The State of the Game

 When David Glenn of accountancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers announced this week that the Scottish game was faced with the option of decline or destitution, it was confirmation to many that the country seemed to have fallen into a footballing quicksand.  With attendance figures down by hundreds of thousands, and millions of pounds worth of debt having to be written off by club owners, things weren’t going well off the field at all.  On the pitch, it was little better.  Rangers, the sole Scottish representatives in this year’s Champions League, were eliminated in early August at the hands of Malmo, while Dundee United had earlier fallen out of the Europa League after being defeated by Polish runners up, Slask Wroclaw.  Add in the fact that the national team has not graced a major international tournament for nearly thirteen years, and it’s abundantly clear that the picture is far from rosy.  So just how do we go about sorting this out?
 

  A main concern of Glenn’s was falling attendances.  Over the past few years, total attendance figures have fallen by over 600,000- hardly good for business.  Besides ticketing, clubs miss out on income from food, drink, programmes and other match day paraphernalia that would be fans would buy.  Relatively speaking, the total SPL average attendance of 13,672 is not bad.  It’s on par with countries such as Turkey and Russia, is comfortably higher than the likes of Switzerland and Belgium, and is streets ahead of Portugal.




  That being said, take the Old Firm out of the equation, and it’s a different story.  The third highest average attendance (Hearts) is three times less than that of second placed Rangers.  An average attendance without Glaswegian representation falls to just 6,979.  Forget Turkey, Belgium and even Portugal- this compares to the Malaysian league.  Such a disparity between the best and the rest simply does not exist in rival countries. 

  Fixing this is easier said than done.  There are numerous strategies, but each with their pitfalls.  Reintroducing terracing may be attractive to fans who want the traditional fan experience, but it would be bound to be subject to substantial opposition from bodies such as the Hillsborough Family Support Group.  Similarly, allowing alcohol and tobacco back into the ground would make games more attractive to older generations, but may alienate children, and thus discourage family attendance.  On the other side of the coin, Scottish clubs could offer free tickets to school children in the hope of recouping the money through other match day revenue streams, and eventually in ticket sales from the kids when they’ve grown up.  However, this runs the risk of price hikes for the rest, and would probably result in a reduction in match day income in the short term that clubs could ill afford.  However, despite their drawbacks, it’s evident that the clubs must try something new to bring supporters back into the ground.

  The age of television has meant that clubs can now make up on poor attendance through  broadcasting deals.  Juventus, for example, have an average attendance of just 20,000, but their support across Italy means that they can negotiate a TV deal in surplus of €90M each year.  Sadly, this is just not an option for SPL clubs.  Each season, the combined Sky/ESPN deal brings in just £13M to be shared between the twelve clubs.  Let’s compare this with two countries surrounding Scotland in the UEFA league rankings: Denmark and Switzerland.  Both countries have a relatively similar population to Scotland, and both countries have slightly lower average attendances on the whole.  Logic dictates that their TV deals should probably be roughly equal with that of the SPL.  Not so.  The Swiss league generates £23.68M per season for television money, while the Danish clubs enjoy a massive £41.26M windfall every year. 

 
  Given that broadcasting revenue makes up a significant percentage of overall income, it’s little wonder that Scottish sides have been struggling to keep up in Europe.  More money means that clubs can bring in better players.  Better players make for better games.  Better games then encourage TV companies to-you’ve guessed it- offer more money to broadcast matches.  Conversely, smaller TV deals mean that clubs struggle to attract a decent calibre of player.  The poorer players put on poorer performances, and-again you’ve probably guessed it- the TV companies are less inclined to pump money into the league.  In layman’s terms, if the SPL is to rely on TV money, the future is pretty bleak.

  This makes it imperative for clubs to think outside the box.  Hamstrung financially, how can they raise the quality of the game?  The answer lies with youth coaching, and a canniness in the transfer market.  Thankfully, clubs are picking up on this.  Most Premier League clubs now have at least one homegrown player who they could sell for a decent fee, with the likes of Hearts’ David Templeton and Aberdeen’s Fraser Fyvie potentially going for millions.  Other clubs, such as Kilmarnock, have expertly manipulated the loan market to bring in quality players who would otherwise be out of their reach.  The poster boy of this would be Alexei Eremenko.  A seasoned Finnish internationalist on wages of more than £20k a week at his parent club, Killie fans were able to watch him transform the Ayrshiremen into one of the best footballing sides in the division.  As a result, the average Kilmarnock attendance rose by over 20%, in comparison to the previous season. 
 

  

  A side effect of quality youth development is that the national team benefits enormously.  When the SPL was in its financial heyday in the early noughties, the national team suffered, as clubs could import expensive foreign talent, preventing the locals from getting a look in.  Now that clubs no longer have the means to do this, the emphasis is back on homegrown players.  In fact, the SPL can now boast that 52.8% of all players in the top flight last season were Scottish.  This is still below the European average of 66.4%, but it’s getting closer.  Talent improves with games, and the more Scottish youngsters playing (and playing well), the larger the pool of qualified candidates for a place in the national team.  We may well even see Scottish representation at a major international tournament before the next election.

 
  Our national game may well have its problems.  Issues such as debt, falling attendance and poor TV deals cannot simply be ignored.  If nothing is done, then we should be fearful for the state of the game.  However, none of these problems are terminal.  Furthermore, they’re all within the sphere of control for each and every Scottish club.  So long as they show a bit of initiative, as well as continue to invest in youth, Scottish football will undoubtedly find a rope out of this quicksand yet.  

