The 90 Minute Social Conscience

[andy steel 0]

As usual with stories about Rangers and the wider Scottish football picture, by the time you type something it has usually been overtaken by events. It's with some trepidation, then, that I post this; but I think that, even in the disturbed times we live in, this picture will not change too much in the days ahead. If anything, I think the scenario described will become ever more apparent as the week goes on.

 

Some years ago, in a bid to define actual support for Scottish nationalism as opposed to fans at Hampden to see Scotland, Alex Salmond described the football Scot as a 90 minute nationalist, happy enough to wave the Lion Rampant during a game but unconvinced by the wider idea of complete separation from the UK. This idea was later transferred to Rangers fans, in the form of the 90 minute bigot, who sings from the Forbidden Songbook but doesn't, in his or her 'real life', actually bother with religion much.

 

There's some merit in both caricatures. Now we can add another species to this tartan sub-genus: The 90 Minute Social Conscience. While this sounds like a title on one of Mark E.Smith's early records, it pretty much sums up the smell wafting from panic stricken boardrooms and fan sites. The idea seems to be that Rangers require punishment on the grounds that it is the right thing to do; that integrity is essential in football; and that, should the game crumble still further, the government ought to intervene to protect this crucial, societal issue.

 

As a bit left wing politically I'm delighted to be joined on the moral high ground by so many previously shy socialists. At the last general election, I and (iirc) 886 other souls in the Paisley South constituency voted for the Scottish Socialist Party. The majority of my fellow voters returned the appaling Douglas Alexander, a lightweight crony in the Blair administration who makes up for his lack of substance by leaning forward and earnestly assuring people he only entered politics to help people. Perhaps he could get a job delivering meals on wheels, since his record of helping to date is not glorious.

 

Be that as it may, the fact remains that a huge majority of voters plumped for parties which openly and unashamedly embrace the UK policies of the last 30 years - all is fair in the pursuit of money and possessions, rights and expendable should they prevent the first goal, and the law can be regarded as an inconvenience rather than rules.

 

How sweet it is to see this vote for Thatcherism swept away in the world of football. Sweet? Well, decaying corpses are often referred to as having a sickly-sweet smell, and that analogy seems most apt for the game at the moment. Suddenly, workers' rights are vital! St Mirren's throwback chair, Stewart Gilmour, is in the papers today wringing his hands, tearing his hair and warning of staff redundancies. I'd take him more seriously if he'd been seen on one march against a plant closure; to the best of my limited knowledge his only public statements outside of St Mirren have been to try and reverse the hard won legal rights of people and clubs by insisting football clubs ought to abrogate their right to legal appeal.

 

The idea of a fan spring may appeal, but in reality is nothing more than people whistling in the dark to keep up their spirits. Society is monetarist, and football is the same. Not only does the concept seem unlikely to work in the wider context, even at a micro level the numbers don't add up.

 

If clubs are reliant on a hard core of supporters rather than sponsor and TV money, their financial resources are going to be less than at present, leaving them all yet more vulnerable to the predatory advances of our southern cousins, for whom money is little issue. The much talked about revival of teams filled with young Scots simply won't happen - it will be Conference, League and Championship sides who will have these players. I should note that I include Rangers in this vision - indeed, we're the first team to suffer from the exodus, with the players who left following administration showing what is likely to happen for the forseeable future.

 

Within the wider European picture, the reliance on money is every bit as entrenched as it is in the UK. UEFA fair play rules or not, we will see the same clubs challenging for the leagues across the continent, and they will ony be joined by those with huge investement on tap. Yet we are expected to stand against this monolith, with our inferior stadia, retrograde playing style, players of mediocre ability and backward coaching: all this, somehow, will spark interest in the game enough to usher in a New Dawn. I fear our isolation will increase, not the opposite.

 

Anyway, I imagine you are getting pretty bored by now, if you are reading this far. I'll finish with another quote from St Mirren's Stuart Gilmour:

 

"As directors of football clubs we need to look at everything but I hope there are other options. The government needs to have a look at this. This is now a society issue and itâ??s time for government to take a close look and get involved."

 

Ah, if only. Governments these last 30 years and more do not intervene, until they lead to events like the London Riots. Just because you have screwed up royally and are facing extermination, you can scarce expect the government to bail you out. When one considers the money that has gone into football over the last 20 years, it would be outrageous on a scale to match bankers' bonuses should we see the State suddenly come back to life and pump money into football.

 

No, your 90 minute conscience won't save you now, Scotland. You have chosen this society, where being rich or powerful guarantees survival and the poorest are rubbed out, deservedly or not; now you have to make the best of it.

[blueflag 386]

As usual with stories about Rangers and the wider Scottish football picture, by the time you type something it has usually been overtaken by events. It's with some trepidation, then, that I post this; but I think that, even in the disturbed times we live in, this picture will not change too much in the days ahead. If anything, I think the scenario described will become ever more apparent as the week goes on.

