What's the Hampden Roar?

My reaction to the news surrounding Hampden Park

There was something unexpected about the news that the Scottish Football Association are considering terminating their lease at the national stadium, Hampden Park.

This being Scottish football, naturally things are not particularly simple. Chief Executive Stewart Regan has employed a consultancy firm to consider the practicalities of taking international games to other stadiums round the country. (We can assume the consultancy has been brought in to give the Chief Executive cover. Leadership appears to be an alien concept to some in Scottish football).

There are a number of good reasons for the SFA to quit Hampden. Most importantly, it’s just a not very good stadium. For fans behind the goals, you’d be as well watching the game on telly at home; the sunken bowl doesn’t generate a great atmosphere unless the stadium is packed (which more often than not, it isn’t); the transport links are poor (although it will be interesting to see if the extra funding for Glasgow 2014 has any impact). Visiting Hampden is frankly not an appealing prospect for many fans. You only have to visit the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff to see what could have been achieved with roughly the same resources.

If the SFA was to remove itself from Hampden, what would be the impact? Glasgow already has two better stadiums in Ibrox and Celtic Park and there’s another 60,000+ seater stadium lying largely dormant 40 miles away in Edinburgh too. With the creation of a national sports academy centre at Heriot-Watt University, we may see the thawing of relations between the SFA and Scottish Rugby, which could lead to Murrayfield staging some Scottish internationals and/or Scottish Cup games (I acknowledge that Murrayfield is far from being a perfect venue also).  

Rotating Scotland’s international fixtures around the country would be a sensible decision. This is what Germany and Spain already do and it was largely successful when England did the same when Wembley was being redeveloped. The last time Hampden came close to selling out was three years ago in the crucial game against the Czech Republic – since then, attendances have varied, so playing world class outfits at Celtic Park  or Murrayfield, top-ranking but unfashionable sides at Ibrox, mid-ranked teams at Easter Road and Pittodrie and friendlies against minnows at stadiums unfamiliar to international football (like McDiarmid Park or Caledonian Stadium) makes perfect sense.

The danger of leaving Hampden would be for an annual bun fight like we’ve seen this season about where semi-finals and finals of national competitions take place. But if a transparent system was put in place, then such conflicts could be avoidable. However, this returns to the idea of the SFA leading, which appears to be something they’re not entirely comfortable doing.

But leaving Hampden is, however, not a simple decision. If the SFA does decide to give notice on their contract, where does that put the bid for Euro 2020? Why would UEFA want to stage a game at a stadium that its home association doesn’t think is good enough? There’s also the relocation of the fabulous Scottish Football Museum and administration offices, although these are not insurmountable problems. The two that concern me the most are, firstly, what would become of Queens Park? The amateurs have called Hampden (in its various guises) their home since 1873. Would Hampden and its 52,000 seats be viable for just an amateur football club and a few music concerts during the summer? If the SFA quit Hampden, will it shun it for all future use? I can’t imagine that should the Old Firm make a cup final together either would be happy with playing at each other’s grounds, nor embarking on a trip to Murrayfield (nor would the residents of said area welcome them) when an adequate stadia is lying vacant within the city.

The biggest problem for me about leaving Hampden would be the heritage and history. My first ever game was at Hampden, on the terraces for Hibs’ Skol Cup win in 1991. I was there for the partial re-opening when we played the Netherlands in a friendly. I was there to some of my best days in football (Hibs trouncing Killie in the League Cup Final; coming back from 3-0 down to Falkirk in the Scottish cup semi) and some of the worst (that 6.05pm on a Sunday Scottish cup semi against Aberdeen and erm, well, the 19^th May 2012). To a lot of people, Hampden brings cherished memories, where the results were what mattered, not the horrendous queuing or being half a mile away from the goal; they associate Hampden with Scottish football. Would we lose that link? Would Scottish Cup finals be the same if played at Celtic Park or Ibrox or Murrayfield every season? I think the occasion would be ever so slightly diminished, especially in the first few seasons.

That makes the decision to rule out the redevelopment of Hampden by the SFA even more surprising. By pre-empting the consultants, you’re essentially asking them not to explore all the possibilities that face the SFA. It seems a bizarre approach and I don’t expect it to be fully explained.

Hampden, for better or worse, is our national stadium and I’d like to see the fans of Scottish football fully consulted on any changes. If the SFA is going to make a dramatic change, then surely it stands to reason that the lifeblood of the game deserves to have their views heard. But I’m not holding my breath.

Ground 14: Hampden Park

The lights are on...

Game: Queen’s Park 2 v 1 Stirling Albion

Date: Friday 23^rd November 2012

Competition: Scottish Football League Division 3

Attendance: 557

Admission: £12

Programme: £2

Another Friday night adventure and this time it was at Hampden Park for what is one of Scottish football’s most surreal experiences.

But first I had to get there – I couldn’t physically get there in time to make the game by train so I was on the M8 again. It’s fair to say that I’m getting sick of this road. I also had to endure a shocking edition of Sportsound on the way there. Like most football fans I enjoy listening to coverage of the football to build up anticipation for the game. The whole hour wasn’t a pleasant experience. Firstly, there was coverage of the news that Elgin’s clash with Rangers was postponed due to Elgin overselling the number of tickets. Rightly, Elgin will be hauled over the coals for their lack of ticketing oversight but asking luminaries such as Billy Dodds to speculate on a story that the BBC had not further news on was ridiculous and patronising. Then followed twenty minutes on Celtic, including Neil Lennon’s foray into the league reconstruction debate. Why the manager of a team whose club has never been relegated is being asked for his opinion I’ll never know. The hour long show featured no coverage of the SFL aside from the sneering comments on Elgin. All in all, I find that pretty disappointing.