My favourites

Shamelessly stolen from a football journal I was reading the other day.  It's just a creation of your own footballing utopia.  Here's mine:

Goalkeeper: Edwin van der Sar- A colossus for every team he played for.  A giant whose size never detracted from his overall reflexes.  Always calm, he bred confidence to the rest of his team.

Right back: Javier Zanetti- One of the most under-rated players in world football.  In his late thirties now, but still one of the fittest players around.  Off the pitch, he's a fantastic ambassador for Inter, and generally a great role model.

Centre back: Gabriel Heinze- A born winner.  Look into his eyes on a match day, and you will never see anything less than full concentration, alongside an overwhelming desire to win.  There's a reason why he's played for the best.

Centre back: Carles Puyol- Another player who won't give his team-mates a moment's rest.  A fantastic defender in his own right, he's an even better team player.

Left back: Paolo Maldini- Classy to the end.  Imperious on the ball, Maldini led through example.  You only need to look at the list of honours that he captained Milan to  throughout his career to see how brilliant he was.

Centre midfield:  Zinedine Zidane- So graceful on the ball, he reached a level of awareness only available to a handful of footballers.  He could do anything.

Centre midfield: Patrick Viera- Someone you'd be glad to have on your team if the going got tough, he was also a maestro on the ball, rampaging forward, with his physique and skill allowing him to intimidate the opposition to pieces.

Right wing: David Beckham- The poster boy of 'practice makes perfect'.  After taking a ridiculous amount of stick in is younger years, he's developed into a gentleman on and off the pitch.

Attacking midfield: Francesco Totti- Technically one of the best players in the world, he's shown undying loyalty to the Roma cause through good times and bad.  Ok, he's impulsive and quick to anger, but this just shows he's human.  My favourite footballer of all time.

Left wing: Lionel Messi- what, you really need an explanation?  A joy to watch.

Striker: Dennis Bergkamp- Summed up Dutch wizardry on the ball.  Turning defenders inside out in his sleep, he combined the mentality of martial arts with football.  A genius.


Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu- ticks all the boxes.  It's a modern, massive stadium, yet it's just drenched in history.

Chairman: Winston Churchill- Ok, this is all fantasy, so I'm allowed to go back in time.  Takes no shit from anybody, and would be able to gee anybody up for anything.

Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld- Der General commands authority and promotes good, attacking football most of the time.  You would not dare mess with him.


Kit: There's just something so iconic and timeless about the Ajax top.  It's impossible to play bad football wearing this top.

City: Barcelona- One of the trendiest cities in the world.  Great climate all year round, and great architecture throughout the city.  Add in that the inhabitants are football daft, and you've got a brilliant footballing city.

Smart money

In the summer of 1973, Barcelona broke the world football transfer record by paying £922,000 to bring the world's best player, Johan Cruyff, to Catalonia.

At 26 years old, the Dutchman was coming into the peak of his career, and having won three successive European Cups with Ajax, Barcelona obviously thought that paying such a high sum for his services would be worthwhile.

Fast forward to January of this year.  Serie B club Atalanta have just splashed out €5M on the services of Sampdoria's reserve striker, Guido Marilungo.  Though undoubtedly talented, Marlungo has only played a handful of games in the Italian top flight, and has never represented his country at the highest level.

Barely anybody blinked an eye.

It's no secret that football is becoming more expensive.  Television deals worth billions of pounds have encouraged clubs to operate like businesses.  Nowadays, the top clubs choose to play pre-season games not on the basis of where they will find the best facilities and the best quality of opposition, but rather on where they feel they can attract the most commercial success.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp summed this up quite well:

"If I had my way, I would be in Scotland having a couple of games, or down to Devon, where we used to stay at [the former Formula One world champion] Nigel Mansell’s hotel and play Plymouth, Torquay or Exeter.  But that is the game now – we just go where we are told. Teams go all around the world now – Everton were in Australia."  

Football is becoming globalised and commercialised.  With that, clubs have more money to spend to bring in the best players.  The best players will then help them win prizes to generate even more money to buy the next big players, and the cycle continues.

However, the transfer market is not very efficient.  When buying cars, for example, the general rule is that, the more you spend, the better the car.  Although this does transfer itself to the football market in a general sense, it does not always hold true.  Time and time again, the wealthier clubs are shown up by their savvier rivals.

Lille is not that big a town.  It has a population similar to that of Aberdeen, while the average Lille OSC match will attract around 15,000 spectators- a similar amount are attracted to Tynecastle every other week to watch Hearts.  However, under the stewardship of coach Rudi Garcia, the team have played the transfer market perfectly, and it has most certainly payed off.

Last month, an extra time goal from midfielder Ludovic Obraniak brought the Coupe de France to the northern town for the first time since 1955.  A week later, a league draw at PSG (who they had beaten in the final) confirmed their status as French champions for the 2010/11 season, bringing an end to a wait that, like the Cup, had been going on since the fifties.

The entire squad cost just €14.6M to assemble.  Put another way, this was less than three quarters what third placed Lyon paid Bordeaux to sign Yoann Gourcuff in the summer.  Another fun fact is that the Lille back four cost a grand total of €10,000 (the amount paid to amateurs Fréjus for the now French internationalist, Adil Rami).  In selling Rami to Valencia for €10m, they have made a 100 000% profit on him.

The clever scouting has not been limited to Rami alone.  Talents such as Eden Hazard and Yoann Cabaye were spotted as mere children, and have both progressed to international football, with the former subject of interest from the likes of Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Meanwhile, a manipulation of the Bosman market has allowed the club bring in the likes of Ligue 1 top scorer Moussa Sow, while internationalists such as keeper Landreau and cup final hero Obraniak were each signed for under €2m.

