My solution to (some of) Scottish football's problems.

Celtic - European Champions, 1967

As I write this, the champions of Romania are taking on Benfica in the Champions' League, while tomorrow the champions of Cyprus and Belarus will also be in action in Europe's elite club competition. Meanwhile, the champions of Scotland tonight are playing a domestic game against Kilmarnock.

Club football in Scotland is in a terrible state. It seems a long time ago that Rangers and Celtic were anything like a major force in European football yet it was only 3 years ago that Rangers reached the Uefa Cup Final. This season though, Rangers lost to Swedish side Malmo in the Champions League 2nd qualifying round, and went on to lose in the Europa League qualifiers to Maribor of Slovakia. With Scotland's league now ranked 16th in Europe, its second best team no longer qualifies for the Champions' League and yet Celtic also failed to navigate the Europa League qualifiers losing to Switzerland's cup winners FC Sion. However, the Bhoys were lucky when Uefa ruled that Sion broke rules regarding player eligibility and they were given a reprieve into the group stages. On top of that, Edinburgh's Hearts were humbled 5-0 at home to Tottenham while Dundee United were eliminated by Polish opposition.

As tempting as it is to compare the state of football in Scotland with England, I don't think it's fair to judge the Scottish game based on what England has. It's true that the Old Firm no longer posess teams of a Champions' League standard, but any team would struggle in Europe if they found themselves in the SPL. The most obvious, and unfortunately these days, the most important obstacle to the development of the Scottish game is money. To illustrate the stark difference between the SPL and the Premier League, Manchester United earned more than £60 million in TV revenue last season. Blackpool, who finished 19th, received the least, £37 million. On the other hand, Rangers, Celtic, Hearts et al. received just £1 million. It makes you think how Premier League clubs would fare without the TV millions.

Unfortunatly, the Scottish Football Association hinders rather than helps the situation. Many people comment on how dull the SPL is because of the fact that it's only Rangers or Celtic that win the tournament, but I think what's more dull is the fact that only one team gets relegated. In the 2007-8 season Gretna were deducted points and finished the season 27 points behind 11th place Kilmarnock. As a result, for the vast majority of the season there was nothing to play for except Uefa Cup places for any team other than the Old Firm (Motherwell finished 3rd, 26 points behind Rangers). Disturbingly, the SFA thought that a 10 team league would improve the state of football in Scotland. Thankfully, protests by fans, including one by Aberdeen fans during the Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden Park, led to the SFA abandoning that plan.




There are many ideas among Scottish clubs and supporters as to what can be done, and I think the most important thing that can be changed is the timing of the season. Scotland must switch to a summer league. When I lived in Aberdeen, I came to understand Scottish football a lot more than I did before. One thing I realised is that I would not go to Pittodrie on a December night to watch Aberdeen play St. Mirren. It's mind-boggling that Scottish football has been played throughout the winter for so long. Few fans want to see a poor quality match in freezing temperatures. And this isn't freezing as in the north of England, this is North-East Scotland freezing. Many games were called off last season because of frozen pitches which led to fixture congestion. The pitches, if playable at all, contributed to teams struggling to pass the ball (which is enough of a challenge at the best of times for some). In addition to this, with Scotland's best teams having to enter European competition at an ever earlier stage, the likes of Dundee Utd and Hearts are out of Europe before the SPL season even starts. The advantages of summer football are endless:

Poor attendance at Aberdeen's Pittodrie

 Scottish summers are not too hot to play football in. Attendances in proportion to the Scottish population are good but 6 of the SPL's 12 stadiums are less than half full each game this season. I bet far more people would go to Pittodrie or Tannadice on a warm June night than in the middle of January (Further north, you could even save money on floodlights at evening games). That should be reason enough, since surely the purpose of the SPL is to provide football to its supporters. That's not all though. With the English leagues ending in May and Sky Sports struggling to find football to show, more interest would be taken in the SPL by those south of the border and the SFA could demand more money from Sky and ESPN for the broadcasting rights, which would benefit every club. Furthermore, SPL clubs would be at their peak physical condition when European competitions start. The quality of the pitches would be much better in the summer which would lead to more exciting games and possibly better players going to Scotland.


