Same Old Firm, brand new attitude

Once their fiercest critic, the Motherwell owner tells Natasha Woods how the SPL’s big two no longer look down on the rest

THERE was a time when Rangers and Celtic infuriated John Boyle. You can understand why. The Motherwell “experiment” had failed, and the club’s owner had curtailed budgets along with his dreams.

Then there was SPL-TV, an innovative idea that Boyle wholeheartedly supported. And the Old Firm killed it off. Four years ago chaos ensued as the SPL threatened to tear itself apart, contributing to administration at Fir Park.

Terry Butcher emerged from the wreckage, a charismatic figure around which a recovery was mounted. And now he is gone, tempted by the lure of Sydney and life Down Under.

It seems an appropriate time to catch up with Boyle to reflect on what has passed and what is to come.

In the Glasgow offices of Hamilton Portfolio – his investment company – it is clear his passion for his club has not changed. But his attitude to the Old Firm has.

“I used to be one of their fiercest critics. The situation back in 2002 was that Celtic and Rangers were trying to out-stare the other 10. Their lack of an early agreement and the instability that caused made the whole SPL-TV project look increasingly unviable,” he recalled.

“They were prevaricating about what their share should be and there was talk of them joining the English leagues. They undermined the project which was a great pity.”

Four years on Setanta recently signed a new £54.5m broadcasting deal with the SPL, an enhancement of some £5m a season for Scotland’s top flight. Negotiations this time concluded in unanimity, not acrimony.

“The whole tenor has changed out of all recognition. They are now working for Scottish football. There was no rancour. While being forceful as they tend to be, Rangers and Celtic now understand that there has to be competition, they have to have someone to play.

“Before their attitude always seemed to be that the rest of us could survive on crumbs. They have seen the benefit because there are more meaningful games. We are all seeing the benefit. Rangers and Celtic are being constructive and their attitude has improved immeasurably. And I applaud them for that.”

Boyle tends to speak at such a rate that breaths are squeezed in between the briefest of pauses. But then he has plenty to say at the end of a week which saw Butcher accept a post with Sydney FC and his assistant Maurice Malpas step up to take over as manager.

Fir Park is not the only place where new regimes are the topic of conversation.

Change is afoot at Dundee, another club who paid the price for living beyond their means, and who knows what may happen at Easter Road should other clubs succeed where Ipswich failed in tempting Tony Mowbray away.

Boyle has been in business long enough to recognise that managing change comes with the territory, but his upbeat mood goes beyond the pleasantries he now aims in direction of the Old Firm. Having been through the bad times, he has got a good feeling about Scottish football.

“The new Setanta deal is really encouraging. I think it will add stability rather than lead to big increases in wages – we’ve all learned our lesson there.

“The fact we have had fairly dramatic ends to the last few seasons has really whetted everyone’s appetite. The criticism once levelled at the SPL has been turned around and we have a league that is increasingly viable.”

Boyle also cites the arrival of Vladimir Romanov and the injection of resources at Tynecastle, which has created a third force to challenge the Old Firm.

One wonders whether there is any hint of jealously in such an assessment, for Hearts are capable of doing what Motherwell never could.

Back in 1998, when he bought control of Motherwell by investing a slice of the £56m he received from the sale of his Direct Holidays business, the talk was of the Lanarkshire club aspiring to such heights.

Thousands of pounds a week in wages brought the likes of John Spencer, Andy Goram and Don Goodman to the club.

But attendances never rose to meet Boyle’s expectations. By 2001, the financial reality had hit home and retrenchment followed.

But by the spring of 2002, the administrators were in and Boyle was writing off some £10m to prevent an even worse situation developing.

“I was largely responsible for creating a bit of a mess, but I cleaned up my own mess. We tried an experiment and it didn’t work.

“In the broader picture – and without commenting on the individual decisions that have been made at Tynecastle, I think what has happened there is very encouraging because it shows if you create a successful team you can fill grounds.

“They are obviously a big club in a city of half a million people with a strong economy to go with it.

“We suffered badly from being in Lanarkshire and the inevitable religious pull into Glasgow, which is just part of life in the west of Scotland.

“Hearts have made an investment they can capitalise on. To have a viable third force who are genuinely challenging the Old Firm is fantastic.

“It is a virtuous circle for us all because Hearts are now bringing a huge travelling support to the likes of Fir Park and that helps our finances. I cannot see any down side and long may it continue.”

With Boyle in such a garrulous mood, it is far too tempting not to ask what he thinks of the current debate raging over the merits of the idea of creating an English-style Championship below the nation’s top tier.

“If an SPL II or something like it ever came into existence I think it would have to be contemporaneous with a re-working of the administration of Scottish football,” he said.

“We have the Scottish Football Association, the Scottish Football League and the SPL. I think the SPL, because it is newer and carries no baggage, is leaner and fitter and neither of the other bodies are bad in themselves, but there has to be a rationalisation.

“Unfortunately, when there have been attempts to do it in the past I think the smaller clubs have taken the view that they are being rolled over by the larger clubs so there has been a reluctance to accept any change.

“But I believe this would be a good time to radically overhaul how the sport is run.

“It shouldn’t be about any Machiavellian plot and we certainly don’t need another level of administration, but we should be able to come up with a system that benefits everyone.”

Given the way he talks about football, it’s clear that while it would be no surprise if he was scarred by the experiences of administration – and the recriminations that followed – he has no intention of dropping Motherwell FC from his portfolio.

His business interests are varied, from budget airlines, to property, to hi-tech companies, but he doesn’t view Motherwell in the same way as his other assets.

“We have a raft of very successful business in our portfolio and we all enjoy running them, but that is the business side.

“After a costly start, we are running it with good business practice, but it is not a business. I don’t think you ever own a football club – you’re merely a custodian.

“It is very much a family thing with me. My children go, my father goes, my sister goes. If Motherwell are doing relatively well, then the town feels good and if the town feels good then that is a positive thing.

“I’m proud of the fact we tidied up our own problems and created a stable environment so the club can have a viable long-term future and hopefully the people of Motherwell and of Lanarkshire have got something they can be a wee bit proud of.”

Taken from the Sunday Herald