 

Some years ago, in a bid to define actual support for Scottish nationalism as opposed to fans at Hampden to see Scotland, Alex Salmond described the football Scot as a 90 minute nationalist, happy enough to wave the Lion Rampant during a game but unconvinced by the wider idea of complete separation from the UK. This idea was later transferred to Rangers fans, in the form of the 90 minute bigot, who sings from the Forbidden Songbook but doesn't, in his or her 'real life', actually bother with religion much.

 

There's some merit in both caricatures. Now we can add another species to this tartan sub-genus: The 90 Minute Social Conscience. While this sounds like a title on one of Mark E.Smith's early records, it pretty much sums up the smell wafting from panic stricken boardrooms and fan sites. The idea seems to be that Rangers require punishment on the grounds that it is the right thing to do; that integrity is essential in football; and that, should the game crumble still further, the government ought to intervene to protect this crucial, societal issue.

 

As a bit left wing politically I'm delighted to be joined on the moral high ground by so many previously shy socialists. At the last general election, I and (iirc) 886 other souls in the Paisley South constituency voted for the Scottish Socialist Party. The majority of my fellow voters returned the appaling Douglas Alexander, a lightweight crony in the Blair administration who makes up for his lack of substance by leaning forward and earnestly assuring people he only entered politics to help people. Perhaps he could get a job delivering meals on wheels, since his record of helping to date is not glorious.

 

Be that as it may, the fact remains that a huge majority of voters plumped for parties which openly and unashamedly embrace the UK policies of the last 30 years - all is fair in the pursuit of money and possessions, rights and expendable should they prevent the first goal, and the law can be regarded as an inconvenience rather than rules.

 

How sweet it is to see this vote for Thatcherism swept away in the world of football. Sweet? Well, decaying corpses are often referred to as having a sickly-sweet smell, and that analogy seems most apt for the game at the moment. Suddenly, workers' rights are vital! St Mirren's throwback chair, Stewart Gilmour, is in the papers today wringing his hands, tearing his hair and warning of staff redundancies. I'd take him more seriously if he'd been seen on one march against a plant closure; to the best of my limited knowledge his only public statements outside of St Mirren have been to try and reverse the hard won legal rights of people and clubs by insisting football clubs ought to abrogate their right to legal appeal.

 

The idea of a fan spring may appeal, but in reality is nothing more than people whistling in the dark to keep up their spirits. Society is monetarist, and football is the same. Not only does the concept seem unlikely to work in the wider context, even at a micro level the numbers don't add up.

 

If clubs are reliant on a hard core of supporters rather than sponsor and TV money, their financial resources are going to be less than at present, leaving them all yet more vulnerable to the predatory advances of our southern cousins, for whom money is little issue. The much talked about revival of teams filled with young Scots simply won't happen - it will be Conference, League and Championship sides who will have these players. I should note that I include Rangers in this vision - indeed, we're the first team to suffer from the exodus, with the players who left following administration showing what is likely to happen for the forseeable future.

 

Within the wider European picture, the reliance on money is every bit as entrenched as it is in the UK. UEFA fair play rules or not, we will see the same clubs challenging for the leagues across the continent, and they will ony be joined by those with huge investement on tap. Yet we are expected to stand against this monolith, with our inferior stadia, retrograde playing style, players of mediocre ability and backward coaching: all this, somehow, will spark interest in the game enough to usher in a New Dawn. I fear our isolation will increase, not the opposite.

 

Anyway, I imagine you are getting pretty bored by now, if you are reading this far. I'll finish with another quote from St Mirren's Stuart Gilmour:

 

"As directors of football clubs we need to look at everything but I hope there are other options. The government needs to have a look at this. This is now a society issue and it’s time for government to take a close look and get involved."

 

Ah, if only. Governments these last 30 years and more do not intervene, until they lead to events like the London Riots. Just because you have screwed up royally and are facing extermination, you can scarce expect the government to bail you out. When one considers the money that has gone into football over the last 20 years, it would be outrageous on a scale to match bankers' bonuses should we see the State suddenly come back to life and pump money into football.

 

No, your 90 minute conscience won't save you now, Scotland. You have chosen this society, where being rich or powerful guarantees survival and the poorest are rubbed out, deservedly or not; now you have to make the best of it.

 

 

a quote from the SSP website

 

Our call is for a Scottish socialist republic, in which the people are sovereign, not some descendant of the house of Saxe-Coburg, and not the multinationals who like to squat on our shores till the government subsidies run out.

 

 

We will fight to become a nation, a beacon, of peace, not an exploited outpost of the dying British Empire.

 

 

Says it all really you chose to vote them