Lille are not alone in the list of thrifty champions.  In Germany, BVB romped to glory with a first XI that cost less than the €35M third placed Bayern paid to Stuttgart for the services of striker Mario Gomez in the summer of 2009.

Equally, in Scotland, Rangers succeeded in the league with a total wage bill which came to less than half  of dear neighbours Celtic's total.  Genk achieved a similar feat in Belgium, whilst in Italy (Juventus), England (Manchester City), Spain (Real Madrid) and of course France (Lyon), the highest spending clubs in that year's summer transfer window (bracketed) all failed to win the league.

There are some further interesting examples to show the inefficiency of the modern day transfer market.  In the summer of 2010, Serie A club Genoa had a gross expenditure on players which came to just under €42M.  Further north, 2009 German champions Wolfsburg similarly spent big, 'achieiving' a gross spend of €39M.  Genoa finished 9th, while for a decent amount of time on the last day of the German season, Wolfsburg were mathematically relegated.  A late rally coupled with good results from elsewhere saw them finish 15th, with 38 points.  €39M spent and only 38 points to show for it?  Proof, if any more were needed, that spending is no guarantee of success.

Whilst not being crowned champions, honourable mentions must go to the likes of Udinese, Athletic Bilbao, Sochaux, Bayer Leverkusen, Cesena and Lazio, who all earned credit throughout the continent for successful seasons that didn't involve massive summer spending.

Of course, there are limits.  Arles Avignon had a wage budget of just €6M last season, and finished dead last in the French top flight by a distance.  Equally, St. Pauli, Blackpool and Brescia all found themselves relegated due to financial weakness.  Similarly, the richest clubs, the likes of Bayern, Manchester United and Real Madrid, are all the most successful in the long term.  That being said, the lesson is plain for all to see: £1 of smart money can beat £5 worth of blind spending.

El Hijo del viento- the story of Claudio Caniggia

"To me, Cani's like a soulmate....I love him as a brother....he replaced me in the heart of the people"

Diego Maradona on Claudio Caniggia.

  If Claudio Paul Caniggia ever wanted to add an an extra shine to his CV, then he would do well to use those words from Maradona.  Not a bad reference to have, right?  Not that he'd need to, of course.  Over fifteen years of service to the Argentinian national team, and a storied career that included spells at some of the greatest football clubs in the world speaks for itself.  Starting at River Plate as an 18 year old, Caniggia forged out a glittering career playing for giants such as Benfica, Roma, Boca Juniors and Rangers, before El Hijo del Viento, the Son of the Wind, wound up his career in Qatar at the respectable age of 37.  However, let it never be said that Caniggia's had an easy life.  Far from it.  This is a career with incredible highs, and, unfortunately, some corresponding lows.

  Roughly 15.6 million Argentines reside in the province of Buenos Aires.  Upon hearing that a footballer is from Buenos Aires, it is not uncommon to imagine them being brought up playing football in narrow alleyways, in a densely populated area of the urban metropolis.  Not so Caniggia.  Though in the Buenos Aires province, the sleepy town of Henderson in roughly a five hour car journey from the city.  With just under 8,000 inhabitants, and surrounded by farmland, the young Caniggia would never have been more than a few hundred yards from a lush green field in which to play football.

  The town enjoyed a warm climate that lasted all year, thereby enabling 'Cani' to spend hours and hours running about in the fresh air outside.  The boy certainly enjoyed his running, taking part in races at provincial level.  He even managed to do the 100m in just 10.7 seconds.  However, the national obsession in Argentina is indeed football, and this was no different for Caniggia.  In signing for River Plate at a young age, Caniggia was suddenly elevated from the peace and quiet of life in the countryside to the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires.

  Debuting for River as an 18 year old, away against Santa Fe, it would be two years before he scored his first goal for the Argentinian giants.  2-0 down away to Temperley, it was Caniggia's strike that sparked a four goal come-back for the away team.  In the June of that year, the long haired winger realised his childhood dream and began a love affair with the Argentinian national team that would last for over a decade.  The match itself was a 3-1 surrender to the Italians.  Later, Maradona would remark in his autobiography that the only positive he took from the match was meeting Caniggia.

  This exposure won Claudio a coveted move to Europe, more precisely the Italian Serie A, which was widely regarded as the best league in the world.  The team who snapped the young Argentine up, Hellas Verona,  had finished tenth, fourth and first in the preceding three seasons.  However, this was a team seriously punching above its weight.  Another tenth placed finish, alongside growing financial problems, forced the gialloblu into selling Caniggia to Bergamo based Atalanta, another provincial club.  

  It was in the colours of Atalanta where Caniggia would probably enjoy the most stability he'd ever have in club football, making nearly one hundred appearances for the Lombardians, scoring on average a goal every three games, and helping Atalanta to a place in the UEFA Cup.  Meanwhile, poor old Hellas Verona were relegated that year.  

  On the international front, Caniggia was continuing to impress.  He had won a powerful ally in Diego Maradona, who revealed to the national coach, Carlos Bilardo, that if Caniggia was not picked for the 1990 World Cup, then Maradona would rule himself out.  Maradona's ultimatum was justified; 'Cani' not only scored a wonder goal against Brazil in the quarter finals, but also scored the goal that would take Argentina to the World Cup final, knocking out the host nation, Italy.  However, Caniggia would not play in the final.  Despite all video evidence indicating otherwise, the referee had deemed Caniggia to have played the ball with his hand on the halfway line.  As Caniggia had already been booked in the tournament, this further booking caused him to miss the biggest match in the footballing calendar.  As it happened, Argentina lost 1-0 in the final to the Germans via a late penalty.  Maradona then went on to claim that Argentina would have won a third World Cup, had his friend Claudio been playing.

