Barry Hearn

[Diamonds are Forever]

The problem is that for lots of casual fans football is something viewed through the TV and if you are going to watch football on telly you may as well watch La Liga as it's obviously better. This leads a lot of people to say that Scottish football is rubbish, poor standard etc but it isn't, it's pretty much the standard you'd expect for the money in the game and the size of country. This isn't any different to 15-20 years ago. People talk up the standard of the teams then but Rangers with Gazza and Laudrup still got owned in Europe repeatedly (Juve absolutely shellacking them home and away sticks in the memory). Getting people to take a bit of pride in their local sides and support them rather than just watching Real and Barca on Sky is a start. 'Diddy' teams actually have an advantage in this over the Old Firm - I think kids now who would've supported Rangers or Celtic when I was at school are more likely to want a Barca or Chelsea top, if you're going to gloryhunt may as well do it properly. If clubs like Caley can get these guys also supporting local sides then we can move forward.

The answer is to increase local support, make the matchday experience better and somehow make it more affordable. I paid £26 for a ticket to the Caley-County game a couple of months back, that's too much for a lot of people. I don't really know how to do it - we currently have one of our best ever teams but our fanbase remains static. Our first full season in the SPL in Inverness we had an average crowd of 5,000, now that's 3,500 odd. I think the price of tickets has put off occasional attenders but it's difficult to find a balance to pull them back in without bankrupting the clubs - it's well established that halving ticket prices doesn't double crowds.

This hits the nail on the head. I remember during the time when Rangers were going bust the media were wetting their knickers over losing out on a TV deal because the Old Firm game was going. What they should have been focusing on was how to make Scottish football as a whole a better experience for the fans, which would increase attendances and result in a better all round package to sell to broadcasters instead of trying desperately to get Sky to give them a deal based on 4 Old Firm games a season.

We should be concentrating purely on improving the match day experience for everyone, do that and the TV companies and sponsors will come. At present no-one wants to associate with us because we appear desperate and lacking in self-confidence, that's not attractive to anyone in any walk of life.

[Clarkston5]

Scottish football needs the Old Firm and it's a "terrible" thing for fans to actually admit that but if Rangers don't get back along to the top league along with the two Edinburgh clubs, the game in Scotland is in serious trouble. Tough if you don't like it but at least f**king admit it!

[ICTChris]

£26 for ICT v Ross County?!

Aye. That was a main stand walk-up ticket, it would've beenb £21 in the North Stand.

[The Ginger Prince]

Pretty sure Hearts v Hibs has been near the £40 mark, maybe even beyond that.

Aberdeen have been good at sticking an extra £1 or £2 on a ticket at the start of every season.

The most I've paid for a ticket at tynecastle was around £33 I think.

Eta: for a Hearts-Hibs match.

[invergowrie arab]

Scottish football needs the Old Firm and it's a "terrible" thing for fans to actually admit that but if Rangers don't get back along to the top league along with the two Edinburgh clubs, the game in Scotland is in serious trouble. Tough if you don't like it but at least f**king admit it!

Nuh.

The old firm long since stopped being the big game for United. Dundee and Aberdeen games are the ones that sell out.

[Hammer Jag]

Can't argue with much of that. Although I just listened to the audio clip. Who's the nasally bawbag interviewing Hearn? He asks about "two global institutions" and "when they're united next season" as if it's a forgone conclusion, typical pandering shite from the Scottish media.

Hugh Keevins, the fucking idiot that he is.

[ICTChris]

Scottish football needs the Old Firm and it's a "terrible" thing for fans to actually admit that but if Rangers don't get back along to the top league along with the two Edinburgh clubs, the game in Scotland is in serious trouble. Tough if you don't like it but at least f**king admit it!

Well, my club has made a profit the last two seasons, challenged for Europe and reached a cup final. Do we need the Old Firm?

Scottish football's administrators, in particular the people running the SPL, effectively ended up looking at Scottish football as being the TV rights to Rangers and Celtic with the rest of the clubs tagged on. That's why there was the hysterics about Rangers not being in the top division. The fact is that Scottish football has been poorly run for years, in terms of the administrators and the individual clubs. I think we've got a better structure now but there still seems to be a kind of dunderheadedness about the 'beaks'. Not having a sponsor, the shambles of a rebrand etc. Most of the clubs are now in a better position than they were in a decade ago but I think there's some work to be done on the administrative side, Barry Hearn outlines some of the problems in his remarks.

