Against Modern Football? Commercialisation in Sport.

The phrase "Against Modern Football" has been gaining plenty of media attention lately, thanks in large part to the Stand movement and various supporter's groups. So, what is it about the sport of association football in the modern era that has fans riled up?

Plenty of the issues that fans are unhappy with today have been happening since the dawn of organised football (unscrupulous owners, corrupt governing bodies, clubs being used as financial black holes), but there are some things that go on today which are unsatisfactory to my tastes, such as the unbelieveable sums paid out on players in transfer fees, wages, signing on fees and agent's fees by clubs the world over, which breeds a feeling of distance and disconnectedness between the supporters and the clubs themselves. As a Dumbarton supporter, I can meet the club's playing staff around the stadium and chat with them freely as equals. How many Chelsea fans feel on a par with Fernando Torres, should they ever be able to actually get close to him? Add in the fact that Horst Dassler's Adidas and the world governing body FIFA have almost single handedly made the sport open to being sold to the highest bidder on a global scale and you have a recipe for discontent amongst football fans.

The example of Cardiff City having their club colours, crest and nickname changed to try and market them to Malaysia for the sole purpose of profiteering is a bitter pill to swallow, as is the recent fad for clubs being bought and renamed by brands such as the Red Bull franchises. I'm also not very fond of renaming stadia to turn a profit (the Braidwood Motor Co Stadium, the Bet Butler Stadium, the American Express Community Stadium et al) although I do appreciate that it is essential for clubs to generate as much commercial revenue as possible to (a) stay afloat and (b) be competitive amongst their peers. For example, how many lifelong Stirling Albion fans would have been ashamed of their club had the mooted renaming to "Stirling Albion Meerkats" gone ahead, even though it would've given them much needed capital? Thankfully the Albion were able to keep the wolves from the door without resorting to such a measure, though they did rename their stadium to generate sponsorship, but that's an example of an occasion when I can agree that it was merited and was a satisfactory compromise between much-needed revenue injection and preserving the tradition of the club.

Football clubs at all levels can be accused of taking the financial and unconditional support of their customer base for granted and that's certainly an element of the modern sport of football that I find distasteful.

On the other side of the coin, you have the Champions League, which whilst it is no longer actually a cup competition reserved solely for champions as its predecessor was, it has traded that exclusivety for higher levels of competitiveness, greater financial reward and a better spectacle for football fans. The glamour and financial rewards of Champions League football have lent themselves to more competitive domestic competitions as clubs strive to reach that level and the benefits that it brings.

The Financial Fair Play regulations will go some way to curing some of the ills which the game suffers from currently, but only if clubs are unable to get around it with loopholes such as being heavily sponsored by companies owned by their sugar daddies etc. otherwise the exercise has been nothing more than posturing on the part of the game's governing bodies.

Another aspect of the modern era that doesn't sit well with me personally is the Sky generation of replica shirted fans buying any piece of club branded memorabilia and turning up to games in jester hats waving plastic flags and paying £60 for a ticket, but that is symptomatic of the greater issues of over-exposure, over spending and over commercialisation. Sunderland recently sent a formal notice to a pub close to the Stadium of Light telling them to take down their Sunderland memorabilia as they are not an official club outlet. That is when the relentless commercialisation of the sport has gone too far and the monetary gain has become more important than the impact of negative press to a club's support. Niall Quinn bemoaned when he was Sunderland chairman that they were unable to sell out the Stadium of Light as there were pubs within the city which showed unlicensed streams of Sunderland's Premier League matches on large screens and that this was keeping prospective supporters from attending their games.

A better question than "why are fans staying in pubs rather than attending matches?" is this; why do Sunderland, a team who have never finished higher than 7th in the Premier League, require a stadium which is the 5th largest in England? If they are unable to fill the ground, the answer surely lies closer to home? But then, when you gain enough financial income from television contracts and sponsorship to be concerned about whether a local public house may be displaying your club logos without your permission, then who needs to look at the real issues?

