Andy's Sting In The Tale (18/09/26) "Results in Europe Don’t Lie"
Our doses of Uefa induced realism keep coming.
Most observers would know Ferencvaros are no European patsies or mugs to be underestimated.
Yes, their current League table might say they are a mediocre 5th in the Hungarian top Division but if they win their one game in hand they could be top and indeed they are the league’s only undefeated side.
But we also collectively know the European fortress that was Parkhead should not fear them.
So last night’s result was first for me a shock, but in the cold light of day simply confirms how far Scottish Football has slipped off the pace.
Celtic fielded 4 starting Scots, Fenencvaros matched that with 4 Hungarians so the difference must be that their 7 foreign mercenaries simply outperformed Celtic’s.
Raises a question.
Has our top league really become the last choice for cash-driven footballers from other countries?
Can we only get those who can’t get a place elsewhere?
And if so why is this happening?
And more importantly what can we do to elevate our mostly bought-in long term declining standards?
But Never Mind Folks
The Hungarians are now last week’s news.
The circus has moved on.
This week we have another HUGE Scottish clash, a fixture that used to be called by all, an ‘Old Firm Derby’.
Traditionally our biggest match, allegedly of interest too, across the world.
(I never quite believed that old chestnut).
Last week’s ‘Old Firm Derby’ came and went with a whimper.
Only one team turned up and competed.
And we had a stripped-back variant with no away fans because of the long term deep-seated idiocy and behavioural issues that stem from our particular sectarian-fuelled fan divide.
The next game is already and will be till at least the day after, Scottish ‘Football in the Media’s’ talking point.
A cornucopia of cheap copy opportunities, invented news and irrelevances for our ‘sports’ journalists who specialise in and hide behind the gossip inspired minutiae.
Football is always about the next game and they get away with it.
That means that Ferencvaros, Ferenc-Who? will thus be well and truly forgotten and certain vociferous Celtic fans will be suggesting that joining the IRA is a normal thing to sing about and encourage.
We’ll hear it all we always bloody well do.
And as per usual nothing to do with this constant vocal outrage will be reported in the press or on the radio and TV coverage.
Some media clowns even still call the ugly poison ‘atmosphere’ and we’ll all hear that it’s missing on Sunday.
Some Hard Media Facts
The Sports media could and should be a power for good.
But it’s in trouble, deep trouble.
I heard this week that the sales of some/all of our titles are bordering on critical.
I well remember when our quality ‘Giants’, the Herald and Scotsman sold close to 100,000 copies each day.
I haven’t seen the actual numbers but both are currently well below 10,000 now and heading the wrong way.
And the stark economic realities are the fewer papers paid for by a fast declining ageing customer base the worse the coverage of everything we will get.
Our traditional media funding models are broken because consumers have turned off and get their news elsewhere.
The newspaper industry is on its last legs and there is an inevitability of irreversible decline accelerating and casualties along the way.
Andy’s Sting in the Tale
1. Sage Discussions
2. League B1 Beckons
3. That Bloody Man
1. Twenty Two People Who Care
A group of old ex-players, big enough a long time ago for two 11 a sides met up again yesterday at Howies in Edinburgh.
Guys united long ago and still by the game and all it brings.
A deep, deep and timeless bond.
A football fellowship.
Fans of boyhood clubs, yes for sure, but more importantly united to a man for wanting football to refocus on what it used to do to bring people like us together.
People who see the bigger picture now and care.
Like Dutch football in the 70’s our places at the big table moved around constantly mixing the game at the end of each course.
And conversations were wide and wonderful but with always with a football slant.
Here are a couple of deeply held wishes.
- Those who know the business that is football think the big clubs will vote down Craig Mullholland’s recent plans because they already have enough rules to live by and don’t need any more legislative pressures from the 6th floor.
Time will tell.
And I hope they are wrong.
2. Starting A Week on Saturday
We have the Nations League defending our position at 42 in the Fifa World Rankings.
Our 3 opponents are Slovenia, Switzerland at 14, and North Macedonia 69.
BBC will show all 6 games with the last game on November 16.
Our players pool is already announced and the squad will assemble after this weekend’s games.
Good luck Sebastien and the team.
6 games in 7 weeks will hopefully give us an insight into our new manager and the players he has/we have.
I’m open minded but not as optimistic as I’d like to be.
But the good news is there will be beer on sale at Hampden.
And the one certainty is our Tartan Army will not let itself down.
3. First Infantino Gets Knifed By the Greeks.
Then FIFPRO are on his case.
This week after the Thessaloniki Uefa meeting the Greek FA confirmed it had dropped its previous support for the man.
Yiamas guys.
Then FIFPRO jumped in with more bronze daggers enhancing the man’s personal tragedy, maybe?
“FIFPRO and FIFPRO Europe call for an independent review of the FIFA Council’s executive decision-making function, so that no single office can act unilaterally again, and for the formal integration of professional football stakeholders – the players, clubs and leagues that create the game’s value – into that decision-making, alongside Member Associations.
“It is a shared opportunity for the global football community to strengthen football’s governance, so that it reflects and serves everyone who sustains and depends on the game,”
They do this on the back of two economic factors.
- 94% of value at the recent World Cup is from Uefa.
- The World Cup prize money is actually falling as a percentage of the aggregate World Cup revenues.
More power to this growing attritional stuff but the man is fighting.
When will sponsors start to realise that the man is toxic and not a good partner?
Sting is
A fan’s Friday insight into some things football.
A sport where the day to day nonsense continually gets in the way of the infrastructure that is the base of real success.
I hope you enjoy it but feel free to disagree with anything I say.
That’s not just allowed, it’s healthy and I respond and have made many friends over the years too.
If you care about football, please join us.
The Scottish Football Union will be stronger for having you aboard and our voice will be jointly louder.
They who run the game, are more likely to listen to voices in Union.
Andy’s Album of the Week
The Proclaimers: You May Offend
I had heard a couple of tracks and bought a spanking new CD last Friday, the day it was released.
I love it already.
It’s a no-holds-barred collection of short and snappy musically delivered insights.
Always playful, catchy, tuneful and a stunning collection of statements and melodies.
Craig and Charlie’s 13th Album and just where have the 39 years gone.
It is ‘Spiky Stuff’.
And is meant to be with snippets like:
“Our collective conscience is proven nonsense”,
“This country is Fucking Clueless”,
“We have bigger problems than offence”.
A great album that some already think is their best with unrelenting melodies balancing heartfelt commentaries.
I don’t have favourite tracks yet but “But it is”, is already singing in my head.
Some artistes deliver a message in their songs and actions.
That’s fine by me.
The real ‘offence’ and ‘offenders’, for me came sharply in a strange week like this.
A week when we learned that the very rich ‘Stadium Mafia’ in the Good Ol’ USA ganged up together to call the shots about some rapper I’d never heard of.
A public abuse far worse than anything the rapping man could ever have espoused before the real act Ed hit the stage.
I think Ed should have done walking away too.
Anyway, this is a quite amazing album and comes to you all the way from the Czech Republic, (where seemingly CDs now all come from).
So let’s give the Czechs the last word.
“Skvela nahravka dua z Auchtermuchty”
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