Dinner and a Show but Without the Show

So apparently there's something special about today. Champions League re starting? A day without a handshake being in the news?

No? Okay I'm at a loss, seems like a normal Tuesday to me.

Any how in the footballing world it's been a rather busy day, and that's before Europe's aforementioned premier club competition restarts with the knock-out stages, but then when was the last time there was a quiet day?

Today's stories, as with most of the recent controversial football stories, were shrouded with lots of mystery and confrontation. In the North West of England we've been reintroduced to an old 'friend' of the region in the form of Carlos Tevez.

Meanwhile in Glasgow and Portsmouth, two cities separated by roughly 440 miles but never closer in footballing terms than today, issues of a far more serious nature were unravelling. Both Glasgow Rangers and Portsmouth F.C owe millions of pounds to HMRC  and have been forced to go into, or apply for, administration. Football clubs building up so much debt is not a new thing nor is football clubs having to go into administration, Portsmouth themselves have already had to take this measure as recently as 2009, but it is striking the regularity that football clubs, which now fully accept need to run as much as businesses as any other  business, find themselves in trouble.

Ibrox

The case of Rangers is the story attracting the most headlines, and rightly so, because of the size of the club involved and because of the massive effect the 10 point reduction, as a consequence of going into administration, will have on their season. What?! Really?! They've lost points and they're still in second place? Right well the first point still stands. Rangers are a massive club, they're in Europe every season and have won the domestic league 54 times. Of course the reason Rangers have managed to hold onto second place, despite the 10 point loss, is that the Scottish league is essentially a two horse race, every year- like The Boat Race with members of other Universities throwing stones to slow down the Oxford and Cambridge boats- with Rangers contending with their city rivals Celtic.

Celtic fans will not shed a tear for their rivals downfall, and many will be hoping that Rangers fall from grace continues with insolvency the next punishment for them, and they will no doubt point to the Gers spending beyond their means to win trophy after trophy for the previous few years as well as their already built in hatred for the team from Ibrox as reason for their glee. And who can really blame them? Those of us who are United fans may have been crossing our fingers for the same to happen to Liverpool when previous owners Hicks and Gillett  attempted to run the club into the ground. But the truth is that we need each other, much as Celtic need Rangers. Of course, there are Celtic fans who will refute my last statement, again, they will find reasons- they will point to a time, in the 80's when Aberdeen, Dundee United, Hearts and Motherwell regularly competed for top honours, they will point to continued yearly profit being made by their club and at an average attendance that is the 12th best in Europe but these would all be fickle arguments.

The very fact Rangers will still be in 2nd place in the league automatically throws out the argument that there is other competition to Celtic's thrown, perhaps in the 80's this was not the case but only once since 1996 have one of Celtic or Rangers finished outside the top two, and that was in 2006 when Hearts finished 2nd, a team on the brink of administration themselves. Celtic may well hold onto their fantastic support in the absence of Rangers but it is in their profits where they will surely be hit hardest. With no Rangers there is clearly no competition and with no competition there is less appetite for an already floundering league and by consequence television companies, like Sky and ESPN, will refuse to pay as much for T.V rights, if they indeed want them at all. The Hoops may think that joining the English leagues would act as a reprieve from this but there is currently not much call for them to join and there would be less so without Rangers.

Overall my argument would be that football fans need to stop being so partisan sometimes, be it in cases of racial abuse, seeing a magical player return to the Premier League or seeing a team go into administration but actually there is one more argument that allows for partisanship;

Who won't miss moments like this

Let's suggest I am completely wrong, as usual, and Celtic can 'survive' without their rivals. They can win competitions whilst being pushed all the way by another Scottish football team and continue to make profit whilst bringing in near 50,000 supporters every week, wouldn't there still be something missing? Even as someone who shows little interest in Scottish football there are always 4 dates that excite me- Old Firm matches! Without Rangers Celtic Park will not pulse and vibrate with the sort of passion and vitriol that those occasions create.

Now back to today what in the world is it? Oh wait it's not Valentines Day is it? Fortunately I've no girlfriend so I won't get in trouble for forgetting. And with no one to take out I'm like Celtic- surviving is fine but what's dinner without the show!

First Scotland! Then the World?

It has been quite sometime since Henrik Larsson looked like this, but oddly enough this is how I remember him most. Ok not in the Sweden shirt, but with his dreadlocks scoring goals in the green and white hooped top of Celtic. For those of you who don't know, Larsson announced his retirement yesterday. 2009 has already seen legends like Maldini, Figo, Nedved and Dean Windass, ok well the latter may not quite be a legend, hang up their boots, and now Henrik joins them.