Sooner or later, the footballing financial bubble bursts as many clubs have found over the years and, for better or worse, those clubs who did not form bonds with their communities or allowed themselves to become more concerned with profitability than with meeting the needs of their own customers will find themselves cast into a financial struggle which they are ill prepared to bounce back from.

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Christmas Playlist

In the spirit of the season, here's a list of five songs which, to me, are essential Yuletide listening:-

1. From "Christmas With The Vandals", Gun for Christmas always puts a smile on my face and appeals to my inner punk.

2. Not a "Christmas song" in the traditional sense, but Frankie Goes to Hollywood's The Power of Love is a superb piece of art, by a phenomenal act and it was number one in the UK singles chart in early December 1984.

3. "It's Christmas so we'll stop" by Frightened Rabbit. Taking us to the place where sobering reality lives with a haunting, beautiful melody.

4. Mogwai may be an acquired taste for some, but no-one can accomplish soundscapes and dreamlike atmosphere quite like them, as demonstrated in "Christmas Song".

5. Death Cab For Cutie seem to slot nicely into the indie kid bracket, but their song writing prowess is above reproach and they can turn their brand of melancholic love song to the Festive season with aplomb, such as on "Christmas (Baby please come home)".

Football Clubs: Commercial Success v Tradition?

Question; Why is it that in Britain we see it as being immoral to relocate a football club to another location, when we would not object to any other leisure business being moved? For example, were a pub or a nightclub not attracting sufficient custom in a town then it may move to a new facility in another part of that town, or to a new town or city altogether.

Should football clubs be looked upon as businesses, who require to garner our support actively to stay afloat (at the very least), or should they continue to be treated as "crown jewels", untouchable by change and exempt from (or at least exempt to an extent, where it suits the traditions of fans or conversely their sudden desire for success a la Manchester City) economic / commercial development?

It is not uncommon in the United States for sports teams to be relocated to garner new interest and, in fact, it is common and accepted that where cities without a particular sports team are identified as a viable market, a new sports team may simply be built therein where none existed previously. Is it then simply the case that tradition within the sport of football and possibly within British culture prevents such activity from becoming commonplace on these shores?

Today's Fa Cup meeting between MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon raises the question of football "franchises" in Britain anew. Now, for clarity, the notion of football clubs being created, merged and relocated is not a new one, and in fact many of Britain's football clubs have been moved, renamed, merged etc in their history. However, it is only now, in the modern era, that teams such as MK Dons, Livingston, Airdrie United, Chester City, Accrington Stanley et al, not to mention the recent furore over Cardiff City's strip / badge change, that has brought this issue into modern media focus.

Is the formation of MK Dons so much more abhorrent than the formation of Arsenal from Woolwich Arsenal? Would those Manchester United fans who wave green and yellow scarves at Old Trafford prefer to watch Newton Heath LYR FC? And, if so, why not form a new version of that club in a similar vein to the formation of the other Manchester United protest club, FC United of Manchester?

As a Dumbarton FC season ticket holder, I am opposed to mooted proposals to move Dumbarton to a new arena outside of the town (at an as yet unspecified location), but not because I am opposed to the moving of clubs in principal, simply because the move to a new stadium is unneccessary for a club who reside within a wholly owned and purpose built modern facility already and which meets their needs more than adequately. Should a need arise in the future for the club to move to a new facility for justifiable reasons then I would not necessarily be against the idea, provided that the situation merited the move and the terms were right for the club, whereas the current hotch potch proposals serve no purpose for the club and have no justification beyond lining the pockets of the carpet baggers who hold a majority stake in the club.

