Scottish football needs a radical overhaul

[ian1964 10,720]

Scotland were taught a lesson inside the Amsterdam ArenA. The 3-0 defeat inflicted on George Burley's beaten-up side in World Cup qualification Group 9 was only part of the education.

 

George Peat, in his traditional sit-down with Sunday newspapermen on these jaunts, bemoaned the state of Scottish football from the senior game to grass roots. The subtext was: in times of financial hardship, for how much longer will supporters continue to pay over the odds for the dross served up on the pitch and in the pie stalls? It is hard to disagree. His challenge as president of the Scottish FA is providing a viable solution via his newly formed working group. Emulating the Dutch philosophy is a good start.

 

These guys know how to put on a show. The home of Ajax is a thrilling venue for international football, a space-age dome that resembles a prop from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The pre-match entertainment ensured the majority of the 70,000 support were in place at least an hour before kick-off.

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A sound system blaring out an agreeable shuffle of 80s electro pop and stadium rock anthems helped the revelry along and an airing of 500 Miles not only involved the Tartan Army in the shindig but evoked a communal karaoke that put a smile on the face of even the most cynical and weary international traveller.

 

As well as providing one of the most talented teams on the planet, the KNVB did not take the football for granted. As a result, they ought to be commended for contributing to a kaleidoscope of colour. Their fans were the highlight of Euro 2008, kitted out head to toe in fluorescent orange, drinking merrily, but not to excess, and generally enhancing the reputation of their country's sublime team.

 

If only the Tartan Army had such self-control. Dam Square resembled a battleground before and after the game, strewn with kilted casualties to the local nectar. There is a fine line between banter and breach of the peace and while the majority enjoyed themselves responsibly, there remains a core of Scotland fans who heap embarrassment on their country. Starved of success for so long, they are now complicit in this barren era for their acceptance of the team's failings. In short, for many the opportunity to sample a new mixture of hops and barley takes priority over the football. The beer blocks out the expectation.

 

A similar resignation has become apparent domestically. Supporters have wearily accepted the grubby nature of the country's primary sporting pursuit and have perpetuated the downturn by not voting with their feet. This summer is expected to be a watershed for Scottish football.

 

It can only be hoped Peat and the other hierarchical figures heed the warning. Football fans from the Old Firm down are given no real value for money, with the odd laudable exception. Clubs are now reaping a bitter harvest after decades of reckless spending on mediocre players to the detriment of their stadium, catering and customers.

 

It is a bugbear that clubs continue to take their supporters' cash for granted. They moan that they cannot get enough through the gates yet provide little to entice them from a young age. The Old Firm have been oversubscribed with season ticket requests but that trend will change if the standards continue to plummet.

 

The relationship between player and punter has never been so distant. Public relations departments put up a needless partition by treating average talents as precious, untouchable ornaments to admire but not touch. If football wants to be loved again, it has to open up. They have to actively end the trend of fans arriving at 3.05pm and rushing for the exits with 10 minutes to go.

 

They can start - Old Firm included - by making their players available in fan zones an hour before kick-off. Scott Brown and Barry Ferguson are injured? Their turn to take part in a mini coaching clinic outside the ground, a meet-and-greet for competition winners, an autograph here, a photograph there. Real PR, week after week. Provincial clubs are losing their local fans? Get into primary schools, help out the school teacher/school team manager once a week and promote the brand around the ground with mini crossbar challenges, face-painting in club colours - anything to get the kids to come back and feel the club is part of their community, not just a drain on daddy's dwindling disposable income.

 

If the clubs claim they don't have money to throw at marketing, then the SPL should have the spine to contract out to an event management team capable of enhancing the product and mending the broken relationship between clubs and their audience.

 

While we are at it, why not get the government's backing by doing away with the artery-clogging menus and looking after the customer's health while ripping them off at the kiosks? The standard of football may not have evolved but eating habits have moved on from war-time favourites such as mutton pie and Bovril. Scottish football needs a radical overhaul but improving the stunted development is only part of it.

 

If the clubs continue to drag their heels, maybe an opportunist entrepreneur will step forward and seize the moment. In the meantime, the fans can play their part by demanding improvement, even if it means staying away in droves until the message finally hits home.

 

n And another thing Your intrepid reporter confounded sleep deprivation and the Amsterdam red-eye flight to score (admittedly from two yards out) in Jackton Allstars' narrow 3-2 defeat to a Tommy Sheridan-inspired East Kilbride News Select. The teams, including John Hartson, John Brown and a still silky Frank McGarvey, helped raise �£1600 for Kilbryde Hospice and the EK News Toy Appeal.

 

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