  Such eye-catching performances won Caniggia a move to one of the 'seven sisters' of Italian football, AS Roma, in 1992.  However, despite a glistening start to life among i Lupi, after just fifteen appearances and four goals, in the April of 1993, Caniggia failed a random doping test.  It transpired that the young Argentinian had fallen victim to the temptations that the world of professional football brings.  Despite being a known chain smoker, it was still a surprise to learn that Caniggia had been using cocaine.  He was thus handed a thirteen month ban, which expired just before the 1994 World Cup.

  Nevertheless, to the USA he went.  With his rock star looks, it's no surprise to learn that Caniggia is very much into his music.  A keen drum player, the hard rock band Poison invited him to be the guest drummer for three of their songs on their American tour before the tournament.

  On the playing side, inspired by his good friend Maradona, Caniggia helped Argentina to two wins in their opening two matches, scoring twice against Nigerians.  The Argentinians were contenders.  However, after the match, the albiceleste campaign took a turn for the worse.  Their captain and inspiration, Maradona, had failed a drugs test, and was kicked out the team.  Even worse, in the final group game against the Bulgarians, Caniggia limped off injured before the half hour mark.  The Bulgarians proceeded to score two goals without reply.  In the first knockout round, with neither Caniggia nor Maradona, the Argentines slumped to defeat at the hands of a Hagi inspired Romania.

  Roma still wanted rid of him though, and him was subsequently loaned to Benfica.  A successful year in Lisbon led to a move back to Argentina.  Only this time, it was to be with River's fierce rivals, Boca.  Why?  The Maradona factor.  El Diego had pressured the club's board to sign his 'brother', and they relented.  Caniggia continued his fine form at El Bombonera, scoring twelve goals in just under thirty matches before tragedy struck.  In the autumn of 1996, his mother leapt from the fifth floor of her apartment.  The suicide had a profound effect on Claudio- just two seasons after his last sabbatical, he decided to take another one, this time optional, to mourn the passing of his mother.

  Upon returning, 'Cani' had a real fire in his belly.  Turning 30 must have struck a chord.  With Maradona retiring, all the Boca fans looked to their returning hero for inspiration.  After a twenty goal year, Caniggia decided to once again, up sticks, and return to Europe for a second tour of duty with Atalanta.  However, reheated soup rarely tastes as good as the original.  One goal in seventeen matches made Caniggia an unemployed thirty three year old.

  Looking to revive his career, a move to Scotland beckoned.  Bankrolled by the Marr brothers, Caniggia linked up with former Atalanta team mate Ivano Bonetti on the banks of the river Tay, at Dundee.  This was at a time when the Dark Blues were bringing in internationals such as Zurab Khizanishvili, Fan Zhiyi and Temuri Ketsbaia.  However, Caniggia was certainly the biggest coup of them all.  Scoring the winner up at Pittodrie on his debut, Caniggia was an instant hit in the city of discovery, agreeing a new deal worth £1.5m soon after his arrival.  

  However, such a talent was destined to garner the attention of one of the Old Firm and in the May of 2001, Claudio Caniggia became a Ranger.  With the £1m payed to Dundee, many viewed it as a risky investment for a 34 year old.  However, Caniggia would repay that million, scoring 26 times for the Glasgow giants.  He may have been in the tail-end of his career, but el hijo del viento still had 'it'.  In his first season at Ibrox, he actually played well enough to merit a call up to the 2002 World Cup for the albiceleste.  

  In 2003, after two fruitful seasons in Glasgow, Caniggia wound down his career playing in Qatar, before finally retiring in 2005.  

  Wherever he played, the rock star lookalike managed to ingrain himself into the hearts of the supporters.  There's the idea that all footballers should live their lives like a monk; Caniggia certainly did not buy into this theory, which perhaps explains why he was so loved by the fans.  Playing the role of the loveable rogue, Caniggia was always frank in his interviews, and exuded an enormous self belief whenever he played.  His drug problems and his mother's untimely death have undoubtedly affected him, but overall, he is still quite rightly regarded as one of the best players to have ever come out of Argentina.  Maradona certainly thinks so, and that's certainly no faint praise at all.

The conveyor belt

  In early January, Troon youngster Jamie Ness (b.1991) became the fifth Rangers youngster this season to start for the first team who had been born in the 1990s.  It was no ordinary game either; Ness would be playing in the Old Firm derby at Ibrox Stadium.  Although the match was lost, the fans could take a little consolation in seeing that Murray Park had churned out yet another product fit for first team football- indeed, many had him as Rangers' best player that day.

  After following that up with several more impressive displays in the heart of the Rangers midfield, Ness agreed to extend his stay in Glasgow until the end of the 2014/15 season.  He was recently voted Rangers' young player of the year.

  That being said, Jamie Ness is not the only shining light from Murray Park to have emerged in recent years.  Between them, Kyle Hutton, Darren Cole, Gregg Wylde, John Fleck and Ness himself have started a combined 23 times for the senior side.  If you add Danny Wilson, sold to Liverpool for a fee rising to £5m in the summer, then that's quite a decent endorsement of the first batch of Rangers youngsters to be schooled all the way through Murray Park.  That being said, there are a few questions worth answering.

  As has been mentioned, this season, 22 first team starts have been made by teenagers.  Last year, the figure stood at 39, with the majority (24) coming from Danny Wilson at centre back.  However, in the three previous seasons altogether, just 14 starts were made by teenagers.  Why was this the case?

