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Andy’s Sting In The Tale (17/01/25) “Labour Isn’t Working”

Date: 17th January 2025

(Photo:@Homesoffootball)

Labour Isn't Working - Wikipedia
It was Saatchi and Saatchi’s best ever headline and won the election for Thatcher.

Sheer genius by the copywriter Andrew Rutherford, and Martyn Walsh the art director too.
Maggie didn’t like it but was out-voted.
I wish that had happened more and we’d maybe still have some industry and an oil fund like the Norwegians.

Politics.

Politics is in everything and all aspects of football.

I’ve been told it can be a power for good, (mostly by politicians).

Here however, is something ‘political, and not for the good’.

A simple story of how bad political judgement and subsequent action is about to damage vulnerable parts of our game.
(The law of unintended consequences and all that).

I’m talking specifically about our recent heavy-handed budget from our newbie chancellor who may or may not have told porkies on her CV to enhance her ‘gravitas’.
What isn’t a porky is she is about to drop a cluster-bomb across our national sport in a way I hadn’t even considered and you haven’t read about it in the papers.
(More about that in a minutito after a wee definition to set the scene).

We all talk about Politics but what does the word mean?

Ernest Benn - WikipediaHere’s a wondrous definition of ‘Politics’, to frame the nonsense.

It comes from Ernest Benn, of the well- known political ‘Wedgewood Benn’ family and also uncle of Labour’s finest ever sage, Tony.
It’s a great definition because it works and explains everything.
It also made me smile out loud.

“Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies”.

I had to read it twice too.


Rachel Reeves - BBC NewsIf you’ve been on the moon, Rachel Reeves our newly self-styled ‘iron chancellor’ sneakily put up national insurance recently.
I now know the move will cost a typical SPFL community club with a modest turnover of somewhere between £0.5M  and say £1.0 M anything between £20K and £50K .
It depends on their player budget and the size of their staff.Unexpected, unbudgeted, and unfair.

I was speaking with a club boss this morning and non-avoidable, un-budgeted stuff like this that has to be paid at the expense of community projects because fewer players is not the option.
That is because clubs below the Championship have all seen what has happened to 5 ex-members, East Stirling, Albion Rovers, Berwick Rangers, Brechin City, and Cowdenbeath.It scares the hell out of them.
I know that from many discussions with many clubs.
Being out of the SPFL is not a nice place to be.
It’s economic disaster and getting back in is tough/ impossible.When what we called ‘The Pyramid’ was established I don’t think anyone foresaw that smaller, more community focussed clubs, mostly in our bottom two leagues would not and could not benefit.
The unforeseen reality was and is they would have to morph into ‘serial hangers on’.
To do this we now know that they have had to increase to the very maximum their playing budgets at the expense of the mostly unsung community stuff that made them all special and valuable in their own back yards.
Or if you like in Andy’s words.Constantly Gambling on Staying Up Rather Than Right-Sizing

They are all at it because they have to.

And the outcomes are a real loss of lots of good things that used to be in our game.

There are of course two sides to most political decisions.

Mileage indicator sign A9 (northbound), Inveralmond, Perth… | FlickrI well remember the frustration that top and ambitious northern clubs like Thistle, my own boyhood team Caley, Elgin and County had when the southern clubs kept the Scottish Leagues out of reach of anything north of the Tay.
The Ferranti/Meadowbank Thistle stitch-up on Inverness Jags was maybe the worst example of that.

But where we are today is probably equally flawed, and does nothing for the work clubs always did outside their first XIs.
Here are some of the issues:
We have a current imbalance between the population of the Highland and Lowland League hinterlands and the ambitions of the members.

We have top teams, mostly in the north who want to stay in their local leagues.
We have many southern clubs busting a gut to get in because of ambition rather than genuine long term fit.
Once in, clubs that make it can then run out of steam and maybe also suffer from disappointing long-term community support thereafter.
We currently have clubs at level 5 with no grounds, and no real communities who are taking spaces that would be better filled by others, and they are only there because of historical ‘right places at the right time’.

I’d say it all needs a genuine shake up and thinking from our best thinkers.

More later.

 

Andy’s Sting in the Tale

1. The Vacuous Roar of Short-Term White Noise
2. When Andy Had Bertie in His Pocket
3. German News
4. A Caption That Made Me Smile
5. Chairman’s Awards
6. Looking Outside
7. Thanks Denis

1. Easy Copy

Just think if even half of the media effort that goes into telling us if Celtic are maybe re-signing their old full back, or if the Union Bears are getting their shiny new manager in before the crocuses come out, was spent on real stories.
Where did we ever read about what Nat Insurance is about to do to clubs like Airdrie, and Arbroath and what it means?

What is happening now at ICT and Dumbarton?

In my local Margiotta for milk this morning I asked,  “who actually buys newspapers any more”.

Scottish gossip: Kyogo, Tierney, Dessers, Jota, Valle, Barre, Moro, Matondo, Campbell - BBC SportThe Answer.
People over 70 mostly and never anyone under 50.
And they all buy the same one every day.

So here’s a question.

Why then do the BBC talk about the newspapers and what they say every day as if they are important for news and opinion like they used to be when no bugger is reading them?
Why not move on guys and give us your own opinions rather than those structured by click bait and the politics of right wing, foreign based mandarins.

