Mind The Gap As Hapless Hoops Hit The Buffers

Oct 26 2008 Andy Walker

WHAT a treat it was to be at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

Being able to see at first hand how good Manchester United can be was wonderful.

Without even being at their best the gap in quality between Sir Alex Ferguson's men and the Scottish champions was painfully obvious.

Berbatov, Rooney, Ronaldo, Tevez et al were a joy to watch.

Following on from the huge gulf in class we witnessed when Motherwell were taken apart by Nancy in a UEFA Cup qualifier, the 3-0 rout has put Scottish football firmly in its place.

Sadly the reality for Celtic is that they can't compete at the top level but there's no use whining about it.

Just as Falkirk, Kilmarnock, St Mirren and the rest of the also-rans in the SPL can't compete with the Old Firm, Celtic and Rangers find themselves in the same boat in Europe.

The group stages of the Champions League are a realistic target for the Scottish champions but realism also tells you there's little chance of anything beyond that.

I've listened to Celtic fans complaining about the huge difference in TV cash and sponsorship deals available to clubs in England, Spain, Italy and Germany in comparison to Scotland.

It's not really a viable argument because the same thing happens domestically.

Celtic and Rangers dominate at home because they are the principal earners when it comes to gate money, sponsorship and TV deals.

The cash they generate completely dwarfs the sums the likes of Hibs, Hearts and Aberdeen can hope to achieve.

Given the league table in Scotland's top flight hasn't lied for 25 years, we all know the title flag next season will fly over Parkhead or Ibrox.

Most fans realise clubs out with the Old Firm will now never win the SPL unless a sugar daddy comes along and pumps in tens of millions of pounds.

Celtic and Rangers are in the same situation when they go head-to-head with the big boys in Europe and only an extravagant billionaire could afford to give the Glasgow clubs a fighting chance against the top sides.

We shouldn't moan or whine about it, we should just accept where we are.

I believe the best the Scottish champions deserve is to be placed among the third tier of European clubs.

First and foremost, the top two clubs in England, Spain or Italy will always be odds-on to win Europe's premier club competition.

Below them you have the other big clubs from those nations plus the top German and French sides and the big-spending Eastern European outfits such as Shakhtar Donetsk and Zenit St Petersburg.

I'm being generous in discounting the best sides Holland, Portugal and Greece have to offer.

After that the Scottish champions come into the reckoning and there's little that can be done about it.

Sport has moved on enormously in the last 20 years and we all have to accept it's more of a business now.

Celtic and Rangers are like the Hibs and Hearts of Europe - more than capable of the odd victory against the big guns on home soil but with no real prospect of making a serious challenge for the top honours.

UEFA have created a hugely successful monster in the shape of the Champions League and unless the format is changed it will soon become as predictable as the two-horse race we have in the SPL.

Until 1997 the Champions League was reserved for national league winners while the best of the rest took part in the UEFA Cup. Now as many as four teams from England, Spain and Italy can qualify for the elite tournament.

Money is going to money.

Results elsewhere highlight how difficult it is for the rest of Europe to keep pace with the big earners.

Fenerbahce, the Turkish champions, were torn apart by Arsenal on their own ground, an intimidating arena where nobody had won in 16 European ties.

Arsene Wenger's men, like Sir Alex's, were under-strength and yet were ruthless enough to score five.

Barcelona, who finished behind Villarreal in La Liga last season, also scored five in Basel.

Lyon, who more often than not get to the last 16 of Europe's elite competition, were 2-0 down after 10 minutes to Steaua Bucharest but still managed to win 5-3.

As for the prospect of things changing, the brutal truth is there's no chance of any avenue opening up for Celtic or Rangers to be a part of the Premiership's riches.

All that's left for both clubs is the hope of just being involved in the Champions League again next year.

Right now that has to be the limit of the Scottish champions' ambitions.

AND ANOTHER THING..

THERE are many unsung heroes in amateur football who rarely get the praise they deserve. One of them, Jock Barkey, died last week after a short illness aged 83.

Jock was the driving force behind Cathkin United Boys Club, the first team I played for when I was eight. Year after year he gave up an enormous amount of his time to coach, guide and influence boys of all ages into becoming better footballers and more disciplined young men.

Without the input of people such as Jock - and there are hundreds of unsung heroes like him all over the country - Scottish football would be a poorer place.