Once again those running the SPL find themselves in an unenviable position with regards to the fixture congestion situation that’s threatening to, according to those inside Ibrox, hijack Rangers’ season.
Rangers owner David Murray has not been mincing his words on this issue and clearly feels that his club have been dealt a bad hand here. Now although I wouldn’t necessarily disagree with those who’ll say that Murray is simply throwing his toys out of the pram because he’s not getting his way like he normally does (some of his comments have given the impression that his club never get any favours from the powers that be, which is is a frankly laughable suggestion), he most certainly does have a point here.
The governing bodies of all footballing countries should be doing everything they can to maximise the chances of their teams succeeding in European competitions. One of the reasons that the SPL finds itself with this predicament is that some fixtures during the season were postponed in order to give the Scotland national team some extra time to prepare for their Euro 2008 qualifiers, so it’s now quite ironic that as a direct result of this, one of our club sides’ chances of unexpectedly winning a European trophy could suffer. One can only assume that at the time these matches were being re-arranged, no-one seriously considered the prospect of this eventuality, and to be honest given the poor standard of the top sides in our league (not to mention the rest of us!), it’s difficult to blame them for that, even if it is an oversight of sorts.
However the unexpected now HAS happened and although the league was already extended by four days (a decision that annoyed both Old Firm clubs), Rangers are attempting to demand more on the basis that this simply wasn’t enough to allow them a fair crack at the UEFA Cup final.
I said at the time that the initial decision was taken to extend the league that the SPL (or SFA or whoever calls the shots) were in an impossible position as far as appeasing all interested parties was concerned. If everything domestically had been settled and there was nothing to play for (league and European places already decided and Rangers not in the cup final), then the decision would be easy – Rangers could simply be given as much time as they required to prepare for their final with no repercussions. And contrary to what David Murray is trying to insinuate, I’m quite sure that our authorities would oblige – the very fact that we are in this position is a result of these people attempting to help our country, so why wouldn’t they do the same for one of our clubs?
The problem is though, that everything is NOT settled, far from it in fact, and when one of the scenarios that is still to be resolved involves a two-horse race for the SPL title between Rangers and bitter rivals Celtic, any decision made to alter how the final few weeks of the season are going to pan out immediately goes under the microscope – in the extreme.
Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the company of Rangers and Celtic fans, or even had the misfortune to tune into some of those God-awful radio phone-ins, will know the level of paranoia that these people have with regards to each other and the Scottish game as a whole. Admittedly as Hearts fans we have become fairly adept at this too in recent years (referees Vs Romanov, etc), but I still think we have some way to go to get near these guys when it comes to this sort of thing on such a large scale, and this is why the authorities have such an impossible situation to manage right now.
The fact is that any further decision made to accommodate Rangers’ backlog of fixtures will be seen as yet another helping hand being given to the ‘Establishment Club’ by Celtic and their fans. This is an absolute given, and the reaction of Celtic after the initial extension of the league was announced a couple of weeks ago was entirely predictable, with their Chief Executive immediately calling the ‘integrity’ of the league into question. Thousands of their fans then subsequently jammed the phone-ins complaining of Rangers bias true to form.
Had the roles been reversed here and it was Celtic in this position and the league had been extended by four days, the reaction from Rangers would have been exactly the same, regardless of their fans’ insistence that it’s only Celtic who are the paranoid ones. They’d have been the ones on the radio giving it the ‘everyone’s against us’ stories and David Murray would have been bleating to high heaven, as he’s already proved with the nature of his outburst yesterday.
So given all of that baggage, what would YOU do if you were in the shoes of the men who have the power to re-arrange the fixtures? Not easy is it? You could say that the ‘right’ thing to do would be to accommodate the Scottish team in the European final as much as possible, but then the SPL may argue that this has already been done as far as it possibly can without risking a full-scale outcry from Celtic and the rest of Rangers’ remaining opponents this season. So I’m really not sure that there is a right answer – no matter what is decided, it will always be wrong in someone’s eyes.
Speaking of the other clubs, there is also the small matter of a UEFA Cup place to be decided for the team finishing third in the SPL, as well as the Scottish Cup final after that. The likes of Hibs or Dundee United could just as easily take exception to any further fixture amendments to accommodate Rangers, citing that one of their rivals had been given an unfair advantage for the run-in. This only helps to muddy the waters further. But rightly or wrongly, for me it’s the Celtic factor that will have the authorities running scared the most, and this is the primary reason that the likelihood of any further ‘help’ being given to Rangers is so unlikely.
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…especially considering that a large part of this success was under Martin O’Neill’s Celtic, which was the most physical side I’ve ever seen at Parkhead. Had the likes of Thompson or Balde played for us they’d never have been available due to suspensions!
Celtic as you have stated, have won the league 5 times since the year 2000. I cant be expected to remember the exact points difference at the end of every campaign, my point was that when Celtic win the league, Celtic WIN the league and given that i was unsure of the exact numbers i approximated 20-30 and given that 17 and 18 are close to 20 i stand by my justification for that. You also make my second point for me, the very fact Celtic lost the league by one point and goal difference suggests the very opposite to me, given the circumstance of the time that is.
.Thompson was red carded 7 times in his Celtic career. If this theory that Celtic players don’t get booked is true then explain the Scott Brown situation this year. One of the most booked players in the SPL. But he plays for Celtic.. right?
Scott Brown got booked a lot when he played for Hibs too. Personally, I think there’s a lot of personality referee bias that goes on – maybe more so than any favouritism to any particular team. Broon had a nasty side to his game particularly in his early career at Hibs, which has tempered slightly, but he has been identified by Scottish referees as a potential “problem” player. For Hearts, our “problem” player is Mikoliunas. Any time he gets fouled he gets booked for diving.
