Norris Cole

Having spoken to one or two who were at Tynecastle on Sunday as well as having done my ritual post-match trawling of the messageboards, it appears there were spare tickets aplenty outside the away end, with quite a few supporters clubs left with tickets they were unable to get rid of. Granted the match was an early kick-off and live on the telly, but to charge Ã?£28 a pop for any SPL game, particularly a non-Old Firm game, Hearts must be having a laugh. If you tell all who will listen that youââ?¬â?¢re Scotlandââ?¬â?¢s third force yet canââ?¬â?¢t sell out your stadium for a visit of the champions youââ?¬â?¢re either not as big a club as youââ?¬â?¢d like to think or youââ?¬â?¢ve got your pricing strategy completely wrong. No non-Old Firm SPL game should be over Ã?£20, yet for years now clubs have shot themselves in the foot with pricing structures way out of kilter with the entertainment they purport to offer. And this isnââ?¬â?¢t a dig at Hearts alone. Rangers are as guilty of ripping off fans themselves. Last seasonââ?¬â?¢s Old Firm matches were Ã?£35, or Ã?£70 per goal, and European fixtures are just as overpriced. I learned my lesson after parting with Ã?£30 to see us stumble to a 0-0 draw against the might of Artmedia Bratislava a few years back. Even Ã?£20 for friendlies is a bit much if you ask me. I recently had a look at a few SPL clubsââ?¬â?¢ websites and discovered that to watch some of Europeââ?¬â?¢s top performers in such five-star stadia as Tannadice, Fir Park, and Rugby Park, to take three examples, can set you back Ã?£27, Ã?£25 and Ã?£25 respectively. Exactly what percentage of their grounds did these clubs fill last season? 61%, 40% and 32%. Motherwell at least did their ââ?¬Ë?kids for a quidââ?¬â?¢ thing for a short while, just a pity those same kids will be paying through the nose like their old man when they hit 16. St Mirren charged us Ã?£27 to visit their depressing abode at Love Street last season, a ground which was on average only 50% full last season. In other words, half empty. St Johnstone are charging Ã?£21 this season, having famously charged Ã?£17 (seventeen) in the First Division, when unsurprisingly they only opened two of their four stands. Iââ?¬â?¢m sure the recession accounts for some of the empty seats we are seeing, but there were a hell of a lot on view before it started. We are all well aware of the level of entertainment on offer at SPL grounds these days, Ibrox included, and the only explanation for the above prices is that the clubs are preying on the loyalty of a significant, but ever-dwindling band of regulars. The SPL hasn't quite gone the way of the Premiership in pricing terms (yet ââ?¬â?? Old Firm and European games are rapidly heading that way), but even watching Rangers is becoming a luxury enjoyed by the privileged few. I'd like nothing more than to watch the Rangers home and away every week, but for myself and all too many besides, trips to Ibrox are a special once-every-few-months event to be looked forward to and savoured. Ticket prices in the German Bundesliga, home to by all accounts some of the most impressive, customer-friendly stadia in world football, come as a real slap in the face to the football-loving punters of Scotland. Admission is as little as Ã?£10, and rarely above Ã?£15 (incidentally terracing is also being introduced at some grounds to further improve the experience). A tenner to watch Ribery, Hleb and Klose in the comfort of some of the worldââ?¬â?¢s best stadia, or Ã?£25+ to watch Darren Dods and Marc Burchill at Tannadice and Rugby Park (while being told to sit down and shut up by some fluorescent jobsworth)? I stopped going regularly years ago, after cleaning myself out financially going to most of the 2002/03 season. You can take your family to the pictures for the cost of just your own ticket to the football nowadays. Even the dross they put on in the cinema these days isnââ?¬â?¢t as offensive as some of the ââ?¬Ë?refereeingââ?¬â?¢ which continues to tarnish our national game. The only conclusion to be drawn from the current pricing structure in the Scottish game is that fans are at an all-time low placing on the gameââ?¬â?¢s list of priorities. Not many things beat seeing your team on a Saturday, but until clubs join the real world and start pricing accordingly, I, and Iââ?¬â?¢m sure many others, will continue watching lower league football or Mr Stelling in the pub, both of which I can do while standing with my mates. Judging by recent trends, Iââ?¬â?¢m not convinced clubs can afford to go on pricing their loyal fans out of the game for much longer.

