I’ve been to a few non-Celtic games over the years and always found is striking the different reaction mid-table teams have to a defeat compared to how we react. There is simply not the expectation that every game has to be won. For most of the last 40-odd years Celtic have been nip-and-tuck with a direct opponent at the top of the league, so a single defeat can have a significant bearing on league title prospects.
Even when we were not involved in a close league race, the desire to win by an astonishing number of points provided an edge, whereas, back in the 90s, the chasm between Celtic and the top was made increasingly unbearable by each passing defeat.
This season is different. We’ve dropped 10 points in 10 games but substantial evidence exists that the team is making solid progress, a fact not disputed by the support, even as they left Celtic Park on Saturday. For most, the distress of defeat has tempered.
We’re two points ahead of three teams at the top of the league, with a game in hand, which makes this the most competitive SPL ever. The gap between second and second last is just six points, St Mirren who sit second bottom, would be level on points with joint-second St Johnstone had they won the game between these two earlier this month.
All this honest competition has resulted in a rise in average attendances for most clubs during “Armageddon”. It’s too easy to poke fun at the miscalculations of the SPL and SFA chief executives who believed the game needed a fatally flawed giant in the top flight. Instead, what it needed was genuine competition, which we have, to a degree.
Hibs, Aberdeen and St Johnstone are all two points from the top of the table while Inverness and Killie are only one win below them. Can you imagine how good a league this would be without the last remaining over-sized behemoth?
The SPL didn’t need Rangers, in fact, it is a better, more competitive league without them. The same goes for Celtic. We are not good for the league and do nothing for Aberdeen, United, Hibs or clubs who want nothing but a sporting chance in the game. Many of these clubs seem to have Stockholm Syndrome; locked into the belief that they need to be with their tormentors.
If I was writing a blog about any of these clubs I’d tell Celtic to go find themselves some fantasy football league and let the rest of the country get back to a proper sporting endeavour. They have nothing to lose but their loser labels.
The next issue of CQN Magazine is due out shortly, let me know if you would like to advertise, advert@cqnmagazine.co.uk.
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tomcourtney @1331
I left St Mick’s in 1973.
Lived in Troon!
I also remember that ‘big’ Jim was rather handy with the auld ‘strap’!
If you were there round about the same time – the glorious sixties early seventies – our paths possibly crossed.
Have no recollection of the great Carnation Milk scandal!
HH!!
A SonOfDan.
Never thought of that ….might try it myself.
A friend of mine is a season ticket holder at Livingston
When Livi played us at CP in the SPL, he always requested a Restricted View Ticket because they were cheaper ( also because he knew they would only bring a very small travelling support)
Once the game started he moved to a better seat… he claimed it as a moral victory over corporate football.
The Onlooker
The onlooker,
Once a season book is bought matchdays still aren’t free.
I still seem to spend a small fortune. Many others possibly can’t afford this.
The football is far from perfect but it’s less embarrassing to claim ‘yer no goan back cos it’s gash’ rather than face the truth that you can’t afford it.
Craiginho 11.44
Sorry to disagree but I had a great view of the pen on Saturday and he was clearly taken. Said it was a pen straight away and nobody around me disagreed!
DBBIA-There is a “Fergus McCann Stand” option in that poll mate,I just voted for it.HH
I also like yer mates style;)
Purchasing a season card is only the beginning wrt costs; depends on where you are domiciled, how many younger supporters (family members) are involved in the/your travel plans…… Take the car, go on the CSC bus, fly and book (well in advance) with budget airlines and hope the KO time/day is not changed at the last minute, book hotel rooms or straight back afterwards……………So many variables to contend with………. Hence, the reason (in some cases) of the same empty seats on a regular basis.
The buying of a season book for many ( imho) is an emotional investment and for some, a matter of This v That, and This wins for now………… Aye, for now!
Have voiced my opinions re falling attendances often enough that those who may be even slightly interested are aware of my my slant on the reasons why!
Suffice to say, recession and hard and difficult times hit home with a vengeance when you are the recipient of said hard and difficult times…………
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM
Bada- they’ve now put in F.Mccann and T.Burns as new choices, but the pre-amble above the poll only mentions the four original choices.
I’ve voted for Fergus as well.
Any chance of a Harald M. Brattbakk heli-port?
Geordie Munroe;
Even more reason why the club should be concerned.. and should be getting feedback from our fans ( especially those who are not turning up to use their season ticket)
I would also say that if the performance on the pitch was ‘ not to be missed’ many more fans would not miss it.
The Onlooker
ASonOfDan – it sure will.
Oldhuns dead, newhuns dying.
TheBarcaMole
14:20 on
29 October, 2012
+++++
Yup, my costs were £50+ above the ticket without heading into the pub. Add on a few bears, a ‘burn a fiver’ bet and it’s over a ton.