However, I do believe that football clubs should not simply expect the support of their local areas (and many of them do, after all, how many times have we heard the demand that "X FC requires your support, come out and support your local team"? thereby implying that it is the local communities' fault that the clubs are in whichever mess they happen to find themselves in on that particular day, or at least the communities' responsibility to rescue them from same, a scenario currently being played out at Dunfermline FC, for example) but instead should be required to actively try and generate new business like any other commercial entity does. For too long football clubs have been run fast and loose and allowed to spend unwisely and then expect fans, supporters trusts and financiers to bail them out and keep them afloat. If a cinema or a restaurant were to be operated in such a way, it would simply go out of business and their would-be customers would simply eat elsewhere or go to another cinema. Is the romanticism of football support allowing some clubs to get away with treading water rather than proactively trying to increase their revenue streams? All evidence points to yes.
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Dumbarton FC Look To The Future

Season 2012/13 is a significant one for Dumbarton Football Club. Playing in the Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division for the first time in 16 years, Dumbarton’s first return to the top division of the SFL since season 1995/96, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all concerned with this historic football club.

Formed in 1872, Dumbarton were Scotland’s first ever national champions, sharing the first ever league title with Rangers in season 1890/91 (though Dumbarton were ahead on goal difference, this wasn’t taken into consideration in those days) and being crowned outright champions of Scotland the following season. It is said that the club’s reluctance to embrace professionalism in those early years of organised football are the reason that they never went on to fully exploit their position as one of Scotland’s big guns in domestic football at that time. Over the years Dumbarton have seen their fair share of ups and downs, with various promotions, relegations, financial crises and cup near misses, in particular the 4-3 extra time defeat against Celtic in the semi-final of the League Cup in October 1970 and the 3-0 replay defeat to Heart of Midlothian in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1976.

Since the dawn of the modern game and the advent of all-seated stadia, Dumbarton have mostly occupied the lower tiers of the Scottish Football League, spending time variously in the Second and Third Divisions for the most part. However, the unlikely play-off success of last season has seen the club rise to Division One for the first time in 16 years and with that comes a new set of challenges.

Dumbarton are a part-time club in that their manager and players have day jobs and train only two evenings per week. This is a common position amongst football clubs in Scotland outwith the top two tiers of the professional game, however, it is somewhat unusual at the level which Dumbarton now find themselves operating at. The Scottish First Division is typically occupied by all or mostly full-time football clubs and this season is no exception as all but two of this season’s Division 1 teams are full-time or, in the cases of Raith Rovers and Cowdenbeath, a mixture of full-time and part-time playing staff. Only Dumbarton and Airdrie United are truly part-time in their operation, Airdrie only having dropped to part-time after being relegated from Division One 2 years ago.

Dumbarton’s play-off success and promotion had given the club, the town and the groundswell support a welcome boost and season ticket sales had increased accordingly, topping 450 prior to the beginning of the season. Matchday hospitality packages were similarly commercially successful, both of which bode well in these times of financial austerity and coming immediately after a summer when many pundits had predicted doom for provincial clubs in Scotland following the demise of Glasgow Rangers.

It is to this backdrop that Dumbarton began their season, having retained the majority of the players who had achieved an unlikely play-off promotion last season and adding a number of new faces to their squad in order to help them compete against their full-time rivals. The season’s league business did not begin with a bang however, as Dumbarton were humbled 0 – 3 at Airdrie United on matchday one, oddly enough an identical scoreline and venue to the first game of the previous season, and a defeat which was felt all the more as it had come at the hands of the league’s only other fully part-time club, a club which Dumbarton had overcome with ease in their play-off final success only 2 months earlier.

From there, results continued to follow a similar pattern and, though the Sons had achieved two draws in their two most recent fixtures prior to the international break (a 3-3 at home to Hamilton Academical and a 2-2 away to Raith Rovers), the club were beaten by 2 goals to nil at home to Falkirk when the league action resumed and the Board took the decision to cancel the manager’s contract.

The decision to replace a manager is one that is taken with increasing frequency in modern football and has become so commonplace that fans can now place bets with major bookmakers on which managers will be first to lose their jobs during the football season. However, it is the decision to replace Dumbarton manager Alan Adamson after only 9 league games which has raised eyebrows.

