The wheels on the bus go round and maybe more £s

To quote a great Mr Simpson "see you in spring toes"! It is the festive "fat-up" here in Barcelona. I am in the middle making my THIRD Christmas dinner in less than a week! In 2013 I think I will be staying out the kitchen for a few days and running a wee bit!

This serving of Paella and Bovril comes from the Fife Derby against Cowdenbeath on the 29th December. After a being 2 goals down at half time Raith came back to get a point.

Enjoy.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MATCHDAY PROGRAMME.

Paella and Bovril

When I was a wee teenager I would regularly be found on a football terrace. Being a pupil at Balwearie High, just behind the railway stand here at Stark’s Park, meant that I could use my “study” periods to come watch one of the reserves games that used to be regularly played.  Of course you do not expect a large crowd at these matches, I am sure that at some of these games I was the only supporter there. But it was a reserves match at 3pm on a Tuesday you wouldn’t expect a massive, if any crowd. As football supporters we have all traveled about a bit. I remember driving my parents mad by getting them to drive me from Aberdeen to Arbroath to see the Rovers. I would also use my daughterly charms to get a few mid-week, minus 5 on-the-road cup replays as well. Whilst banging your toes and huddling together to keep warm you were always reassured that you weren’t the only mad one to drive to Airdrie on Tuesday night in February. Could you imagine turning up and being the only one in the away end!

A few weeks ago an Udinese supporter, in Genoa, Italy on a Monday for business, thought he would go and see his side play Sampdoria. Friuli is about 4 hours away from Genoa so you wouldn’t expect a large away crowd at the game, but as it turned out he was the only one there! The entire away support only 1 guy! The average is about 50 so it was a bit unusual for it to be only 1. Luckily for him his side won 2-0 and after the match the home fans, who had booed the man on his arrival in the away end, took him for meal and the club presented him with a shirt.

It would appear that the empty seats plague has struck in quite a few leagues. It seems that seria A could do with a few more fans on the road and here La liga is suffering because of “the CRISIS”. Camp Nou has even looked pitifully empty at times this season.  Money is tight and if the game is on the “council” tele or for a few euros you can nurse a (yes, I did say just A, singular)  “cerveza” to watch in a bar, and the cheapest ticket for a recent game being 57 euros, you can understand why the seats are empty.  

I dread to think how much my parents, and those we car pooled with, spent on my football habit over the years, how many miles we clocked up on the cars and how many supporters buses I have fallen asleep on. Being a football fan is not cheap! A Barcelona top costs 90 euros alone! We are being regularly told to tighten our belts and nearly every day on local news you here stories of job losses due to the cuts. It is ok it seems for the big clubs like Barcelona, with their world wide fan base, but for the little guy if their fans tighten their belts it is the club that can suffer.

I loved my away days, some of my best football memories involve a journey along the A-something-or-other and some clubs are just lovely to go to! But it is plain to see that fans just are not traveling. It is said that besides Barcelona, the largest away crowd at Celtic was the Raith mid-week cup match. With all that is being proposed to be changed in Scottish football, maybe they should really think of the fans. I am sure every club would appreciate a few more away fans through the door, but not lose any money by dropping prices to unrealistic lows. Maybe if each club had access to a couple of football authority funded buses, to fill with families of fans. Grounds would begin to fill. Players would enjoy the atmosphere so maybe games would improve. Clubs could use the extra funds to improve stadiums and buy players. The national team could win a game! I know it is a small idea with massive dreams, but maybe it is a start!