As well as switching to a summer league, which has worked well for Ireland and Scandanavian countries, the SPL must expand to 16 teams with two automatic relegation spots plus relegation playoffs. However, the self-interest of clubs is threatening to scupper this idea because they don't want to lose income by playing Rangers and Celtic at home only once a season. But it does get tiresome playing teams 3/4 times a year and there would be a far more exciting relegation battle to distract us all from the tedium that is Rangers and Celtic's mini-league at the top of the table.

The SPL shouldn't have to compete with the Premier League because with imaginative reform Scotland can produce a 'brand' that can be appealing to football fans, TV companies and sponsers alike. The financial success of the Premier League in England is something even Spain, Germany and Italy's leagues can't match so it's pointless trying to think that Scotland could compete with that. There's still enough passion for football in Scotland to believe that the days when the Old Firm could reach the last 16 of the Champions' League are not gone forever. But it might be a good (or bad) few years until we see Alex Ferguson repeating history by leading out his team in European competition at Pittodrie, or see Barcelona given the chance to improve their poor record against Dundee Utd.

Happier times for Aberdeen, beating Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup Final, 1983

My brief guide to the Granite City

King's College, Aberdeen

 

 

When someone asks me where I've just graduated university, he/she invariably reacts to my answer as if I said Tajikistan. Or Mars. And to be fair, it's understandable. After leaving Southampton Uni during my second year there, I wanted to go to Scotland, and only partly because of the reduced tuition fees. There are worse places to live than Southampton but the way things went there made me want to move a long way from both that city and from home. So after considering both Glasgow and Edinburgh, I decided to go one further and move to the most northern university in the UK.

The most striking thing about travelling to Aberdeen from Cardiff, whether by car or train, is how isolated the city is. Scotland is pretty big yet has just 5 million people and most of them are in the densly populated 'central belt'. The closest city to Aberdeen is Dundee which is 70 miles away, and other than that there are small towns whose names I know only because of listening to the football scores being read out, namely Montrose and Arbroath. Despite that, living in Aberdeen doesn't feel quite so isolated because it is a city like any other. At the same time though, it is a city unlike any other, and because of that I miss it.

Seaton Park and St Machar Cathedral

The city boasts that at one point Aberdeen had as many universities as the whole of England, and King's College, founded in 1495 certainly looks and feels impressive and suitably ancient . Or as Laura says, like Hogwarts. Walking around the campus, from King's to the library, then to Seaton Park is the one thing I miss the most. Seaton Park is what separated my halls in 1st year from the university and it's the best park in Aberdeen. The river Don flows through it, and you can follow it all the way round to Brig o'Balgownie, an historic 13th century bridge. If you're lucky, which I was only once, you can see seals swimming and herons patiently looking for fish. 10 minutes walk further along and you reach the Bridge of Don, the mouth of the river and therefore the North Sea.

Brig o'Balgownie and River Don

While the clichés about Scottish weather are generally on the mark, I'll miss the spring and summer, because while it struggles to get above 21-22C the days are ridiculously long. It's still light enough to walk on the beach at 11pm, which means there's so much daytime to do things in the summer. Unfortunatly, the winter is the complete opposite and I won't miss the Aberdonian winter quite so much. The snow is fun at the beginning but soon gets annoying. The sun sets at around 3pm which is hideous, especially when I wouldn't generally get up before midday unless I had to. This lack of sunlight means that NHS Scotland advises that people take vitamin D supplements. The sun is spectacularly feeble even when it does make an appearance!