As I mentioned, watching Queen’s Park play in Division 3 is one of football’s surrealist sights as they play their home games at the Scottish football national stadium, Hampden Park. Hampden Park can hold 52,063. Queen’s Park attract an average crowd of 500. In comparison to other stadium’s in the division it is luxurious. You can get tours of Hampden Park as part of the Scottish Football Museum (which I highly recommend) the tour guide told me that the changing rooms for the ballboys is bigger than most changing rooms in other grounds in the SFL. As I parked up, Hampden was full of people entering the BT Scotland Stand dressed up to the 9s, clearly going to functions in one of the many hospitality suites. The fact that the football fans don’t go through this entrance demonstrates that football might not have been the biggest attraction in Mount Florida that night. Near the turnstile you get a good view of Lesser Hampden, which is a smaller stadium where a game was also underway. To get the history of Hampden, Lesser Hampden and sport generally in Glasgow, I can highly recommend Played in Glasgow which is a wonderful history of sport in Glasgow with some fabulous photographs too.

I paid my £12 admission and bought a programme and headed to get my dinner for the evening opting for a pie and coke which came to £4.70! Whilst I acknowledge that the catering will be run by a private firm on behalf of the stadium – that is a ridiculous sum of money to pay. I looked at the rest of the menu - £2.50 for chips, a cup of tea is £2.20, a packet of crisps £1.50, hotdog £4 (yes, £4), what planet are these people living on? On my way to the ground I spotted an enormous Asda superstore and another Tesco Express within sight of the West Stand – if I’m going to games in future I know where I’ll be stocking up because at those prices it feels like the catering operators are taking liberties.

I took my seat just in time for the Queen’s club song (every club should have one) and reflected that this is the clash of the idealists in Scottish football – the amateurs (Queen’s Park) versus Scotland’s first ever fan owned club (Stirling). But sadly, both teams were struggling for form in Scotland’s lowest division – both sides hadn’t won in five and four respectively, so I was fully expecting a goalless draw.

As you would expect, the pitch was immaculate but it wasn’t able to elevate the quality of play on it. Both teams were playing without confidence, with Queens looking slightly better but struggling in the final third of the pitch. Without much action in the first half it allowed me to reflect on my surroundings. There were a lot more female fans that I would expect but I couldn’t help feel that there were many things that could make the evening’s entertainment better. Firstly, beer and wine should be allowed in Scottish grounds – it would add to the atmosphere and give the clubs much needed revenue. Admittedly it wouldn’t work for all games but licences could be applied for on a game-by-game basis. Secondly, a move to summer football wouldn’t go amiss. I understand that the weather is not always better in the summer but for sheer comfort of the fans (heaven forbid this might be considered) a summer move might be better than fans in eight layers shivering for 90 minutes.

At half-time the majority of fans returned to the concourse to try warm up a little. Luckily, the second half was a vast improvement on the first and within three minutes we had a goal. Queens broke down the left and the ball was whipped in to Aidan Connolly who slotted home from 12 yards.

Ten minutes later Stirling equalised (unlike six days earlier when they had wilted under pressure from Elgin). Strong running from Stirling striker Scott Davidson saw him get his shot away and it hit the back of the net after coming off the bar.

Queen’s manager Gardner Spiers moved Aidan Connolly in from the left and into the centre of the park and this change had a desired effect. Connolly is the son of former Dundee United and St Johnstone striker Paddy Connolly and he had impressed me all evening, despite his short stature he was confident on the ball and gave the Spiders a lot of impetus in their forward play. I couldn’t believe when I heard others around me referring to the fact it was his debut. I couldn’t believe it, he looked far more accomplished than his 17 years suggested.

Even though it was 1-1 it was clear that Queens were the better side – they were playing a better standard of football, whilst Stirling offered a more robust approach (in fairness they are struggling with a lot of injuries – I’d seen three limp off last weekend) but the referee was missing a lot of fouls on the young Queens side. There’s a lot to admire about Queens – they’re an amateur side trying to mix it with the rest of the Division and they have a whole host of young, exciting players but as an alternative it’s not cheap to come and watch the Spiders.

Then in the closing stages Queens put together another good move and Stirling player-manager Greig McDonald brought down Ian Watt in the penalty box. Queen’s striker Anthony Quinn stepped up to fire home and the PA system played Manfred Mann’s The Mighty Quinn. Obviously. The goal secured the three points for the Spiders.

For the second Friday in a row I’ve enjoyed the game in spite of poor first halfs. But overall I can’t say that a visit to Hampden is anything but surreal. The club will move away from Hampden next season whilst the stadium is prepared for the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the Queen’s committee may use the time to reflect on how they can make the stadium work better for them as a club. The history of both Queen’s Park and Hampden are forever intertwined and the fact they still play at Hampden is one of the eccentricities that makes me love Scottish football.