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Noisy neighbours not the only problem for Scottish
punters |
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 by BrianHargadon |
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Scottish football is in danger
of becoming a minority sport. The steamrollering advance of the English Premier
League and the relative lack of cash thereby flowing into the game north of the
border has seen what was not so long ago one of Europe’s most keenly
contested leagues reduced to a pale shadow of its former
glory..
Although the picture is not entirely black and white, an
extensive
recent STV survey shows that the general trend across the
piece is for falling attendances. There is hardly a better barometer for the
game’s public standing. It may not have reached any sort of crisis point
yet, but Scottish league football is in a worrying state of
decline.
Celtic’s dominance in the top flight means that the
betting interest in that perennial favourite - which of the Big Two will come
out on top - is simply not part of the picture. The recent one-sided League Cup
semi-final clash between the sides only served to point up just how
uncompetitive the situation is currently. It also demonstrated just how much
that rivalry is being missed. The game was the most
gambled on game in Scottish footballing history - although
that may have had as much to do with the predictability of the outcome as the
momentousness of the occasion itself.
The fact that the second tier
involves Rangers, as well as Hearts and Hibs this season has been hailed as a
bonus for
the championship. But there is no disguising the fact that second tier
football represents a second rate product when it comes to attracting customers
through the door as well as the all-important TV viewers. As much as those
championing the merits of the Championship might try, it is not an entirely
convincing pitch.
And there are knock on effects to this downturn.
Scottish football betting has traditionally been disproportionately
popular amongst punters and, of course a correspondingly steady earner for
bookmakers. But diminished crowds find their corollary in lower takes amongst
the bookies, and although it is a somewhat indirect loop, it eventually comes
back to hit the clubs in terms of reduced advertising revenue, and a less
‘sticky’ media product to sell to TV.
Operating in the long
dark shadow of the Premier League, Scottish football is in danger of withering
away. Recent claims by Alloa chairman Mike Mulraney that the BBC are
underpaying Scottish clubs for their coverage mean about as
much as the banging of an empty stable door - that horse has well and truly
bolted. What the BBC pays is - much like Sky and BT’s recent £5.1
billion Premiership deal - a reflection of the public appetite for the product
itself.
As this season’s one-off Celtic Rangers game illustrated,
there is still a huge latent appetite for football betting on big games clashes
in Scotland. But as things stand, conditions are serving to suppress rather
than stimulate that appetite.
In sport there are always winners and
losers. Currently, the big win that the English Premier League has enjoyed
appears to be - in part at least - at the expense of its Scottish counterpart.
Sadly for those involved, that noisy neighbour is not the only problem
blighting the game north of the border right now.
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