For someone like me, where this sort of thing is kind of important, Aberdeen scores poorly for its offerings of sport. Really poorly. The only professional team is the football club and several things become evident after living there for a while. Firstly, the wistfulness and pride the fans feel of its past. Every bookshop contains dozens of books about the '80s when Alex Ferguson created a team that became Scottish champions multiple times as well as the famous victory over Real Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup Final in 1983. Secondly, there's the feeling of disappointing resignation and acceptance that the city now has a team so shockingly bad. I don't think there are more depressed fans anywhere in Scotland than in Aberdeen. Thirdly there is the hatred felt towards Rangers. Three years ago I quite liked Rangers and Celtic. Now I can't stand them. That's what happens when you live in Scotland!

While I lived in Aberdeen I often felt frustrated that I couldn't just come home for the weekend, that I was too far to come home except for at Christmas and the summer. While being able to go to what is probably my favourite city, Edinburgh, was one of the best things about living in Scotland, realising that I was closer to Norway than Cardiff could be frustrating. And yet now, I wish I could go back, even for a day. Because of that I continue to curse the fact that it's so far away although part of the charm of Aberdeen is precisely that it is so far away. The North East of Scotland, to a Welsh person, is kind of mysterious, a place you never really hear about. And Scotland as a whole is like a foreign country. It takes a good while to understand the Doric dialect. An angry Aberdonian is almost as scary as an angry Glaswegian. I miss the colourful and many varieties of Scottish bank notes (none of this Bank of England nonsense). It became perfectly normal to browse a dozen varieties of haggis at Morrisons, and buy multiple packets of Macaroni pies. One of the mysteries of this world is why Macaroni pies are so prevelent in Scotland but not in any place I've been to in Wales or England. They are truly amazing.

I don't think the shopping in Aberdeen or the night life is any different from other cities around the UK (except the stand out pub 'Pittodrie' which is a shrine to Aberdeen FC), but one shop in particular is probably suffering from my lack of custom since May. Peckham's is the place to go for beer, whisky, cake, shortbread, sandwiches, and well, most other things. I have a dream that they will someday open a branch in Canton. But anywhere within a 100 miles radius would be welcome.  http://www.peckhams.co.uk/about.html

Peckham's

Aberdeen's far away from most people in Britain but it's worth visiting (in summer!) as is the wider county of Aberdeenshire. I think the town or city of the university someone goes to always becomes a special place but since it was the place where Laura first lived in Britain with me and the place I got my good old cat Lucy not to mention all the other people I met and the things I did it has added significance. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can go back.

The North Sea from Aberdeen beach

"Nothing is permanent except change" Buddha.

About two hours ago I sat down with the urge to write, and nothing came to me. This was a worry, since I felt like I'd only just started a blog and yet already it'd run its course. It's hugely frustrating feeling the need to write but not knowing what to write. My trusty sister and girlfriend came to my aid however. As did my cat and Matcha tea which I got in the Japan Centre in London. Nic should definitely start a blog. She was after all, the 'Bard' at the school Eisteddfod in 2008 and her creative writing at uni last year was really good (what she was willing to show me anyway!).

Nic's starting her MA English course in a couple of weeks, and that means she can delay reality for another year. It feels strange being in September with no new year of university or school. The last three years at this time I made the unenviable trek to Aberdeen, and feelings are certainly mixed that I won't be back this month. Part of me misses the academic life, the feeling of leaving (some) lectures completely lost in thought and contemplation, and the excitement of learning, in my case of the genius of people like St. John or Hildegard of Bingen or Christopher Marlowe. And discovering the virtues of Buddhism or the social context of Victorian literature. At the same time, part of me feels relieved that I don't have to write any more essays, or read books that are denser than a black hole, or try to make my maintenance loan last more than one month. Instead of all that however, what awaits me in the next few months is job hunting and part time work at B&Q. Oh, and Football Manager 2011. As a result, I feel pretty lost.