Dumbarton’s unbeaten run in the early months of 2012 saw the club competing with eventual Second Division title winners Cowdenbeath and big spending title hopefuls Arbroath in the top 3 of the Second Division, when in the first third of season 2011/12 Dumbarton had looked likely candidates for relegation to the bottom tier. It was that run of exceptional form which eventually saw Dumbarton win the Second Division play-offs and take their place amongst the elite clubs of the Scottish Football League. But yet, for all of Adamson’s success as both manager and assistant manager of Dumbarton, his tenure as manager of the club has been brought to an abrupt end after relatively few matches at Division One level.

Adamson was originally brought to the club as assistant manager to Jim Chapman in December 2007, having worked with Chapman previously at Albion Rovers, and the pair were tasked with firstly ensuring Dumbarton avoided finishing last in Scottish Division Three that season (a feat they achieved with an 8^th placed finish) and then taking the club out of the bottom tier, which the pair achieved in season 2008/09 when they won the Third Division title. Ironically, Adamson’s opportunity to become manager of the club came in October 2010 when Chapman was moved upstairs to become director of football and head of community development as the club sat last in Division Two. Adamson kept the team in the Second Division that season and won promotion to Division One via the following season’s play-offs after a third placed finish. Adamson has therefore been involved in keeping Dumbarton off of the foot of Division Three, winning the Third Division title, avoiding relegation from Division Two and achieving an unlikely promotion to Division One, not to mention the two Stirlingshire Cup successes in that time, all within 5 seasons at the club as coach and manager. For a part-time club with home gates regularly under 1,000 it would appear to be nothing short of miraculous that such a glut of achievements have been secured in this short time, and yet for all of his success with the club, the loss of 7 league matches has cost him his job. Adamson’s assistant, former Falkirk, St Mirren and Dunfermline defender Jack Ross, has been given temporary control of first team affairs whilst a permanent replacement is sought, however, the question must now surely be, who can Dumbarton possibly hire to replace Adamson?

Having achieved so much in so little time, it may be that those in charge at Dumbarton have become spoiled by success. Only time will tell if this is a decision which the club, and its fans, will come to regret. 

This is the original draft of this article. The version which was published in Ultimate Scottish Football magazine issue one can be viewed here:   http://issuu.com/ultimatescottishfootball/docs/usfissueone?mode=window&backgroundColor=%23222222
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Dumbarton FC Season 2012/13; A Season Of Mixed Emotions

The following article was written on 20th October 2012, two days before then Dumbarton FC manager Alan Adamson was relieved of his duties, and was due to be published in Ultimate Scottish Football magazine issue 1 on 25th October 2012. The article appears in its original draft format.

Season 2012/13 is a significant one for Dumbarton Football Club. Playing in the Irn Bru Scottish Football League First Division for the first time in 16 years, Dumbarton’s first return to the top division of the SFL since season 1995/96, is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all concerned with this historic football club.

Formed in 1872, Dumbarton were Scotland’s first ever national champions, sharing the first ever league title with Rangers in season 1890/91 (though Dumbarton were ahead on goal difference, this wasn’t taken into consideration in those days) and being crowned outright champions of Scotland the following season. It is said that the club’s reluctance to embrace professionalism in those early years of organised football are the reason that they never went on to fully exploit their position as one of Scotland’s big guns in domestic football at that time. Over the years Dumbarton have seen their fair share of ups and downs, with various promotions, relegations, financial crises and cup near misses, in particular the 4-3 extra time defeat against Celtic in the semi-final of the League Cup in October 1970 and the 3-0 replay defeat to Heart of Midlothian in the semi-final of the Scottish Cup in 1976.

Since the dawn of the modern game and the advent of all-seated stadia, Dumbarton have mostly occupied the lower tiers of the Scottish Football League, spending time variously in the Second and Third Divisions for the most part. However, the unlikely play-off success of last season has seen the club rise to Division One for the first time in 16 years and Dumbarton manager Alan Adamson is relishing the prospect of pitting his wits against his First Division counterparts: “After the way we started last season, we felt we would be lucky just to stay in the Second Division. We had a lot of new players and, as I said all season, it takes time for a team to gel, but fortunately for the team, me and everybody they did gel and we went on that run in January / February of 12 games unbeaten and at that stage we saw ourselves saying ‘can we win this league?’”.