In all senior levels of football one thing remains the same, the size of the net! So surely a goalscorer in one country could suggest he is a goalscorer in any country. Therefor a great goalscorer for, say Celtic, could claim to be a great goalscorer full stop, one of the best in the modern era.

But is it that simple? Can Larsson really be compared to the greats of today's game or does his extended time in the Scottish Premier League mean he can not really be compared to the Inzaghis and Shevchenkos of the world.

His main opponent in Scotland is that cheeky chappy Mr Ally McCoist. McCoist was at the heart of the Ranger's attack during their 9-in-a-row league winning sides. His record is 2nd to none, well it would be, he scored a goal every 1.66 games for the blues of Glasgow, not bad. But not Henrik, the Swede has a goal record of one every 1.3 games for Celtic. Oh yeah, he's also the top scorer ever in the SPL, so as far as Scottish football goes, he's a great!

It seems that most of Europe's best goalscorers in the modern era are linked by the fact that, in the main, they have scored most of their goals for one club. Shearer has Newcastle, van Nistelrooy has Manchester United, Shevchenko has Milan, Batistua
has Fiorentina, Inzaghi has Milan and Trezeguet has Juventus. You basically get the point that an extended period at one club equals more goals. It's the same with managers, consistency breeds success because you get used to the way player's around you play and eventually the team plays around you.

So can we really judge the dreadlocked (well he used to be) Swede for staying at one place, after all his contemporaries stuck around at one place for so long. Then again Inzaghi scored his goals against opposition such as Inter Milan and Roma, with players such as Fabio Cannavaro and Walter Samuel in defence. Larsson scored his goals against Aberdeed and Dundee, with players such as Jamie McAllister and Chris Coyne, I won't say anything too untoward about the latter two but you get the comparison.

So Larsson is a great goalscorer in Scotland, and it clearly attracted many clubs to him, the fact there is any debate suggests there is some reasoning to say he is one of the modern greats. Then there is Henrik's other clubs. He impressed enough at Celtic to earn him a shot at the big time with Barcelona. In his first season with the Catalan giants he picked up a serious injury and played just 10 league matches, although he did manage a Champions League goal against Celtic, uncelebrated of course. In season two for Barce he scored 13 goals in 40 matches, not a great strike rate but still enough goals to help win La Liga. But perhaps his best performance came in the Champions League final as a substitute against Arsenal, he came on with Barcelona 1-0 down and turned the game on its head supplying both his team's goals in a 2-1 victory. It led Ronaldinho to say "With Henrik leaving us at the end of the season this club is losing a great scorer, no question. But I am also losing a great friend. Henrik was my idol and now that I am playing next to him it is fantastic." and Thierry Henry to say "People always talk about Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Giuly and everything, but I didn't see them today, I saw Henrik Larsson. He came on, he changed the game, that is what killed the game. Sometimes you talk about Ronaldinho and Eto'o and people like that; you need to talk about the proper footballer who made the difference, and that was Henrik Larsson tonight." Not bad praise at all!

His performances for Barcelona led to them offering him a new contract, he turned it down, instead to go home to Helsinborg. The homecoming was put on hold, after playing for one of the world's biggest clubs another approached him as a loan signing for 3 months, Larsson was Premiership bound with Manchester United of all teams. He scored 3 goals in 13 matches in all competitions and picked up more silver wear with United winning the Premier league and asking for a medal for Larsson. Oh yeah he once again plagued former manager Martin O'Neil by scoring against Villa in the FA Cup.

So Henrik Larsson, a man who scored lots and lots of goals in Scotland. Who moved to Barceolna and won the La Liga and European Champions League and then moved to Manchester United and helped them win the English Premier league. A man who scored at 3 World Cups and was so inspirational to the Swedish team he was asked out of international retirement twice. A striker who's goal per game record is up there with the best and even better than some.

Yet the nagging feeling won't go away, would Larsson have scored so many in the peak of his career if he'd played in a top league. More to the point, when you chose a best 11 from the last decade would Larsson get in your team? For me the answer is no! Give me Raul and Henry up front any day and I'll be a very happy manager! On the other hand I'll never forget the young Swede running away in celebration, tongue sticking out, because goals are worth the same no matter what level of football! Take a bow son, take a bow!

Football's West Lothian Affair!

Welcome to the English Premier league, home of some of the world’s greatest teams, players, managers, coaches and stadiums. Not all of them English admittedly, and I mean that for the players, managers, coaches and to an extent the stadiums, although the choice of Australian builders for Wembley wasn’t what you’d call an inspired choice, but the teams are most certainly English.

