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we are hibs
05-05-2019, 08:07 AM
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/rangers-boss-steven-gerrard-reckons-14997759.amp


1

You’re unlikely to find a more patriotic Englishman than*Steven Gerrard.

The 114 times he played with the Three Lions on his shirt is testament to that.

But yesterday he celebrated a year north of the border as*Rangers*manager.

And as the Scouser spoke with passion about the game up here and how it could be better, you’d have thought he was a Scot.


Gerrard has now had 12 months at Ibrox to take a good look at Scottish football from within.

And despite his allegiance to the Auld Enemy, he says he’s now got a responsibility to help improve our national team – and the country’s No.1 sport.

He has been impressed by certain aspects of it. He appreciates talented young players such as*Jake Hastie*emerging – that’s why he’s signed him on a four-year deal from Motherwell.


Some of the matches involving his own team and the likes of Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibs have got him off his seat in the dug-out.

But Gerrard has also been left frustrated at times, due to the some of the simple things that give our game a bad name in England.

Half-empty stands, kick-and-rush games and poor camera angles are all devaluing the product, according to the Rangers gaffer.

They might sound like small details but it’s those type of things, Gerrard insists, that come up in conversation when he’s trying to convince players to move to the Premiership.

As he looked back on his first year in Scottish football, the Liverpool legend said: “Certain games have been good.

“Some of the ones we’ve played in or that I’ve watched have been of a higher quality than I expected.

“But at times, I’ve been disappointed too watching certain games.


“The stadiums haven’t been full and when it comes to the standard, the ball has been in the air a lot.

“If I’m honest, it has been a little worse than I thought. So it has been mixed.

“Our games against Celtic and Aberdeen were so enjoyable because they’ve been fierce, quick, intense.


“That’s the level you want to see. And at times, the standard of individual players has been really top level too.

“I suppose it’s the same in every league, some games blow you away and others disappoint.

“I’m not criticising Scottish football but when stands are empty on TV, it doesn’t look great on the eye.

“But I know it’s tough to fill them. I wouldn’t have plastic pitches but that won’t surprise anyone. I’d also be more cute and clever with the camera angles at certain stadiums.

“If they’re putting games live on BT Sport or Sky they should change the camera positions so you see a full stand rather than an empty one.

“It’s a small thing but it comes up in conversation when you are chatting to players.”

Gerrard may have spent his playing career in England, with a brief spell in the United States at LA Galaxy, but he’s now focused on improving the game here in Scotland.

He has enjoyed visiting old-school stadiums such as Pittodrie and Tynecastle but gets annoyed when our game isn’t marketed to its full potential.

He said: “I want Scottish football to be as good as it can be. I want a Scottish manager in charge of the national team and playing the right way. I want to back all of that. I’m employed by a Scottish club, I work with Scottish people, so I want your national team to be the best that it can be

“That might be weird coming from an Englishman but I’m part of it now and I have a responsibility to help with that.

“I want the game up here to be better, to look better on the eye. And there are subtle things that can help that.

“You go live on BT Sport or Sky Sports around the world and have a camera on an empty stand.

“It’s ludicrous. I don’t get it, don’t understand it.

“We’ve played some very good games against lower teams who have made it really difficult for us and I like going to the traditional stadiums. I love it, in fact.

“But when I’m watching Sportscene, there’s nothing better than seeing a full stand, with fans enjoying themselves.

“It seems to be empty stands you see when the games are on TV.”

The signings of Hastie, Jordan Jones, Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Greg Stewart’s expected arrival tells you*
that Gerrard rates Scottish-based players highly.

He accepts it’s a market that’s easier to work in, compared to going down south or abroad. And with those players, effectively all arriving on Bosman deals, he hopes it gives Rangers a head start going into the summer.

He said: “I knew the transfer market would be challenging at Rangers.

“The reality is that there are leagues a lot more attractive than this one.

