old firm no more

Old Firm - a phrase likely to appear in the sports pages at least a couple of times every day and one which inexorably links Celtic and Rangers - clubs, team and supporters - as two sides of the same coin.

The term was first used by the periodical Scottish Referee in its issue of April 15th 1904 (the exact words used were 'the old firm of Celtic and Rangers Ltd.') to sarcastically mock the money being made out of football by both clubs who, at the time, were not adverse to stitching up a few replays in order to fleece the supporters for a few more bob.

The basic fleecing philosophy is still alive and well, on both sides of the city, but as far as the firm is concerned it's time for one of the partners to go it alone. There may well have been a time when this relationship was mutually dependent, but those days are gone.

The point of this particular wee rant is that we don't want Celtic to have any association with Rangers beyond that which would be accorded any other Scottish club, and we're sick of being bundled in with them. It's time to call time on this phrase, ban it, refuse to accept it.

Celtic won the league last year in front of a two-thirds full stadium at Kilmarnock. The reason it wasn't a full house? Trouble caused by 'Old Firm fans' during a previous visit. For Old Firm read Rangers fans. How can I be so sure? Well I was in the Killie end the previous season when we missed the league by a goal to the great delight of those around me, but I saw no trouble and you would have thought that on such an occasion, with quite a few Celts in amongst the home fans, disappointment running very high at having missed out on the trophies, that trouble might occur then. But there was nothing.

Prior to the start of this season kicking off the media was full of the news that season tickets sales at slumped for SPL clubs. This was so bad the even the 'Old Firm' had felt the impact. Really? I thought Celtic had a huge waiting list for season tickets, bigger than most average attendances. Oh wait, we do; but Rangers have had a drop in ticket sales and to report that would be bad for morale, so it must be a problem for the 'Old Firm'.

The Old Firm have massive world wide support you know - unless of course you read anything said by former Rangers director Hugh Adam, who seems to be of the opinion that Rangers' support in other countries is absolutely minimal. Celtic don't have to worry about that; we took 80,000 to Seville. How long before the press are reporting that there was no trouble with the Old Firm fans in Seville?

Next time you hear a manager complaining that his team was on the receiving end of a bad refereeing decision see how long it takes before he mentions that it's always the same when they play the 'Old Firm' and reflect on how it must be impossible to beat a team comprising of 22 players.

Consider, too, the dilemma faced by a player who, according to the likes of Swoop Guidi, is a target for the 'Old Firm'. How difficult is it going to be for that player turning for Celtic and Rangers on alternate weeks?

Scottish football is facing serious financial problems at the moment and the total amount of debt racked up by the SPL clubs is frightening. It's true that most of that debt belongs to the 'Old Firm', but only in the sense that the two clubs managed to score eight goals between them in the 1957 League Cup Final.

The badge of Old Firm is a hindrance and the term itself is lazy, meaningless and now redundant. It should be dropped like a bad habit. No one at the club should use it, the Celtic Few should banish the phrase from its pages, and the quicker we can put some distance between ourselves and them the better.

You read it here first. (As an alternative phrase, why not try 'Celtic and the huns'? It trips off the tongue)