  The obvious answer would be that the club has undergone severe financial hardship in recent times.  In the summer of 2008, Walter Smith signed 9 players on permanent deals.  In the next thirty three months, Rangers would only sign five players permanently, as the club had to face up to some difficult downsizing.  Though, as the proverb goes, every cloud has a silver lining.  If Ness, Hutton, Cole and Wylde keep progressing, they can become mainstays of the Rangers first team for years to come- the foundations of stability have been laid.

  Obviously, these players didn't develop into decent footballers by accident; their journey to the top had been meticulously planned by scouts, coaches, dieticians, and a plethora of other Rangers employees.  The official website claims to have just under 40 employees involved with youth football at Murray Park.  However, the key men involved with this particular batch's rise to the top were George Adams, head of youth development at Rangers until 2006, and Jim Sinclair, his successor.

   George Adams arrived at Murray Park in early 2003 with an impressive CV.  Credited with developing many of Sir Alex Ferguson's favourites at Aberdeen in the 80s and bringing through the likes of James McFadden at Motherwell, it was expected that Adams would continue his fine work in Glasgow.  Frictions with chief executive Martin Bain led to his departure in 2006, and he now holds the same position at Ross County.  During his time at the helm, Adams signed players such as Charlie Adam, John Fleck, and Danny Wilson.  He also helped players like Alan Hutton and Hamed Namouchi establish themselves in the first team.  However, Adams will also be remembered as the guy who let the likes of Graham Dorrans and Grant Hanley slip through the net, both of whom are now full Scotland internationalists.

  Jim Sinclair arrived in 2006, coming straight from his position as SFA director of football development.  Sinclair is responsible for signing, scouting and coaching at every level below the first team- quite a substantial responsibility.  It is said that Sinclar is much more hands-on in his role with the youths, as opposed to the much more reticent Adams.  With Wilson, Ness, Hutton, Wylde and Cole all establishing themselves in the first team to various degrees within the past 12 months, it looks like some of his hard work is finally starting to pay off.

  An accusation levelled at Sinclair has been that he prefers to develop players physically, rather than technically.  Jamie Ness and Gregg Wylde may both be great footballers, but Ness is well over 6ft, while one of Wylde's greatest assets is his pace.  However, this seems to be a bit of a lazy fallacy.  The current under 19 side revolves around Dylan McGeouch, Rhys McCabe, and Robbie Crawford, none of whom are giants.  It is also worth pointing out that the two centre backs are the smallest in the league.

  That being said, one of the Academy's greatest prospects at the moment does not have any physical shortcomings whatsoever.  After being touted by his agent, Kamil Wiktorski (b.1993) signed for Rangers in the summer of 2010.  Comfortable on the ball, and built like a brick wall, Wiktorski has represented Poland at every youth level, despite only turning 18 last month.  The Pole can play in the heart of defence, or in the midfield engine room, and is already turning out for the under 19s.  Keep an eye out.

  From the age of 15, these future professionals are in three times a week, one of these being a full day, the rest being just the nights.  They also have a match at the weekend.  Compare this to Barcelona, where the youths receive only 6 hours of training a week, and it's broadly similar.  Indeed, if the stats regarding the increasing presence of youth academy graduates in the first team mentioned earlier are anything to go by, there is a case to be made that Rangers are moving towards the Barcelona model more and more.  However, that's not to say that there's not room for improvement.

  Reserve team football is played at Murray Park, surrounded by rolling hills, with barely any spectators to watch your efforts.  Hence, the leap that the likes of Hutton, Cole and Ness had to make was massive. Going from these surroundings to playing in front of 50,000 spectators at one of the world's greatest footballing cathedrals is always going to require a lot of composure, especially given the demanding, some may say fickle, nature of the Rangers support.

  Some may then argue that these youngsters should be loaned out to other teams, as a stepping stone between reserve team football and Ibrox Stadium.  However, there are advantages in keeping them 'in-house'.  First of all, the facilities at Rangers are far superior to any other training complex in Scotland, thereby allowing the youngsters use of facilities that the likes of Cowdenbeath could only dream of.  Another benefit is that they can train with the first team, if good enough.  This not only lets them learn from seasoned pros, but it also helps them integrate much quicker to the first team squad, should they be selected.  A final benefit is that, theoretically, since much less pressure is placed on the players in reserve games, youngsters will be able to develop as footballers, rather than being overworked and overplayed in the lower leagues.

  That being said, despite all the millions invested, Murray Park cannot and will not be able to provide a viable substitute for first team football.  Therefore, the best option would still seem to be sending promising players out on loan.

  Although in theory this seems like the best idea, there are significant doubts over whether or not this is the best thing to do.  First of all, in the Scottish lower leagues, there is a premium on the physical side of the game.  Speed and strength are valued higher than the ability to pick out a perfect pass.  Upon watching a game in these divisions, rarely can you say that a team 'outplayed' the other- often they just beat them up.  Is this really the best environment to put someone you're hoping will be the next Xavi?   The final issue with sending out young players on loan concerns their integration into the squad.  Will the 30 somethings at these clubs, who have never made it to the SPL, always do their best to integrate the upstart from one of Europe's biggest clubs?  It doesn't take a genius to suspect that there will always be some professional envy directed at the player.

  The ideal solution would be to take a look over at Spain.  Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia all have a second team playing in the lower Spanish leagues.  The football is competitive, the players can still train with the first team, and, as there is less pressure, they can focus on developing as footballers, rather than just winning.  With the SPL considering restructuring, they would do well to introduce a similar scheme in Scotland.