2. Man of the Match at Bellslea

Fraserburgh 0-3 Rangers - BBC SportOK it wasn’t the Scottish Cup.
But it was a ‘Giants versus Rabbits’ just the same a Fraserburgh vs Rangers on Sunday.
Only for this Aberdeenshire Cup semi final in 1975 it was top of the Highland League, Fraserburgh vs Aberdeen Uni.
Fraserburgh were the giants.
And I was playing right back against Bertie Bowie, the then  current Highland League Footballer of the year and the Broch star left winger.
He was good but I was young and fit.In front of 1500 fishermen, home, thirsty, noisy,, and working their ways through humongous carry outs he hardly got a kick of the ball.
I think they won 2-1 and I got serious verbal abuse from very close quarters with some great humour but no thrown coins or lighters or even haddies.

They clapped us off the park and my award was a case of beer for the coach home.
I hope the Broch do the Broch proud on Sunday and give Rangers a case of beer for their coach home too.

 

3. Two Stories From Deutschland

The first might scare The SFA, The SRU and our big clubs.
A German court ruled football can be billed for the costs of extra policing for big matches.
And I guess for trashing their equivalents of George Square.
I know this particular news will be discussed in high places and to be fair I have never thought the price of big football events should land on local tax payers.

The second is I’m about to be twinned with a 23 year old German male who is a perfect bone-marrow transplant, match.
It all kicks off next week.

And yes, I’m already practising putting towels on sun beds, drinking Becks Bier and all the usual stuff but I do hope to continue getting ‘Sting’ out on Fridays.
Bear with me if I miss a week or two.

 

4. Great Football Humour ‘The Emptyhad’
Before I get complaints from blue fans let me say I got this ‘Emptyhad’ empty-stand joke from my biggest blue nose buddy.
Made me smile a lot.

 

5. Nominations Welcome

Thanks to the thousands of you who voted in our recent SFSA Fan Awards.
We’ll announce the prizes as per usual on Off the Ball.
I get paid half of bugger all for being Chairman here but once a year I get to nominate my own ‘Chairman’s Award’.
I have a couple of ideas but would appreciate your input.
In the past I’ve chosen Dick Campbell, and Rose Reilly for obvious reasons.I don’t mind ‘left of field’ ideas so feel free to my email.

Who deserves Andy’s Chairman’s Award for going beyond the norm for the game or the fans?

Andrew@scottishfsa.org

6. You Go Girls

Rangers Women SMASHED Queens Park 14-0 in the Scottish Women's Premier LeagueThere is chatter about our top women’s teams wanting to look to pastures new and in a league with unbalanced scores like 14-0 I think change is essential.

Long term I can say we need more kids, leading to more elite kids, to better teams etc.
Short term we need better competition.
Simples.

It reminds me of the time when Rugby went professional.
England and France told the three small nations “thanks, but goodbye”, and hastily set up their own ‘Big’ leagues.

The three ‘Wee Guys’, Ireland Wales, and Scotland got together, used the grey matter, united, created the Guinness Leagues and now have Italian and South African sides too.
That’s what Wee Guys should do.
I know there are barriers but I personally support this kind of ambition and think football can learn from the oval ball.
It needs that kind of thinking.

My wee sister, the writer, once wrote that “we should be united rather than divided by boundaries”.

I totally agree.

7. Lawman You Were So Special

Just heard Dennis is gone.
I remember the wee guy with saucer glasses and white pads and how Dennis could ‘hang in the air’.
One of our best ever.

 

 

Andy’s Sting is:

A weekly column from me, Andy, a man who enjoyed more than a few laughs, drams, beers and wines with my pal Gordon Paul.
I’ll toast you on Monday, Gordy, with a glass of John’s Blend 2015 and maybe a wee Ardbeg later too.

Sting is Sting, it’s a free spirit of a blog and any opinions are mine.
Feel free to agree or disagree with anything I say and feel free to tell me so, and why if you can be bothered.

Andy’s Album of the Week
 
The Doors : LA Woman

L.A. Woman - WikipediaOne of the first albums I ever bought.
I was working at the Wimpy Bar in Church Street Inverness, part time, as a dishwasher.
A demeaning employment status and job title for a man of my stature!
I told all my pals and the girls I fancied I was a ‘machine operator’ and that I sometimes was the griddler, which I was, but only for very short gaps.
And I also became a canine hero feeding the local latch-key dogs with bits of left over burgers as I cycled home.
They all followed me and gathered at our side gate making my parents and neighbours think I was a dog whisperer.
Anyway next door to the Wimpy Bar was a record shop, The Record Rendezvous, owned by my pal Colin’s dad.
It sold mostly Calum Kennedy and Jim McLeod stuff to tourists but had a small contemporary section.
And I always got staff rates.
I’d heard ‘Riders on the Storm’ on Radio 1, all 7 minutes of it and loved it.
It went to places I hadn’t been before.
So first week in the summer holidays, Friday night and the album was in my shoulder bag heading to St Valery Avenue and my fidelity stereo less than 10 minutes after my first pay packet.
I still love the ‘L’America’ ‘Hyacinth House’, ‘Crawling King Snake’ and ‘Wasp’ build up to ‘Riders’.
I had no idea what any of the lyrics meant either but what a great album especially side 2.
Advice is always patronising but pick an old album this week and revisit it.

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