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Gordon Waddell raised an interesting point in yesterday's Sunday Mail. Talking about declining attendances at both Darkheid and Castle Greyskull, he noted that without bigotry to fall back on they are finding it harder to attract fans.
Is he right, or is it just too expensive for your average knuckle dragger to make it along to the hate fest?
From where I'm looking it seems that the vast majority go along to participate in the bigotry and the footie is just an aside :wink:Quote:
Originally Posted by Filled Rolls
Exactly. :agree:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonnyboy
Would be interesting to see how many OF supporters could actually name 10 players from their squad.
Why were OF attendances so low in the early eighties then?Quote:
Originally Posted by Filled Rolls
I remember Rangers and Celtic regularly having gates around the 20000-30000mark back then and the bigotry was rife.
Truth is both Rangers and Celtic are relatively poor at the present time and apathy is setting in.
:agree: That along with the rising unemployment etc will be the main reasons - much as they've banned a few songs they can still all go and wave their flags at each other which will keep many of the biggots contented.Quote:
Originally Posted by judas
:agree:Quote:
Originally Posted by judas
I think the poor standard that they're serving up is more to blame than the clamp down on bigotry, tbh.
My Hun mate has just arrived in Perth so I took him up to the rangers supporters club to watch the game. My intention was to drop him off and get the f*** out of there as quicly as I could but intrigue got the better of me so I ended up staying to watch the game. I couldn't believe the utter tripe evey man, woman and child were singing about. I've never bothered listening to the words or what they're actually singing about but it is complete nonsense. Some ditty about a rifle and a pistol where they all imitate holding a gun in the air. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a handful of morons but seeing wives mothers and kids singing this *****e as the dad looks on approvingly just shows that they are a different breed.
Their eyes were all too close together too.
Sign of the current malaise in Scottish football IMO. Even johnny bigot would rather go shoplifting on Sauchiehall St these days than crying no surrender at Greyskull or bigging up the 'ra at Sellick Park.
There was no shortage of bigotry in the 1990s when Celtic were lucky to get 10,000 for home matches.Quote:
Originally Posted by judas
Rangers had crowds of around 8,000 when Dundee United and Aberdeen ruled the roost in the early 1980s.
It's mre to do with glory hunting than anything else. They may both be poor but they are still at the top of the table. For now at least!
They're crowds are dipping because glory hunters are going elsewhere. The premiership. Rangers and Celtic will be getting only 30k season ticket holders in a few years, mark my words. The Paddys are going elsewhere, they are opting for Liverpool, Man Utd, Villa and Chelsea. The glory hunting Scots are opting for ESPN and Sky Sports HD. My old boss stayed in Broxburn and they'd take a bus from Broxburn to 5 or 6 Ibrox games a season, day out and a peeve etc, doesn't do it now, kids etc, his kid though, a teen, couldn't name a hun player, could name every Man United player down to the U21's though. The old generation that didn't support a local team supported the OF, the new generation, we'll they'll support who is on Sky Sports.
Obvisouly another thing is the prices, Celtic fans are paying £500 for season tickets to watch international superstars like Caldewall and Naylor. Getting massive classy visiting teams such St Mirren and Hamilton.
Crowds are dipping everywhere I think, and long may it continue, then the authorities etc will have to do something about it. For too long have we all been getting ripped off, forget tv revenue and all that bollocks, £23 for an SPL were the standard is pesh isn't value for money!
The bigotry is alive and well.
It's purely down to cost and the standard of football imo.
I'll be honest i think it's down to how well the EPL is just now. I know a few boys who have turned there back on Scottish football and go to watch Liverpool, Man U etc.. Including a few old firm fans.
With more games than ever being shown on tv the young football fans growing up would rather watch a Liverpool v Chelsea match than go to a home or away game here. Lets be fair can we blame them? how much gets shown on scottish games? about half and hour excluding the live matches.
Scottish football is dying on its feet and unless huge changes are made then crowds will drop futher. I'll never stop going to watch the hibs but the young ones might??
nail on the head. :top marksQuote:
Originally Posted by Thecat23
I've said it numerous times before, and I will say it again.
Unite the bigot brothers into one team (e.g. Glasgow United/City) and rid bigotry and sectarianism in one swoop.
The time is yet again right
OFGTF
I don't actually think bigotry is much to do with it. I'm sure a lot of the 'glory hunter' level of fans are just getting bored with the same thing every season.
The league title shared between them with virtually no chance of ever competing regularly with the European big guns, barring the occasional longer run in Europe, a la Rangers reaching Uefa final.
If anything, I think the more hard-core fans, the ones likely to hang around when the glory hunters have left, are more into the sectarianism / terrorist glorification.
Oh and before 'you know who' comes on and tells us it's all Rangers and that RaSellik are just misunderstood political protesters... try telling that to the RaSellik fans I had the pleasure of sharing a train to Glasgow with after the last match I attended that called me a 'Scottish *********', called the ticket collecter a 'Durty protestant' because he had the temerity to check their tickets and generally serenaded us all with songs about blowing up and shooting people in the country to which the rest of the passengers belonged.
Never mind though, it's just a minority eh!
Not sure that the bigotry line here is more important than simple economics. From what I heard on the radio, the ticket price for the Sevilla game was £43? That is a bit of a reach for anyone expecially when you have the "must attend" game a few days later. Add to that the fact that masses of OF fans don't come from anywhere near Govan or Parkhead and I would put budget over bigotry.
I've said it numerous times before, and I will say it again.
Unite the bigot brothers into one team (e.g. Glasgow United/City) and rid bigotry and sectarianism in one swoop.
The time is yet again right
OFGTF
The old firm game would have been sold out primarily with season ticket holders i would have thought so that shouldn't really have played that much of a part in the low attendance.Quote:
Originally Posted by NORTHERNHIBBY
I suppose there's the bevvy before and after it that costs money but how much does a bottle of buckfast cost these days?
:LOL:Quote:
Originally Posted by Burnsie07
There would probably be blood on the streets and the least supported football club in the world.