Celtic v Rangers: Two Clubs with One Reason to Unite a Nation

Celtic v Rangers: Two Clubs with One Reason to Unite a Nation

Some of you may come to the conclusion that I am not the best person to write about the two great clubs in Scotland. Perhaps you are right. I was not born in Scotland, I am not Scottish and I do not have a Scottish accent, although I can produce, I am told, an excellent imitation of Sean Connery's voice!

Character references aside and despite my declared affiliation with Celtic FC and the unconditional support for this great club, I shall maintain my independence towards approaching the issues in this post. Remember that this is an academic forum and all views must be respected and constructively analysed.

It is not my intention to touch upon religion and politics. I have my personal views and I will keep them to myself. The aim of this post is to determine whether the sporting demise of either of the two clubs could be detrimental or not to the Scottish economy. Such demise may potentially have several ramifications, not only for the sporting spectrum, but most importantly, for the economy of the country. Please accept this view: I still have links with Greece and I am well positioned to appreciate that a faltering economy can affect and seriously jeopardise any social integration.

With this in mind, I shall now critically examine the contention that the two Glasgow clubs may possibly need one another. I need to emphasise that this is not necessarily my view. It is a view, however, that has been, extensively, stated over the last 8 months, particularly after the unfortunate setback for Rangers FC. 

Old Firm or Glasgow Derby

Despite several attempts at discovering the meaning, or at least, the roots of the term Old Firm, I am now resigned to the view that I may fail indefinitely to discover such meaning. Writers seem to agree that the term, perhaps, derives from the commercial benefits that generate as a result of this sporting rivalry [see Murray, William J. (1984) The Old Firm: sectarianism, sport, and society in Scotland; Edinburgh: J. Donald Publishers; Atlantic Highlands, N.J.]. 

How important is, therefore, such a commercial consideration, to the sporting element of this great rivalry? In my view, it is extremely important, or at least, so necessary that one must not dismiss it at face value. 

The comodification of sport

It is submitted that with the growing emergence of commercialisation of sport, the need for 'profit maximisation' amongst the clubs may sometimes counter the more traditional model of 'win maximisation'. This means that the attitudes, sometimes, may centre towards the desire for maximum profits as a result of marketing a successful product around the world. We are looking, therefore, at what we call in sports law, the comodification of sport. This model suggests that sport is a comodity and it must be marketed accordingly. 

The business structure, therefore, for each club, very much depends on how successful the product could be in the global market. The two Glasgow clubs know this very well, as they also know that without a continuous rivalry, which once too often is being fed with ill-founded elements of religion and politics, there could not be a successful commodity to market.  

The need for competition

Sometimes when people are angry they fail to accept reality. Anger and hatred are elements that usually, if not always, cloud one's judgement and affect his reasoning. I have heard several arguments as to why Rangers FC deserves to disappear from the sporting arena. A few of them are supported with reasoning, but most of them are supported with anger and hatred. I have certainly heard the view that Celtic do not need Rangers and vice versa. Is this view correct? Let us be critical.

In 2005, the BBC published a report which was extremely useful in terms of the commercial aspects [see "Old Firm on the ball for economy". BBC Sport. 29 June 2005. Retrieved 29 June 2005]. It was argued in 2005 that the existence and presence of the two clubs was worth around £120m to the Scottish economy. This figure is now closer to £200m. This is a fact that cannot be underestimated, nor could it be dismissed without further analysis.

Unlike other spectrums of the market where the aim of each competitor is to eliminate others, in sport and, in particular, in football, you need your competitors to stay 'alive' in the sporting arena. For, without a sporting competitor, there can never be a competition. If, therefore, one of the two great Glasgow clubs were to be eliminated from the sporting sphere, the other may find it difficult to supplement the losses that would most certainly arise as a result of the lack of immediate and strenuous competition. In the short term, the economic principles of supply and demand would position themselves centrally to the business structure of the only survivor and as marginal profit equals marginal revenue [minus marginal cost], a shortfall in the successful marketing of the product may upset the development and growth of the only survivor.

Although it could be argued that in the long term more competitors may appear in the sporting arena, it is the short term shortfalls that may determine how successful the surviving competitor is in the future. As the short term failings would be felt in the beginning of the long term period, it is questionable whether the elimination of one of the two Glasgow clubs, would be beneficial for the Scottish economy.

Conclusion

If one considers carefully the roots of the current success for both clubs, he would come to the safe conclusion, that such roots derive from the existence of the competition between them. It matters not what the historical background of the two is. What matters is the connection of the two clubs and how it could be sold globally. It follows, therefore, that without such rivalry, there can be no successful competition. Although it is encouraging to discover that other clubs in the SPL are growing stronger, the current TV broadcasting trends suggest that without a Celtic v Rangers competition, the long term finances may not be so rosy. 

We all realise that both clubs are successful not only because of their achievements on the pitch. They both have a global appeal, which determines to a great extent, their ability to sell their product and therefore maximise their profits. Their success, however, contributes, mostly to the Scottish economy. Growth and development in the two clubs, can only effect further growth and development in the local economy. 

We can all agree that the clubs need to operate without debts and run their affairs in a prudent fiscal manner. Once this has been achieved, both of them can only hope for success and success may come to them. This is not just rhetoric, but a historical fact. You may disagree with my views here, but I am convinced that without competition on the pitch, success can not be obtained off it.

I have two wishes for the future although I am now running the risk of upsetting a few of my Celtic friends. I would like Celtic and Sammy to be successful tomorrow and emerge victorious. But I also wish for Rangers to sort out their problems from Monday morning and remain in the SPL. I would like them to play Celtic again...For the obvious reasons...

Dr. Gregory Ioannidis

28 April 2012