Barry Ferguson: Jackie McNamara was right to ask for 50-50 split of tickets....

[ian1964 10,386]

.....but Stephen Thompson got it wrong.

 

BARRY says the controversy and unnecessary bad blood that has been whipped up because Dundee United didn’t ask for their fair share of tickets is causing an unhelpful and unwanted distraction for McNamara.

 

 

 

AT least Stephen Thompson has got something right.

 

His decision to back down in his war of words against the SFA was the first thing the Dundee United chairman has got right since creating this season’s latest back-page controversy.

 

Honestly, sometimes I get the feeling the people at the top of our game could start a fight in an empty room and this latest row about the venue and ticket allocation for United’s semi- final against Rangers just goes to prove my point.

 

If I’m getting this right, Thompson started it all by complaining about having to play the game at Ibrox, even though this had already been decided months ago.

 

Then it escalated when Jackie McNamara complained United should be given a 50-50 split of the tickets – only to find out later his own club had only asked the SFA for 8000.

 

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not having a go at Jackie for that. If I was in his shoes I would be making the same demands as I see no reason why United couldn’t take 20,000 fans to Glasgow.

 

But clearly his club has mishandled the situation. I can’t understand why they didn’t go for the maximum amount of tickets available (say around 40 per cent) then attempted to sell them to their supporters.

 

If it turned out they couldn’t shift the lot they could easily have handed the excess back and Rangers fans would have snapped them up.

 

I’m sure that’s what Jackie would have expected his bosses to do because he needs all the help he can get to make this playing field as level as possible for his players. What he doesn’t need are the people around him ramping up the bad feeling ahead of this tie and making sure the matchday atmosphere will be red-hot which is exactly what has been going on over the past few days.

 

I’ve seen all kind of talk about United and their fans not feeling safe inside Ibrox. Thompson has even said he won’t be taking his seat in the directors’ box.

 

What is that all about? I’m a bit taken aback by that. I can’t for the life of me work out what they are getting at here.

 

But it seems to me all this controversy and unnecessary bad blood has been whipped up because United didn’t ask for their fair share of tickets in the first place. And none of it helps their manager.

 

For Jackie this will be an unhelpful distraction.

 

Not only is he heading to Ibrox with a very young side and with only 8000 United fans behind them but now, because of all this other stuff, he can expect an even more hostile reception in Glasgow. He needs that like a hole in his head.

 

Some people will tell you the size of the crowd and the atmosphere the fans generate on a big matchday doesn’t really affect the game itself.

 

Trust me, those people are talking garbage. As a Rangers player I always responded to the big occasion. The more fans we had behind us, the more signing and dancing the more I buzzed off it.

 

I knew these fans were in our corner and they could help lift us through difficult moments as much as they could intimidate the opposition.

 

I just need to think back to one of the strangest nights of my career to show the difference supporters can make.

 

In September 2005 we went to the San Siro to take on Inter Milan in the Champions League. UEFA had ordered that the game be played behind closed doors as a punishment for the Italians.

 

It was the most surreal 90 minutes of my life. We walked out to hear the Champions League music rattling around this huge empty stadium. That was as close as it felt to being a proper top-level European night.

 

Because the moment the music stopped and this huge ground fell completely silent it just felt wrong. Normally on nights like this you can’t hear yourself think.

 

But when that game started we could hear our own shouts echoing back off the empty stands.

 

The action itself was as flat as pancake. It felt more like a pre-season kickabout than a Champions League encounter and it must have been the same for Inter’s players because they couldn’t get going either.

 

So don’t tell me fans in the stands make no difference to the players on the pitch.

 

I always believed our supporters could be our 12th man. When you have nothing left in your legs these guys can push you on and make you dig that little bit deeper – and I’m sure that will be the case again when United head to Ibrox next month.

 

It’s definitely a disadvantage for the players to have only a quarter of the seats but Jackie will hope that because some of his boys are so young they might not be all that bothered by it.

 

You often find kids have no fear in these kind of situations – it’s the more experienced players who tend to get a bit more rattled by things like that.

 

But it can work both ways too. Maybe that was the case with Aberdeen last weekend when they struggled to get on top of Inverness, with 40,000 of their own fans inside Celtic Park.

 

By the way, that’s one thing I’ve never fathomed. How come Aberdeen get gates of eight or nine thousand on a normal Saturday at Pittodrie but 40,000 of them turn up for cup finals in Glasgow?

 

Can you imagine what a big club they could be if only some of these punters would go to games more regularly? These are difficult times I know. It’s not easy to find the cash to go the football every week.

 

But even so, Aberdeen will surely be hoping crowds go up now Derek McInnes has put a trophy in the cabinet – especially as there could be a Scottish Cup to come at the end of this season.

 

There’s no doubt that bigger crowds create bigger pressure for the players. But isn’t that why you pull on your boots in the first place?

 

If you can’t cope with a bit of pressure then you’re in the wrong business. Big players don’t buckle under it, they thrive on it.

 

Which is why United’s visit to Ibrox will also provide these Rangers players with a perfect platform to prove they deserve to wear that jersey.

 

They’ve taken a lot of stick and they’ll know they have a lot of doubters out there. People have said they are not good enough to represent the club.

 

Well lads, here’s your big chance to prove them all wrong. If you don’t think you can win this cup don’t bother turning up.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/barry-ferguson-jackie-mcnamara-right-3266401

[der Berliner 3,219]

They’ve taken a lot of stick and they’ll know they have a lot of doubters out there. People have said they are not good enough to represent the club.

 

Sir Walter once said: Rangers have not gone into any game with any other aim than winning it. Let's hope Ally keeps this attitude.

[JTP 0]

 

If it turned out they couldn’t shift the lot they could easily have handed the excess back and Rangers fans would have snapped them up.

 

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No Barry. Rangers fans deserve more than being a safety net.

[Blue Moon 1,105]

Their cousins from the East would have taken up the slack !!

 

Correct decision.

[ian1964 10,386]

Their cousins from the East would have taken up the slack !!

 

Correct decision.

 

Not sure they could/would pay £23 for a ticket?