Old Firm apparently needs even more money
By: Ian Rose | July 19th, 2008I know that to many of you who support big Serie A, La Liga or Premier League sides, the Old Firm of Celtic and Rangers aren’t exactly big fish. But, compared to the rest of the SPL, they are huge and they are rich. Huge enough that their fan groups absolutely dwarf that of the rest of the league (even the very well-supported Edinburgh boys), and rich enough that the entire league often acts as a feeder for Glasgow. There are teams with great youth development, like Hibs, who know that their best young talent is almost sure to be bought up.
If anything, the financial picture in the SPL is already grossly uneven in the favor of the Old Firm. But apparently, they think they’ve been given a raw deal and want an even bigger slice of the rather mediocre SPL financial pie. In violation of SPL rules, Rangers and Celtic have announced to the rest of the league that they will be taking five percent off the top of all tickets they sell to their away matches. As it stands now, the home side takes all that money, and in a lot of cases, they need it. Not to reach the next stage of the Champions League, the way that Rangers and Celtic need a bit more cash … they need it to keep afloat.
I have no problem with splitting up match money. It takes two teams to play. But, there are already too many things in the SPL that are one way for the Old Firm, and another for everyone else. And anything that concentrates money even more in the favor of Glasgow is bad for Scottish football.
Category: Scottish Premier League
Subscribe
|
Print
|
Share
      |
Comments | Add your comment
-
I guess your position on this issue is clear. What’s the general opinion on this issue in Scotland? Would Scottish football fans prefer a better chance for glory in the CL/UEFA Cup or small clubs who are slightly better off financially?
Posted from
United States
-
Well, when the Old Firm play most SPL teams, they often bring the majority of the fans at the stadium yet they didn’t see any of the money. Not only are a majority of the fans usually either Celtic or Rangers fans at the away stadium, but a majority of the home fans are simply coming to support their team against “the Old Firm” and aren’t there every weekend when they are playing the other lower teams of the SPL. Sounds like Celtic and Rangers are really finally getting what they deserve. The reason that the Old Firm can ask for these things is because they and the whole SPL knows that without them, the league would be in a much much lower position. If you are generating more than a majority of the revenue in the league, well then you are due a larger part of the pie.
Posted from
United States -
Jan - the general opinion seems to be that Celtic and Rangers fans are for it, everyone else sees it as the Old Firm trying to grab an even bigger piece of the pie (to use SB’s metaphor). SB makes a point, certainly - its a fundamental question of how to raise up Scottish football. Celtic and Rangers fans, some of them, prefer to think that the league has never and will never consist of much more than Celtic and Rangers. This forgets, of course, the past successes of teams like Aberdeen and Dundee United in Europe. Personally, I’d like to see something more like a top four, with the Edinburgh teams at least a bit more financially competitive with the OF. I support a small side, Caley Thistle, and have no illusions about them ever rising to the top of the league for any length of time. We live for cup runs and the occasional upset, and for staying up.
Posted from
United States -
What do I know–I’m for Queen of the South–but the Old Firm don’t need more money. If they went away, there’d be plenty of other teams for people to support. If I remember correctly, there was a Celtic team shop in Inverness. Inverness, which has Caley Thistle! I mean, I’m all for the OF when they’re out in Europe, but maybe, just maybe, there’d be a little more parity and excitement in the SPL if you didn’t have the OF sitting on top pushing everyone else down. The dire state of finances for the other SPL teams (see especially Gretna, but, really, none of the other teams are on particularly good footing, except maybe Hearts, but then, they’re saddled with the FC Kaunas All Star Team, so) is not going to improve if the OF take increasingly larger shares. At some point, killing every other team in Scotland will make it awfully hard for them to have a league to beat up on, won’t it?
Posted from
United States -
@Andrew-It seems like you are trying to punish Celtic and Rangers for their success. Like my fellow bhoy said, Celtic and Rangers have gotten to the position they are in because of their success. While Aberdeen and Dundee United have had past successes, now is not the case. Celtic and Rangers have dominated the league in the standings and in attendances. It doesn’t seem like Celtic or Rangers are demanding the entire, half or a quarter of the away revenue. They want 5% of the tickets that THEY sell. Honestly, I think the entire SPL could imply this rule, but Celtic and Rangers have earned this.
Posted from
United States -
Andrew - great to have a Queens fan on here - good luck in the UEFA Cup. You’ll probably need it, but I’ll be pulling for you. As for Celtic and Rangers earning it, I think the issue is whether the SPL and SFA are set up to do what’s best for all of their member clubs or for the two that are the biggest and most important. No one’s arguing that the OF aren’t the backbone of the SPL because they are. But the finances are already so incredibly out of whack in their favor that making it more so seems a bit absurd.
Either way, I want the offseason to be over. I miss my Caley.
Posted from
United States -
Ian: that’s exactly my point. The OF aren’t saying, let’s all do this, they’re saying, we’re doing this, and the rest of you can go to hell.
And Matt, I realize that the OF have certainly had a lot of success, and that’s sort of what makes this galling. Contravening the rules simply because they’re the biggest is just being a bully, and I’d hope for better.Posted from
United States -
i just wanted to say that as a supporter of an old firm team i would prefer things to be more financially balanced with the rest of the league.
Posted from
United States -
Ian, why don’t you launch a new Caley blog on this site?
Posted from
United States -
Chris - I’m working on that. Right now, I’m a bit overloaded, but after I settle in (just moved and started a new job), Caley Thistle Offside is next.
Posted from
United States
Leave a Reply
If you have not commented here before, please take a moment to peruse ourCommenting Guidelines.
Home 
