Does
it have to be this way?
Loyalty used to count for
something, even in football - TOM ALISONI
KNOW THAT THINGS ALWAYS LOOKED BETTER in the "good old
days", looking back on football is often a much more pleasurable pastime
than watching the modern-day equivalent. One has to wonder what
future generations will make of the Scottish Premier League in the latter
part of the 20th century and the early years of the 21st, will they look
fondly on the days when every club in Scotland was subservient to the 'big
two'? Heck I know they have always been there and winning everything
in sight, but difficult as it is to convince a youngster today of the
truth, there were times in the distant past when you started a season
believing it possible that you could win the league.
These days you start a football season with the same
anticipation, but not quite the same expectation! Anticipation is
now limited to doing well in a cup competition, expectation is avoiding
heavy defeats in Glasgow and getting lucky with either someone else
pulling off a miracle cup win over the old firm and paving an easier path,
or else getting to a final by avoiding the big two along the way, with the
prize a one-off shot at one or other of the gruesome twosome and, you just
never know, you might steal in a penalty shoot-out! Such is the
balance of power, such is the dubious 'riches' of the Old Firm. I
say dubious because these guys have paid a heavy price to stretch their
legs so well in front of the pack in Scottish terms; Rangers can 'boast'
of being able to service their debt, but it does not change the simple
fact that their debt has reached £21m, to be set against a future for the
game that looks bleak.
The Old Firm are finding it difficult to accept that
their dreams of moving into the 'Big League' south of the border have as
much chance of coming true as those of any Hibernian fans expecting Franck
Sauzee to lead them to Champions League glory. There are many
reasons why the English do not wish to touch the Glasgow clubs, and all of
them have been well aired on this site and elsewhere. One that I've
not seen is the manner in which Rangers and Celtic have given the
impression to work with other clubs in Scotland, while in reality
they have acted in a ruthless manner in crushing all possible competition
- and in so doing, have in effect destroyed their own chances of escaping
the confines of this small nation of ours. Deep down, even in the
ruthless world of big business, nobody likes a bully. The bully is
always found out in the end, and always treated with a deserved lack of
trust or respect. Outside their own circle of supporters, Rangers
and Celtic do not have the trust and respect they think they have, and
that is just another reason for their presence anywhere other than
Scotland being deemed as intolerable.
Loyalty was not, in the end, a McLeish strength (sns)
On the plus side the Glasgow clubs will point to an
amazing loyalty among their own fans, and that is certainly true.
That loyalty indeed stretches even further, it permeates its way into
every corner of Scottish football. All too often we hear men swear
that they will do all they can for a particular non-OF club, but their
underlying agenda remains a hope that one day one or other of the Glasgow
clubs will come calling and off they will trot with hardly a backwards
glance. Loyalty? In football? You have to be
joking. And who can blame them, after all a slot at Rangers or
Celtic guarantees a massive pay packet, perhaps 3 or 4 times greater than
anything they will earn elsewhere. And then there is a chance to
actually win something, with the odd trip to Europe thrown in and with the
added bonus of knowing that it is highly unlikely your summer holiday
plans will be ruined by having to play in a European final.
But does it really have to be this way? Is there
any truly talented individuals in the Scottish game, either player or
coach, who has the guts to tell the Old Firm to sod off? Is there
just one man out there who will stand up for old-fashioned principles, and
actually NOT stab a set of trusting non-OF fans in the back while smiling
towards a forthcoming million pound contract? There are numerous
examples of men who appeared to be honourable but turned out to be laying
in wait for the call from Ibrox or Parkhead. Alex McLeish is the
most recent of course. Who now actually believes that Alex McLeish
was not aware for weeks, perhaps even months, that the call was about to
come from Rangers chief David Murray? Who believes the innocent
claims of McLeish that the first he knew of Rangers interest came when
that club finally lowered themselves to approach Hibernian through
official channels? Everyone witnessed that smiling or perhaps even
gloating face of Dick Advocaat, when he announced to the world that he
knew who the next manager of Rangers was going to be - some 24 hours before
Hibernian had been approached. Mr Advocaat did not lie, he did know
who the next manager was to be, he had been speaking to him for long
enough and knew with absolute certainty that when the proper
approach was made, his chosen successor would make damn sure he was
released immediately.
A love affair that will not die? The faith of Hibernian fans could
depend on it (sns)
Perhaps the question should have been put to McLeish - does
it really have to be this way? Hibs fans now have another
man in charge who has not been steeped in the traditions of Scottish
Football, and perhaps in that the Hibee faithful have found someone who is
not to be so cheaply and easily tempted by the Old Firm millions. Is
it just possible that in Franck Sauzee, a man who not only has professed a
liking for life at Easter Road but gone much, much further by declaring a
love for the club equal to if not greater than that felt by any life-long
Hibs fan? If that is the case, then perhaps the rest of Scottish
football should look to Hibernian for a lead, only time will tell.
Sauzee has said himself he may turn out to be the worse manager Scotland
has ever know; there are those who doubt very much this will be the
case. The problems start for Hibs not when a Sauzee-led side plays
in an average manner, but if and when they play in a stylish manner that
gives cause for the Old Firm to worry that their superiority might
actually come under some pressure. Only then will we discover if
there is hope for Scottish football, because only then will attempts be
made to lure Sauzee with false riches.
Frank Sauzee at Hibernian, Ebbe Skovdahl at Aberdeen,
two men with a similar mission. Skovdahl has had the backing of
Aberdeen fans through some very troubled times, he has had this backing
because the fans believed in what he was trying to do in the face
of extreme operating conditions in Scotland. Sauzee now faces a
similar challenge, and the signs are he will have that same backing from
Hibernian fans. The future of our game might well depend on such
men, depend upon their personal loyalty to the clubs who have shown an
amazing trust. In such men as Skovdahl and Sauzee, the future of the
game in Scotland may rest. If such men stick around at their clubs
for long enough, then who knows, one day we may have very good reasons to
anticipate a new season of Scottish football.
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