Having covered a few Scottish football games in my time for Scottish Television I feel I am more than equipped to have my say on the hot debate about life without Glasgow Rangers.
Less than two years ago I was hired by Sports News to cover Rangers v Manchester United at Ibrox, at that time I had a Sony PMW-350 which was and still is a great XDCAM camcorder, I was the talk of the media pack as I was the only person sporting the only PMW-350 at that time.
Scott with Paddy Crerand an ex Celtic player and Manchester United hero.
During the day I was able to involve Scott my son (26) who had an absolute ball being amongst his heroes and seeing Sir Alex Ferguson an ex Rangers player himself.
You get a buzz filming live events and being part of the media but it also brings a great responsibility as your footage has to be edited on the evening then sent down south via some internet server to be played out that evening.
Once again being cutting edge we were the only crew at that press conference that had a Sony 350 and edit with a MacBook Pro on Final Cut.
This brings me back to life without Rangers, there has been a lot of clap trap spoken about Scottish Football recently and the facts are as follows…
1. Will Sky come in with a lesser offer if Rangers are not in the 1st division…YES
2. What will happen if the clubs vote to start Rangers in division three…Sky will offer a pittance to cover Scottish football or will pull out altogether.
3. Raith Rovers a small Scottish team have muted their own TV filming deal…SETANTA… do I need to say more and they could not make it pay WITH RANGERS !
Who wants to watch one sided football where Glasgow Celtic win time after time with no real opposition, can I just add we are in the worst economic double dip recession and people do not have spare cash for pay as you go one sided Scottish football TV matches.
Reality is that for all you have heard about Glasgow Rangers they are the second pillar equal only to Celtic in Scottish football and without them as opposition and the fans gate money both home and away I predict Scottish football will be in deep financial trouble before the end of the 2012 season.
It’s all about showmanship as well as the game of football itself, there was never a better match than to find yourself filming Rangers and Celtic, the buzz was electric, the ground was full of paying customers. Without Sky shoring up the Scottish game it will be not only a farce but will put a good few lesser teams under as well…mark my words.
It has been a sad story no matter who you support but for all those fans who are happy to see Rangers demise be careful what you wish for !
“This comes from someone who does not follow football but can see the obvious if the 30 Scottish football league clubs vote the wrong way next week.”
Phil, this was Sevco 5088’s doing, not Celtic or Raith Rovers. For 20 years they have cheated me, the paying customer out of trophy after trophy. In fact the game that you covered against Man Utd..They should not have been in the competition in the first place. They spent monies that they didn’t have! So please don’t give all Scottish football fans the “Poor rangers the victims” guff! We played the game and paid our taxes while trying to keep up with Walter’s heroes. Scottish football will flourish without an ex team from Govan. If Sky pull the plug, what about SPL TV? Regan & Doncaster should be trying to save Football not one cheating club. Rangers FC no longer exist they are a dead parrot, they will play no part in football next season..No license, no players, no money, no stadium or training area. Both belong to Mr C Whyte, EBT debt, very large tax case, investigations by SFA SPL Strathclyde police, FIFA, UEFA, all to be fixed in 3 weeks! No don’t feel sorry for THEM.
Big Frank who pays his Tax & NI.
Frank, sadly you see this from a Celtic point of view, I write this from a neutral non football point of view. If Sky pull out… Scottish football will be as good as finished.
Most smaller clubs feed off the Sky money, Rangers like them or not bring a large gate to any away match, a large chunk of money that many clubs will now miss.
As usual its the majority who get hurt, the fans, players and employees of Glasgow Rangers who had NOTHING to do with the finances.
SPL TV won’t work, it’s a non starter, no one is going to pay to see one sided football matches, Satanta has proved that with a large hole in STVs basement to prove it !
I think before we get too smart the majority of Rangers employees payed their Tax and NI, so bear a thought for their struggling families.
We also both know a certain lady who has been badly affected by Rangers TV pulling the plug so be a bit more thoughtful and less gloating !
Ok first off Frank, not a lot of your points are relevant to the article.
The post isn’t a sympathy case for Rangers or saying they have done no wrong or that they don’t deserve to be punished.
It tells of the reality that scottish football faces a financial crisis if Rangers go into 3rd division. Btw its being discussed what league they will go into not if they will still exist.
The Sevco remark was strange as you then said they cheated you for 20 years! Sevco is the new company, you seem mixed up.
20 years? They went into liquidation for debt that wasn’t paid in last 12 months.
The EBTs only go back to 2001 not 20 years. Other debt was paid, so you can’t say cheated for 20 years.
The crisis was definitely started by Rangers and they were very much in the wrong and need to be punished. But the problem that we are now seeing is the SPL’s for the TV deal thats what puts all the pressure on the SFL teams now.
Not sure why you feel FIFA/UEFA will get involved and they haven’t got clear records either btw.
What about SPL TV?
It cannot be done in the short term and I doubt it can make enough money in the long term.
I’m afraid Scottish football has been in decline for decades. I can’t remember the last time you turned out a Kenny Dalglish or a Billy Bremner; I think kids have better things to do these days. I think you might be right about Sky dumping them (and don’t forget Setanta as well). They’ve just spent, along with BT, a shed load with the Premier League, here in England. It doesn’t look good…