Old Firm Not Firm Enough To Save Scottish Football

For a century Glasgow’s two football giants have maintained near complete domination of Scotland’s game. Of 111 national championships, Rangers or Celtic were crowned a staggering 94 times. Of the mere 17 titles won by other clubs the most recent was 24 years ago. The level of hegemony has made ridiculous any notion of Scottish football as a competitive pursuit. With the rest merely making up the numbers, the two clubs with mass support are sustained purely by the intensity of their relationship to each other; a rivalry based on endless competition for sporting supremacy and steeped in religious, nationalistic and ethnic tribalism of a society divided into two communities.

Celtic was established as a charitable vehicle for one such community, the pre-existing Rangers would become standard-bearers for the other.

Whatever the consequence for the city and country, the enmity that grew between the clubs was soon seen to be mutually beneficial. So intertwined were their fortunes that they quickly became seen as a gestalt entity, and in becoming the ‘Old Firm’ Celtic and Rangers propelled themselves far beyond the limit of their individual potential.

They killed the competition but took Scottish football to a level it could otherwise never have reached: World record attendances as the 20th century began, world class stadiums as it drew to a close. They supplied players for the Scotland team and represented the country admirably in European competitions. But those days may be gone forever.

Europe’s most prestigious national leagues now generate revenues from global television and sponsorship hundreds of times that achievable by smaller leagues such as Scotland’s. Their bottom feeders, historically insignificant and poorly supported, receive income vastly superior to that available to top sides in smaller nations. By accident of geography Glasgow’s super-clubs, each with a size of support comparable to any in the world, find themselves locked out.

Glasgow’s location is an obstacle they constantly try to overcome, but England does not seem to want to allow the Old Firm to adopt the St.Geroge’s Cross as a flag of convenience. If they cannot engineer an escape from the confines of Scottish football, then these big fish must urgently consider how to make life in the small pond worth living.

It is no longer sufficient for the Glasgow giants to offer a dismal product. The absence of competition may have been tolerated when Scottish football was the only show in town, but in the age of global communications the punter can get a far better product for a much lower price. The dearth of quality needs to be addressed. What they cannot buy they must develop; somehow the clubs must start to offer proper entertainment value.

The time has come for urgent and widespread change. Scotland has failed to qualify for seven straight international tournaments. The Old Firm increasingly appear old and infirm: Tens of thousands of empty seats at Ibrox and Parkhead an alarming sign that the game is withering. If the causes go unaddressed, Scottish football may never recover.

A Literary Populace

Nothing strikes me more the the British addiction to the press. It is indubitably a fantastic aspect of British society. Everyday when I squeeze onto the rush hour tube and it amazes me how many people are either reading a newspaper or flipping through a book. What's more is the amount of information which is entirely free! You can pick up the Evening Standard, a former broadsheet offered for sale, at any time during the day for completely free. You can even pick up the informative Metro, or the tabloids London Lite or London Echo for nothing.

At the bus stop or even in a pub you find papers from all over the commonwealth readily available and free to take home for anyone who cares. The Australian Times, New Zealand Herald, and even the South African Mirror all updated weekly with news from the other side of the world. Newspaper stands sit outside almost every station where amongst the the limited supply of Lucazade and Walker's crisps there is an endless supply of left, right, weekly, daily fortnightly, papers, magazines and satire. Put this all together and you have a populace never short on the information they need to become fully engaged in the policy of the day.

During the Cuban Revolution Che Guevara installed a trend of teaching soldiers to read and building schools before military bases. The belief of literacy to liberate. Our own J.S. Mills put forth that education changes the gin drinking subject to the informed citizen.

The ability to read is fundamental to British liberty!

Kevin Conroy, London

Scottish Nationalists Invade London

Last Monday I attended the Constitution Unit seminar on the affect of Scotland on the British Constitution. To be fair the Constitution unit based at UCL's School of public policy is politically independent and has done plenty of research into an effective referendum on the Scottish question. However to my surprise it wasn't a room filled with SNP supporters and their Scottish counterparts but an international crowd of Irish, Dutch, Russians, Quebecans ( I know that isn't the right term), English, Scots and probably a few others. All of them with their own constitutional problems at hand and seemed fairly interested in what the Scottish National Party could add to the debate on curtailing or legitimizing succession.

