Forget The Money Get The Game Sorted

MANY years ago, hard on the heels of the release of 'Nutbush City Limits' and 'River Deep and Mountain High', a journalist from one of the American glossy magazines was sent to interview Ike and Tina Turner. The interview revealed very little, except for one sentence which has lived on: “I didn't know it was possible to spend $1,000,000 in Woolworths'.

Apparently Mr Turner and his then young wife had had a good taste bypass when it came to furnishing their home and generally spending their money. I sometimes think, English football clubs have fallen into the same trap, when it comes to spending the billions of £ sterling which Sky and BT insists on throwing at them. Fair enough if it only applied to them, sadly, although they have a lot less dosh to squander, the legendary Scottish quality of financial prudence seems to have deserted out top clubs.

In short – fitba has become obsessed with money, to the detriment of the game.

After Celtic got handed their earses on a plate by Barca on Tuesday night, their apologists in the Scottish sporting media – ok, the other lot get apologised for more-often, but, when you read some of the shite which passes for analysis where the Bigot Brothers are concerned, that old journalists joke – an “excuse” is the collective noun for a group of sports photographers – also applies to the fans with lap tops.

The churnalists were all going on about the difference in wealth between the very rich Celtic and the mega-rich Barcelona, concentrating on the balance sheet in money terms, rather than the balance sheet deficit in terms of talent, commitment and tactics which handicapped Celtic.

Scotland - this wonderful wee jewel of a country will never see its football club earn from TV the same cash as does the game in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and France – Europe's big five. But we used to be able to, and I believe can again, produce players who can take-on and beat the likes of Barca, Manchester City, Borussia Monchengladback, Juventus or Monaco – who did a right good number on Spurs on Wednesday night.

This would call for a culture change, and a lot more work by our players and coaches than they currently put-in, but, it can be done.

Celtic didn't have the ball too-often on Tuesday, but, when they did have it, they wasted little time in giving it back to Barca. Barry Ferguson, when he was playing for Scotland, used to be constantly pilloried for passing short and square – before him, Paul McStay used to get the same charge flung at him. However, these two players appreciated, in international competition, be it for club or country – possession is all; you defend the ball, you don't give it away cheaply.

You can play the risky pass at domestic level, you will get away with it. In international play, you will be picked-off if you try this.

Still on the subject of midfield passers, no Scottish player, and I include the two above, has had the range of hurting passes which Jim Baxter, Bobby Murdoch and to a lesser degree Bertie Auld possessed. These three could all play the “killer” through ball on which Joe McBride, Stevie Chalmers and Ralph Brand thrived. With a guy who could play such through balls today, Leigh Griffiths would score 50 goals a season.

The Herald, this week, did a piece on Pele's solitary appearance in Scotland as a player, in 1966. In the very first minute of that game at Hamden, Baxter put Stevie Chalmers through to open the scoring with a ball of such imaculate pace and length, the Celtic man could not possibly have missed.

Then there was John Greig's wonderful winning goal against Italy earlier that season. A limping Bill Brown tolled the ball out to Baxter, who came left, then worked his way upfield via an exchange of passes with Billy Bremner, before rifling a pass between the Italian centre halves, for Greig to run on and score from 18-yards. This was, remember an ITALIAN “cattenaccio” defence, being unpicked by old-fashioned Scottish along-the-ground passing, first-time, at a high tempo.

When, in the intervening 50-years did we lose the ability to play a style of football which Scotland had been refining for 100-years before hand, since such as Robert Gardner, Charles Campbell, William McKinnon an the McNeil brothers invented the passing game in the 1870s.

I read one of the so-called top football writers, in the aftermath of Celtic being hammered, bemoaning the fact, Celtic had only committed three fouls all game. Well done Celtic, fouling the likes of Barca's golden trinity up front merely underlines how much better they are. If you have to tackle an opponent, far less foul him, you have already lost. In football, if you get it right, you do not have to tackle, outside your own penalty area. Anticipation, positioning and quickness will allow you to intercept by cutting-out passes. The tackle has to be the last throw of the dice.

Maybe our footballers should look at arguably Scotland's best professional sports team – Glasgow Warriors. Check-out how they train, the work they put-in, and, compare it with what Celtic and Rangers players do. I think the results would shock.

Our players don't work hard enough on fitness, or in particular on technique. Our coaches have discarded the high-tempo passing game which used to be the Scottish style. Until we get back to working harder, and playing harder, we will struggle.

If we got it right, regardless of the financial imbalance, I am sure, our clubs could live with and regularly beat the likes of Barca.

But, for this to happen, there has to be an extreme culture change.

SPEAKING of culture change – I see Hearts are getting pelters this week, as regards diving. Well, while history tells us, wee David Wilson invented “diving”, this was always an Edinburgh thing. Regardless of Wilson's ability to manufacture penalties for Rangers, Scotland's foremost diver was always the late Sir Peter Heatly, a true Edinburgh man.

Diving was ok when it was a Rangers thing – Wilson begat John McDonald, who begat various other “submariners”, whilst, in recent years, across the city we had a Bulgarian and a Japanese who were up there with Tom Daley. Now, diving has spread east, although, in the Romanov era, I recall Hearts had one import from the Baltic states who had a rare talent for going to ground.

The answer is obvious, bring-in TV reviews. If the decision is “penalty”, fair enough. If not, yellow card. Add a totting-up process, with suspensions for persistent offenders – job done.

This blog has long maintained, association football, being the most free-form brand of the various codes of football, MUST be the most-rigorously refereed – this is far from the case.

Clamp down on the cheaters, the divers, the “hammer throwers”, the yards-stealers, and allow the true skills of football to flourish. Otherwise, the game, slowly dies.