“We can’t compete with market forces elsewhere, it’s just the way it is. But I knew that before I walked in.

“We’re looking at players who can help us get better and have more answers in the final third.

“Players who are ready now or potentially ready very soon.

“At the moment, we’ve gone for what someone called ‘low hanging fruit’ – I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad term but it’s players we can go and get now and who will help the squad and give us more options. Then when the window*
opens we’ll go and find others.

“Hastie is an exciting one because there’s tons still to come with him.

neil7908
05-05-2019, 08:13 AM
The guy is a total numptie

Bostonhibby
05-05-2019, 08:15 AM
Deary me, where to begin?

So in summary it's a poor league and I've got an average to below average win record compared to Pedro, Murty and Warbler, can't beat the Hibees and am actually signing the players my debt laden club can afford but will give the hordes something else to focus on as celtc disappear over the horizon.



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Green&White
05-05-2019, 08:15 AM
Wants to help the Scottish game in general.... Proceeds to sign 5 or 6 of other teams best players for nout. Guys a fanny!

P.s I agree with the empty stands and it not looking good but that's what happens when you have a 12 team league with the same teams playing each other over and over again. It's boring

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Smartie
05-05-2019, 08:17 AM
I'm not sure the headline does the article justice.

As expected, Gerrard is an erse now he's the Sevco manager but there is little to argue with in that article.

Marvellous
05-05-2019, 08:17 AM
Wants to help the Scottish game in general.... Proceeds to sign 5 or 6 of other teams best players for nout. Guys a fanny!

P.s I agree with the empty stands and it not looking good but that's what happens when you have a 12 team league with the same teams playing each other over and over again. It's boring

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Beyond parody :hilarious

hibsbollah
05-05-2019, 08:20 AM
I don't like the guy but I don't disagree with most of what he has said. We market our product really badly.

JXM73
05-05-2019, 08:25 AM
So even Gerrard's complaining about the FF lower, leanne sort it out 🤔

Diclonius
05-05-2019, 08:27 AM
Scottish football is that way historically because of two teams Stevie, and the one you manage is one of them.

lyonhibs
05-05-2019, 08:28 AM
Somewhat misleading headline given the overall content of the article. He's right though, those at the head of the Scottish football snake have heehaw idea on how to market the product they are nominally responsible for.

BILLYHIBS
05-05-2019, 08:29 AM
I noticed he avoids the thorny issue of the standard of Scottish referees?

Disappointed that he does not rate HIBS as being a tough competitive game considering the fact he is yet to beat us as a Manager

Hard to argue with empty stadiums given the likes of Hamilton and teams in the bottom half

I would just love it if HIBS won today

Just Alf
05-05-2019, 08:29 AM
Really good point re cameras, it really doesn't help our game.. Hell, even Scottish rugby started selling the "camera visible" tickets 1st back from when murrayfield was redeveloped.

The rest of it... Meh...

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JimBHibees
05-05-2019, 08:29 AM
Typical record article sycophantic to a Rangers manager while at the same time running down our game. A lot of his comments are sensible and common sense though no rocket science.

Just Alf
05-05-2019, 08:30 AM
So even Gerrard's complaining about the FF lower, leanne sort it out [emoji848]Ha ha... That did cross my mind when reading it :-)


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green day
05-05-2019, 08:36 AM
Wonder what he thinks of Bournemouth v Spurs attracting 10000 people yesterday, and yet still having a wage bill over £100 million.

Does TV money help buy players Stevie?

Fud

Betty Boop
05-05-2019, 08:38 AM
I don't like the guy but I don't disagree with most of what he has said. We market our product really badly.

Can t see why people are whinging the guys only saying what most folks on here come away with.

NC1875
05-05-2019, 08:40 AM
Anyone else read patriotic as pathetic in the first line

Stopped reading after that because I agreed with it.

Since452
05-05-2019, 08:51 AM
Part of the problem is Steven Gerrard. He's useless.

