Imagine Being a Rangers or Celtic supporter for 30 years

[mune ni kamome]

You've supported one of the big two for 30 years. You're going to win nearly all the time. Week after week, year after year, your team is notching up another facile win. You've probably won about 95% of games over this period. What do you get out of it. What's the point

"Who did we play today Jock?"

"Falkirk"

"How did we get on?"

"We Won"

"Wow great"

Jeez

 

[Weststander]

There was some competition up to about 1986. In that year, Hearts blew it on the last day. Aberdeen, Hibs & Dundee Utd a threat too.

Since then it's about whose spent the most on the squad & player wages, and yes, that does include Celtic in phases (e.g. Lambert, Hartson, Petrov, Lennon, Sutton era ... big wages & transfer fees compared to turnover).

 

[Acker79]

There was some competition up to about 1986. In that year, Hearts blew it on the last day. Aberdeen, Hibs & Dundee Utd a threat too.

Since then it's about whose spent the most on the squad & player wages, and yes, that does include Celtic in phases (e.g. Lambert, Hartson, Petrov, Lennon, Sutton era ... big wages & transfer fees compared to turnover).

You will find a lot of "two horse race" leagues around the world. La Liga is one of them!

In large part because of the champions league. The countries that tend to have only one champions league place tends to have a one horse race, the countries that have two CL places are two horse races, for the longest time, England, with four CL places has had a top four elite. That only changes when one of them seriously under performs, or when some huge investor comes along and gives Man City the sort of money they would get from the champions league.

If Rangers keep losing, they might slip out of their champions league spot, which could bring about a new dynamic in the SPL.

 

[ferring seagull]

You've supported one of the big two for 30 years. You're going to win nearly all the time. Week after week, year after year, your team is notching up another facile win. You've probably won about 95% of games over this period. What do you get out of it. What's the point

"Who did we play today Jock?"

"Falkirk"

"How did we get on?"

"We Won"

"Wow great"

Jeez

I guess you are just bored and attention seeking.

Both Rangers and Celtic, who were the very first British Club to win the European Cup ( 1967 ), are bigger clubs than eg Albion.

The problem that they have is one of population, ie., in Scotland outside the major centres of population, there are few people, few footballers and accordingly no company is prepared to invest on the basis that there are few who are going to read 'their message' and hence, no television rights or, no television rights worth having.

Stick to the local leagues in Somerset !

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Scottish League

Celtic 42
Rangers 54
Other 17

Last one by a non-Glaswegian side in 1984


Scottish Cup

Celtic 42
Rangers 33
Other 57

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Compared to other major sporting leagues around the world the EPL is also a bore of a league.

 

[tweenster]

Scottish football is just sh!te. I've watched Cowdenbeath more times than any sane person should, so I know.

 

[colinz]

I heard on the radio this week, Rangers are on the verge of entering administration. If so it should make things more interesting, or will Celtic just win everything.

 

[mune ni kamome]

I guess you are just bored and attention seeking.

Both Rangers and Celtic, who were the very first British Club to win the European Cup ( 1967 ), are bigger clubs than eg Albion.

The problem that they have is one of population, ie., in Scotland outside the major centres of population, there are few people, few footballers and accordingly no company is prepared to invest on the basis that there are few who are going to read 'their message' and hence, no television rights or, no television rights worth having.

Stick to the local leagues in Somerset !

I think you are missing my point. I was indeed bored and just thinking how uninteresting it must be go to the game each week knowing deep down you are going to win. Where did I say they weren't as big as Albion? I watched Celtic win that European cup on our grainy black and white TV and cheered them on like everybody else.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

The passion for celebrating goals would be the thing lacking for me if I was a fan of Celtic or Rangers - how could you muster the enthusiasm for leaping from your seat every time you put one past one of the lesser teams? If anything I'd feel sorry for the opposition as the goals flew in.

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

Compared to other major sporting leagues around the world the EPL is also a bore of a league.

It's the most watched football league worldwide both in terms of attendances and also TV viewers broadcast in over 200 countries.

 

[bhafc99]

And just to notch up the boredom even more, you play each other 4 times a season (minimum*– more if you meet in a cup).

So even that 'big game' loses a little of its importance, because over 4 meetings a year everything levels itself out just a bit more. Even if you lose you can think, well, never mind, we're playing them again next month... (once we've thumped Falkirk three more times etc etc).

Zzzzz.

 

[fire&skill]

Time for Celtic to move to League 1 so the rest can be more competitive with each other?

 

[essbee]

ferring seagull

You did miss the original point,.

 

[Superphil]

You will find a lot of "two horse race" leagues around the world. La Liga is one of them!

Surely that is the only other league like that, can't think of any others. The EPL has at least 6 or 7 teams at the top who make a game of it with each other, in Italy there are 4 or 5 plus they always seem to get a wild card every other year. Germans and Dutch have had all sorts over recent seasons.

 

[Pot noodles for everyone]

Plus La Liga has talented players and great football. The SPL is crap. There's no getting around this.

 

[NMH]

I heard on the radio this week, Rangers are on the verge of entering administration. If so it should make things more interesting, or will Celtic just win everything.

Astounding that, in a two horse race, one of them could still manage to overdose on steroids (aka overspend).
The 'big two' actually assist in making the league shit by outbuying all the other clubs put together, so that the remainder (almost) never win anything.

However, The EPL is also heading that way in rubbing out the English game by buying from everywhere else in the World and spending multi-millions from owners using them as their 'subbuteo' team. The obscene amounts spent by Spanish and Italian clubs raises the bar too, since the Champions and Euro leagues are seen as another focus.

So - back to watching your local village cloggers wading around in the mire every week?

 

[cjd]

I think you are missing my point. I was indeed bored and just thinking how uninteresting it must be go to the game each week knowing deep down you are going to win. Where did I say they weren't as big as Albion? I watched Celtic win that European cup on our grainy black and white TV and cheered them on like everybody else.

Not only do I agree with your post, I remember watching that great game on a 'grainy' black and white TV too....lol.

Probably wrong, but weren't the goal stanchions etc flat faced...unlike the rounded edge ones today...?

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Interesting that yesterday neither won.

Qhilst Rangers and Celtic do have the big budgets, the gulf isn't as massive as you'd think. A lot of the best players at both clubs have come from other Scottish clubs (yes I know, you can argue that in itself is evidence of the superiority etc), and there is very rarely a routine easy win. I cannot be arsed to look it up, but I would be surprised if Celtic/Rangers' league win % is much higher over the last 5 years than Man United, Barca, Real Madrid, Porto etc etc.

You're right that the league is shit - I don't think you will find any Scottish fans who are happy with the state of their football. But if the same happened to the English league, would you abandon the Albion?

 

[ATFC Seagull]

The passion for celebrating goals would be the thing lacking for me if I was a fan of Celtic or Rangers - how could you muster the enthusiasm for leaping from your seat every time you put one past one of the lesser teams? If anything I'd feel sorry for the opposition as the goals flew in.

As someone who does exactly that, the genuine answer is that, nowadays, you aren't celebrating the fact that you are beating Dundee United, but see every game in the context of the title competition. It is a sad state of affairs for Scottish football, no doubt. (And as I've said earlier , it seldom is as easy as people on here are making it sound for Celtic and Rangers).