Simon Jordan and Graeme Souness argue live on talkSPORT as £87m Rangers verdict shared
Simon Jordan and Graeme Souness disagreed live on air after the Rangers hero claimed Scottish football has been let down by the wider world of football.
Souness claimed that Scottish clubs have been treated unfairly given their football history, pointing to an £87million difference in TV money between Premier League side Bournemouth and Rangers.
Jordan disagreed that it was an unfair resolution, slamming Scottish football and claiming the state of the SPFL makes it worthless to potential broadcasters, which is the fault of the league itself.
Souness was speaking live on talkSPORT [4 December, 11:12] as he complained: “How unfair has the world of football treated Scottish football when you think about Bournemouth where I live, little old Bournemouth, 11,000 people, not really a football town, get £90million from TV, Glasgow Rangers get £3million.”
Jordan hit back, asking: “Why is that an inherent unfairness? You’ve got a league that’s worthless to broadcasters.”
Souness then attempted to explain, while not disagreeing with Jordan’s claim, stating: “It’s the way it’s evolved. That’s the bottom line. We have a population of less than five million [compared to] 65 million here in England.
Jordan returned again, saying: “But you’ve still got clubs like Celtic and Rangers that are doing £80million turnovers.”
Souness then finished their debate with: “Can you imagine if they were in the Premier League?” To which Jordan conceded that he agreed with the point.
The landscape of football has changed
The change in the way football works, the way it is run and the way it is funded, has changed massively from the days when Rangers and Celtic could be considered European powerhouses. Leagues need to be sold as products now, and the SPFL isn’t up to that standard.
There are many reasons behind this, but ultimately the size of Rangers and Celtic alone is not enough to justify a broadcaster spending hundreds of millions on the rights, particularly with the Bournemouth and English Premier League comparison.
Finance expert Kieran Maguire shared [The Price of Football podcast, 16 November] that the reason the SPFL TV deal is insignificant compared to others in Europe is that it is in direct competition with the most reputable football brand in the world – the Premier League – for air time.
Whether Scottish football has been let down or not is tough to call and depends on how you look at it, but to put it simply, the Old Firm clubs have fallen behind the times as football has moved on from them.
In other Rangers news, a journalist has shared his concern ahead of the AGM.