Some second helpings of special portions. Get fans back to the game!

A recent trip home was always going to have a trip to see a Raith Rovers, when checking out flights the second tab one the screen is the fixture list for the coming weeks, priorities. I wasn't exactly thrilled at the thought of seeing the Livingston game as they had been our opponents the past few times I had been back to Fife but hey ho beggars can't be n all that. 

Now the Scottish game doesn't have the best, if any reputation, for quality and entertainment here in Barcelona and the only teams anyone can name are the obvious 2 (however I do have student who is a hearts fan and has a few strips he wears at our local gym) but, in my opinion, this season "his been nae bad like". After watching a recent Athletico Madrid champions league game and almost passing out with boredom comments were made that just because it says champions on the tin doesn't mean it is quality. So why are some stadium around  Scotland experiencing a dip in numbers. If teams are playing well, getting results and prices are reasonable why aren't the seats being kept warm by generations of fans? Maybe the game needs something more than decent entrance fees and an exciting title challenge. 

After a quick rustle through the archives I stumbled across these recipes from old Paella and Bovrils for something a bit different in the football kitchen. 

Enjoy and debate. 

Paella and Bovril

Hidden contracts, presidents leaving the country, and missing millions have been all over the front and back pages of the Spanish press. What exactly did a certain Brazilian starlet get and where did this cash go? The figures they talk about are beyond comprehension of a fan "diddy" team, several million here and few 100,000 there. These clubs are living and playing a style of fantasy football . But maybe we should play a different kind of in a different type of league?

The Scottish game has changed a lot over the past the decades, divisions and clubs have come and gone. Club's antics have not been confined only to the back pages: celebrity columns and financial papers are bulging with football stories and not "all publicity is good publicity". But times are tough and we all have to learn to live within our means, just that some people's "means" are a lot larger than others'. The wee teams get smaller and the big teams get humongous while we watch the samepredictable winners and champions drink champagne from their familiar trophies. But what if we saw someone new taking a wee swig from one of those cups?

Season 1984/85 was the last time we saw (well I didn't see I was only 3) a team outside Glasgow win the league. Aberdeen and their youthful manager Mr A Ferguson were in the process of creating Aberdeen's glory days and with that came a break from the usual winners and losers. 30 years later and we are waiting for anotherclub to have its 15 minutes of fame and to wear the champion's crown and let's face it we ain't gonna see a change anytime soon so if we want it we need to help bring it about. Ladies and gents, I give you the Topsy-turvey fixed-term league! Ok, yes the name is ridiculous and the idea may have a a few flaws but it is a start. Here are a few key points.

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• After 5 years of consecutive wins a team would move to bottom of thedivisions with a fixed budget and capped squad size, after 5 years of Champions League money survival in the bottom leagues is possible
• Every year this takes place an extra play-off place would be available, making it an exciting season for a few more clubs.
• The super-champs would carry a large support and bring good crowds to the clubs they travel to on their way back up through the leagues.
• Other clubs would get a chance to make some money in Europe and take some TV Euros.
• Fans would maybe see their club lift a little more silverware.

Now I can hear the grumblings and "this wid never work hen"s from over here but Rome wasn't built in a day and sometimes the crazy idea is the best one. I for one would like to see a few more Scottish clubs coming to take on the mighty Barça, I am sure the locals could master the pronunciation of Eeerrraet Errobberz 

Paella and Bovril 

When you are away from you homeland you do try sometimes to recreate a wee bit of home.  I have been known to smuggle a haggis thru customs for a Burns Night supper and will spend a month trying to feed a whole bottle of brandy to a traditional Christmas cake. Of course I do not keep these delights for myself I share them with my multi-national friends.  Within our group we have a few Americans and they decided to introduce us to Thanksgiving. So on the fourth Thursday in November we make a turkey with trimmings of mashed potato, macaroni cheese, pumpkin pies and gravy. After we have tucked into the food and tested the wine was ok it is time to say goodbye and toddle home, the Thanksgiving football games are on. 

I have in the past few years watched some American football but never live on TV and very rarely see the build up.  Now I was aware that the states did things BIG and that they loved their cars, sports and meat, but I never thought they would combine all these things into a super-sized social event.  I could not believe what I was seeing, thousands of people, meeting up in the stadiums’ car park to have a BBQ. Now being the US of A some of these BBQs were humungous! Out of the boots of their cars these people were cooking, carving, consuming massive steaks, burgers and I have never seen so many sausages in one place. Some had even set up to spit-roasting turkeys whilst baking potatoes round the open flames. Beer kegs were stacked SUV high, tailgate party was in full swing. Not bad I thought for a wee bit traditional pre-match grub, and we all like a wee bite at the football some more than others. When I come back to visit Scotland it is always a coincidence that a Raith happening to be playing. In between the catching up with family and friends I drag the other half along to a game.  As we walk up to the stadium the talk moves away from football talk to food talk, what we going to treat ourselves with? Camp Nou might have Messi, but it does not have a macaroni pie! After one of our trips home one Christmas upon being asked, “What was the best bit of your holiday” my boyfriend replied “the pie at the football”, we have traveled all this way and meat filled bit of pastry gets the glory. 

