The Walls Come Crumbling Down

For the good of the game… shoot Rangers in the head?

One wonders how naive Duff & Phelps really are… either that, of course, or they are so vindictive it’s hard to fathom – that they would throw their dummy from the pram so spectacularly at their lenient transfer ban punishment to the detriment of the whole of Scottish football. Surely, it must be naivety? Surely, really, in their stupidity and increasing and obvious desperation, they didn’t think  taking the SFA to a civil court and having their transfer ban overturned would result in the SFA and FIFA simply going “oh, ok, Duff & Phelps have won, let’s put the fine we gave you in the Big Pot Of Creditors and we’ll say no more about it…”. They couldn’t have thought that, surely? I mean, naivety and stupidity is a watch word for this highly suspect group of administrators, so it MUST have been an error of judgement. Because, as a calculated risk, it shows suicidal tendencies.

As shown with FC Sion’s equally desperate and undignified sabre rattling last year, FIFA do not take kindly to the little fella barking back. Sion’s expulsion from European competition and subsequent civil action resulted in a 36 point deduction, so D & P must have realised that to show such arrogance would only result in the huge stone head of the giant FIFA god slowly, but surely, turning its shark like gaze towards Scotland. And indeed, that’s what has happened, and the spotlight is very much on the SPL and Stewart Regan.

Of course, my opinion on the newco situation at Rangers is well documented  (below), but this is something else all together. FIFA are our gaffers. They literally have the power to close down the whole SPL if they so wished. And they’re watching us. And the SFA know they are. As with all court decrees, the SFA has the right, again, to appeal. But it won’t; “by doing so,” it says, “the very principles on which Scottish FA – and for that matter UEFA and FIFA – are founded… would be fundamentally compromised…” And there is the rub. Fundamentally compromised. Never mind the newco situation, never mind how much money Rangers owe, never mind The Big Tax Case, never mind them cheating for years, never mind EBTs, by breaking away from established rules and regulations they have fundamentally compromised the whole of Scottish football. When Sion did that they were docked 36 points. One wonders what sanctions await for Rangers?

Now, naturally, despite Lord Glennie’s ruling, the SFA have three choices. They can ignore them, of course, which will become messy and nasty and not help anyone, and may probably lead to sanctions from FIFA which will affect ALL of Scottish football  – one of which is a nationwide expulsion from ALL world competitions (meaning all teams in European and world tournaments including the national team) – so this really isn’t an option. Another is to do nothing, which, again, will probably bring down the wrath of FIFA for showing a neutered and impotent bark and opens up the door to a word where every little rule is challenged or ignored, or, the decision that has been taken, to do as Lord Glennie ruled and send the verdict back to the appellate tribunal for a new punishment to be dished out.

The original punishment of a transfer ban was actually doing Rangers a favour, although ultimately not within the remit of the punishments allowed, which is why it was overturned, so now the SFA must send out a punishment which shows not only FIFA but an increasingly Rangers-hostile SPL, that they will not be treated as a second class association and that their word is, indeed law.

There are two punishments available for the SFA to hand out to Rangers – and again this is outwith any forfeits for any future newco . These are dead straight forward – banning from the Scottish Cup and expulsion from the league (or suspension, which, to be blunt, amounts to the same thing as it is a fatal blow for the floundering club). Stewart Regan told Twitter “we are in consultation with FIFA at present” and you can be sure that won’t be a comfortable consultation for the beleaguered and increasingly out of his depth Regan. Everyone reading this will most probably think that the SFA will go for the easy option – ban Rangers from the Scottish Cup. It allows them to dish out a punishment that Rangers cannot argue with and it also allows Rangers to continue. But surely, that isn’t fair? Surely being banned from the Scottish Cup is just the same as being put out in the quarters? If Rangers can trade players and business as normal, a Scottish Cup ban is no more than another toothless bark from a rubbish governing body. Rangers and Duff & Phelps have won.

There can be only one punishment for what Rangers have done. Expulsion. They’ve embarrassed Scottish Football, they’ve bankrupt it morally and financially – and make no mistake clubs who have gone into administration like Motherwell, Dundee, Gretna and Livingston did so on the effort of trying to keep up with the coat tails of Rangers and Celtic, and one of those was cheating – and they’ve brought our game to the edge of destruction.