I'm making the most of being able to read what I want to read and selling two of my literature anthologies (albeit reluctantly) for £60 made my day. I've read Game of Thrones which was as good as everyone said it was. I hadn't seen the entire HBO series on Sky Atlantic because my Sky contract and I had to part ways but I hope it comes out on DVD soon because I really liked the book. I don't really feel in the mood for another 800 page book though so Clash of Kings might have to sit on the bookshelf for a while.

Working at B&Q though, is not quite so liberating. Fortunately, it's only 4 hour shifts. I work on the checkouts and pull and push trolleys. Despite that being the extent of my duties customers assume that I am a DIY expert. Nothing could be further from the truth. I'm pretty tired of responding with "I'll find you someone who can help" to people asking if this fitting goes with this door, or if you need a machine to use that carpet cleaner, or if screw variety 1 works as well as screw variety 2. Not to mention items with no barcodes which all look the same, namely dozens of types of bricks, paving, walling, chains, tiles.. B&Q don't help themselves sometimes.

Anyway, I don't want this to become a B&Q rant. Working there is providing critically needed funds which might eventually edge me out of my overdraft. It's kind of sad that a bank balance of £0 is my medium term target. While B&Q provides motivation to find a better and proper job, it doesn't help at all that I don't really know what I want to do ultimately. And unfortunately, two possibilities at least need an extra qualification. Journalism seems to require a diploma which at Cardiff Uni is outrageously expensive, and teaching requires a PGCE. And with my girlfriend Laura needing to go back to Canada when her visa ends next March, it's difficult to know what will/should happen in the next year.

In any case, I feel I need to appreciate the way things are at the moment. It's not going to last forever, so while living at home can be trying sometimes, after living so far away for 3 years it's nice to have all of us together again, and the best things in life are small things, like watching Laura draw her pictures or watching Lucy the cat play with her favourite toy or having Sunday lunch with Mum, Dad, Nic and Beth. Everything's much better when they're around.

2011 Rugby World Cup

Jonah Lomu terrorising England in 1995

I think it's apt that my first proper blog entry is about the Rugby World Cup, since the 1995 version is the earliest memory I have of a major sporting event. I remember that my 7 year old self was in awe of Jonah Lomu and his New Zealand team and used to pretend to be him while playing rugby in school. I've remembered the scoreline of New Zealand 145-17 Japan ever since.

The 2011 edition of the World Cup sees a New Zealand team at least as talented as the one that reached the final in South Africa in '95. They are hoping to go one better on October 23rd, especially as New Zealand have (however unfairly) developed a reputation for choking every four years since their only win in 1987. They may have failed to win the 2011 Tri-Nations but they have proved since 2007 that they remain the team to beat and are comfortably top of the IRB rankings. As in previous tournaments it is hard to see any team challenge the hosts apart from Australia, South Africa and potentially England and France. It goes without saying that Australia are a major threat to New Zealand, especially after beating them in the Tri-Nations decider just weeks ago. If you want to know how to beat the Kiwis, the Aussies will take pleasure in telling you, and if the two rivals meet in the final, the fact that Australia are coached by former All Black Robbie Deans would add an extra edge. The same can't quite be said for defending champions South Africa. Some poor performances in the Tri-Nations and an ageing squad suggest that they'll struggle to reach a second final in a row. After the opening round of games, it certainly seems Australia are in a better position after their performance against Italy whereas South Africa were extremely lucky to see off Wales.

France are New Zealand's bogey team and it will be fascinating to see how France fare in their group encounter next week. The French are though, like their footballing counterparts were last year, let down by an eccentric coach and as in the Fifa World Cup, the French go into this tournament knowing that their coach will be leaving at the end of it. We all know what happened in South Africa last year, but even Marc Lievrement can't be quite so bad as Raymond Domenech was. As for England, they always seem to find a way. When they lost 36-0 to South Africa in 2007 nobody thought they'd meet them again in the final, and a lucky draw means they're in a position to win their group quite comfortably. A poor performance against Argentina had the press all over England but some media seemed to forget they actually won that game. France and Australia, possibly standing in the way of England and a 3rd consecutive final, have recent bad memories of World Cup encounters with the English and probably wouldn't relish another meeting.