Food has become a big part of our game and not just which club will win the title of best pie. While the professional players have swapped the pre match fry-up for a plate of whole-wheat pasta the fan in the stand still munches on their pies.   Over the years football clubs have become healthier, players diets are now closely monitored and some clubs are spending big money on getting the right nutrition.  Some clubs have tried to filter this down to the food on the terraces. Man City has taken the advice of several high-class chefs to help prepare a match day menu, not just fancy corporate meals for the big spenders in the boxes but the snacks in the stands.  Some English lower division clubs who do not have the money of the Manchester clubs have removed burgers and chips and replaced it with pasta and salad. Is this the end for the football pie?  Maybe next time I catch a Raith match I will be grabbing a pre-match hummus and carrot sticks and a half-time portion of paella!

Formulaic fun

The festive season is creeping up on us and there feels like no escape. We can only hope that the weather is kind to the Scottish football grounds.

A few weeks ago the topic came up "what would you change about the scottish game". This wee serving of Paella and Bovril gives you an idea of what I thought.

What do you think?

This was first seen in the Programme of the Scottish Cup tie with Deveronvale on Saturday 1st December. Raith went thru to the next round with a 2-1 win

Paella and Bovril 

It seems that every 5 minutes somebody somewhere wants to sweeten the Scottish game it by changing it’s structure. Mix this division with that league, add a dash of grass roots, stir them about and voila! -the perfect cocktail of football. Well that is what they keep promising to serve up to us. 

What would give Scottish football the perfect flavour? Regional divisions or fewer teams, maybe bigger leagues; but what about the actual 90 minutes? On a recent broadcast of Off The Ball the question was asked, "If you could change one thing about Scottish football what would it be?" The usual answers came in; bring back standing areas, Saturday 3 o'clock games as standard, but a recent comment from my boyfriend made me think about something a bit different. 

In our house we watch more than a bit of sport- American football, cycling, athletics and of course football. I am the bigger football fan and will watch most games till the death, even those tedious nil-nils. As I sat recently watching one of those classic 0-0 a voice of Glaswegian wisdom came from the other side of the sofa "nae points fir 0-0". After a bit more thought and lots of hand gesture-fueled discussions the idea started to develop.  

So in went the email to Off The Ball, expecting it to disappear into the ether, but whilst making a pre match cuppa on it came, “the one thing Carol in Barcelona would change in Scottish football is the points system.” The formula I gave to them is pretty simple in principle. 

0-0 = 0 points

1-1 = 1 point

2-2  or more = 2 points

Win = 3 points

Lose = 0 points

Not your usual idea put forward to brighten up the game! 

Under the current system, if we are honest, goals are a luxury! If both teams just pass the ball back and forth in the middle of the park they can leave the pitch with the one point they started the game with. No goals, no shots on target because if "we play it safe we get the point!" How many times have you as a fan heard from the journalist, or even thought yourselves that if we just hold on we will get the point. Or heard the manager excuse the umpteenth goalless draw by over-praising the clean sheet.  But if you start the game with no goals, why can’t you begin with no points. As soon as the game starts the teams HAVE to score if they want just a point, maybe this could give us attacking football from the off, from both sides!

Or how would the last ten minutes be if it really is all or nothing to play for. Imagine 80 minutes to go, nothing each, the prospect of no points, someone has to score, no one likes to go home with nothing, a goal is the only way to get a point, but who wants to risk conceding a goal when trying to score, , move up, can’t concede, fall back, gotta score, attack, can’t concede, defend, gotta score……….. aaaaahhhhhhh can you feel the tensioned excitement! 

But wouldn't that result in gentlemen’s agreements between teams to make sure they get a point, I hear some cry. Really, would you trust them to let you score after they had, every team would want to score first, and any way win is always better!

Fans love goals, I think, pure and simple. How many fans after a few wee half lemonades reminisce about that great goalless draw! Football's great memories nearly always involve a goal or two! Think about a half time score of one-all. Both teams have a point, but another goal each could be two points, another couple of goals each and we could have great game on our hands. 

There is no denying our game needs stirred up in to the perfect sporting cocktail, but maybe we should listen to Mr Bond and have it shaken not stirred.