Barcelona's 'Mini Estadi'

  However, on the whole, the future at Murray Park looks bright.  The talent line doesn't look like stopping any time soon.  Every week, Rangers are breeding a new generation of Scottish footballer, a footballer that is trying to break away from the stereotypical rough and tumble past and into a 'pass and move' future.  This season, it has been refreshing to see so many youngsters getting their chance in the first team.  It points to a sustainable future, one not completely dependent on spending large sums of money on players from other clubs.  Of course there is room for improvement, but as sports science evolves, and the reputation of Rangers as a good footballing school improves, you cannot help but be optimistic for the future of Murray Park.

P.S. A big thank you to PJ from http://rfcyouths.wordpress.com/.  He runs an excellent blog about the youth set up at Murray Park, and was good enough to answer a few of my questions.  Check his website out for more information.

One night in Florence

  In a few weeks time, it will be the three year anniversary of many Rangers' fans proudest memory following their team- the night Rangers knocked out Italian giants Fiorentina to progress to the UEFA Cup Final.  Before the tie, not many pundits had given Rangers a chance.  Granted, they had knocked out some decent opposition in the form of Sporting CP, Werder Bremen and Panathinaikos, but Fiorentina was said to be a step too far.  The Italians had racked up 20 goals in the 12 matches they had played in the competition; Rangers had scored just 5 goals in 6, relying heavily on Lady Luck to progress each time.

  It was billed as a clash of two footballing styles.  Fiorentina, under now Italy coach Cesare Prandelli, had fought off all comers with a bold, attacking 4-3-3 formation.  With Riccardo Montolivo orchestrating wave after wave of purple onslaught from the midfield, La Viola could call upon Giampaolo Pazzini, Adrian Mutu, and Mario Santana to slice through the Rangers back four.  To put into context the extent to which Rangers were up against it, the Florentine front three that night cost precisely double the entire Rangers starting XI.

  Rangers, on the other hand, were a team built upon tactical discipline, defending deep, and the counter attack.  This was epitomised in the away leg of the previous tie against the Portuguese outfit, Sporting CP.  Having cancelled each other out at Ibrox, Rangers had to score at the José Alvalade to avoid the game going into extra time; truly as unwelcome a thirty minutes you can get when you're chasing a quadruple.

  After an edgy first half, which had given little indication as to who would progress, the Rangers goal would have had Walter Smith jumping for joy not just because it meant that Rangers would surely progress, but in the manner in which it was scored.  A long ball out of defence was won by Darcheville, the lone striker, on the half way line.  After skilfully flicking it on to Steven Davis, on the right, the Ulsterman burst forward, deep into Sporting territory, before squaring it for the ever-running Darcheville to slot home.  Ping, ping, ping.  1-0 Rangers.

  That gives you a gist of what Rangers' campaign had been like.  Control the opposition, then strike when they lose concentration for a second.  The critics had written it off as dull, and claimed that it could have been replicated by any team willing to give up their puristic football soul.  However, the opposite is probably true.  For the neutral, it probably wasn't fascinating, but for the Rangers support, it was captivating.  Knowing that, despite the opposition's apparent superiority, this team could create something out of nothing- it kept you quite literally glued to the match.  As for the 'anyone could do it' argument- what a load of nonsense!  Counter attack at the wrong time, and you're dead meat.  It requires tremendous knowledge of your opposition, your own limits, and of football in general.  José Mourinho would have been proud.

  That being said, Rangers were still the underdogs.

  Fiorentina were sitting 4th in the Serie A, above Milan, and had recorded some decent results, such as an away win in Turin against Juventus.

  Conversely, Rangers were going through a horrible run of form on the home front.  Two consecutive away defeats to Celtic had seen them loosen their grip on a championship that was seemingly destined for Ibrox back in March.  A draw against Dundee United in the league, and being taken to penalties by St. Johnstone in the Scottish Cup semi finals meant that, domestically, Rangers had not won in 90 minutes since beating Celtic 1-0 on the 29th of March.  In fact, of the seven matches played by Rangers in the April of 2008, the only victory was the scalp of Sporting in Lisbon.

  Furthermore, Rangers had been dominated by the Italians at home the previous week; what chance did they stand in the fortress of Franchi?  Their opponents were yet to lose at home in the competition.  Even more forebodingly, they had never failed to score in Florence.  This meant that any Fiorentina goal would require a reply from Rangers; a very awkward proposition for a side that depended on its adversaries committing too many men forward.

  Those who had put money on a Viola victory would have had little to worry about on the basis of the first 45 minutes.  Rangers had failed to get a single shot on target, and despite his best efforts, Darcheville was time and time again being pulled back for offside.  Barry Ferguson could only stand by and watch, as Fiorentina drove at Rangers time and time again.  One commentator was moved to remark upon the quality of Rangers one touch football- they touched the ball once, then gave it straight back to Fiorentina!  Surely the Italians would find a goal sooner or later?

  They kept pushing and pushing, as the Glaswegian defence looked shakier and shakier, as if surrender was inevitable.  Midway through the second half, the industrious Darcheville was taken off for Rangers' Gabonese striker, Daniel Cousin.  Many believed Rangers' 'enigma' at the time to be Kris Boyd, but it was really Cousin who deserved that title.  On his day, he was unplayable.  Strong, quick, with a marvellous shot, he had scored some vital goals for Rangers that season, the pick of the bunch being a wonderful shot on the turn to help Rangers conquer Lyon 3-0 in France.  However, he had seen a £3m January move to Fulham fall through, and Cousin had been accused of poor discipline, of not having his heart in it, and generally just waiting to leave the club.  Sadly, this was not to be his finest hour in the royal blue.  More on that later.