While the latter stages of the competition will no doubt be intriguing, it is the group stage that I like the most, especially because the performance of tier 2 nations is tangibly improving. Detractors of the Rugby World Cup claim that it's the most predictable tournament around. While this is a valid claim, the days of 142-0 victories (Australia v Namibia, 2003) appear to be over. A look back at the 2003 group stage sees an awful lot of one sided victories, with England scoring more than 80 points on two occasions. Argentina's incredible 3rd placed finish in 2007 represents the improvement of world rugby's developing nations. While it is likely that we will see a 70 or 80 point score at some point (Australia v Russia perhaps?) the lesser teams are playing above themselves. In 1999 Ireland beat USA 53-8. On Sunday the score was 22-10. Tonga achieved their best result against New Zealand, Japan came far closer to beating France than the 49-21 scoreline suggested, Romania gave Scotland the fright of their lives after leading with 12 minutes left. What's more, Argentina, having played less than half the amount of matches as the leading nations since the last World Cup, came close to an upset against England while Canada surprised Tonga with a fantastic display. Even debutants Russia got a bonus point against the USA and could have won it at the end.

However, what Romania, Japan, Georgia and Argentina have in common is that they all lost the game in the last ten, twenty or thirty minutes. Weaker teams in rugby find it harder to cause an upset than weaker teams in football, and this is partly because fitness is so important. The intensity and stamina of stronger teams wear down the weaker ones whose players don't play top class rugby every week. Because of this, the feeling of sad inevitability was prevalent when France ran in three late tries to beat Japan. Unfortunately the Cup organisers are impeding the weaker nations even more through the scheduling of the games. The top seeds in each group play every weekend, while Georgia who endured a hugely physical game against Scotland on Tuesday, have four days to prepare for a fresh England team, tired only from bungee jumping and throwing dwarfs (http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/sep/15/dwarf-throwing-england-rugby). Similarly Canada, off the back of their wonderful win over Tonga have to get physically prepared for France on Sunday, who like England have had a week off. If the IRB wants real competition for 2nd place in the group, they have to give teams like Canada the respect they deserve. If the Canadians could have a week off like France that game could be a great one.

So I won't be surprised if the French and the English score a few late tries this weekend against what have become the real stars of the tournament. Teams including players who have taken unpaid leave from their jobs to take part, who realise what they're up against, but nevertheless front up, match the aggression of the big teams and play for their team-mates and their flag. The teams therefore, who encapsulate the spirit of the World Cup.

"Learn as much by writing as by reading" Lord Acton

Enough people have encouraged me to start a blog, so I've decided to go for it. I used to think that writing a blog was like writing a diary that you wanted everyone else to read but now I'm not so sure. I'm expecting few, if any readers, but writing for others to read isn't the purpose of this. After graduating university with the vague degree of English and Divinity, I have to figure out what I want to do in life. With the not-too-thrilling part-time job in B&Q taking up just 8 hours of each week I have plenty of time to fill, and writing a blog seems the best way to do it.

I'm expecting this blog to become dedicated to sport, since that is what occupies far too much of my time. Whether or not I write about other things remains to be seen, although ranting or musing or rambling may occur. In any case, I chose 'Hit and Hope' as the title partly because of the sporting philosophy behind the phrase but also because I feel my starting a blog is very much, well, a hit and hope situation.

I don't know how often I'll write, though my dad thinks I should get up at 8am and write something every morning. While that is quite clearly crazy talk, I'm reminded of that quote from the novel 'Grace Notes' which said: "Neglect your art for one day, and it will neglect you for three"*. I certainly found that was true when it came to playing the piano, and I think it's probably the case when it comes to writing too.

* I almost started to reference that quote. It's hard to get out of essay writing mode!