BILLYHIBS
05-05-2019, 08:53 AM
So even Gerrard's complaining about the FF lower, leanne sort it out 🤔

:aok:

Been supporting Hibs for over 50 years and behind the goals downhill end (Cow Shed) was always mobbed with fans awaiting a barrowload of goals second half now looks like a Sunday School picnic where half of the invited guests have forgot to turn up or simply cannot be bothered

Looks pish on TV and detracts from the atmosphere

It is a topic that has been done to death on here but needs to be addressed

Get it sorted Leeann!

TrinityHibs
05-05-2019, 08:57 AM
Did he mention sectarianism at any time?

BILLYHIBS
05-05-2019, 08:58 AM
Did he mention sectarianism at any time?

It is not them it is everyone else???

hibIBZ
05-05-2019, 08:58 AM
I do agree with the empty stands looking bad, but as he is the manager of the biggest problem in terms of people not supporting their local team and trekking to one of the ugly sisters for reasons that does not always have to do with football and with 1 team dominating the league with vastly higher resources than everybody else and absolutely no sign that it will change, the league will continue to suffer. With a 12 team league it doesn't take much to drop places quickly, or climb quickly as we have shown. This puts many teams off playing football and taking any risks as a couple of loses can put you in big trouble. Relegation for many teams will cause them serious financial issues, many jobs loses and the threat of administration. Dundee utd being an example and I would suspect Falkirk will be now in a perilous position. The whole league needs restructured. However, this will never happen as it would threaten the ugly sisters position and who would dare do that?

Bostonhibby
05-05-2019, 09:08 AM
Did he mention sectarianism at any time?Yep, they're thinking of giving it a go to boost income down ibrox way because they don't like kaffliks.

You never know it might catch on.

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fiolex1
05-05-2019, 09:25 AM
Trying to deflect away criticism from himself as a poor manager by saying our game is poor. It all about self preservation by Gerrard for his big move to England

Hibernia&Alba
05-05-2019, 09:48 AM
It's so poor that Rangers' budget increased by ten million and they still won nothing.

Bostonhibby
05-05-2019, 09:52 AM
It's so poor that Rangers' budget increased by ten million and they still won nothing.Not to mention the increasing debt since the now defunct Glasgow rangers ceased to exist.



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Sir David Gray
05-05-2019, 10:00 AM
If he's so bothered about half empty stadiums, maybe he should tell the thousands of his own club's supporters who come from Kilmarnock, Motherwell, Hamilton and Paisley etc to go and support their local club instead.

Dr What If?
05-05-2019, 10:31 AM
I was gutted when Gerrard took the Rangers post as he was a player I really liked and respected...ability and passion, great to watch - I didn't like the though of associating him with them.
He does make some very good general points here though and from a broader, non Rangers sense I think people should listen to him. Never mind how our game is viewed abroad, its got a pretty dismal view here. More people will be watching the game on Sportscene than from the stands and frankly what they are getting is a very dull and boring picture....its just so dry! Shots of empty stands, dull commentary followed by sleepy studio analysis just turns even the most excitable fans off. TV isn't just a revenue stream, its the biggest advert our game has. If you are watching an exciting, positive programme that dresses the game up as fun and dramatic then every armchair fan will be chomping at the bit to get involved....instead, well you can see what is on offer, who in their right mind would part with the kind of money clubs today ask for ticket? Even the theme music turns me off.
Compare the presentation to match of the day...the differences might be small but one celebrates its product, the other just seems to be something thrown together to fill an empty TV slot. I know there are so many things that need address, so many....but if this is how we advertise the game to ourselves then really what is the point? No one is going to want to go and see it and we may as well accept that we will slip nearer and nearer to being like the Irish league than getting a bit closer to where we used to be.
So maybe clubs should be selling the TV seen seats first as a start, shots of excited and passionate fans is a huge attraction to the game...being part of that party is what will get people to go along themselves...your not going to part with your cash to sit in an empty cold stadium.