The fact is there were more decisions went against us yesterday than for us. Thomson's red card, Obua's lack of one, Heart's offside goal. Not that you'll read that in the papers. Still, you can just tell how painful that would have been for the bheasts yesterday :devil:

Looks like that's outside the box eh? Ah well :devil::devil::devil::devil: Pic courtesy of offshorebear on VB.

Offside has shown itself to be an unworkable rule, linesmen just take a guess.

Another player that could have it all but will fail to fulfil his potential because of a bad attitude.

Having watched Lescott a half dozen times last season, there's nothing he has that Bougherra doesn't. That's me falling for the Premiershite hype that is.

The red card was a miscarriage of justice in itself, let alone a 3-game ban. If it's anything more than a one game ban, Rangers should appeal.

Trouble is, playing in the SPL, Premiership clubs see a player in Scotland they like, divide his value by four then put in a bid, more often than not accepted. If Lescott's �£24m then Bougie's at least �£15m. Crazy valuation.

Fans of the diddy teams are forever banging on about how much they'd love it if the OF left. I'm all for seeing how many of these teams can stay in business long enough to challenge for the title in a new, more even set-up. Incidentally the 'more even league' argument is basically like Aston Villa or Everton saying "Right, we can't win the league with Man Utd, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in it, so could you guys piss off to another league please so we can", or Bordeaux saying the same about Marseilles, Boavista about Porto etc. etc.

You're really not on my wavelength at the minute Shroomz. I've never said it is going to happen, I'm merely offering opinion on hypothetical scenarios.

Right. Just to be clear, if Rangers uprooted and played their football in England, we'd have nothing to do with Scottish football and Scottish football would have nothing to do with us, on account of the fact we'd be accountable to the English FA, not the SFA or the SPL. As for the national team, I'm not sure how the Old Firm moving to England would adversely affect it. Rangers and Celtic would have less Scots in their team, but if Scottish players were good enough they'd still play in the Premiership, if not they'd play in the SPL - nothing would change in that respect. What is left of the Scottish league would be of no concern to Rangers if we were playing in another nation's league, just as the Belgian league or the Swedish league is of no concern to us. SPL clubs go bust? Doesn't affect us when we're playing in England. And incidentally, we've put up with enough shite from diddy teams with ideas above their station (Dundee Utd anyone) to give two hoots about what we'd leave behind in the event of moving to England.

Indeed. Scottish football would have nothing to do with us if we moved to England.

Gone are the days when fans of these diddy teams can laugh at the Rangers whenever they get beat in Europe.

I agree. But what exactly would that have to do with us?

Going on the evidence of the European games this season, the non-OF Scottish sides would now appear to be on a par with their Northern Irish and Welsh counterparts.

Sadly, none of this should come as a surprise to any of us by now. The BBC disgust me.

Another pathetic scoreline for a Scottish team in Europe. Five teams out by August, looks like it's all down to the champions...

Are you joking?

My only problem is it's got a bit of the concentration camp about it.

It'll be interesting to see how many wear them to games. Bound to be one or two.

So we've a 50% chance of getting an English side. Chelsea Juventus/Alkmaar Rangers Any from Pot 4

Also have their captain suspended for Sunday.

One of these bad boys? http://www.toffs.com/invt/2067

Don't worry there'll be a Sash in the Grass / Pepperami / Eggs Benedict along soon to even things out.

Leaving aside any economic arguments for a second, I think it's natural for many to admire Lady T simply for having principles and standing by them. It's certainly a long way from the corrupt, gimmick-guided administration we've had to suffer for the past 12 years. And I've got time for anyone who gets under the skin of the IRA and the BBC.