  Around this time, each team made another change.  Fiorentina brought on the veteran Christian Vieiri for the nullified Giampaolo Pazzini, while Walter Smith exchanged the exhausted Steven Davis for the fresh legs of fan-favourite Nacho Novo.  As it would happen, these two substitutes were going to have a massive say on who would reach the final.

  One minute after coming on, Vieri missed the chance of the tie, blasting wide from a yard out.  Hearts were not so much as in mouths as they were about to be vomited out onto the floor.  Fiorentina and Rangers both had a couple of half chances between them, but that was that for the 90 minutes.  Rangers had done what no other European team had managed that season; they had held Fiorentina for 90 minutes at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.  Though holding on for another 30 minutes was an entirely different matter.

  It was more of the same for Rangers in extra time.  Vieri was getting closer and closer.  This was a guy who had 49 caps for the Italian national team, and had scored 23 times for them.  Not to mention the 103 goals he had scored for Internazionale over six seasons on the black and blue side of Milan.  The Rangers support still had hope though.  This was, after all, the team that had so often created something out of nothing.  Daniel Cousin was a good player, he could do something.  All he needed was one good ball....

  Turned out he really needed one good brawl.  After kissing Fabio Liverani in the most Glaswegian way possible, Rangers were down to ten men in Florence.  With the lone striker gone, Rangers just had to hold on for another fifteen minutes, and hope to find salvation in the lottery of the penalty shoot out.  And lo and behold, they did.  After excellent chances for Mutu and that man Vieri, Rangers had a real shot of firing themselves to Manchester.  For all their 59% possession, their 10 corners, and their 19 shots on goal, Fiorentina had failed to breach the impermeable Rangers defence.

  Rangers were to strike first in the shootout.  It was Captain Fantastic Barry Ferguson up against the talismanic Sebastien Frey.  Ferguson had blue blood pumping through his body.  Since the age of nineteen, barring an 18 month hiatus at Blackburn, Ferguson had been the darling of the Ibrox support.  Captain since 2000, there was little the Hamilton native could do wrong.  Well, except miss a penalty in the semi finals of the UEFA Cup.  After his effort was saved by Frey, Ferguson later confessed that he felt like 'jumping off the Kingston Bridge'.

  When the Serbian Kuzmanovic slotted home for Fiorentina's first, it looked like Rangers, despite their heroic efforts, would end their European adventure on a balmy evening in the Renaissance City.  However, as luck would have it, Rangers would experience a renaissance of their own.  Steven Whittaker kept Rangers' hopes alive with a cool finish, sending Frey the wrong way.  After saluting the travelling support, it was a big thank you to Stevie, and time for Fiorentina to reply.  Montolivo cooly converted to make it 2-1 to the Italians.  With 3 penalties left each, Rangers just had to keep scoring, and hope Alexander could do something in goal.

  Of all people to stand up and be counted, it was Bosnian Sasa Papac who was next up for Rangers.  The last remaining relic of Paul Le Guen at the club, the left back cut a steady, unassuming figure on the pitch.  This was a man who had survived not only a car crash, but a civil war too.  A penalty in a European semi-final?  Water off a duck's back.  2-2.

  Still, the advantage lay with Fiorentina.  Experienced midfielder Fabio Liverani was to deliver their third penalty.  After eight years in Serie A, the Rome born 32 year old could surely be depended on to find the target.  And he did.  Except Alexander, Rangers' reserve keeper up until this match, threw himself to his left, and denied his Italian opponent.  Game on.

  Rangers still had to keep their heads though.  The scores had merely be levelled.  If Hemdani was to miss, and the next Florentine player was to score, then Fiorentina would only have to convert their last penalty to reach the final.  Thankfully, the majestic Hemdani knocked it home, showing about as much stress as he would show brushing his teeth.

  Now it was Vieri's turn.  Guilty of passing up chance after chance, this was the best way he could have redeemed himself to the Fiorentina faithful.  Looking Alexander dead in the eye, he confidently stepped up, and proceeded to blast it over the bar.  Advantage Rangers.

  I could write about what happened next, but whatever semantics I put down on this page would be a mere shadow of the emotions felt by Rangers fans upon watching Nacho Novo step up to take the winning penalty.  Here's the video:

  Rangers knees crumbled, with joy while Florentine hearts broke with sorrow.  It wasn't pretty, but the Scottish team built on a shoestring had overcome their chic Italian opponents.  All of a sudden, Rangers could forget their domestic troubles, because this on this warm spring night in Florence, Rangers Football Club had earned themselves another European final.

Borussia Dortmund: the new and improved Manchester United?

  The year was 1986.  The man was a Scotsman in his early forties.  The club was Manchester United.  Since the tragedy of the Munich air disaster in 1967, Old Trafford had only a couple of FA Cups to show for the past twenty years of work.  What made things even worse was having to watch on enviously as the likes of Liverpool and Leeds racked up the titles.  Fortunately, this was no ordinary manager who had taken over; this was Sir Alex Ferguson.  In his first full season, the club finished second in the league (eleventh the previous year), and has gone on to record ten English league titles and two European Cups since.

  Could a similar revolution be underway in the Ruhr region of Germany with Borussia Dortmund?  The similarities are uncanny.

  Like pre-Ferguson United, Dortmund well and truly fit the cliché of a 'sleeping giant'.  Despite somewhat average performances on the pitch in recent years, over 80,000 supporters still head to the Westfalenstadion every other weekend to produce one of the best atmospheres in the European game.  A wall of black and yellow will greet opposing teams running out, and with a noise so loud from the iconic 32,000 strong Südtribune, it is as though BVB are a goal up before a ball is kicked.  In the past, this crowd has willed the Western German giants on to five German championships, and a European Cup.  Yet what have they had to show for the past ten years?  Pretty much squat.

