FRIDAY, APRIL 25, 2014

'Tribalism' in the UK: English press celebrated the fall of the Scottish 'mafia'

PHOTO | ANDREW YATES Manchester United manager David Moyes leaves the pitch after their 2-1 defeat to Swansea in the English FA Cup third round match at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England, on January 5, 2014.

PHOTO | ANDREW YATES Manchester United manager David Moyes leaves the pitch after their 2-1 defeat to Swansea in the English FA Cup third round match at Old Trafford in Manchester, northwest England, on January 5, 2014.   AFP

In Summary

  • The English dominated the others and ruled them for hundreds of years, before the various countries staged uprisings and secured independence.
  • This week after his fall, however, Moyes became very Scottish. The Daily Mirror insisted on pointing out that Ferguson had picked mtu wa nyumbani as his successor.
By Murithi Mutiga
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So many stories, so many angles. The sacking of David Moyes was as you would expect, big news in the English media this week and not just in the sports pages.

As ever with everything to do with Manchester United, it was all over the news from the front page to the back.

"United in Crisis: See our 20-page sports section," blared the Daily Telegraph. "End of an Error," declared the Daily Mirror. "Just like any other club," snorted the Guardian reflecting Man U's self-image as being a class apart from other clubs which hire and fire coaches regularly.

The flagship BBC evening News at 10 programme devoted extensive time to the subject. "Moyes has been punished for not being fourth," a commentator on the BBC's World Business Report programme said, reporting on the failure to secure the last Champions League slot available.

But an intriguing sub-plot which would interest a Kenyan observer emerged. Was there a whiff of tribalism about David Moyes appointment to the Manchester United hot-seat in the first place?

Tribe, you say, do wazungus have tribes? Certainly, although they rarely call them that. The United Kingdom / Great Britain is an alliance of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The English dominated the others and ruled them for hundreds of years, before the various countries staged uprisings and secured independence.

Scotland, in particular, waged a bloody war of independence against England. Today, the Scots have a degree of autonomy although they are scheduled to vote in a referendum on full independence in September.

Their tribal differences do not dictate politics quite the way ethnicity does in Kenya but culturally, media coverage is very pronounced in its emphasis of difference.

The average Scotsman is depicted in the English media as "a fiery-tempered, alcoholic, militaristic, miserly individual with a strange accent, plays bagpipes, and often dresses in kilts (the knee-length skirt-like garment Scottish men wear)."

The Scots also have their own stereotypes of the English – as arrogant, ignorant colonialists – although in general you will more regularly find an English commentator mocking the Scots than the other way round.

When it comes to sports, UK athletes compete as one team – Great Britain – although the Scots complain that when a Scotsman like tennis star Andy Murray wins gold, the English press hail a "British triumph" but when he loses they say the "Scotsman was bundled out in the third round". Old Trafford has been run for the best part of the last three decades by one of the most famous Scotsmen around, Sir Alex Ferguson. When he picked David Moyes as his successor, the media celebrated the fact that one of the most coveted positions in world football had gone to a "British" manager.

This week after his fall, however, Moyes became very Scottish. The Daily Mirror insisted on pointing out that Ferguson had picked mtu wa nyumbani as his successor. 
"Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson," one story read, "who chose his fellow Scot to succeed him…." The most tribal of English newspapers, the Daily Mail practically celebrated the fall of the Scottish "mafia".

"In August 2011, the English Premiership had seven Scottish managers. The so-called Largs Mafia (Largs is a town in Scotland) were a formidable, ruthless and seemingly impregnable dynasty. Sir Alex Ferguson was the Godfather. The undisputed clan chief. Beside him sat David Moyes at Everton, Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, Aston Villa's Alex McLeish, Owen Coyle at Bolton, Blackburn's Stevie Kean and Norwich boss Paul Lambert.

The ties were loose, the relationships occasionally fractious. At times there was no love lost. Yet these men all had something in common. They were bound by a humble, working-class upbringing in Glasgow."

The Scots had lorded over the English for so long, declared the Mail, but those days were over. "For a season or two they made up 35 per cent of the managers in England's top tier. By comparison there were just five Englishmen in the top tier. For a sprawling landmass constituting just 10 per cent of the British population, Scots were punching above their weight and a nation revelled in it.

The years of Scottish players dominating England's top clubs had gone. But in the field of producing top-class managers Scottish football remained an industry leader. Like the footballing branch of the Labour Party, the main offices of power were dominated by big beasts from the west coast. 'Wha's like us?' was the cry.

MANY CONSPIRACY THEORIES

Three years on, the mood is more sober. The passing of Moyes from Manchester United leaves Lambert as the last Scot standing. Clinging on by his fingertips would be a more apt way of putting it. As things stand, the Largs Mafia are lying on the ground with their throats cut."

In fairness, these tribal theories were on the fringe as were the many conspiracy theories that Ferguson picked Moyes so that his own star would shine brighter than that of his successor.

The more serious commentators took the view that Moyes was simply given an impossible job.

One of the best assessments came from Mathew Syed of the Times who argued that United had just been found out by years of under-investment in the squad. None of the club's midfielders – Carrick, Fletcher, Giggs, Fellaini, Valencia, Young – would get into any of the teams in the Champions League semi-final.

The real puzzle is how Ferguson managed to win for so long.

"(Ferguson's) principal quality, his defining genius, was his ability to extract the maximum – every last damn drop – from the players who lived under his spell. He weaved some sort of magic into their minds, added iron to their collective will. The shock is not how far United have fallen under Moyes, it is the heights at which Ferguson kept them.

It was the worst possible inheritance for the former Everton manager; a global brand, an unsullied record of success, owners with an iron fist on spending and the most exacting of spotlights…Ferguson had finished his 27-year spell by delivering two things: a parting gift to the supporters and a precision-guided missile into any hopes of a successful transition."