I wouldn't suggest getting Hearn in to run Scottish football though, I don't think anyone is saying that.

[Clarkston5]

Nuh.

The old firm long since stopped being the big game for United. Dundee and Aberdeen games are the ones that sell out.

Maybe in a backwater but I'm talking about Global interest. What's happened is that the football association allowed tiny clumps of badly supported clubs to dictate the future of the game which is all the way down to amateur if we don't get the big clubs back but bury your head in the sand and blame the media. Silly stuff mate

[StevoMcR92]

Scottish football needs the Old Firm and it's a "terrible" thing for fans to actually admit that but if Rangers don't get back along to the top league along with the two Edinburgh clubs, the game in Scotland is in serious trouble. Tough if you don't like it but at least f**king admit it!

I honestly wouldn't care if Rangers disappeared tomorrow.

Since Rangers were put into Division 3, there have been more winners of domestic competitions and the Scottish national team has dramatically improved as players like Andrew Robertson, Ryan Gauld and Stevie May have been allowed to flourish and move onto England and Spain instead of warming the bench at Ibrox and Parkhead every week.

Your club and Celtic kill the Scottish game. Simple as that. You used to take everyones good players and bench them and not develop them, just made a SPL XI and beat everyone. You did not, and still do not, focus on youth development.

And as for 'global development', like anyone cares - people want a good, competitive league which garners interest from Scottish people, not some Malaysians and Vietnamese folk who couldn't find Ibrox if they were dropped off in Govan but are 'die hard Bears'. Two big clubs ripping apart everyone to sustain their self-interest is not going to sell in the Middle East in China. For that to happen you need to have the best players in the world which Celtic and Rangers will never get.

On topic: Barry Hearn couldn't change a thing, those running the game have made it so that for any dramatic improvements to be made, Rangers and Celtic have to vote for it first, so significant change to finances will never happen.

[Poet of the Macabre]

I think that the media's coverage of Scottish football just sums up traditional media in Scotland today. Just as with Rangers' demise and the rise of the SNP, Greens etc they completely have their finger off the pulse. They're so reliant on how things used to be that they can't bring themselves to think of anything different.

I loved Barry Hearn's comments. Best of all was this:

Describing the lack of a sponsor for the SPFL as “disgraceful”, Hearn said the focus of promotion should not just be on Celtic and Rangers.

"You’ve got to look on football as a whole,” he said.

"Celtic and Rangers will quite rightly fight their own corner and they’ve got an awful lot of power because of the size they are.

"But you can’t forget, it’s all very well looking at a beautiful petal but if the roots are damaged you don’t see a petal for much longer.

I know a lot of people don't like Hearn and I even understand why. However, I would much rather he was in charge of promoting our game. At least he would actually promote it at all.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

I don't understand the desperate need for people to drink during a game.

This. All this fucking nonsense about "the matchday experience" really gets on my tits.

Go to the larger grounds now and you have:

A bookmaker's shop. Just put your bets on online, or pop into the bookies on your way to the game.

McDonalds, ffs. Can you not go two fucking hours without yank mush?

A Bar - inside the ground. See above, replacing "mush" with "pish", as Budweiser appears to be the bevvy of choice.

What is so wrong with the old WRK routine (pre-net) of

1. Meet up with usual bunch in The Broomhill. Discuss upcoming game, play pool, decide on day's coupon.

2. Into town, go to bookies and place said coupon.

3. Probably grab something to eat - normally Golden Arrow. Second best chips in Killie, although I recently discovered their fritters are shite.

4. Off to the Portmann or the Clansman for a couple more.

5. Go to RP, get pissed off, shout and swear for a couple of hours.

6. Off to the pub to catch the results. Curse coupon, have a pint or two then home to get set for Saturday night.

I mean, Pie, Bovril, Even a tea or coffee, is acceptable, but mainly for the warmth rather than to avoid starvation. The rest is just aiming to get deeper into the average fans' pockets.

