Doing your duty?

[Super_Ally 0]

I sat down today infront of the box looking forward to an afternoon of sport on a relaxing New Year's day for myself. After the introductory programmes of Soccer AM and Football Focus first up was a choice between the Edinburgh Derby on ESPN or West Brom hosting Man United on Sky Sports.

 

No doubt most fans in Scotland, outwith those of the two capital clubs, including many many Rangers fans would have plumped for the glitz and glamour of the EPL and table topping Man United looking to extend their lead against Roberto Di Matteo's Midlands club. The English game provided more goals as United ran out 2-1 winners whilst Hearts edged out Hibernian with a late winner from Kevin Kyle.

 

The argument of most fans will be that when there team is not playing, if they are to watch a game as a neutral they want to watch high class competition and the best players available. It is undoubtedly true that Sir Alex's United and their opposition today can boast far more quality than either of our capital clubs. Much like our own football, EPL games typically feature fast and frenetic action but played out amongst a higher standard of football and inidividual performances. Sky's marketing of the EPL as the self-proclaimed greatest league in the world no doubt helps.

 

Yet surely this puts us in somewhat of a dilemma? We, Scottish football fans in general but probably more than most as Rangers fans, are not slow to gripe and grumble about the state of our game. Every year moaning the quality is worse than years previous. Questioning the quality of the players and competence of the officials. Slaughtering the half-assed output of the tv companies who have stumped up a paltry sum to support and broadcast our national league. We moan that no one invests in our product. Yet if nobody is watching, what is there for broadcasters and sponsors to invest in?

 

Companies willing to put money into football will surely take note of how many fans are watching. We cannot affect attendance at other clubs games, but we can affect viewing figures. How can we expect anyone to support our league if we will not? If you are only watching a game as an interested neutral, why not pick the SPL fixture. It may even prove beneficial to ourselves. We can increase our knowledge of our opposition. Who are the danger man for the opposition we have coming up? Who may cause us problems or where are their weak links. Are there any players that could really cause us or Celtic problems and should we be looking at anyone to fix our own problem areas?

 

Aside from developing your own knowledge of the teams and players we will face, and i'm sure most Rangers fans are ignorant of much of Scottish football below the top two of the SPL, it must surely prove beneficial for Rangers? If more people are watching SPL football broadcasters and sponsors would most likely be willing to invest more money in our game and also provide more professional broadcasts of our fixtures.

 

Next time it's a choice between a routine victory for an EPL heavyweight against an also-ran (ok by all accounts WBA could've/should've taken something from today's game, but they didn't) and scouting out our upcoming opponents and supporting Scottish football then it is up to all of us, Rangers fans, fans of Scottish football, to do our duty and switch off the EPL and switch on the SPL!

[Stimpy 0]

Nice sentiment but I'll give it a by ball. If I wasn't a Rangers fan I wouldn't give the Scottish game a second glance. Bar a couple of glamour tournaments in Belfast I have never went to an Irish league game. If Scottish Football wants to improve then the fans of the other clubs need to follow & invest like OF fans do. Granted the OF are bigger because of their large support, but the others can do better, imo.

 

I have argued to I'm blue in face over football with fans in NI. Their attempts at slagging the game of here are usually met with "how's Irish football then"? They moan about their own game, slag ours, yet don't support their own like they do with Man U or Liverpool. Their energies would be much better channelled into supporting Irish football. Again, imo.

 

I don't really watch much EPL either as the game is nowhere as good as it's made out to be, except a few teams who we all know. La Liga for me when watching as a neutral. One, two touch football with fantastic movement of the ball.

 

Personally we should be able to negotiate our own TV rights.