Golden Bear
05-05-2019, 10:51 AM
Can t see why people are whinging the guys only saying what most folks on here come away with.

Exactly.

Personally I don't see much wrong with the article.

Keith_M
05-05-2019, 10:53 AM
I'm disappointed when I see games played in nearly empty stadiums as well but what does he suggest we do about it?

How about we shut down Celtc and The Rangers?

One Day Soon
05-05-2019, 10:54 AM
If that had come out of the mouth of a non Ugly Sister manager most people on here would be agreeing with it. He's broadly not far wrong, though there are plenty of other issues he hasn't mentioned...

Keith_M
05-05-2019, 10:57 AM
If that had come out of the mouth of a non Ugly Sister manager most people on here would be agreeing with it. He's broadly not far wrong, though there are plenty of other issues he hasn't mentioned...


The big Orange Elephant in the room?

SonOfDavidFrancey
05-05-2019, 11:10 AM
If that had come out of the mouth of a non Ugly Sister manager most people on here would be agreeing with it. He's broadly not far wrong, though there are plenty of other issues he hasn't mentioned...

I agree, though it doesn’t stop me wanting to say ‘aw diddums’ every time he opens his mouth

Godsahibby
05-05-2019, 11:21 AM
Unsurprisingly no mention of the sectarianism which is rife with certain teams but that aside I can’t disagree with much that he said. As someone else mentioned if that was any other manager saying that the we would all be in agreement.

Phil MaGlass
05-05-2019, 11:26 AM
I was gutted when Gerrard took the Rangers post as he was a player I really liked and respected...ability and passion, great to watch - I didn't like the though of associating him with them.
He does make some very good general points here though and from a broader, non Rangers sense I think people should listen to him. Never mind how our game is viewed abroad, its got a pretty dismal view here. More people will be watching the game on Sportscene than from the stands and frankly what they are getting is a very dull and boring picture....its just so dry! Shots of empty stands, dull commentary followed by sleepy studio analysis just turns even the most excitable fans off. TV isn't just a revenue stream, its the biggest advert our game has. If you are watching an exciting, positive programme that dresses the game up as fun and dramatic then every armchair fan will be chomping at the bit to get involved....instead, well you can see what is on offer, who in their right mind would part with the kind of money clubs today ask for ticket? Even the theme music turns me off.
Compare the presentation to match of the day...the differences might be small but one celebrates its product, the other just seems to be something thrown together to fill an empty TV slot. I know there are so many things that need address, so many....but if this is how we advertise the game to ourselves then really what is the point? No one is going to want to go and see it and we may as well accept that we will slip nearer and nearer to being like the Irish league than getting a bit closer to where we used to be.
So maybe clubs should be selling the TV seen seats first as a start, shots of excited and passionate fans is a huge attraction to the game...being part of that party is what will get people to go along themselves...your not going to part with your cash to sit in an empty cold stadium.

All of this, I agree with Gerrard, until they start picking up Scottish players for almost nothing and money is not being given back to the clubs to invest in the future of the game.

silverhibee
05-05-2019, 11:30 AM
Did we not get a extra batch of tickets from The Rangers for today's game which would mean they were struggling to sell tickets for the match today, with them having nothing to play for it wouldn't surprise me if there is plenty of empty seats in the home stands today, hope to f*** they get the camera angles right to show these empty seats.

Jog on stevie boy, you have been poor for Scottish football lad.

1van Sprou7e
05-05-2019, 11:41 AM
I noticed he avoids the thorny issue of the standard of Scottish referees?

Disappointed that he does not rate HIBS as being a tough competitive game considering the fact he is yet to beat us as a Manager

Hard to argue with empty stadiums given the likes of Hamilton and teams in the bottom half

I would just love it if HIBS won today

Maybe he didn't mention us because he's failed to beat us :wink:

NORTHERNHIBBY
05-05-2019, 11:44 AM
Exactly.