[WhiteRoseKillie]

I honestly wouldn't care if Rangers disappeared tomorrow.

Since Rangers were put into Division 3, there have been more winners of domestic competitions and the Scottish national team has dramatically improved as players like Andrew Robertson, Ryan Gauld and Stevie May have been allowed to flourish and move onto England and Spain instead of warming the bench at Ibrox and Parkhead every week.

Your club and Celtic kill the Scottish game. Simple as that. You used to take everyones good players and bench them and not develop them, just made a SPL XI and beat everyone. You did not, and still do not, focus on youth development.

And as for 'global development', like anyone cares - people want a good, competitive league which garners interest from Scottish people, not some Malaysians and Vietnamese folk who couldn't find Ibrox if they were dropped off in Govan but are 'die hard Bears'. Two big clubs ripping apart everyone to sustain their self-interest is not going to sell in the Middle East in China. For that to happen you need to have the best players in the world which Celtic and Rangers will never get.

On topic: Barry Hearn couldn't change a thing, those running the game have made it so that for any dramatic improvements to be made, Rangers and Celtic have to vote for it first, so significant change to finances will never happen.

That's assuming both of them are around. If the blue mob die again, hopefully some of our chairmen will realise what an opportunity they missed last time.

[Enigma]

Booze ban should be lifted for all save the OF fans as they caused it. Incidentally with modern policing that event would never happen today regardless how tanked up the support was.

[ICTChris]

With regards to the "global appeal" of the Old Firm derby, has anyone ever actually quantified this? Celtic and Rangers have fans abroad where there are Scottish and Irish ex-pats but is there real interest elsewhere? Is it shown in TV anywhere in Europe, the way games like the Milan derby, Benfica-Sporting or PSG-Marsielles are covered by BT and Sky in this country?

[jamamafegan]

Scottish football needs the Old Firm and it's a "terrible" thing for fans to actually admit that but if Rangers don't get back along to the top league along with the two Edinburgh clubs, the game in Scotland is in serious trouble. Tough if you don't like it but at least f**king admit it!

Hahahahaha

My club has had the best season in its history since you c***s died.

Absolutely no one needs you. The myth that Scottish football needs Rangers is as big as the myth that Scotland needs England.

Rangers are absolute scum and nobody it's missing them. Nobody is missing the Edinburgh club either. Nobody depends on these clubs.

The best thing ever would be if Rangers and Celtic died or fucked off forever. Nobody likes them, nobody needs them, and nobody wants them.

Rangers are an absolute mess of a club. The biggest mess in Scotland! GIRFUY

[Dindeleux]

Has his say on the state of Scottish football

http://m.stv.tv/sport/football/clubs/celtic/302071-barry-hearn-scottish-football-must-drop-self-pity-and-lazy-promotion/

I agree with everything he has said.

[geo87]

I agree with everything he says just about.

[PauloPerth]

Yes, tediously I also agree with him.

The fact that Neil Doncaster still has a job is baffling. In any other part of our game: the players, managers, referees, chairmen etc, if anyone is no good at their job they get slaughtered by the media.

This guy is hopeless and yet the media pretty much leave him to get on with it??

Someone made the point earlier about the huge rebranding of our leagues.. They proudly announced the names as exactly the same as those down south as if they'd come up with an absolutely genius marketing concept! I genuinely thought it was a wind up

[7-2]

HE IS SAYING WHAT ALL US DIDDIES HAVE BEEN SAYING

Exactly! I thought Hearn had trawled through P&B for the content of his presentation as it's virtually all been said in here numerous times over the last few years. The only thing missing was a Cockwomble reference. Nobody listens to the fans though so if it takes Hearn to get our message across then good on him.

[DiegoDiego]

With regards to the "global appeal" of the Old Firm derby, has anyone ever actually quantified this? Celtic and Rangers have fans abroad where there are Scottish and Irish ex-pats but is there real interest elsewhere? Is it shown in TV anywhere in Europe, the way games like the Milan derby, Benfica-Sporting or PSG-Marsielles are covered by BT and Sky in this country?

When I lived in Finland Old Firm games cost €15 on pay per view.