Juancornetto 1 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) I cleaned out my home office the other day, under a pile of folders and papers I stumbled across an old programme - Rangers vs Hibernian 14th Feb 2010. I had a flick through and a quick read of some of the articles. Thirty minutes later and a cup of strong coffee I finally put it down. I wasn't particularly gripped by the team talk, by the featured interview (Kevin Thomson) or indeed by the talk of the imminent Old Firm potential title decider. Nope. I was overwhelmed by the thought of just how far Scottish Football has fallen since then. In a little over two years the football landscape has been degraded so dramatically that it almost bears no resemblance to those now relatively innocent times. The atmosphere from what I can remember was one of quiet optimism. Against a backdrop of global financial meltdown and recession in the UK, football offered us a little bit of sanctuary from the harsh realities of "the real world". We turned to football to be entertained and if that weekends fixtures was anything to go by we certainly got what we asked for. Rangers cruised past Hibs winning 3-0 with goals from Whittaker, Boyd (pen) and a late goal by Kenny Miler. The day before,Tony Mowbray's Celtic side drew 4-4 with Aberdeen at Pittodrie. I mentioned atmosphere in my previous paragraph and it's a difficult concept to work with when you try to re-imagine what it felt like at the time. The fact that Rangers were cruising to another title 10 points ahead of Mowbray's Celtic might account for most of the fondness in my memories of those days however it struck me that this was the exact pivot point when Scottish Football began to slide headlong into controversy, bitterness, in fighting and raw hostility. Some of us in that mild winter of 2010 (myself included) had begun to notice that sectarianism had dropped off the daily agenda and maybe, just maybe we had at last turned the corner....relations between Old Firm fans hadn't been so temperate for many years. I enjoyed frequent exchanges of good natured banter with Celtic fans both on and offline, at work, in pubs and over the fence with neighbours. The old under current was still there but it remained firmly in the background. This was to change with the demise of Mowbray's reign at Celtic and the appointment of one Neil Francis Lennon. On Wednesday 9th June 2010 the tone of relations between fans of all Scottish clubs took a nosedive that we have not managed to pull out of to this day, just over two years later. Match days became all about what Lennon had said this time or which referee was the target of his intimidatory tactics this week. His vow to bring the thunder back to the Celtic support struck a chord and incited such a vehement and hostile reaction from within the hard core that the hitherto low profile Green Brigade suddenly became the almost out of control band of extremists they are today. What was a consistent but marginal hum of discontent from Celtic fans became a wall of noise, full of anti-establishment and anti-SFA rhetoric which coincided with another high profile appointment in that summer of 2010. On July 28th 2010 Stewart Regan was appointed by the board as Chief Executive of The SFA and vowed to revolutionise the association and bring fresh ideas and impetus to an under fire organisation. Ring any bells? I'll leave you to draw your own parallels. One of Regan's first priorities was to address the conflict which grew so rapidly between his SFA and Celtic Football Club. True to his word he set about his task with vigour. Talks with Celtic CEO Peter Lawell began and this chain of events would lead to Lawell's appointment on the SFA Board along with Celtic Financial Director Eric Riley just over a year later. To set the scene a little more here is what The SFA Board circa June 2010 looked like. George Peat Campbell Ogilvie Alan McRae John Gold Ralph Topping Tom Johnston Jim Ballantyne Rod Petrie Richard Shaw Sandy Stables Fast forward another year and we are looking at a very different Scottish Football.Regan and Co have managed to make a mess of almost every big decision, progress on the International front has been non existent and disciplinary procedures have been regularly ripped asunder by Celtic's legal team. Rangers having been sold down the river by Sir David Murray and left with the predatory Craig Whyte have gone from financially handicapped to complete financial meltdown. Mistakes were made, financial atrocities were committed and the 400lb gorilla in the room (as described by Alistair Johnston) went from quiet and placid to enraged and spiteful. HMRC did what they do and pursued the club for what they deemed we owed. Payment (with or without a CVA) was never an option, administration and now liquidation of the PLC has come to pass. The very structure of Scottish Football is under threat, we have the ridiculous situation of the fixture list for the coming season being released with a mysterious entry replacing Rangers. "Club 12" is awaiting the outcome of a seemingly endless stream of disciplinary probes and hearings which will decide how badly crippled we will be for the years proceeding 2012. The venomous lust for punishment has engulfed even the most moderate fans and commentators. All perspective has been lost and with it any chance of a return to those distant yet surprisingly recent days of relative innocence. Scottish Football has been systematically dismantled by those who are charged with building it into something which resembles a vibrant, exciting product that appeals to football fans in all corners of the world. How long they will be allowed to continue with their demolition job is anyone's guess. What will be left in their wake may well be damaged beyond repair. (Not sure which section this should go in guys, please move it wherever you think it should go) Edited June 19, 2012 by Juancornetto 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim1955 12 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 More than a wee bit to think about in that post, thanks for that it was a good read. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
GovanAllan 0 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Good post JC. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluebear54 0 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Excellent JC. Many thanks. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juancornetto 1 Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks chaps, started out on a mini rant that ended up a major rant! It's absolutely amazing to think how much has changed in such a relatively small time frame though. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest cail Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks chaps, started out on a mini rant that ended up a major rant! It's absolutely amazing to think how much has changed in such a relatively small time frame though. I was about to go on a similar rant myself Juancornetto but after reading that it would have been a waste of time as i could'nt have said it any better m8. Kudos on a fine piece. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 (edited) Cracking piece of writing, thanks JC! Now published to the main site - http://www.gersnet.co.uk/ Also on NewsNow - http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/Sport/Football/SPL/Rangers Edited June 19, 2012 by Zappa 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
way2go 0 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks for taking the time to post that op. A lot to consider 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zappa 0 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Thanks chaps, started out on a mini rant that ended up a major rant! Great rant and if you look above your avatar you'll see that you're now in the Gersnet Writer usergroup. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig 5,195 Posted June 19, 2012 Share Posted June 19, 2012 Neil Francis Lennon. Nail....on.... Head. Great piece JC, always enjoy reading your contribution. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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