Sunday Herald reports
GROUND CONTROL


Lewis Stuart reports on Glasgow Warriors’ return to their Hughenden stamping ground and their longer-term plans for a new home


AS they marched away from the city, their worldly possessions (a dozen rugby balls) slung over their shoulders, they could hear the bells chiming : “Turn again Glasgow Warriors. Turn Again.” So they turned. And if this were a real fairy story, the West End streets would be paved with gold and you would not have to ask; they have to live happily ever after, even taking out a small loan to buy a bigger trophy cabinet.

Back in the real world, the Glasgow team have only just U-turned on the high road to Hughenden, which they abandoned in a blaze of backbiting last year. Who knows what they will find there. More wins (the team has better players than many of its performances last season suggest and has strengthened); more support (it could not be worse than it was at Firhill); more revenue (if it were a conventional business, last season would have bankrupted it).

Yesterday David Mackay, the former SRU chairman who has joined Brian Simmers, the former chairman of Glasgow Hawks, to set up a consortium that hopes to buy the club, welcomed the return to Hughenden, aware that if everything goes to plan his group will inherit the commitment to the Hillhead/Jordanhill club ground for at two years, more likely three, before Scotstoun is ready.

“I’m delighted that they have secured it,” he said. “I think the players wanted to play there and having attended Firhill, there was a much better atmosphere, a rugby atmosphere, a cosier atmosphere, at Hughenden. It suits the purpose short term, but down the line Scotstoun is a different proposition altogether.”

Not that Hughenden is a problem-free option even though it appears that the union and host club have sorted out the financial spat that led to last year’s split. The fans like it , but it is not an impressive place for wining and dining the great, good, and (most importantly) wealthy. There is not enough seats, the lights are not good and the cold weather protection has a record of failure.

It is clear that if the Mackay/Simmers proposal does materialise, and the next few weeks are going to be make or break as the pair hold a series of meetings with potential backers, the Scotstoun venue is the key to making their plan work.

They accept that taking over the team means that the new business will lose money in the short term, and it is only when they get to the bigger, more modern venue that Scotstoun will become that they can start to market the corporate hospitality so crucial to turning the loss-making club into one that covers its costs. The plan foresees two years of losses, a small deficit in year three, while at Scotstoun, and break-even in year four and onwards.

In some ways, though, the enforced breathing space would be a boon . It gives the club a bit of legroom at a time when whoever owns it has got to be resigned to losses. Sean Lineen will get a bit of time to sort out the playing side, while the marketing people have space to try to rebuild the image shattered by last season’s muddle and the defeats that followed. It gives them all time to hunt for more high-profile names that will bring the hangers-on and curious through the gates – Jonah Lomu did nothing for the Cardiff Blues team last season but look at what he did for gates both home and away until be broke his ankle.

In the long term, a lot of Glasgow’s fate will hinge on ownership. Gordon McKie, the Murrayfield chief executive, would love to add Glasgow to Edinburgh as drains on the union’s empty coffers that he offloaded. After ten years of failure, there is no reason to think that central control can revive the way the club reaches the hearts, minds and wallets of the rugby community in the west and north of Scotland, the private sector is the only hope and McKie, Mackay and Simmers know this.

The union will continue to subsidise the teams but it will be a fixed amount that they can build into budgets and forget about. If the consortium comes through, they will take over the risk.

Mackay admits that that means they are having to talk to wealthy individuals, rather than companies who would have to justify their involvement to shareholders. He says initial approaches have been positive but they have yet to nail down the commitment to invest from anybody with deep enough pockets. There is no chance of transferring ownership before the season starts, but with a fair wind they could be there at about the same time as Edinburgh are introducing their head coach.

The age-old received wisdom is that if the team starts winning, the fans will flock back – not a theory that Scottish professional rugby does much to support – but Lineen and his troops have all sorts of reasons for needing to get the season off go a strong start .

It is not possible to read much into Friday’s friendly against Moseley, the 55-5 win counts as about par, given the gulf between the teams, though Thom Evans, the new wing, promised a lot with a hat-trick inside the opening 15 minutes. Next Friday’s tie with Newcastle will be more revealing.

Lineen feels that he has been able to strengthen the squad and change things over the summer to his way of doing things. He said the team building has been highly successful, and was buoyant about the prospects. The test will come when they return to Hughenden in 19 days for their opening competitive match, against the Newport-Gwent Dragons, the weakest Welsh region .

They may have turned again, but they have a long way to go before they find out if they have found gold or just a pile of rust.

This article was posted on 13-Aug-2006, 07:27 by Hugh Barrow.