Personally I don't see much wrong with the article.

But surely the easiest way to start to talk Scottish football up is to stop talking it down? If there is nothing new or nothing that we don't already know in the article then what is the point of relevance of it. Better to fill the same newspaper space with what you are going to do to make things better.

Moulin Yarns
05-05-2019, 11:47 AM
:aok:

Been supporting Hibs for over 50 years and behind the goals downhill end (Cow Shed) was always mobbed with fans awaiting a barrowload of goals second half now looks like a Sunday School picnic where half of the invited guests have forgot to turn up or simply cannot be bothered

Looks pish on TV and detracts from the atmosphere

It is a topic that has been done to death on here but needs to be addressed

Get it sorted Leeann!

Maybe we should sell season tickets for general admittance and then we can sit anywhere, the best seats will be taken first but you can move seats during the game like we did back then.

cabbageandribs1875
05-05-2019, 11:47 AM
if slippy G wants to help scottish football he should come down on the vile sectarian bigots that turn up at every single game his team/club is involved in...go on stevie, mention THAT


oh aye and p.s. snatching the best scottish talent from other scottish clubs to play for one vile club is not helping our game.

Smartie
05-05-2019, 11:57 AM
But surely the easiest way to start to talk Scottish football up is to stop talking it down? If there is nothing new or nothing that we don't already know in the article then what is the point of relevance of it. Better to fill the same newspaper space with what you are going to do to make things better.

I thought that through the majority of his article he WAS talking Scottish football up. He admitted that some of the weaker teams were pretty weak (nothing we didn't know) but was mainly expressing his frustration that we don't do more to make the game look good, meaning he has a battle sometimes to attract players from elsewhere who would improve the standard.

Most of the article was quite complimentary, and the headline plays to the peculiarly Scottish trait that we always like to give our own game a good kicking.

G B Young
05-05-2019, 11:59 AM
:aok:

Been supporting Hibs for over 50 years and behind the goals downhill end (Cow Shed) was always mobbed with fans awaiting a barrowload of goals second half now looks like a Sunday School picnic where half of the invited guests have forgot to turn up or simply cannot be bothered

Looks pish on TV and detracts from the atmosphere

It is a topic that has been done to death on here but needs to be addressed

Get it sorted Leeann!

It was maybe before my time when that was the case, but in my experience (late 70s onwards) the Cow Shed was more often than not the worst-populated part of the ground for home fans. The view was poor due to the benches that were bolted on to the terracing long before all-seated stadiums, the roof only covered about half of it and it usually looked pretty crap on TV. If Hibs had kept it standing-only I imagine it would have been better.

As for Gerrard's comments, I don't really get how we could position the cameras differently to make the grounds look fuller. Inevitably match highlights will focus on the goalmouth action and in the case of most clubs, the stands behind the goals are poorly populated, closed off altogether depending on the opposition or non-existent in the case of Hamilton. Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Motherwell, St Mirren, Livingston, St Johnstone...basically the whole league apart from Rangers and Celtic...have stands behind at least one goal which more often than not look half empty.

My solution? Not popular, but for me a UK league would inject more interest. Failing that, a restructuring/expansion of the league whereby you only play the same opposition twice rather than three, four or more times.

BILLYHIBS
05-05-2019, 12:11 PM
It was maybe before my time when that was the case, but in my experience (late 70s onwards) the Cow Shed was more often than not the worst-populated part of the ground for home fans. The view was poor due to the benches that were bolted on to the terracing long before all-seated stadiums, the roof only covered about half of it and it usually looked pretty crap on TV. If Hibs had kept it standing-only I imagine it would have been better.

As for Gerrard's comments, I don't really get how we could position the cameras differently to make the grounds look fuller. Inevitably match highlights will focus on the goalmouth action and in the case of most clubs, the stands behind the goals are poorly populated, closed off altogether depending on the opposition or non-existent in the case of Hamilton. Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Motherwell, St Mirren, Livingston, St Johnstone...basically the whole league apart from Rangers and Celtic...have stands behind at least one goal which more often than not look half empty.