I’ve been saying it for months. Rangers are already dead. A newco with no sanctions won’t be tolerated. No punishment for bringing the game into disrepute is unthinkable – and again remember this isn’t a punishment for going into administration, it’s a punishment for not paying PAYE during Whyte’s reign, it’s a punishment for not making sure he was fit and proper, it’s ANOTHER punishment for something else – so for Rangers to keep dodging bullets for different things – disrepute, newco, EBTS, tax payments etc  etc – is going to be almost impossible. The SFA can clean this cancer from Scottish football once and for all. Withdraw their playing licence and allow the rest of us to readjust and carry on. However the Rangers situation resolves itself, RFC will not come out of this looking like anything other than a corrupt, desperate, undignified and hated mess, not just by their traditional enemies, but by the whole of Scottish football. And that’s before FIFA decide to do something too…

It’s time to stand up and show some balls.

Forever Claret and Amber

Ed

VFTES

New Summer Logo…

Our new logo for The Champions League

Joining in on the fun and games at Fir Park, I thought it might be a nice idea to tweak our Long Way Round logo for our Champions League foray..,

Oh, and as a wee teaser… I wonder what words are missing from THIS little beauty… #secretmission

Guess the missing words…

Guesses on Twitter or Facebook please…

Forever Claret and Amber

VFTES

So long, farewell, auf Wiedersehen, goodbye

Every football club and its fans have players upon whom the title “Legend” is bestowed and after 79 minutes at a windswept Fir Park on Sunday Stephen Craigan  said his final goodbyes to those who have placed him amongst this elite band.

Craggs has been with us since 1994 and but for 3 seasons when he swapped Fir Park for Firhill has provided the Steel in the Steelmens’ back line, and even had a spell as Caretaker Manager following Mark McGhee’s departure in 2009. A stint which ended with the appointment of Jim Gannon a man who clearly did not share the ‘Well fans love of this gentle giant, playing him in only 7 of the 17 games in his brief tenure.

I’m sure even Craggs would agree that he was not blessed with what one might describe as an innate footballing talent however no one could ever fault his commitment and dedication to the cause.

In the programme notes from Craigans’ Testimonial former defensive partner Mark Reyonolds said

“I came into the team as a seventeen-year-old and to have a guy with the wealth of experience that Stephen has was a major help to me,”
“There are some guys in football who only have their own interests in mind but he was very different.
“The way it worked at Motherwell was the defenders would train together and in my 200 games I played with the club the majority of them were with Craggs. We built up a good understanding and formed a stable core at the back.

While we know him best as our Club Captain and recognise his contribution to Motherwell F.C.own goals and all,  let’s not forget he also had an 8 year 54 cap career with Northern Ireland making his debut in 2003 but perhaps most notable for playing in the  1–0 victory against England in September 2005 and the 3–2 win over Spain a year later.

In an article in the Belfast Telegraph former International team mate Allan Mc Donald said
He was a hero who gave his all, a warrior in a green jersey, Father time catches up with all of us, but Stephen was a wonderful man, very accommodating and someone who gave very loyal and brilliant service to his country.”

We all have our favourite Craggs moments my personal highlight being the infamous Nacho Novo “It was only a f*cking ball”

I’m quite sure there will be many players in the Spl next season who will be relieved that they are not facing off against the 6ft 1in frame of this passionate Ulsterman but we will miss him.

Stephen James Craigan we salute you and wish you every success in whatever direction life takes you.

 

Image

 

http://www.motherwellfc.co.uk/players/first-team/stephen-craigan/

No To A Newco?

It seems that the SPL board can’t make up its mind about anything. They’d be fabulous procrastinators if only they would get around to it, but there are some things that need dealt with and need dealt with now, not next week, not on the 30th of May, when the dust has settled on the SPL season and furrowed brows are in holiday mode.

The Rangers newco discussed by the new potential owner Bill Miller is something that cannot wait much longer. Thousands of SPL fans – across clubs – are signing a petition – HERE – angered at the thought that Rangers FC should be given some kind of dispensation to liquidate – and let’s not argue semantics here, dissolving a club whether or not they sell off assets or not is liquidation – leaves everyone in limbo, and a hundred questions relevant to every SPL club and fan still to be answered. At VFTES we’ve been asked by Well fans not to dwell on the Auld Firm problems, and, indeed, we began this blog and podcast because the Scottish media do nothing but talk about that, but we feel that this is an issue worth addressing, and something that should unite the whole of Scottish football. After travelling around the country for The Long Way Round we’ve discovered, whatever colour we wear, we’re all in this together.

