So this is the end?
A mere two hectic months after I finished 42
Grounds – the new football season is underway. For me, last season ended with a
defeat for Hibs at Hampden and the new season will begin this Thursday when
Hibs try to overturn a 2-0 defeat against Malmo.
It’s taken me two months to get round to this post
for a number of reasons. First of them was that I’ve been incredibly busy with,
well, life. Work, weddings and everything else in between. Secondly, I was
probably suffering from a little bit of footballing fatigue, writing up reports
after every match. But also, I wanted to delay the post because I wanted to
have a little bit of perspective on the season.
Two months has given me time to reflect.
And you know what? Scottish football isn’t all
that bad. We’re mired in negativity surrounding the game, but I believe this is
for two simple reasons: 1) we’ve have the richest league in history playing
next door and, as is our want as Scots, we’ll always compare ourselves to what
is happening down south and 2) we are far too inward looking in Scotland. There’s
leagues of similar sizes throughout Europe that are undergoing just as many
problems (just look at the mess in Portugal for starters) but we choose not to
focus on them because we prefer to moan
about Scotland’s continual decline from the world-beaters of the ‘60s and ‘70s
without recognising the world around us has changed and will continue to
change.
But what of last season?
In 42 games I saw:
- 123 goals
- Saw games with 186,326 people
- Paid a total of £597 in admission
- Bought £90 worth of programmes (having
sourced programmes from Hibs and Hearts online, missed the Bet Butler programme
sellers and discovered Brechin no longer do programmes)
- Travelled 2,689 miles (roughly)
- Most expensive ticket: £30 for Hearts
vs. Hibs, 3 January 2013
- Cheapest ticket: £5 for Aberdeen vs.
Hearts, 18 May 2013
- Most goals: Cowdenbeath 4-4 Raith Rovers,
20 October 2012
- Four 0-0 draws
- 15 home wins, 16 away wins and 11
draws
Most of the time, I had a great time and saw some
thrilling matches. There were certain moments when I questioned by sanity
(being so cold I bought a cup of tea at Ochilview just to feel warmth again
springs to mind) but overall I loved my time watching the great and the good of
Scottish football.
I’ve said often that the ticket prices are far too
expensive for what’s on offer but hopefully that will be resolved – I’m picking
up a real sense from clubs that they need to attract new fans to watch the
games, not bleed the diehards dry.
There’s a lot to look forward to in the coming
season, and I intend to continue writing about Scottish football and with the
advent of the Lowland League and pyramid structure there could be some new
grounds to write about shortly.
Any round-up wouldn’t be complete without a list
of awards – so here are my 42 Grounds awards for 2012/13
Best
game: This was a tough one, but across the 42, the most
thrilling match to watch was Dundee United’s defeat to St Mirren at Tannadice on 30 December 2012. Tannadice is
a great, compact place to watch a top-flight game and then this end to end
encounter took place. An afternoon game under floodlights, plenty of rotten
defending, great goals and a sending off. Enough to warm the coldest of hearts.
Best
team performance: Without a shadow of a doubt – Ross County in their 3-0 demolition of
Motherwell in February. I’ve never seen a team work so far for each other –
they covered a tremendous amount of ground, defended together and attacked in
flurries (over-lapping fullbacks, my favourite). They dismantled the league
runners-up in such a fashion that even ‘Well manager Stuart McCall didn’t have
any complaints.
Best
individual performance: Honourable mention to Leigh
Griffiths, without whom Hibs would have struggled in almost every single game I
saw them in (seven). I was also delighted to see Aidan Connolly make his debut
for Queen’s Park back in November. From the very first minute he looked assured
on the park and despite his size he’s done well to bag a move to Dundee United
in the summer. However, the winner is Peterhead’s Rory McAllister. He was
instrumental in Peterhead’s 2-0 win against Annan in March. Peterhead looked an
average side even with McAllister in the side, but his sheer will to drag the
team along to victory was most impressive. Evidentially he is far too good a
player for the Third Division.
Highlight
of the season: During the season it became clear to
me that I was developing more than a casual interest in Elgin and that I was
suddenly becoming a supporter. Therefore, Gavin Morrison’s free kick to give Elgin a 2-1 lead in the final minute against Annan in April was a highlight.
Suddenly the possibility of promotion via the playoffs seemed a real
possibility as I danced a jig on the Galabank terrace. Cruelly that moment was
taken away within 90 seconds as Annan equalised and broke City hearts.
Honourable mention should also go to Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s chairman
Kenny Cameron for getting in touch after the reading this post and ensuring I
could attend ICT-Celtic. Top guy, who really restored my faith in those in
Scotland’s boardrooms.
Best
programme: A lot of competition for this one –
but Aberdeen get the nod – many interesting articles and designed brilliantly.
It just pipped Motherwell, which is another cracking read. Both Inverness and
Stirling should be applauded for having a different approach to the traditional
matchday programme. Stranraer and Cowdenbeath should also get a mention for
very readable publications despite presumably much smaller budgets.
Best
matchday experience: There’s only two clubs that have the
budgets to put a real effort into the ‘matchday experience’ – the Old Firm and
I can only be honest when I say Celtic’s is streets ahead of the other 41 clubs.
They make proper use of the big screens that are available to them, fan
interaction in the build-up to the game is used throughout and once the game
begins, the Green Brigade make enough of a racket for the 55,000 in attendance.
Admittedly, I was there on the day they clinched the title, but I can only
judge on what I saw over the season.
Favourite
ground SPL: This isn’t a hard one – nothing beats
a full Tynecastle under the lights. I was there later in the season for another
midweek game and it is still special. Compact and steep, it keeps the noise in –
quite an achievement when the game was as bad as the 3 Jan stinker.
Favourite
ground SFL1: Honourable mention goes to
Cowdenbeath. I know some who are not fans of the ‘rustic’ charm of Central
Park, but I love it. There is simply nothing else like it in Scottish football
and we should appreciate that – especially as the First Division has a number
of new identikit stadiums. But the winner is Cappielow, home to Greenock Morton. A glorious green surface, three beautiful terraces and an old-fashioned
grandstand with one of the best views in Scotland. On a sunny day, I defy
anyone not to enjoy their day out at Cappielow.
Favourite
ground SFL2: Gayfield.
I had been warned about Arbroath’s ground – especially as I’d chosen to visit
late January, when the weather could be temperamental to say the least. But we
found a beautiful wee ground – noisy fans, covered terraces and a wonderful
local derby. Standing on the north east corner of the ground, where you can
watch the waves crash against the land as well as a football game is pretty
special.
Favourite
ground SFL3: Although it only spent one season
hosting Third Division games, Ibrox is by far and away the most impressive
ground in SFL3. The sheer size of the ground is impressive and once inside the
ground you can’t help but be impressed by the scale of it. It felt like a
proper arena where you couldn’t tell if you were in or out. Scotland is truly
fortunate to have a number of magnificent stadia.
That concludes 42 Grounds for 2012/13. Thanks to
those who have visited the blog, got in contact via twitter and the like. It’s
been a blast and I’d recommend it to any Scottish football fan – you’ll come
away with more love for the game, something I didn’t think was possible.
