Source: Daily_Mail
MARTIN SAMUEL: Barbaric Old Firm bigotry is last thing we need down here
For who would leave, unbrib'd, Hibernia's land, or change the rocks of Scotland for the Strand?' Well, Rangers and Celtic, for a start. It would come as a shock to Dr Johnson, who wrote those lines in his poem, London, in 1738, but then he also called Scotland 'a worse England' in a letter to his biographer, James Boswell, later in life, so he got that right.[LNB]Football had no part in British culture then but Johnson's words are apt. Scottish football is a worse English. It is what English football would become if just two clubs, rather than four, were allowed to grow impossibly strong and financially superior to the rest. It is one-dimensional and ultimately weaker through lack of competition.[LNB]Rangers and Celtic have Scotland sewn up, which has led, via lazy executive decisions and inferior playing standards, to this present crisis. The best young Scottish player of recent years, Darren Fletcher, showed no interest in playing in his home country and held out for an offer from Manchester United.[LNB]Walter Smith, manager of Rangers, has said Scottish football is dying and that was before his team lost 4-1 at home to Champions League novices Unirea Urziceni of Romania. Celtic did not even make it into the competition and are now bottom of their Europa League group.[LNB] Keep out: Celtic and Rangers engage in the kind of rivalry which is alien to fans of Premier League clubs[LNB]Yet this remains Scotland's problem to solve. It is not unavoidable that domestic domination causes standards to plummet in Europe as clubs such as Manchester United, Porto and Lyon have demonstrated in recent years.[LNB]And it is certainly not for the English league to provide the answer to Scotland's ills. If young Scottish players are not getting a chance because their biggest clubs import average players from abroad, that is their issue. If the Scottish Premier League is viewed as dull and predictable, then Rangers and Celtic cannot have it all ways.[LNB]Fairer wealth distribution might make for a better league and a more exacting challenge but the big clubs will then have to give up their divine right for every season to be a successful one (which it has been for Celtic in all but one year in the last 11).[LNB]The danger is that as the game in Scotland withers, the idea of a rescue mission involving the stronger, more successful, English league gathers strength. Talk of moving Rangers and Celtic south never goes away and will be discussed ever more anxiously after Smith's warning.[LNB]Yet at whose expense? A picture is invariably painted of mighty clashes between Manchester United and Celtic or Chelsea and Rangers - forget that they would be uninspiring, one-sided affairs right now - which would be of particular appeal to armchair fans, but where are the likes of Hull City or Blackburn Rovers in this?[LNB]Nowhere, because they are the sort of teams that would be expected to make way meekly as Scotland's big two muscle in to maintain their cash flow and their place in Europe's hierarchy.[LNB] More from Martin Samuel... MARTIN SAMUEL: A cracking scrap but where was the class?25/10/09 MARTIN SAMUEL: Dean Martin and a fitting send-off for my Uncle Sid22/10/09 MARTIN SAMUEL: The ghost of Guus Hiddink will haunt Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea20/10/09 MARTIN SAMUEL: From dire straits to king of the hill for miracle man Brawn19/10/09 Martin Samuel: Button is champion and all doubts fade in a victory for the driver19/10/09 MARTIN SAMUEL: Targeting Diego Tardelli has to be a step up for Manchester City on Robinho18/10/09 The numbers all add up for Jenson Button, the accountant16/10/09 MARTIN SAMUEL: Argentina are like Bugs Bunny's Tasmanian Devil15/10/09 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE There is no suggestion of fair progress through the English divisions because this is not about sport, but money. It is argued that Rangers and Celtic will bring greater wealth to the league and accrue revenue in line with their ambitions, therefore saving the game in Scotland. How convenient.[LNB]And what would become of the SPL clubs that remain, if this scheming, manipulative plot succeeded? They would be stranded in a lame competition, shorn of its marquee names. Beyond their parochial environment, they would be fixtures on a pools coupon and little more, like the Premier League of Wales.[LNB]And what would the English league get in return? Lousy teams with big support at first. The same logic would instantly reinstate Newcastle United or Leeds United without going through the bother of promotion.[LNB]Right now, Rangers and Celtic are no better than mid-table Premier League teams. Celtic lost by the same margin as Birmingham City at Arsenal in their Champions League qualifier and Arsenal were made to work harder for victory against Fulham at Craven Cottage than they were at Parkhead in the first leg.[LNB]The most powerful argument against including Celtic and Rangers, however, is sewn into the fabric of the clubs. English football has enough strife, without importing a culture of religious bigotry.[LNB]Celtic and Rangers may have fought admirably against a sectarian tendency within their support in recent years, but that does not mean it has been banished. This is significant, because when a new follower chooses his side he absorbs everything about it, the history, the rivalries, the whole irrational package.[LNB]So just as a Manchester United convert too young to remember a Conservative government will still know the tragic story of the Busby Babes, or supporters of Millwall and Leeds are conditioned to loathe one another for no reason whatsoever - the Galatasaray shirt and stabbing mime was a nice touch on Saturday at the New Den - so entry to the world of Rangers and Celtic may become an introduction to a casual bigotry that is simply not a factor in the game south of the border, for all its problems.[LNB]Say the Old Firm join the Premier League and a kid in the West Country decides to adopt Celtic as his club because he likes the green hoops, or Rangers because they have just bought his favourite player with all that new money.[LNB]He then visits the websites and chat rooms, but does not just find information about titles won, the Lions of Lisbon or Jim Baxter, but is exposed to songs and motivations that were not part of his life, until now.