It’s our opinion that no newco should be allowed immediate entry back into the SPL. To do so opens up a dangerous and potentially devastating precedent for Scottish football. The argument is that the SPL won’t survive without a) the revenue from Old Firm gates b) the revenue from Sky Sports Old Firm fixtures. Whilst this is indeed a concern, it also brings up the definition of “survive”. It seems, if you ask Dunfermline, Dundee Utd or Hearts right now that they have indeed been surviving without any financial assistance from Rangers gates because, frankly, they’ve stolen the money and kept it. They’ve weakened teams by buying players, and raked in a minimum of £900k a season by finishing in the top two for what seems like ever, but haven’t actually paid that money out. Where it’s gone doesn’t matter, what does is that, despite this undignified and desperate clinging on for survival, like a terrified drowning man, Rangers are not paying their way in the SPL and so any money we potentially would lose wouldn’t actually appear anyway. There’s also the potential of other clubs revenues being boosted – there is a scenario this season, thanks to the Scottish Cup, that ALL top six clubs could have a foray into Europe – however successful or not that is again doesn’t really matter. TV deals and extra gates will always be welcome. Whilst we’re not naive enough to think that losing Rangers FC from the SPL won’t have a substantial financial effect on the other clubs, it just means that these clubs will have to cut their cloth accordingly, which in fairness is what they are doing now. Dunfermline FC barely made it through a torrid season, Hearts hit the brink a few times, and Motherwell FC, in our most successful SPL season in history, are STILL having to reduce our budget for next year. And all this with Rangers IN the SPL. Perhaps the constant trying-to-keep-up is the Catch 22 that needs to be broken. Perhaps without them the clubs can draw back from spending silly money and live within their means. Despite a boost from Old Firm crowds, for instance, Dunfermline, Inverness, St Mirren and St Johnstone all averaged less than 9000 heads per game this season, with the lowest being 1607 for an St Johnstone/Aberdeen game.  This shows that, despite a wee boost by the Old Firm, Scottish football HAS to rethink its “spend big” policy. It’s interesting to note that three of the top six HIGHEST attendances of the season DIDN’T involve the Old Firm at all, showing that they are not essential for the biggest gates and of course the largest attendance was an Old Firm clash, hardly something that will effect the rest of us, except of course in the TV deal.

Despite the financial implication there is the case for integrity – and before we move on let’s look at that for a moment. Morally as well as financially Rangers are bankrupt, and these “legends” being kicked out of the nearest Masonic Hall to spout bullshit to the media should really think twice before muckying themselves with the present incumbents of Ibrox,  and some of the statistics and debtors chasing Rangers are eyewateringly embarrassing. They owe enough to the tax man, for instance, to build FOUR schools or TWO hospitals in Scotland. They owe the Police, who are being cut back yearly, almost £52k (that’s just about two cops salaries a year), they owe the Ambulance Service – that’s the AMBULANCE service folks – £8.5k and they owe over £2.5million to at least twelve other clubs across Europe and in Scotland. Lee Wallace is played with impunity and no lack of brass neck every game for Rangers – he’s even scored winning goals lately – but Hearts FC haven’t received a penny for him – and of course his own deal, struck only at Christmas, was torn up in March. We could go on financially, but I think we all know the mess Rangers are in.

Morally, however, is another thing altogether. The implications of a newco in the SPL are far reaching and will never go away. It will be a black, cancerous stain on our game across the whole of the world for ever. Of course, Rangers leaving will affect every club, but this is RANGERS who have done this. We cannot be compliant with it. If we say the SPL needs Rangers, then when does that stop? If, next year, after we’ve all bent over and let them shaft us royally, their team of teenagers and hasbeens is sitting where Dunfermline are now, do we have another emergency SPL board meeting to change the system to keep them in? Does keeping them in the SPL make Rangers – and Celtic – bombproof? And if running up silly debts and them liquidating and newco-ing is the way to go, what’s to stop Hearts, or our friends at Dundee Utd, or even Motherwell, pushing for Champions League wins, to go “ach, we’ll buy outwith our means and then go newco”. Because once the SPL allow ONE club to do it, they MUST allow ALL clubs to, and if that’s what happens, where does it stop? Never mind sporting integrity, the whole system becomes a farce. Will teams throw games? Will clubs spend big in the transfer market to avoid the drop? The outcome is scary.