Dumbarton’s unbeaten run in the early months of 2012 saw the club competing with eventual title winners Cowdenbeath and fellow title hopefuls Arbroath in the top 3 of the Second Division, when in the first third of the season Dumbarton had looked likely candidates for relegation to the bottom tier. But throughout that time, Adamson remained realistic and tempered his team’s excellent turn around in fortunes with a cautious optimism: “I always felt that the play-offs were a more realistic target and, having got there, we thought to ourselves ‘why get here and stop?’”.

Of the play-off final success against Airdrie at the Excelsior Stadium, the Dumbarton manager notes that the match was a watershed not just in terms of the confirmation of their promotion from Division Two, but also of their tactics and coaching finally paying dividends. “All season we had been hoping for maybe 20 minutes to go where we could relax and that was the first game all season where we could. We just enjoyed the occasion and even after Airdrie scored we thought it was fine as we would just go and score more”.

With the success of promotion comes the chance for Dumbarton to test themselves against a higher quality of opposition and the manager is under no illusions as to the challenges that they face in what is predominantly a full-time league (only Dumbarton and Airdrie United are completely part-time, whilst Cowdenbeath and Raith Rovers have a mixture of part-time and full-time players. All other clubs in the division are entirely full-time). “We’re up a level and when you do make a mistake in the First Division, you’re going to be punished a lot more than you are in the Second. If you got a couple of chances last season and missed them, you always felt you would get more. This season we’ve had a couple of chances and missed them and further chances haven’t come along, but we’ll keep working hard, the boys train hard and I don’t think fitness will be an issue at all. We had a really good pre-season under our belts and that’s what stands you in good stead. The last year’s signings, the new signings we’ve brought in, it could take time to gel again, but watch this space.”

Asked what his goal is in coaching, Adamson acknowledges that he has come a long way in a short time. From managing the British police football team to managing a First Division club, the coach has had an unorthodox route into professional football management; “I was coaching the first team at Albion Rovers with Jim (Chapman, ex-Dumbarton manager who stepped aside in 2010/11 to become Director of Football and Community Development, Alan Adamson stepping up from assistant to manager at that time) and when Jim was sacked I was offered that job. I felt that as Jim had brought me into Albion Rovers I would go as well. We came here to Dumbarton and we did well, winning the Third Division in 08/09. After we were promoted to Division Two things changed. It’s hard to put your finger on what went wrong, but it wasn’t quite working. Jim made the decision to step aside and the Board approached me and I decided I would have a crack at it this time. We were sitting on 4 points from 11 games when I took over and we turned it around and survived.”

Of his background coaching the police team, Adamson maintains that it was a valuable experience for him to take into his professional coaching career; “The police team were very talented, I had players earning £2,000 per week in the Conference, and there is the Metropolitan Police FC in the Ryman League. I was offered the position of coach there a few years ago with a good salary while I was still in the police, but the idea of moving to London didn’t appeal to me. We played in European championships, so I had worked with good players before. I did my coaching badges whilst I was in the police as you have to have them to coach at that level. The standard of football is really good and, of course, the fitness levels are very high. We played teams like Swindon and various others down south and we always held our own. My left back from the police team actually left the police service and signed for Brighton and I believe he’s still there now.”

When asked what his proudest achievement is in the game, the manager has only one answer; “Airdrie away last season, winning promotion. That’s my proudest achievement by miles. Winning the Third Division title (in 08/09) was great, but I don’t think it compares. Getting us to the First Division is a bigger achievement than that I think. When you consider the fact that it looked like we may go down, back to Division Three, and then the opposite happened”.

It is clear, then, that this is a club who are not taking their new found position amongst the elite teams of the Scottish Football League for granted. There is an air of determined optimism running throughout the club from top to bottom.