  However, this all looks likely to change in the next few weeks.  Despite an embarrassing second round exit in the German Cup to third division minnows Offenbach, BVB are seven points clear at the top of the Bundesliga, with just seven games remaining.  They have stunned not just German football, but fans around the world, with their slick one touch counter-attacking moves, counterbalanced with the individual greatness of players like 19 year old Mario Götze, and £325k summer signing, Shinji Kagawa.  The oldest regular starter for the team is goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, and we can once again point to the red half of Manchester for evidence as to how long a goalkeeper's shelf life can extend to.  Furthermore, the puppetmaster-in-chief, Jürgen Klopp, has recently inked an extension to his current deal that will see him remain in Westphalia until 2014 at least.  You can't help but feel that there's a dynasty being built up in Dortmund.

  Manchester United in the early nineties were famous for doing exactly what a certain Alan Hansen told them that they absolutely could not do- win stuff with kids.  The likes of Beckham, Scholes, Giggs and the Neville brothers all inspired United to success after success.  Furthermore, of the players listed, all but one are playing regularly for some of the world's biggest clubs, with that one being Gary Neville, who retired earlier this year, after 400 appearances for United, and 85 caps for England.  

  For Scholes, substitute in 22 year old Nuri Sahin.  Where it says Beckham, put in Kevin Grosskreutz.  Ryan Giggs?  Mario Götze.  The Dormtund kids are pretty good too- these three already have a combined 30 international caps for Turkey and Germany, despite their precocious age.

  The Dortmund rearguard is also worth examining.   In 2008, Mats Hummels was at Bayern Munich, and going nowhere fast.  With Martin Demichellis and Lució forming the Bavarian brick wall, the 20 year old boyhood Bayern fan had managed just a sole appearance for his idols.  That summer, he reluctantly joined Borussia Dortmund on loan, who had finished a lowly thirteenth the season before.  Three years on, and the Dortmund stopper has been transformed into possibly the best German centre back in the game.  He was even allowed the satisfaction of rejecting a multimillion move back to Bayern in January.  

  Fellow centre back Neven Subotic also has an interesting back story.  Born in Bosnia, raised in Germany and the USA, and yet plays for Serbia.  As a 15 year old, Subotic would train on his own in a public park in Southern Florida.  As it happened, that was where the United States under-17 national football side was based too.  Before not too long, the US coaches had this boy playing for the youth side, and the University of Southern Florida football team- seeing as he had no club side before.  A move to Klopp's Mainz 05 in 2006 brought him to Europe, and when Klopp switched to BVB in the summer of 2008, he made the Serb one of his first signings.  After being told that he 'wasn't good enough' for the American senior side whilst at Mainz, Subotic declared that he would, from then on, play for Serbia.  Since arriving in Dortmund, he's progressed quicker and quicker; Chelsea had a €20m offer for him rebuffed in January.

  The two of them have only missed two Bundesliga matches between them this season, and have only allowed 17 goals against their team's name.  Second place Leverkusen have precisely double that figure.

  As good as these players may be, the lion's share of the credit must, however, go to manager Jürgen Klopp.  After eighteen years playing for and managing Mainz, Klopp had achieved legendary status in the small southern town.  He had taken them from an average second division side to the heights of the Bundesliga, where they stayed for three years.  Sadly, they were relegated at the end of the 2006/07 season, and after failing to get them up at the first attempt, Klopp walked at the end of 07/08.  It was then that BVB took a bit of a gamble.  13th in the league that year was not acceptable.  Incumbent, Thomas Doll, was sacked, and they needed a new man.  But who could they turn to?  The Dortmund job was one laden with huge expectations, and the Schwarz-Gelb nation would surely not be happy with another season in mid table.

  Enter Klopp.  Sixth place in his first season, fifth place in his second.....champions in his third?    

  Jürgen Klopp is a fun manager.  With his glasses, and unkempt long blond hair, you do get the impression that he's just a guy who's taken his Football Manager addiction too far.  Is that such a bad thing though?  Next time you watch BVB play, keep an eye on their manager when his team find the back of the net.  Here's a video of one of his celebrations:

Some people clearly have far too much time on their hands.  But who honestly cares if they keep making fun videos like that?  The main point is simple though- Klopp has passion in abundance, a passion which trickles down through the squad.  He confesses that, watching himself on TV, Klopp is 'shocked' by his reactions, and has 'no idea' he reacts in such a manner.  The sign of somebody who truly loves his job.

  Besides being good at psyching up the boys, the man from Stuttgart has a bit of a brain as well.  His preferred starting eleven cost just under £10m to assemble, and, as was mentioned earlier, is pretty young.  There is not a single outfield player in that starting eleven above the age of 26.  His training is pretty revolutionary too.  Compared to José Mourinho's coaching school, where almost everything is done with the ball, BVB practise 'Life-Kinetic', which at first glance, does not look like it has anything to do with football at all.  However, these movement and co-ordination exercises help the players multitask, act under pressure, and recall and apply familiar information into unfamiliar surroundings.  First place in the Bundesliga with seven games to go is as good an endorsement for it as any.  Has Klopp revolutionised coaching too?

  BVB have all the necessary ingredients to be a success not just in the present, but for years to come.  There is something about the club that makes you think 'why would I want to be anywhere else?'; the loyalty it inspires is astounding.  You could probably count on both hands the number of clubs worldwide who could say such a thing truthfully.  The stadium's there, the fan base is there, the players are there, and now the coach is there- all is set for Borussia Dortmund to take on Germany, and then the world.  In any case, it certainly won't be long before a certain Sir Alex is looking over his shoulder.