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Time to Break Free of The 'Old Firm' Label

Written by Tommy Cockles
Monday, 08 February 2010
In the aftermath of the '911' attacks on the World Trade Centre in 2001, a New Labour spindoctor famously decided that the sheer enormity of the media coverage represented 'a good day to bury bad news'. In her case, the 'bad news' she wanted to bury was nothing more exciting or controversial than a minor amendment to Councillors' pension rights. Last Wednesday morning, slipping by almost unnoticed amid the rollercoaster ride of the previous 24 hours; the massive boost of Robbie Keane's arrival followed all too swiftly by the crushing low of the defeat at Kilmarnock, came Celtic's own attempt to bury - or at least obscure - our very own piece of spectacularly bad news. A new sponsorship deal (OK, that's good, isn't it?). A joint sponsorship deal (uh, oh). With them (Ah, for feck sake!). With our very own New Labour figurehead as Chairman it's hardly surprising that the plc reached for the tried and tested tactics of spin in breaking this unwelcome news to a disappointed support. As far as I understand it, there was no specific reason why the joint deal which will see 'Tennent's' adorn the strips of both Celtic and Rangers from next season had to be announced on Wednesday. It could just as easily have been announced last week, but someone obviously decided that we'd all still be riding so high on the arrival of Keane and - presumably - a comfortable win in the game in hand against Killie that we'd let the bad news of yet another joint deal tying us inextricably to the huns to slide past almost unnoticed. The short statement on the Celtic Official Website announcing the deal manages to singularly avoid any mention whatsoever of the fact that the three year deal with Tennent's Lager also involves Rangers. The reason for this is simple. The plc is not -yet - so out of touch with the support that they are not well aware that there is a strong and growing feeling that Celtic should be doing everything possible to dissociate the club from our City rivals - and from that hackneyed and lazy journalistic label, the 'Old Firm'. We all know the score, with the Old Firm tag used all too often to tar Celtic with the same black brush that properly belongs to Rangers alone. I bet that every single Celtic supporter, on reading a recent tabloid headline screaming 'Old Firm Player in Sex Assault Allegation' knew immediately, and instinctively, that the allegations related to a Rangers player. And, of course, they did. Why not just say 'Rangers Player', then? Why attempt to drag Celtic into something that has nothing to do with the club? We're sick of it; sick of being identified with a club and a support that stands for something we absolutely don't; sick of the perception that we're somehow the opposite sides of the same 'Old Firm' coin. The end of the current deal with Carling surely offered an opportunity to finally put some distance to that perception - to break that public linking of the clubs that keeps the Old Firm lie alive. There were even some encouraging signs that the club had taken supporter sentiment on board. While he was in South Korea tying up the deal that brought Ki Sung Yeung to the club, Peter Lawwell reportedly held a couple of exploratory meetings with large South Korean corporations who had expressed some interest in sponsorship. This would have been the 'Celtic only' deal we have been looking for, and would have left the huns to sort out their own problems (Lloyds Banking Group, gratis?). However, nothing seemed to come of these negotiations and with the end of the Carling deal fast approaching the plc instead opted for the parochial and lazy route of, once again, getting into bed with our football rivals and seemingly unshakeable corporate colleagues, Rangers. And for what? The deal is reported to be worth around £1m per annum to Celtic, over 3 years - a reduction on the Carling deal, perhaps reflecting the prevailing economic environment. So, we've literally sold the jerseys and tied ourselves once again to that mob across the City for a sum of money equivalent to each of our season ticket holders buying an extra pie each home game. We wouldn't even need to eat it, just buy it. That's a sacrifice I'd have been prepared to make - hell, I'd even have bought two if it meant we cut the strings that attach us to the huns, and - as a bonus - could once again have the hoops free of the taint of corporate sponsorship. The problem here isn't so much the fact that we have a shirt sponsor - although I'm not looking forward to seeing how Nike incorporate a big red 'T' onto the sacred hoops without it looking like a blood injury. It's the sheer complacency of the plc Board, who have failed to take the views of the support into account before coyly taking the hand of the hun and entering into another three years of unholy sponsored matrimony. Surely those running our club could have come up with something more imaginative than this? Well, I'm not buying it. Literally. It's becoming more and more obvious that the only way to get Celtic plc to listen to the views of us ordinary supporters/customers is to hit them in the pocket. There's always a reluctance to go too far down this road, as there is a worry about the impact on the team. However, in this case, and in my own small way, I'm going to make sure that not one penny of my hard earned cash will be spent on joint sponsored 'Tennent's' merchandise. No new strips adorned with the joint sponsor will be bought. No other merchandise will be funded. Maybe if a few of us do similar then it might start to register. Perhaps if thousands of us vote with our 'green pound' then the message might slowly get through. It's probably too late this time, but next time we want the plc to hear loud and clear: No 'Old Firm'; No Joint Sponsorship. Celtic is an international brand, and we should - and must - be able to secure our own, separate sponsorship deals. We are different from them, and we should celebrate that difference - not taint our identity by any form of association with them. In the future, let's see less effort at the club on burying bad news, and more on delivering us the good news that we deserve. Earn those bonuses.
Last Updated ( Monday, 08 February 2010 )

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