In an ideal world, of course, the SPL DOES need a strong Rangers and Celtic, of course it does, but, let’s face facts folks, it now DOESN’T have that. Rangers has gone. It’s over. It is an ex football team. No matter how they try to stay in the SPL now, they will never, ever be Glasgow Rangers again. A newco full of kids and hasbeens isn’t a strong Rangers, a Rangers who repel supporters from other clubs from watching them isn’t a strong Rangers, a Rangers who are the target for every lunatic supporter in the country isn’t a strong Rangers, a Rangers hated by everyone else in the SPL isn’t a strong Rangers, a Rangers floundering in the bottom six starting on -10 points isn’t a strong Rangers.

The SPL have made sanctions which will seriously hinder Rangers in any serious attempts at titles for years. Europe has gone too. What are they fighting for? Money? They owe too much to pay back. Either way a newco or a CVA will NOT return the money spent. The only way that Rangers can emerge with any kind of dignity, and take their place in the family of Scottish football again, is to do the decent thing. Liquidate. Start again. Admit their mistakes and build from the bottom. Sure Scottish football might wobble for a wee while – three seasons, actually – but it will emerge stronger, cleaner, fresher and more competitive.

Is that too hard for the SPL board to see? We urge our club – Motherwell FC – and every other one to listen to the fans. No to a newco.

Forever Claret and Amber

VFTES

The Long Way Round Chronicle: Day One

Hello there Fellow Steelfolk

Well, we did it! Two days and six hundred miles later (well, six hundred and twenty, to be precise!) we circumnavigated Scotland, and made it around the twelve SPL clubs, Hampden and Ross Country in an event for Sport Relief. Right now, from the money we have in cash, and our GIVING PAGE, we’re sitting at around £400, so, shhaaaaaattting! Thank you for all who gave. Here’s an account of our journey…

We meet Alan Marshall at Fir Park at the start of The Long Way Round

Motherwell

We got to Motherwell on a really awkward day for them. Away to Hibs meant they were focussed and busy, but we managed to get a couple of good pics with Steve Jennings and Omar Daley, as well as Health and Safety gaffer, Alan Marshall. Fear, not, though, fellow Steelfolk, there is more from Motherwell to come! Oh yes.

 

Jenno and Omar join in The Long Way Round

Celtic

A little behind schedule, we made it to Celtic Park, and introducing ourselves to security proved to be a surprise for them – despite organising this for months, no one had bothered to tell them we were coming. Nonetheless, the guys there were fantastic, and even went out their way to give us a bucket to collect donations in, as well as throwing a few pounds in themselves. So Celtic was very much a success.

Next stop Celtic!

 

where the Champions could not have been nicer!

Hampden

Euan from Peter Vardy supplied us with the fuel for The Long Way Round

From Parkhead we headed to Hampden, which was a last minute idea but sorted very, very quickly. We had agreed to meet Euan from Peter Vardy here, who had donated a fuel card to get us around our route, so as we were chatting to him, Alex Hall came out from Hampden ready to show us around. We were very privileged to be shown onto the Presentation area, the dugouts, the tunnel, the indoor training area, the dressing rooms and a little hidden lift! Far more than we’d hoped for.

And the charming Alex Hall showed us around!

including the Scotland dressing room!!!

Ibrox

From Hampden, onto Ibrox, and again, everyone was fabulous. Breenjing in in our Sport Relief T Shirts – back on schedule – must have given the front door a clue, because without a word from us we were welcomed and shown directly past Coisty’s office and into the tunnel. Ibrox is an old, opulent stadium and it oozes its history and it was, with the exception maybe of Pittodrie, the most fancy. Again though, everyone was fabulous with us.

Rangers gave us the run of Ibrox!

So we got interviewed! Em, by each other!!!

St Mirren

After a pit stop for fuel and breakfast, we made our way to St Mirren, and were disappointed to find it empty bar some blokes playing on the astroturf. Pity as it’s a smashing wee stadium. Still, photo taken and offski again, down the M77 and hitting our first 50 miles to Kilmarnock.