Difficult times for us has meant that only the odd game is attended and I feel guilty, even though I save my own ‘pocket money’ for it, about spending upwards of £100 on myself when it could be a whole day out for the four of us. I would say, relatively, that we’re not too bad off either.
*beers
P67
A few Jimmy McGrory stats for the younger followers:
1. Top scorer in Europe in 1926/27 & 1935/36
2. 3 x 5 goals in 1 season – 1926/27
3. 8 goals in 1 match – 1928/29
4. 2 hat-tricks prior to the 8 goal game…14 in 3 in 1928/29
5. A 3 minute hat-trick in 1936/37 and
6. 9 hat-trick in 1935/36
……..and finally…..
7. 7 caps for Scotland
A True Legend
Paranoid for 100 years…too right
hhplc
DBBIA-I didn’t realise that,I don’t think The Bunnet would thank us for it,but he gets my vote everytime.
“While I’m Chief Executive, Rangers will not play in the Scottish Premier League.”
While McCoist is manager they will not play in…
The Ramsdens Cup final
The League cup final
The Scottish Cup final
The Champions League qualifying rounds
The Champions League
The Champions League quarter final
The Champions League semi final
The Champions League final
In Europe unless it’s against Linfield
“I would also say that if the performance on the pitch was ‘ not to be missed’ many more fans would not miss it.”
If the performance was consistently not to be missed I would ask the question, “who has stolen Celtic and replaced them with Barcelona?” ;)
O.G.,
I’m quite sure he is the first manager to be knocked out of every cup competition a Scottish manager can possibly enter.
All in 14 months. Ally must stay
SSN………………………………………..world record first coach winning two fourth division games in a row, whilst wearing a tracksuit.
dirtymac
14:30 on 29 October, 2012 …………..
My point exactly pal, so many in a similar situation trying to stay positive re………
Good Luck…………
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM
NL: “Not giving my team away but pretty fair to say that it will be a strong team. A quarter final & important we bounce back in right
way.”
NL: “We had a discussion about it yesterday. Won’t mention it again and are looking forward to tomorrow night for a positive reaction.”
STV…………………………….Charles Green woos Sevconian share buyers, by promising they’ll never play in the top flight.
NL: “There will be a bit of revenge in the air & I’m pretty sure the players will be motivated.Looking for reaction & sure I will get that.”
NL: “Sammi is coming along nicely. Did a bit outside today. He (Scott Brown) trained today and in squad for tomorrow.”
“That’s probably the worst I have played for Celtic and hopefully I can get a chance on Tuesday to put it right.”
Adam Matthews
Brown should be kept for Barca next week IMO,closely followed by international retirement.
With regards to non attendance of season ticket holders. I am constantly travelling the globe so if I miss the game so does Mrs RobinBhoy so there will be two less at the game.
Loads of Irish season ticket holders can’t make midweek or early kick off games so more issues and the general cost of matchday can be too much for some I guess.
Case in point I am a member of the home ticket scheme but cannot make it tomorrow, so two tickets sold nobody in the seats.
Will also miss the Barcelona game next week but surprise, surprise had a queue for that ticket!
Quality of the football,albeit that is variable is less of an issue than the general financial climate, we sold ~43,000 season books so there are a few that cannot make it on a regular basis.
Hail Hail!
RobinBhoy
Brown should be told he isn’t playing again this season.
The abilty to walk properly for the rest of his life is much more important than playing fitba just now.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
13:54 on
29 October, 2012
-Every day for the past several months I have posted on the bhlog a genuine enquiry on the whitherabouts of the ole cash strapped scrofulous hillbillies, and yet no satisfactory answer so far has been forthcomin’.
===========================================================
I believe they have been hiding in corporate hospitality with Chuckles himself
HH
CRC
Cheers for the reply Gretnabhoy. At the time I thought the players’ reaction indicated that it was a pen (I’m in the JS Upper so difficult to see at the time) but the TV angle changed my mind. It’s all moot now anyway as it was given and scored and we barely managed to enter the Killie penalty area after that. Still aggrieved at the two decisions but we played so badly that I wouldn’t blame the ref for the result and that shows how bad we were!
Craiginho
The other costs such as travel , refreshments etc have also an impact – I understand fish and chips at Arsenal is around £13.00
From the Herald. Michael Grant has seen behind the curtain:
Certainly, the figures claimed by the chief executive so far have beggared belief. Around 8000 potential investors have declared their interest, he’s said. Somewhere between £15m and £17m will be invested if they all cough up what they’ve said they will.
Contextual targeting label: Finance
If all that dough really does flood into Ibrox, Green will be in demand for lectures to Harvard Business School. Surely there would never have been a newcomer who milked so much money out of a set of supporters while giving so little of himself away.