The guest speaker was Michael Russell MSP and External Affairs minister in the current Scottish Parliament. Presumably he sees this role transforming into the first foreign minister of a sovereign Scotland.

One thing is clear. The SNP have redefined the question of Scottish independence not as a question of occupation and unfair treatment at the hands of our southern cousins but as a tool to deepen democracy. Russel started of a ramification of the last 800 years of Scottish history in a 10 minute spiel that only the most rehearsed of zealots could deliver under the watchful eye of dissenters. Conveniently skipping over the traditional swapping of allegiances between Scottish nobles and the English bail out of Scotland after our failed attempts at colonialism in Panama and South Carolina. Akin to the bail out that Westminster gave to the Bank of Scotland and the Royal Bank of Scotland last year, again conveniently ignored.

Next up was how devolution was a step forward for democracy in Scotland, taking over the reigns of largely undemocratic unaccountable Scottish office hidden away in the back offices somewhere in Edinburgh. Replacing it with a proportional elected parliament with sovereignty in all areas except those reserved by Westminster. A nonetheless eloquent talk about how we have deepened democracy. If this is not enough to prove the merits of independence then at least a question should be put forward for the Scottish people to decide. In the height of democratic ideals and a commitment to accept a peaceful rejection or a promise of civil succession.

The Constitution unit is no SNP conference however, nor a 'National Conversation' for that matter. In the heart of London, full of world ranking authorities on matters of constitution and democracy, what questions could he expect to answer articulately enough to please the listeners.

Well one thing's for sure. The SNP have a surprisingly a big London branch. I never even guessed that one existed. After the obvious planted questions by 'SNP London Branch member A, B, and C..' Such as; what can Scotland learn form the peaceful breakup of Czechoslovakia? Lots. Will Scotland remain part of the EU? Yes. The audience loosened up and thrust forward like the bayonets at Cullodan. The suits at the front prodded about what question would be on the

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Why Spend Money in Space

Last month NASA smashed a probe into the lunar surface, hoping to find water hidden beneath. Scientists have been analysing that crash and yesterday the world was told of the results. There is water on the moon.

Many people argue that spending vast sums of money on space exploration is to waste public funds, that with so many problems here on Earth the money could be much better spent. There can be no doubt that issues such as famine, disease and extreme poverty are and ought to be extremely high on the agenda of any politician in the developed world.

Those who say we are wasting money in space fail to see not only the benefits of space exploration, but also the nature of scientific discovery: We do not know in advance where experimentation leads. The tangible gains cannot be weighed up front, they are revealed only because something new was done.

On 28th September 1928 a guy named Alec awoke to find his work had spoiled overnight. For some reason the bacteria he was studying had not spread across their little dish. By complete fluke he had discovered Penicillin, the world’s first antibiotic. All that followed came from this discovery. How many millions of lives have and continue to be saved as a direct result of this accident? The technological results of space exploration may be less well-known, but they have been dramatic and of real benefit to everyday life.

Cancers are found and treated earlier. Brittle bones are found and treated earlier. Arterial blockages are found and treated earlier. Problems with kids’ vision are found and treated earlier. Were these a waste of money? They’re all due to technologies designed for space missions.

Firemen are protected by suits of flame-retardant fabrics, families by smoke detectors, and stranded sailors by self-righting life rafts. How many would be dead if not for these NASA-born inventions?

Spending money on space is good. It has raised patient prospects and lowered mortality. It creates new protections and eliminates old dangers. It builds up lifestyle quality, it knocks down barriers.
Perhaps more than anything else, it follows the natural urge of humanity to go where we have never gone. To know what we do not yet know. Our ancestors left the cave, they went over the hill, and took to the seas in the belief that what was beyond would be worth exploring. Those who came before explored the full extent of this world and made it home, we would not be here had they not. We are a species of explorers. We think therefore we are, and so increasing our knowledge adds to who we are. Space is next.

And for anyone who says that is not enough to justify billions of pounds, dollars, euros and roubles: What we do up there benefits us down here. President Bush outlined a vision for space exploration, taking men back to the moon and onto Mars. The waste would be to not do it.

Mark McGeever