The Buddies... wis shut!

First of two domestic trophy encounters at Killie...

Killie

It was BALTIC down in Ayrshire, but a quick phone call and shufty into the Hotel got us access to the League Cup, proudly displayed in their front lobby, and then out onto the pitch, which was still showing signs of the spanking issued by Celtic earlier. Charming folks in the bar were cornered for donations too!

Where we resisted a pie. Honest. I know it looks like we didn't.

Hibs

With Motherwell playing at Hibs, we had a dilemma of which way to go. Google said back the way we came and then along the M8, but we gambled with the A71, which wasn’t the best idea thanks to Easter Sunday drivers. Add to that the City wide traffic jam known in some parts as Edinburgh City Centre and some broken traffic lights on Ferry Road and unfortunately we missed the game – and the teams – but Sue very kindly stayed around for us and presented us with a signed Hibs top. You can bid for that HERE.

Sue at Hibs was fantastic!

...and presented us with a signed top! Scottish Cup finalists. Just saying. Bit on ebay!!!

Hearts

Up to Tynecastle we went, but as the day wore on, we found it empty and devoid of human life – kinda like during a match day to be honest (joke!). But we took our photo and pressed on, over the Forth and towards Dunfermline.

HEARTS! Wis shut... thanks guys. Not.

Dunfermline

This was another club not made aware of our coming, but the hospitality manager, herself dead busy with Easter covers, was accommodating and friendly, and again let us out onto the pitch to have a few snaps.

And so to the Pars at the end of day one! Phew!

From there, we headed to Dundee and our overnight stop. Now THAT would be eventful…

To be continued…

VFTES

The Long Way Round – Log Four

Our Alternative Logo

Hello there fellow Steelfolk

We’re our last weekday away from the Long Way Round, and it took to the last day to get everything in place. Hopefully tomorrow we can sit back and relax a bit before we actually set off. Tasks today included –

  • Speaking to Motherwell FC to confirm our departure time (it’s half nine as predicted)
  • Speaking to the last of the clubs on our ETA and welcome – all have been so supportive, it’s been humbling and encouraging.
  • Increasing our target – again! We’re now going for it and raising it to a staggering £400!!! Have you given yet? HERE’S WHERE.
  • Sorting out our fuel – and this was a big one – so we now have The Long Way Round sponsored by The Well Shop and the fabulous guys at Peter Vardy. Thanks to Ewan at Peter Vardy and George Crosbie for sorting that out.
  • Finishing our Travel Pack. That was a chore!
  • And also getting some comfy trousers. Never underestimate the power of the elastic waist.

So this is what you guys will see as of Sunday.

  • Tweets from every SPL ground in Scotland
  • A Sunday night blog with pics from every ground – and other stuff
  • Facebook check ins everywhere we go.
  • Tweets and fb updates en route
  • And next week, a complete journal of our adventure!

If you haven’t been following us, here’s how –

  • Get us on Facebook – HERE
  • Get us on Twitter – HERE
  • And of course you’ve found our blog.
  • And sponsor us – HERE

Again, though, please don’t forget why we’re doing this, and give us your sponsorship whenever you can, You can sponsor us HERE – or meet us any way along the way HERE – and we’ll happily take whatever you have!

So, until Sunday, thanks for all your encouragement, thanks to all for helping, and, most importantly…

ON THE WELL!!!

Forever Claret and Amber

Ed and Al

The Long Way Round – Log Three

Hello there fellow Steelfolk

It’s with a bit of relief that I can tell you that, at last, I managed to get all the teams in the SPL involved in our Long Way Round Challenge for Sport Relief. The two sticking points up til now had been Dunfermline and Celtic, but, yesterday I managed to get through to some very nice people from both clubs and now we have stadium access.

So we’re almost there. In the tradition of Long Way Roundness (you should try and watch Ewan and Charley’s, it’s BRILLIANT), there is one BIG thing we’re still waiting on, but, at the end of the day, it’s not something that will stop us.