[LNB]In this way, Scottish football remains a much worse England: and it is why its biggest clubs must be left to resolve their troubles, alone.[LNB] Rafa fans missing the pointThere are many good reasons to defend Rafael Benitez, manager of Liverpool, but citing his points average in his first five seasons - superior to that of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, apparently - as one admirer did, is not among them.[LNB]Ferguson's initial five years at Old Trafford ran from 1986 to 1991, a time when the top four places in what was then Division One were occupied by 10 different teams: Everton, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United, Nottingham Forest, Norwich City, Aston Villa, Leeds United and Crystal Palace.[LNB]Even Wenger's first five years saw six teams strongly involved: Manchester United, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leeds United.[LNB]Benitez (above right) hit town at the time when the Champions League hegemony was truly established: Everton made fourth place in his first season, but since then an elite quartet have dominated and winning percentages for any manager in charge of one of those teams have shot up. To compare his start in English football to that of Wenger is specious; to compare it to Ferguson is ludicrous.[LNB] You cad!Mickey Arthur, coach of South Africa, says his team are pretty happy they will not be facing the bowling of Steve Harmison this winter. England's captain and selectors seem pretty happy not to be relying on it, too.[LNB]Also chirping is former England seamer Andrew Caddick. 'You need strong characters, so why the hell is Ian Bell still in the England side?' he asked. Caddick famously bowled an average 6mph faster when Australia were on the back foot on the second day of the opening Ashes Test in Brisbane in 2002 than he did on the first when the Aussies made more than a hundred runs in each session. Just while we're talking character.[LNB] The Donington Park debacle may have a humorous postscript after all. It would appear that if today's final, final deadline (there have been many, but this is meant to be absolutely, positively, without question the last) is missed, the half-built circuit will be liable for a cancellation fee due to Bernie Ecclestone of between £12m and £15m. As it was Ecclestone's bizarre grudge against Silverstone that delivered the British Grand Prix into the hands of these chancers, we wish him all the luck getting it.[LNB] AND WHILE WE'RE AT IT...Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, mischievously predicted that in future Manchester United would be changing their home kit on an annual basis. United hastily countered that no decision had been made, so you can bet it is true.[LNB]It's a bit-part BecksIt was tight at the top going into this weekend, with one point separating the leading four teams, but LA Galaxy were at the head of the western division of the MLS having already booked their place in the play-offs.[LNB]It is only right to salute the men who put them there: Omar Gonzalez (29 games), Chris Klein (27 games), Eddie Lewis (26 games), Gregg Berhalter and Donovan Ricketts (25 games), Landon Donovan and Todd Dunivant (24 games), Stefani Miglioranzi (23 games) and AJ DeLaGarza, Alan Gordon and Mike Magee (22 games).[LNB]Not to mention the man who is going to get all the credit: David Beckham (10 games).[LNB] Lord of all errorsThe problem with England's 2018 World Cup bid, as orchestrated by Lord PleasedMan and his Westminster chums, is that it has only belatedly embraced England's unique selling point, which is the immensely successful Premier League.[LNB]Last week, Barclays signed a new sponsorship deal with the top division, at an increase of 25 per cent. Contrast this with the dismal failure of the FA to hawk its own wares, the FA Cup and the England team, following Setanta's collapse.[LNB]PleasedMan worried too much about getting cosy with Michel Platini (right), president of UEFA, undermined the very people he should have sought as allies and is now playing catch-up.[LNB] Watford annihilated Sheffield Wednesday thanks to two outstanding young players, Henri Lansbury and Tom Cleverley. One problem: they own neither. Lansbury is on loan from Arsenal, Cleverley from Manchester United. There are many people who see nothing wrong in this, but they are probably not teenagers in Watford's academy.[LNB] Lord Mawhinney knows who the owners of Notts County are and they are fit and properpeople. But he can't tell the fans because it's a secret. Now there's leadership for you.[LNB] Gym slipMoving the rhythmic gymnastics to Wembley for the 2012 Olympics rather than building a temporary venue in North Greenwich will save £20million but has brought a disgruntled response from the International Gymnastics Federation.[LNB]'We are not happy,' said Andre Gueisbuhler, the secretary general. 'The rhythmic gymnastics community don't like to be separated; they always feel they are being pushed outside.'[LNB]After all, what is £20m for a city in the grip of economic crisis against massaging the egos of 96 athletes, passing through London for a week? Nice sense of priority, too. Now that's what you call a legacy.[LNB] One Saturday afternoon, having covered a particularly impressive victory for Juventus, a small party of English journalists approached their midfield player, Edgar Davids (right), in the interview area and asked what it was like to play with the mesmerising Alessandro Del Piero.[LNB]He fixed us with a look of utter contempt. 'What is it like to play with Edgar Davids?' he snarled and stomped off. [LNB]I was reminded of this when reading the news that Davids, 36, was now being pursued by Leicester City. No doubt he will fit right in: just don't ask him what it is like to play with DJ Campbell.[LNB]CONTACT MARTIN AT: m.samuel@dailymail.co.uk [LNB] Explore more:People:Martin Samuel, Ian Bell, Ivan Gazidis, Bernie Ecclestone, Alex Ferguson, Darren Fletcher, Andrew Caddick, Steve Harmison, Mickey Arthur, Eddie Lewis, James Boswell, David Beckham, Walter Smith, Rafael BenitezPlaces:Lisbon, Lyon, Liverpool, Leeds, London, Wales, Scotland, United Kingdom, Australia, South Africa, Romania, Europe, Donington ParkOrganisations:Scottish Premier League
