The only team that matters now
While I agree with Gerry Hassan’s critique (18 April) on the shoddy nature of BBC Sportscene, it’s possibly a bit of a chicken and egg situation. The Sportscene coverage would only seem to mirror what’s on the pitch. The ‘product’ of the SPL is so poor in all aspects – low technical ability, half-empty stadiums, zero competition (Celtic are the only team that can ever conceivably win the league) – it’s become hard for fans and broadcasters to retain interest.
It’s true that when Sky or ESPN provide the superior production values to the SPL that Gerry Hassan would like to see – post-match manager interviews and venerable ex-pros in the studio for in-depth analysis – one doesn’t feel quite as embarrassed but the viewing experience remains far from comfortable. Take nearly any game that doesn’t involve Celtic’s anomalously large support and you can hear the shouts of the players on the pitch due to the lack of spectators – a spectacle devoid of atmosphere or any appreciable skill levels.
Gerry Hassan’s article does cite the limitations and decline of Scottish football but doesn’t seem to fully acknowledge that the game has been subject to the forces of globalisation over the last 25 years, the same as any other industry, and this has allowed big leagues like the Premiership to prosper and the smaller national leagues to suffer. Unlike in the 70s and 80s, when both Sportscene and Scotsport were weekly television staples, we can now watch the best players from around the world on television every week in competitions such as the European Champions League and it is inevitable that smaller and less successful levels of football, whilst once holding allure, now look less attractive and consequently have less status in the television schedules.
Perhaps if Aberdeen and Dundee United were to start getting to European finals again and any other team apart from Celtic (and possibly a renascent Rangers) could actually realistically challenge for the league, as was the case in the 1980s, then Sportscene would once again become essential viewing and regain a ‘box office’ Saturday night slot rather than being shunted round the schedules. The BBC can get away with this because it is only the ardent local supporter rather than the general football viewer who is overly concerned about catching the Inverness vs St Mirren highlights. Harking back to images of Joe Jordan and Archie Gemmell at the start of a highlights package or resurrecting Arthur Montford to present still won’t make the SPL product any better and can only serve to bitterly remind of us of a time when Scottish football had some standing in the world.
I’d also have to dispute Gerry Hassan’s claim that MOTD will not talk a game down. I have seen Gary Lineker and co. make similar asides like Rob Mclean’s about nil-nil bore draws but they are comfortable and assured enough to do this, knowing that any criticism of a particular game does not lead to any cringing or inquisition into the failings of the Premiership.
As a football fan, I find myself ambivalent towards its television coverage in Scotland. I’m aware of the absurdity of often having more coverage of the Premiership on Scottish screens than we do the SPL but whenever Sportscene is on a Saturday night (Scottish Cup days), I invariably find myself going down the digital channels to BBC1 England for MOTD.
Gerry Hassan is right that BBC Scotland and all Scottish television outlets certainly have a duty to provide much greater care and ambition over all their broadcasts, not just those relating to sport, but it’s unlikely that even if the producers of Sportscene had the budget of MOTD it could once again matter.
Chris Spalding works in education and is based in Edinburgh