So, today I finished the banner. It’s something you guys will be seeing a lot of – fourteen times in fact (yes I said fourteen!) as we’ll be proudly displaying it at every stadium we’re going to over the two days, and it’s now safely tucked away. I’ve also completed the “brand merchandise” – which basically is a couple of customised Well tops – themselves kindly donated by Alan at The Well Shop – and a nifty T-Shirt. On sale for a tenner if anyone wants one, by the way, give us an email at voicesfromtheeaststand@live.co.uk and we’ll sort it out for you (all proceeds of course to Sport Relief).

Our unique LWR Motherwell FC Home Tops

After the event, we’ll be keeping donation lines open for two weeks – that’s mainly because we have a nifty wee surprise coming up next week – but we’ve done so well with our targets, I’m sure YOU don’t want to be left out – so if you haven’t given yet, or even if you have, please go to our Giving Page – HERE – and donate what you can. If you don’t have a credit card, or want to donate or meet us in person, feel free to do that too – our itinerary was blogged yesterday so just show up, tweet us privately, or email us on the above address and we’ll happily arrange to meet you whilst we’re passing by.

So, Friday next. A quick phone call around everyone and then that’s just about us. Ready to rumble. And almost £200 better off for Sport Relief.

If you want to know why we’re doing it, here’s why…

Forever Claret and Amber

VFTES

The Long Way Round – Log Two

Hello there Fellow Steelfolk,

Day two of our prep log blogs, and things are moving on nicely. After a discussion with many of the clubs, we’ve arranged what can only be an approximate time and what kind of access we’re able to get with them. Sometimes it will be a pic with a player, sometimes it will be a wee sneak inside the stadium, sometimes it will be a pic outside, but, whatever, we now have all but one of the clubs on board, and I’m pretty sure that one will join in sometime today.

So I sat and worked out a rough – and I mean rough – itinerary. The plan is to leave along with the First Team at Motherwell on Sunday Morning. Or at least, as the team is arriving at Fir Park. With Stuart and Kenny at bounce matches today and Leeann and Alan busy with press, we’re in the lap of the Police as to what time that will actually be, and I’m waiting on a phone call to confirm. In the meantime, we’ve taken a rough 9.30 start time for an estimate and worked out the driving distance between each club.

Doing the lowlands, it seems, won’t take as long as we thought – day one’s driving time is less than 4hours, and we may even make it less than that, but depending on Club access etc there may be a slim chance we’ll make some if not all of the away game at Hibernian. Which is nice. On the subject of Hibernian, we have a shiny thing happening for all Hibbees soon, so stay tuned. See? We’re nothing if not across the board at Voices from the East Stand.

So, day two of proper prep – that’s not counting the weeks I’ve been working on this before hand – and we have all but one of the teams confirmed, a lovely banner almost made, a couple of great Home Shirts courtesy of the Well Shop, an itinerary and a thing we’re calling The Travel Pack. And, no, it’s not a load of Wet Wipes and boiled sweeties (actually, there’s a thought, note to self…). It’s maps, directions and timings along with contacts for each club, all done. So this is our itinerary. As I said, it’s subject to change, and start times, and it really all depends on traffic and the length of time we’re at each club. Day two is a stinker, to be honest, and we probably underestimated the distance, but, still, it’s doable. And home for tea.

Until tomorrow,

Forever Claret And Amber

VFTES


DAY ONE

9.30 am  Well – Celtic – M74 – 20mins

9.50am  Celtic – Hampden – Cathcart Road – 15mins

10.15am Hampden – Ibrox – A728 and A8 – 15mins

10.35am  Ibrox – St Mirren – PRW – 15mins

11.15am  St Mirren – Kilmarnock – M77 – 40mins

1pm  Kilmarnock – Hearts – M77/M8 – 1hr 30mins

1.20pm  Hearts – Hibs – Dalry Road – 15mins

2.45pm  Hibs – Dunfermline – A9 –  35mins

Day one Driving time – 3hrs 45min

DAY TWO 

9am Dundee Utd – Aberdeen – A90 1hr 30min

10.40am Aberdeen – ICT -A96 – 2hours 25mins

1.15pm ICT – Ross County – A9 A835 – 25mins

2pm Ross County – St Johnstone – A9 –  2hrs30mins

4.30pm St Johnstone – Fir Park – A9, M90/88 – 1hr20mins

Day two Driving time – 8hrs 10mins

The Long Way Round – Log One

Hello there fellow Steelfolk

So, in January Alisdair and I were talking about Sport Relief and what we could do for it and went through all the permutations we could think of like running the Sport Relief Mile to like dying our hair, shaving our legs or sitting in a bath of beans but thought perhaps we could do something different, something uniquely Scottish and something that involved the SPL as a whole.