“I don’t care what people think about Charles Green or what the media think about Charles Green, because it’s all based on ignorance and not knowing me,” he said in an interview only last week. Well, exactly. Neither Rangers fans nor most of the rest of us can claim to know Green yet. Nor can those thousands of supposed investors possibly be sure of what they’re putting their money into.
Anecdotal evidence suggests an ongoing and entirely sensible caution towards Green, which doesn’t quite square with the impression of unbridled enthusiasm presented by the man himself. There’s a difference between buying a season ticket, as 36,000 have done for the guarantee of watching their team, and plunging a required minimum of £500 into shares.
Only six months ago no-one had heard of Green. For the last three of those he’s assiduously pushed all the right buttons to get the majority of Rangers supporters onside. Even those who are reluctant or unwilling to get involved in the share issue tend to like him, but they’re wary, and understandably so. Many would be far more comfortable about buying into Green in a year or so. If ever there was a set of fans who have been burned, manipulated, deceived and exploited, it’s the Rangers support.
Green has often boasted that the club he runs is debt-free and that has always sounded crass towards those who helped oldco Rangers and lost hundreds, thousands or millions as a result of it. Among them, remember, were the 6050 Rangers supporters who paid between £1000 and £1650 for Club Deck debentures back in 1991 and saw their investment turn to ashes a few months ago. A lot of them, comfortable but not necessarily rich individuals, are exactly the sort of people Green will have to rely on in this share issue. It’s hard to believe there will be a queue of financial investors for a club with no prospect of making serious money any time soon.
Rangers have been here before. They launched rights issues in 2000 and 2004 and a particularly poor response for the latter was attributed to widespread dissatisfaction with how Murray was running the club (yes, even then). Not even nine-in-a-row, Laudrup, Gascoigne and a mountain of trophies counted for a great deal when Murray went out with the begging bowl eight years ago.
The ironic thing is that you can bet your life Green and his consortium demanded far more information and answers before they took control than they have made available to potential investors so far. When a prospectus is published some answers surely will be provided. Until then, there has been nowhere near the level of transparency any investor is entitled to expect.
Fans are being encouraged to buy into a company for which no accounts have ever been published. The identity of all of the company’s shareholders has never been revealed: apparently all of them will be listed in the prospectus, but then again they were supposedly going to be identified once the takeover was complete. There has been far too little time for anyone to make any judgment on how well, or otherwise, the company is being run.
What is the business plan? What, exactly, will any money raised now be used for, given that none of it will go on transfers? If it’s for working capital, why is that necessary in the infancy of a new company’s ownership? Fans are being asked to cough up £20m for a minority holding in a company which was bought in its entirety for just over a quarter of that five months ago.
Hearts don’t have any answers beyond going to their fans, either. Like Rangers, they will go out with a begging bowl just before Christmas. Rangers’ minimum investment is £500, Hearts’ £110, the latter effectively coming with an ultimatum that if the money doesn’t come in owner Vladimir Romanov cannot be held responsible for what might happen next.
The subtext of this is that two of the very biggest Scottish clubs cannot generate enough money on their own without going to the fans for it, fans who already commit via season tickets, the purchase of merchandise and even satellite television subscriptions. The well should be empty, yet the nagging worry of what might happen to their clubs if they don’t invest could result in a decent take-up of shares at both clubs.
But it cannot be stressed enough: if Green brings home anything like £15m barely five minutes after first walking into Ibrox, and without delivering anything beyond soundbites so far, supporters will have taken an astonishing leap of faith.
bournesrecipe
STV…………….Charles Green woos sevconians share buyers, by
promising they`ll never play in top flight……..with fat sally as manager
For the benefit of celticrollercoaster loves Wee Oscar, our Celtic Warrior…15:02 on 29 October, 2012 and Dontbrattbakkinanger 13:54 on 29 October, 2012
From Men in Groups
By CHRISTOPHER LEHMANN-HAUPT
‘Out of the woods wander two scrofulous hillbillies with a shotgun, and proceed to assault the campers with a casual brutality that leaves the reader squirming. More I should not tell, but from that point on, it’s Katie bar the door – a bad situation inside an impossible one wrapped up in a hopeless one, with rapids crashing along between sheer cliffs and bullets zinging down from overhead. A most dangerous game this SFL Div 3…………’
Hope the above helps to answer your genuine enquiry……….
Regards & Hail Hail
TBM
SNEDDONI 1123 from previous………
Great post!
Difficult to argue with much of it,actually difficult to argue with ANY of it……
Barca mole -thanks for the enlightenment.
Ole duellin banjoes ringin’ roun’ the ole Waddell Suite.
I’m followin’ Conway Twitty on Twitter.
Rocket Man
Michael Grant is obviously part of the Fenian conspiracy and just a mud stirring Taig.