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 7 hours ago, Thewhitesettler said: We may, through the passage of time, learn to forgive those that kicked us while we were down. However, I for one, will NEVER forget the way we were treated by everyone here in Scotland. The SFA, the SPL, the Scottish Government, all did nothing to help us. Yet when Hearts were in deep, deep, trouble our First Minister at the time, Alex Salmond stood up, and said that he'd do whatever he could to help them stay alive, as did the SFA, & the SPL. What about Rangers? Who stood up for us? Nobody, apart from ourselves. The rest of the Scottish football were too interested in trying to punish us, and looking for reasons not to award prize money. The SPL wanted us out of their league, but they STILL NEEDED Rangers to get a tv deal, no Rangers, meant no tv deal. I could go on, but I'm preaching to the converted, as I'm sure that all Rangers fans will never forget, those dark, gloomy days in 2012. In time, most of us will forgive some, if not all, of the things that went on & around us back then, as our hearts soften, but forgetting about it? NO! NEVER! Rant over. Salmond came out and said we would be helped in anyway possible,but soon slid back under his stone when the fat jap stuck his 2 pence worth in, he was probably reminded behind close doors that there was a referendum upcoming and helping Rangers would be a vote loser to the bigoted floating vote Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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