Welcome to the Scottish Premier league, home of some of Scotland’s best teams, players, managers, coaches and stadiums- well it has all of Scotland’s teams, for now!

There may be no greater tragedy in domestic football if than if Glasgow’s powerhouses of Scottish football, Celtic and Rangers, were to join the English leagues.

There can only be one reason for these two sides to want to join the elite this side of the border, money. Many will suggest it is for success but it is clear that this is an afterthought as it is money that breeds success and not the other way round in most cases. In most domestic leagues throughout, certainly Europe if not the World, there is usually only three or four clubs who are likely to win the league. I don’t need to go through the list of the main players in England, Italy, France, Germany, Spain or Scotland we know them all. But look at Russia, Austria, Belgium, Israel, Portugal, Ukraine, Holland it is always the same teams competing in the European competitions, we can only assume it’s therefore the same teams picking up trophies domestically.

It is also the same clubs who win the big prizes in Europe, mainly from England, Spain and Italy. There has of course been the odd surprise from, say, Portugal or Germany. There is also the ever unpredictable UEFA Cup/Europa League which throws up winners from all over the place, although this may end now with the new set up favouring consistency as it’s more esteemed cousin the Champions League. Consistency means the strongest teams will always rise to the top and lowers the risk of upset. So expect Champions League drop outs or those who struggled domestically last season, and ended in the 2nd tier of European football, to be competing in Hamburg come May.

The point here really is that Celtic and Rangers have no divine right to the money that the English league generates, funny way to suggest it I know, but basically being the most successful club/s by a country mile in a below par domestic league is not exactly a one off, unique in only Scotland. It happens everywhere, and yet there isn’t to my knowledge any question of Anderlecht and Standard Liege joining the Dutch leagues just because the two countries are neighbours.

Actually the whole thing is extremely laughable for one big reason! In 2012 there will be some small multi-sport event in London, you may have heard of it, the Olympics I think it’s called. In said event there is a football medal up for grabs. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have never competed in the football at the Olympics. The reason for this is because at the Olympics the four nations compete together as Great Britain, at football they compete separately with separate Football Associations. With the Olympics being held on home soil the BOA (British Olympic Association) thought it would be a jolly good idea to enter as many, if not all, sports available. The English F.A thought a football team in the Olympics would also be a jolly good idea. The Northern Irish, Scottish and Welsh F.As on the other hand were all worried about their status as separately competing nations when it comes to footballing matters. I think we all agree a fair argument. How then can it be a good idea for Celtic and Rangers, the two sides from Scotland with any remote chance of making an impact internationally, to compete in English competitions, where they have little or no chance of qualifying for said international competitions? Way to show some patriotism!

Some north of the border have suggested that it would be good for the Glasgow monopoly on all competitions to flee. After all it would bring serious competition back to the league and bring the crowds back to the grounds. Cue all those south of the border with Sky Sports channels switching off as soon as Inverness vs. Aberdeen kicks off. A lack of Celtic and Rangers in the league would not make the rest of the clubs better teams, it would just get of the two decent sides. The league might come down to more than just the four Glasgow derbies in a season but only a few seasons of Aberdeen and Hearts reign (these clubs are an example) would mean they instantly became a lot richer than the likes of Falkirk due to European money, suddenly two new ‘superpowers’ of Scottish football and we’re back to square one, great!

Meanwhile down in England! “Welcome to Parkhead on this cold Saturday afternoon as Celtic take on Portsmouth”, just think of the hoards of Pompey fans wanting to make the long, and no doubt, expensive trip to Glasgow during these times of recession. Fans of both Celtic and Rangers will tell you that atmosphere’s at their grounds are amazing, and no doubt the games I’ve watched that these teams take part in have seen great crowds, but then again I only watch derby games and European nights so it’s hardly surprising. The fact is that most, if not all, team’s fans are the same. Loud away from home, loud at big games, loud when the mood suits them, but quiet a lot of the time and there to watch football being played and not make ridiculous amounts of noise all the time. The other thing I’d say for the fans is that I went through Manchester the night after Rangers UEFA cup final loss and I’d rather not see my city looking like that again thanks, one off maybe but I still don't want another potential Milwall or Leeds.

Celtic and Rangers aren’t good enough to compete week in week out in the Premier League, maybe one day, with all the money the Premier League generates, they will be. But that’s the point; they have done nothing to warrant all that money. I’ll tell you what my Sunday league football club could do with all that money and then we’ll start our Europa League campaign!