Dearie me, RK. You do normally sound like an intelligent and thoughtful supporter, so its surpising (and dispapointing) that you view Rangers 2 narrow SPL wins (compared to Celtic’s 5 thumping SPL wins) as proof of a conspiracy against your team. A case of when the glass is 80% full, some cannot help but demand to know what happened to the other 20%. You really ought to try following the Hearts for a year, mate – I guarantee you’d be cured of this affliction !!
Scott Brown and Alan Thompson are extremely dirty players – that’s the only reason for their poor disciplinary records. Thompson was a decent player and didn’t really need to resort to it, but he was a nasty piece of work who probably would have had many more reds had he been a Hearts player, particularly for dissent which every Old Firm player gets more slack with than the rest – that can’t be disputed as referees have publicly admitted as much. As for Brown, well, he needs to stick the boot in cos he’s not really got much else has he?
SJ, you may very well be right about Brown. I will admit that he plays with aggression and determination. But i don’t think he is the only one and my point is just that, he does receive his fair amount of bookings regardless of who he plays for. The treatment of Mikoliunas is a disgrace an absolute disgrace. I would support the Hearts fan 100% on that claim, its completely unfair on the player and Hearts Football Club that they should be punished for something that has now become quite irrelevant. Specs Haver mate, I still don’t see how Rangers winning the league by 1 goal or whatever goal difference proves there is no anti Celtic conspiracy. I was alluding to the circumstances regarding those title wins. In 2005, there was that very controversial decision by Andy Davis to award Rangers a penalty at Tynecastle, when it was quite obvious it blatantly wasn’t anything of a sort. I’m also talking about Rangers beating Dunfermline 6-0 at Ibrox in 2003. But that was not the only occasion of controversy in 2003. Without trying to sound like a rambling fool, i will try my best to provide a short synopsis of that period. I’m sure you already know the situation with regards to the title race in 2003 whereby it came down to who could score more etc. Well weeks previous to that, Celtic had beaten Rangers 2-1 at Ibrox, just 2 days after beating Boavstia to reach the Uefa cup final. However, Celtic were still 2 points behind Rangers and both had played the same amount of games. I think it was either the following week, or perhaps the 2nd week later when Celtic played on the Saturday and Rangers on the Sunday. Celtic won on the Saturday, i cant remember who hey played. The main point here is that Rangers played on the Sunday needing a win to stay on top, or at least a draw to keep level on points with Celtic. Rangers drew the game 2-2. But, in that game Rangers were given not one, not two but three penalties. All three of which were very dubious. Barry Ferguson actually missed the 1st two, which makes the third (which was awarded in the last minute of injury time) even more questionable. Arteta stood up and scored to make it 2-2. Had Rangers not got that penalty. Celtic would have won the league by 1 point that year as opposed to losing in goal difference. That was the point i was trying to make about those seasons. Maybe now that i have demonstrated the context behind those seasons you will appreciate where i was coming from.
BTW Mr.H I agree about Thommo. He was a fantastic player for us. For me, he was one of the most under-rated performers of that MON Celtic team. I would have Thompson before Nakamura anyday.
Yeah very good player – hated him though!
Mr.H did you see today’s game Rangers Vs. United? I think my prediction was 100% spot on. The ref’s are now doing all in their power to help Rangers win the league. If ever there was a case for that statement, then today’s game personified it.
RK – I don’t doubt you will see it that way. I heard Craig Levein raging on the radio. He used the ‘C’ word too, mentioning that his team have now been ‘cheated’ twice against Rangers in the space of a few weeks. I wonder if the SFA will take exception to that comment. After all, they don’t cheat … do they ?
I’ve just read the article over on the United vital. I agree 110%. The SFA are cheats themselves. I recently made an argument on here about a conspiracy with regards to the league when it is a close affair. I.e 2003 and 2005. This season will be another tight finish. My point is that, when the conclusion of the season draws to a narrow close, Rangers always seems to get these “decisions” to help them win the league. It happened in 2003 (3 penalties in one game), it happened in 2005 (Andy Davis) and it is happening in 2008. I thought we would make it 3 in a row, but when you are up against that sort of blatant prejudice, I can’t see it happening.
I’m beginning to agree….unless Celtic get similar treatment V Hibs tomorrow. I’m going to write something about Levein’s outburst today – fantastic interview and right on the money. Cheats.
what we witnessed today sickened me to the pit of my stomach ,, if Craig Levein wants to take them on again ( SPL / SFA ) he will have the backing of every club who has had the misfortune to go to ibrox with mccurry abusing the powers vested in him ,, this is not honest mistakes ,, it,s blatant cheating to forward the fortunes of his chosen club and way out of order ,, something has to be done now !!!
I don’t even think Celtic getting treatment tomorrow would justify what happened today. If Celtic win all their games they still don’t win the league. I predicted Rangers to drop points at Easter Road, At Ibrox vs. Dundee Utd and then Fir park. Its looking less likely now.
It won’t justify it mate, but it would again make it clear to me that it’s the both of your clubs that get the preferential treatment, not just Rangers. Levein talked about this in his interview – the fact that the pundits say “things even themselves out”…only for the big two – at everyone else’s expense. That said I have to concede that it’s always been Rangers who’ve been the benefactors of the most obvious examples of this e.g. Andy Davis, yesterday, etc.
The one good thing about this is that it’s Craig Levein the SFA have crossed. He has proven before he is not scared of either them or their Old Firm masters, and will stop at nothing to get justice done. Think this could run and run…