Inspired by Ewan MacGregor and Charlie Boorman’s UNICEF epic journey The Long Way Round I thought maybe we could do something like that, and of course the most logical way to do this would be to go around all the SPL clubs in a couple of days and get them all involved. I put it to Al and we bashed around logistics until we decided we could do it over the Easter Weekend. As a result of the distances required – a round route starting in Motherwell and ending up back there takes just shy of 600 – we decided we’d need a bit of a support crew, so enlisted the help of our partners to help with admin, driving, sponsorship and the like. I also was lucky enough to know a very clever graphic designer, and I got him to design our Long Way Round logo.

Looking at the Sport Relief site, we realised we could have a bespoke “giving” page, and this really cemented our plans, and we found this to be the cleanest way of raising sponsorship – it meant that on the whole we didn’t have to actually handle cash, and people could donate at any time of the day or night directly to Sport Relief.

So, with our idea in place, I set about working with the football teams to see what was what. On the whole, their response was fantastic. Of course, with us being Motherwell FC based, we contacted Leeann Dempster at Motherwell and she immediately jumped on board. With Leeann committed, most of the other clubs keenly agreed too – our idea is simple, to go around the clubs and get our photo taken outside them, or with a player/member of staff to prove we were their when we said we were. As of Tuesday 3rd April, all but three SPL clubs have agreed to be involved, and we’re in the final planning stages.Even Rangers, with their on off-field troubles, were happy to take part.

We’ve contacted some local businesses too to see if they can help. The Well Shop at Fir Park were very happy to get involved, and Alan there donated two first team shirts to Alisdair and I to wear on the day – here’s me getting presented with them. Remember there’s a great sale on down there right now, and it really is the best place to get all your Well related items. You can buy online too HERE, if you can’t get up.

Ed with Alan from The Well Shop

So how is The Long Way Round going to work? Well, dead straight forward. We leave from Motherwell on Easter Sunday, and then head into Glasgow for the Auld Firm, over to Paisley for St Mirren and then down to Ayrshire and Kilmarnock. From there, we’ll head over to Edinburgh and Hearts and then to Hibs where Motherwell are playing. We’ll finish our first day in the sunny Kingdom of Fife at East End Park then travel on to Dundee where we will stay overnight. On Easter Monday, we’ll head to Tannadice, up the coast to Aberdeen and the guys at Pittodrie and over the Eastern Highlands to Inverness Caley Thistle. It struck me when we were there it might be a good idea to take a detour to Dingwall and see our new friends at Ross County – themselves with a Motherwell connection in the form of Derek Adams – and welcome them into the SPL – and indeed those boys were keen and welcoming to get involved. From Dingwall we’ll head down the A9 and to Perth with St Johnstone and, of course, back to Fir Park later that day.

On our way, we’ll be keeping in contact with you guys as much as possible. As well as our regulation photos, we’ll try and photograph places of interested around Scotland and  we’ll be keeping you apprised on Twitter and Facebook, and we’ll end the day with a blog entry. You really will feel as much a part of this as possible. By the end of it, we’ll have a quite substantial log of our journey and the no doubt unexpected things that will happen on it. We’re equipped with smartphones, a laptop and an ipad, as well as a digital camera, so plenty of ways to get out into the WWW.

Now, whilst we’re doing all this, of course, we need YOU guys to help. You can help in two ways – firstly, spread the word – if each of you tell one person, well, by our bad maths that’s 3000 people plus who will know about it from this blog, 300 plus from FB and around 500 twitters. If even all our twitter followers gave £1 we’d now exceed £400 for Sport Relief. If you want to know why that’s so important please read THIS.

So that’s where we are. Today’s work includes finalising departure times with Motherwell, and contacting the three SPL clubs still to commit. The rest of the week involves travel logs, fuel costings and i and t dotting and crossing. It’s going to be a busy old time. We hope you get involved.

YOU CAN SPONSOR US HERE or if you want to meet us on the way, or donate in some other way, please contact us directly on voicesfromtheeaststand@live.co.uk.

Forever Claret and Amber

VFTES

The Long Way Round Podcast