My solution? Not popular, but for me a UK league would inject more interest. Failing that, a restructuring/expansion of the league whereby you only play the same opposition twice rather than three, four or more times.

Agree with what you say re the bench seats in the shed in the late seventies.

I even remember the state of the art scoreboard that sat on top of the shed that worked for about two games :greengrin

It is now almost 2020 and the FF lower still looks as sparsely populated as it did in 1979 and that is with hopefully over 13000 ST holders for 2019/20

NAE NOOKIE
05-05-2019, 12:14 PM
Taking away the obvious fact that if both ugly sisters gave back the fans they steal the lack of fans at games not involving them wouldn't be such a problem he does have a point regarding presentation and its a point I've made ad nauseum on this subject.

Why in the name of all that's holy do clubs, Livingston being the prime example, have the TV cameras situated in such a way as to be pointing away from the only stand they have filled. When you see some clubs on the TV its not hard to see the neglect, not the lack of brand new stands but the lack of a coat of paint and weeds growing between stands or in some cases on terraces … you don't have to be Man City to finance weed pulling, most clubs fans would volunteer to wield a paint brush or pull weeds for nothing.

Its the same with plastic pitches … like it or not they make our game look small time. Watching MLS the other night the commentators were bemoaning the fact that some clubs due to the venues they are forced to use play on plastic and that none of the football specific stadiums being built plan to use them.

We cant compete with the glamour of the environment Gerrard is used to with mega bucks players and full modern stadiums. But we can make the atmosphere at our games a selling point and a number of our clubs, not least of all Hibs, could improve that markedly with a behind the goals stand with rail seats … as I said on a thread I started on the subject they have proved massively popular in corporate the customer comes first America, where even the land of the lard ass has lots of fans who want to stand and generate an atmosphere. Yes it costs money, but the benefits could outweigh the cost IMO.

Gerrard may be missing the point that some clubs are forced to play the way they do because they cant afford the type of players required to go head to head with the big clubs in a pure football contest … but he is bang on about our lack of presentation, something presentation genius Barry Hearn lambasted the blazers about and he was ignored too.

NAE NOOKIE
05-05-2019, 12:44 PM
I do agree with the empty stands looking bad, but as he is the manager of the biggest problem in terms of people not supporting their local team and trekking to one of the ugly sisters for reasons that does not always have to do with football and with 1 team dominating the league with vastly higher resources than everybody else and absolutely no sign that it will change, the league will continue to suffer. With a 12 team league it doesn't take much to drop places quickly, or climb quickly as we have shown. This puts many teams off playing football and taking any risks as a couple of loses can put you in big trouble. Relegation for many teams will cause them serious financial issues, many jobs loses and the threat of administration. Dundee utd being an example and I would suspect Falkirk will be now in a perilous position. The whole league needs restructured. However, this will never happen as it would threaten the ugly sisters position and who would dare do that?

Bang on and this is something that is often overlooked when we talk about reconstruction. We only have a limited amount of full time clubs and to some degree without compromising sporting integrity we need to protect them.

An 18 team league would simply generate too many dead rubbers and a 16 team league no matter how its formatted would have either too many or too few fixtures.

A 14 team league is eminently doable if it had an 8/6 split after the first round of 26 home and away fixtures. that would give the bottom 8 a further 14 games giving a season total of 40 games and the top 6 another 10 fixtures to a total of 36. Its fine keeping the split in this scenario because unlike now everybody would play everybody home and away the same number of times.

All clubs could sell season tickets covering 36 matches and if you end up in the bottom 8 with that extra two home games the policy could be that you can only charge £5 to get in to cover costs … the price of failure as it were :greengrin At the end of the day you have still had 18 home games at full price, which incidentally is still one more than an 18 team league.