One person at Dumbarton who is looking forward to making his bow in the First Division is striker Patrick Walker. The former Albion Rovers forward is currently injured and is determined to get his share of the action as soon as possible. Even if results on the park haven’t been exemplary so far, the teacher-cum-footballer is anxious to help his team earn some pass marks sooner rather than later. “It’s difficult to watch the team struggling, I’d definitely rather be playing in a struggling team than watching from the sidelines. But the mood in the dressing room is good and although we’ve conceded a few soft goals the team have bossed games and if we can take the chances then we’ll compete at this level. All of the lads are upbeat and confident. I can’t wait to be fit again so I can start contributing. I take the boys football team at the school I teach at and they’ve been giving me some stick about the results this season. But they gave me stick at this point last season too and I had the last laugh then, so hopefully I can do so again this season.”

Dumbarton’s success has also seen an increase in season ticket sales, with over 450 sold prior to the season getting underway and the corporate hospitality has been similarly busy, all of which bodes well in these times of austerity and thrifty spending. Clearly the fans will come out in numbers to support a successful team, contrary to the predictions of falling crowds and financial oblivion that were prevalent throughout the summer.

A final word then from Alan Adamson on Dumbarton’s aim for the season; “Our goal is survival. We’re not just here to make up the numbers”. Given the strides which he has made in a relatively short space of time in club management, it is hard to argue with him.

Peter McCormick

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Ultimate Scottish Football Magazine

I recently contributed several articles to the newly launched Ultimate Scottish Football Magazine, which focuses on the 30 Scottish Football League clubs. The first issue (titled Issue Zero) can be viewed / downloaded here: http://issuu.com/uscottishfootball/docs/usffinal

Another 3 issues are planned for release during the coming football season and should also feature some more articles from myself and should hopefully feature in hardback published format as well as free download version.

As an avid football fan and aspiring writer, this is a nice opportunity for me to combine two things which I adore into one enjoyable package.
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Distance

There was something comforting about the all encompassing darkness that pervaded throughout the winter months from November to January. He would go walking at all times of the day and night in these months, enjoying the feeling of anonymity that the veil of the weather provided. It was during one of these walks that it had first consciously occurred to him that he was effectively hidden in plain sight, the novelty of being outside at five in the morning and walking the roads before anyone else is yet awake now afforded to him at all times by the almost constant darkness of the time of year. The feeling of owning the streets was appealing to his solitary nature.

He had been seeking solitude since a young age, always more at ease with his own company, stimulated more by his own imagination than by the thoughts and actions of his peers. That feeling of quiet superiority had never left him and he now found himself as an adult able to go through weeks at a time with nought but the most slight contact with other people. His work was done from home, remotely submitted to his publishers by computer and only occasionally warranting a telephone conversation with his publishing contact, Nick. It has fascinated Nick no end that his writing could enthral people and that readers could connect with his work, but that he would never have any interest in meeting his fans, reading their opinions or connecting with them personally. His refusal to publiscise his work or carry out any promotion was a constant thormn in Nick's side, albeit one that he had learned over the years to simply work around. If anything, it seemed to add to his appeal amongst his fans. The chill wind whipped the powdery snow hard into his face and he bowed his head into the wind and increased his speed, ironically now going nowhere in particular at greater speed.

It had been at university that he'd last had friends, and even then they were few and his dealings with them had been rather more occasional and civil than frequent and meaningful, which only accentuated his reputation amongst his classmates as a loner. 8 years had passed since then and he had spent every one of them totally alone, bar occasional dealings with delivery men, postal workers and Nick.

Of course it helped that he had no family, his mother having died in his teens and having no other living relatives. It was amazingly easy to be anonymous when there wasn't anyone to call you or care about you. He had occasionally wondered how long it would be that his corpse would lie in his house before anyone thought to enquire after him? At such times his self-imposed isolation ceased to feel comforting and he would instead feel withdrawn and anxious, but he'd been alone for so long that he didn't know anymore how to speak to anyone about it, regardless of the fact that he didn't have anyone to speak to about it anyway. It was at such times that he would take to walking in the darkness for hours at a time, the cold air distracting his mind and the fact that he was in public, albeit alone in public in the darkness, made him feel more like he was still a member of society. "If I was to die", he thought, "this is when I want it to happen".
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