With 8 clubs in the bottom half you could have a winner of the bottom half trophy to generate a wee bit of interest … lets not forget the winner of the English championship play off gets a muckle big trophy, so its not as barmy as it sounds.

One automatic relegation place with 2nd and 3rd bottom in a play off, the winner playing the winner of the championship play offs in a one off winner takes all game at a suitable neutral venue.

Bobs yer uncle ...done! :aok:

Phil MaGlass
05-05-2019, 12:51 PM
Maybe we should sell season tickets for general admittance and then we can sit anywhere, the best seats will be taken first but you can move seats during the game like we did back then.

This, they do it in Holland, and, it does create a better atmosphere (well for my club anyway,behind the goals).
Maybe they should do it for the FF only

Lago
05-05-2019, 12:58 PM
Wonder what he thinks of Bournemouth v Spurs attracting 10000 people yesterday, and yet still having a wage bill over £100 million.

Does TV money help buy players Stevie?

Fud

That's the capacity of the ground, plans in place for new development.

Lago
05-05-2019, 01:03 PM
I thought that through the majority of his article he WAS talking Scottish football up. He admitted that some of the weaker teams were pretty weak (nothing we didn't know) but was mainly expressing his frustration that we don't do more to make the game look good, meaning he has a battle sometimes to attract players from elsewhere who would improve the standard.

Most of the article was quite complimentary, and the headline plays to the peculiarly Scottish trait that we always like to give our own game a good kicking.
Agree

Sammy7nil
05-05-2019, 07:13 PM
I don't like the guy but I don't disagree with most of what he has said. We market our product really badly.

That is my take too. :top marks

BILLYHIBS
05-05-2019, 07:22 PM
Noticed a lot of empty seats in the home end at Ibroke today

Are The Rangers fans trying to tell Gerrard something?

You can fool some of the people some of the time......

Steve-O
06-05-2019, 04:22 AM
It was maybe before my time when that was the case, but in my experience (late 70s onwards) the Cow Shed was more often than not the worst-populated part of the ground for home fans. The view was poor due to the benches that were bolted on to the terracing long before all-seated stadiums, the roof only covered about half of it and it usually looked pretty crap on TV. If Hibs had kept it standing-only I imagine it would have been better.

As for Gerrard's comments, I don't really get how we could position the cameras differently to make the grounds look fuller. Inevitably match highlights will focus on the goalmouth action and in the case of most clubs, the stands behind the goals are poorly populated, closed off altogether depending on the opposition or non-existent in the case of Hamilton. Hibs, Hearts, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Dundee, Motherwell, St Mirren, Livingston, St Johnstone...basically the whole league apart from Rangers and Celtic...have stands behind at least one goal which more often than not look half empty.

My solution? Not popular, but for me a UK league would inject more interest. Failing that, a restructuring/expansion of the league whereby you only play the same opposition twice rather than three, four or more times.

Most of the time I was in the Cowshed in the late 80s / early 90s it was far from "mobbed". And when you look back at footage from that era, the bottom half of it was empty because, as you say, the roof didn't cover those bits!

Gerrard is wrong to blame camera angles. It's not the cameras that need re-positioned, it's the fans! Put the fans in the areas the cameras can see, it's pretty simple and done in sport all around the world for this very reason. Look atthe likes of Kilmarnock and Motherwell - stick away fans in the top tier of the away stands so it just looks like the stand is completely empty on TV, therefore giving the impression there are no, or few, away fans. A lot of the time there are actually a lot of fans there, they're just crammed up the top!

judas
06-05-2019, 07:46 AM
Gerard is spot on about Scottish Football as a product.

We need to get more fans through the turnstiles and be smarter in the way we present our game to a global market.

The Portuguese league takes 7 times more than us in annual TV revenue. The Swedish,Norwegian and Danish leagues take more also.

Our game as a product is poor despite having some big clubs compared with similarly sized neighbours.